Verkhovazhye () is a

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

(a '' selo'') 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 Verkhovazhsky District of

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...

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 on the right bank of the

Vaga River The Vaga () is a river in Totemsky, Syamzhensky, and Verkhovazhsky Districts of Vologda Oblast and in Velsky, Shenkursky, and Vinogradovsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of the Northern Dvi ...

. It also serves as the administrative center of Verkhovazhsky Selsoviet, one of the fourteen selsoviets into which the district is administratively divided. Municipally, it is the administrative center of Verkhovazhskoye Rural Settlement. Population:

Etymology

The name of Verkhovazhye means literally "on the Upper Vaga".

History

The area of Verkhovazhye and the upper course of the Vaga were populated already in the 13th century. Due to its location on one of the main waterways connecting central Russia and the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

(it was controlled first by Novgorodians, and after the fall of Novgorod was transferred to 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 ...

), and the later construction of the surface road connecting Moscow and Arkhangelsk, by the 17th century Verkhovazhye was a major trading settlement. It was first mentioned in the 17th century, and in 1678 it became a ''

posad A posad ( Russian and ) was a type of settlement in East Slavic lands between the 10th to 15th centuries, it was often surrounded by ramparts and a moat, adjoining a town or a kremlin, but outside of it, or adjoining a monastery. The posad wa ...

'', a semi-urban settlement. In the 18th century industry was introduced, which included a distillery, an iron works, and a paper production plant. In the 18th century, Verkhovazhnsky Posad (currently Verkhovazhye) was one of the main trading towns in the Russian North, holding two annual fairs. In 1810, a secondary school was opened. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great the area was included into

Archangelgorod Governorate Archangelgorod Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, which existed from 1708 until 1780. Its seat was in Archangel (Arkhangelsk). The governorate was located in th ...

. Vaga volosts were explicitly mentioned as one of the towns included in the governorate. In 1780, the governorate was abolished and transformed into

Vologda Viceroyalty Vologda Viceroyalty () was an administrative-territorial unit (''viceroy#Russian Empire, namestnichestvo'') of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1780–1796. The seat of the Viceroyalty was located in Vologda. The viceroyalty was established ...

. The latter was abolished in 1796, and the part of it which included Verkhovazhye was made

Vologda Governorate Vologda Governorate (), also known as the Government of Vologda, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. ...

. Since 1780, the upper Vaga lands were part of

Velsky Uyezd Velsky Uyezd () was one of the subdivisions of the Vologda Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Velsk. Demographics At the time of the Russian Empire Census of 1 ...

with the administrative center in the town of

Velsk Velsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Velsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vel River (Arkhangelsk Oblast), Vel River at its confluence with the Vaga ...

. On July 15, 1929, the uyezds were abolished, and Velsky Uyezd was split into Velsky, Verkhovazhsky, and Ustyansky Districts. Verkhovazhye became the administrative center of Verkhovazhsky District. On July 30, 1931, Verkhovazhsky District was merged into Velsky District, and on January 25, 1935, it was reestablished.

Economy

Industry

The economy is based on timber industry. Food industry is also present.

Transportation

One of the principal highways in Russia, M8, 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

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

, runs along the left bank of the Vaga, bypassing Verkhovazhye. There are also local roads, with the bus traffic originating from Verkhovazhye.

Culture and recreation

The district contains forty-one objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The only state museum in Verkhovazhye is the Historical Museum of Verkhovazhsky District.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Rural localities in Verkhovazhsky District Vologda Governorate