Lahdenpohja (;
Finnish and
Swedish: ; ) is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
and the
administrative center
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located.
In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...
of
Lakhdenpokhsky District of the
Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, located west of
Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022.
...
on the
Aurajoki River. Population:
History
''Lahdenpohja'' literally means "bay's bottom". It has been a marketplace since the 17th century, located on an old trade route going as far as
Oulu
Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...
. It was mentioned in 1638 as ''Lahen Pohia'', reflecting the local pronunciation of ''lahden'' (genitive case form of ''lahti'', bay) as ''lahen''. It was a part of the
Jaakkima parish until 1924, when Lahdenpohja was separated from it as a ''kauppala''. The locals also called it ''Lopotti'', a Russian loanword (see
sloboda
A sloboda was a type of settlement in the history of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for 'freedom' and may be loosely translated as 'free settlement'. ) referring to a built-up area smaller than a town. Lahdenpohja was ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter and Continuation Wars. ''Lakhdenpokhya'' is simply an alternate romanization of ''Лахденпохья'', the Russian transcription of the Finnish name.
Town status was granted to it in 1945.
Post-Soviet period
In the early 1990s, two granite blocks of a monument to local Finnish soldiers who died in 1918 were returned to the ruins of the church, and a memorial cross was erected. With Finland's participation, the conservation of the walls of the Lutheran church was carried out.
In 1995, the Orthodox Chapel of St. George the Victorious was erected in the town.
In 2004, the Orthodox Chapel of
St. Great Martyr Valentine of Rome was erected in the city.
In 2020, Ramiz Mubarizovich Kazymov, mayor of Lakhdenpokhya and a member of the
United Russia
The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...
party, was deprived of his driver's license for drunk driving.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, Lakhdenpokhya serves as the
administrative center
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located.
In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...
of
Lakhdenpokhsky District, to which it is directly subordinated.
[Law #871-RZK] As a
municipal division, the
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
of Lakhdenpokhya, together with the station of
Yakkima, is incorporated within Lakhdenpokhsky Municipal District as Lakhdenpokhskoye Urban Settlement.
[Law #813-RZK]
Transportation
The town serves as a railway station on the
Vyborg–Joensuu railway.
Economy
The city—forming enterprise — Lahdenpokhsky
plywood mill «Bumex» - was organized in the 1950s on the basis of the former Finnish plywood factory — the joint-stock division of ''Laatokan Puu Oy'' of «''Ladoga Timber Ab''».
There is a forestry enterprise, a forestry station, and a bakery. In 2003, the «Aalto» distillery was launched.
By Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 2014.07.29 No. 1398-r (as amended on 2015.11.24) «On approval of the list of monotowns», the city is included in the list of monotowns of the Russian Federation that have risks of deterioration of the socio-economic situation.
In 2023, the city took the second place in the ranking of places in Russia for recreation at the bases according to the booking service «TVIL».
References
Notes
Sources
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{{Authority control
Cities and towns in the Republic of Karelia
Populated places established in 1600
Populated places in Lakhdenpokhsky District