Administrative Divisions of Arkhangelsk Oblast - History

History

December 29, 1708 Tsar Peter the Great issued an edict which established seven governorates. The description of the borders of the governorates was not given; instead, their area was defined as a set of towns and the lands adjacent to those towns. In the present area of Arkhangelsk oblast, two of the governorates — Archangelgorod Governorate and Ingermanland Governorate — were located. The governorates were subdivided into uyezds, and uyezds into volosts.

The centers of the following uyezds of Archangelgorod Governorate were located in the present-day area of Arkhangelsk Oblast,

• Arkhangelskoy Uyezd (the administrative center was Arkhangelskoy);
• Kevrolsky Uyezd (Kevrol);
• Mezensky Uyezd (Mezen);
• Solvychegodsky Uyezd (Sol Vychegodskaya);
• Ustya volosts;
• Vazhsky Uyezd (Shenkursk);

Pustozyorsky Uyezd (with the center in Pustozerskoy) was located in what is now Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

On June 9, 1719, the governorate was divided into provinces: Archangelgorod, Vologda, Galich, and Ustyug. Simultaneously, Yarensky Uyezd with the administrative center of Yarensk was moved from Siberia Governorate to Archangelgorod Governorate. The uyezds were transformed into districts, however, in 1727 the districts were transformed back into uyezds. On February 5, 1780, Archangelgorod Governorate was transformed into Vologda Viceroyalty. In 1796, the viceroyalty was split into Arkhangelsk and Vologda Governorates, the latter one including the areas currently in the south-east of the Oblast. In 1918, these areas were split off from the Vologda Governorate and moved to the newly established Northern Dvina Governorate. The administrative center of the governorate was Veliky Ustyug.

The southwestern part of Arkhangelsk Oblast in 1708 became Kargopolsky Uyezd of Ingermanland Governorate (from 1710, Saint Petersburg Governorate), with the seat in the town of Kargopol. In 1727, it moved to the newly established Novgorod Governorate. After a number of administrative reforms, in 1801 it ended up as one the four uyezds of newly established Olonets Governorate.

In 1924, the uyezds of Northern Dvina Governorate were abolished in favor of the new divisions, the districts (raions). Arkhangelsk and Olonets Governorates retained the uyezd division till 1929. On July 15, 1929 the uyezds in these two governorates were abolished, and all areas which currently belong to Arkhangelsk Oblast, together with other areas, merged into the Northern Krai. The krai consisted of the Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast, a number of islands in the Arctic Ocean, as well as five administrative districts (okrugs),

• Arkhangelsk Okrug (with the administrative center located in Arkhangelsk;
• Nenets Okrug (with the borders and the seat to be defined);
• Northern Dvina Okrug (Veliky Ustyug);
• Nyandoma Okrug (Nyandoma);
• Vologda Okrug (Vologda).

All these okrugs (except for the Nenets Okrug) were divided into districts. In 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts became directly subordinate to the Northern Krai. In 1936, according to the new Soviet Constitution, the Northern Krai was transformed into Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. In 1941, three districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast — Oparinsky, Lalsky, and Podosinovsky Districts — were transferred to Kirov Oblast. During the attempted administrative reform in 1963, districts were subdivided into urban and rural districts. The reform was abandoned in 1965, and the division into districts was restored. On March 23, 1987, Solovetsky District was established, and in 2001, Novaya Zemlya obtained the district status.