Parfinsky District () is an administrativeLaw #559-OZ and municipalLaw #354-OZ district (

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

), one of the twenty-one in

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic m ...

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 ...

. It is located in the center of the

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

and borders with

Krestetsky District Krestetsky District () is an administrativeLaw #559-OZ and municipalLaw #351-OZ district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is located in the center of the oblast and borders with Malovishersky District in the north, Ok ...

in the north, Demyansky District in the southeast, and with

Starorussky District Starorussky District () is an administrativeLaw #559-OZ and municipalLaw #377-OZ district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the oblast and borders with Parfinsky District in the east, De ...

in the southwest. The area of the district is . Its

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 ...

is the urban locality (a

work settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the Soviet Union and later also f ...

) of Parfino. Population: 16,485 ( 2002 Census); The population of Parfino accounts for 52.0% of the total district's population.

Geography

The district is located southeast of

Lake Ilmen Lake Ilmen (, ) is a large lake in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. A historically important lake, it formed a vital part of the medieval trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Veliky Novgorod, which is a major trade center of the ro ...

and a stretch of the lake shore belongs to it. The main rivers in the district are the Pola and the Lovat (with the Redya being its main left

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

), the tributaries of Lake Ilmen, which form a joint

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

with the

Polist The Polist () is a river in Bezhanitsky District of Pskov Oblast and in Poddorsky and Starorussky Districts, as well as in the town of Staraya Russa of Novgorod Oblast of Russia. It is technically a tributary of the Lovat though it forms a commo ...

. Another tributary of Lake Ilmen which has its mouth in the district is the Mayata. The whole area of the district lies in the basin of Lake Ilmen. Forests occupy the area of , 69% of which are broadleaf and mixed forests. There are about a hundred lakes in the district, with about a half of them located in the river delta of the Lovat.

History

The

Lovat River The Lovat (, ; ) is a river in Vitebsk Oblast of Belarus, Usvyatsky, Velikoluksky, and Loknyansky Districts, as well as of the city of Velikiye Luki, of Pskov Oblast and Kholmsky, Poddorsky, Starorussky, and Parfinsky Districts of Novg ...

was a part of the

trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was a medieval trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Eastern Roman Empire. The route allowed merchants along its length to establish a direct prosperous trade with the Empire ...

, one of the oldest trading routes passing through

Rus' Rus or RUS may refer to: People * East Slavic historical peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus, a legendary eponymous ancestor, see Lech, Czech and Rus * Rus (surname), a surname found in Ro ...

. Specifically, the village of Nalyuchi was mentioned in the chronicles in 1200. Many villages were first mentioned in 1495. The area was a part of the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

, and after the fall of Novgorod, it was annexed by the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...

. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Saint Petersburg. The governorate was composed of of area and 2,112,033 inhabitants. It was bordered by Governorate of Estonia, Estonian and G ...

). In 1727, separate

Novgorod Governorate Novgorod Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1727 to 1776 and from 1796 to 1927. Its administrative cent ...

was split off. The current territory of Parfinsky District was a part of

Starorussky Uyezd Starorussky Uyezd (''Старорусский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Novgorod Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southwestern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Staraya Russa. Dem ...

. After the uyezds were abolished in 1927, the territory was split between Starorussky and Polskoy Districts which were a part of

Novgorod Okrug Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

. The administrative center of Polskoy District was in the settlement of Pola. On July 23, 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On January 1, 1932, Polskoy District was abolished and merged into Lychkovsky District. On August 3, 1939, the district was re-established under the name of Polavsky District.Snytko et al., p. 131 In 1910, a

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

factory was founded in what later became the settlement of Parfino. In 1933, Parfino was granted urban-type settlement status. The area was occupied by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

troops between August 1941 and 1943. The battles over the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (; ) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February to 21 April 1942. A much ...

took place here. On July 5, 1944, Starorussky and Polavsky Districts were transferred to newly established Novgorod Oblast. In the early 1960s, after a series of reforms, Polavsky District was abolished and split between Demyansky and Starorussky Districts. On December 13, 1968, Parfinsky District was established by splitting it from Starorussky District.Snytko et al., pp. 217–218 On December 23, 1968, additional territories from Starorussky District were appended to it.

Economy

Industry

Timber industry is the main branch of industry in the district. In 2009, Parfino Plywood Factory, the major employer in the district, went bankrupt.

Agriculture

Agricultural areas in the district occupy .

Transportation

A railway which connects

Bologoye Bologoye () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Bologoye, Tver Oblast, a town in Bologovsky District of Tver Oblast ;Rural localities * Bologoye, Omsk Oblast, a '' selo'' in Rozovsky Rural Okrug of Russko-P ...

and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

via

Staraya Russa Staraya Russa (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist, Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased over ...

crosses the district from east to west. The main stations within the district are Pola and Parfino. Parfino is connected by roads with Staraya Russa and with M10 highway which connects

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and St. Petersburg. The Lovat is navigable downstream of the settlement of Parfino, and Lake Ilmen is navigable as well; however, there is no passenger navigation.

Culture and recreation

The district contains two cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally eighty-one objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. Almost all of these are archaeological sites and graves of soldiers fallen in World War II. Both heritage objects of federal significance are archaeological sites.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{Use mdy dates, date=August 2012 Districts of Novgorod Oblast States and territories established in 1968