Tver Oblast

Tver Oblast
Oblast
Тверская область
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Anthem of Tver Oblast[3]
Coordinates: 57°09′N 34°36′E
Country	Russia
Federal district	Central[1]
Economic region	Central[2]
Administrative center	Tver[4]
Government
• Body	Legislative Assembly[5]
• Governor[7]	Igor Rudenya[6]
Area [8]
• Total	84,201 km^2 (32,510 sq mi)
• Rank	39th
Population  (2021 census)[9]
• Total	1,230,171
• Estimate  (2018)[10]	1,283,873
• Rank	36th
• Density	15/km^2 (38/sq mi)
• Urban	76.3%
• Rural	23.7%
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK [11])
ISO 3166 code	RU-TVE
License plates	69
OKTMO ID	28000000
Official languages	Russian[12]
Website	http://www.region.tver.ru

Tver Oblast (Russian: Тверская область, romanized: Tverskaya oblast', IPA: [tvʲɪrˈskajə ˈobləsʲtʲ]) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was known as Kalinin Oblast (Russian: Калининская область). Population: 1,353,392 (2010 Census).^[14]

Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much of the remaining area is occupied by the Valdai Hills, where the Volga, the Western Dvina, and the Dnieper have their source.

Tver Oblast is one of the tourist regions of Russia with a modern tourist infrastructure.^{[not verified in body]} There are also many historic towns: Torzhok, Toropets, Zubtsov, Kashin, Vyshny Volochyok, and Kalyazin. The oldest of these is Rzhev, primarily known for the Battles of Rzhev in World War II. Staritsa was the seat of the last appanage principality in Russia. Ostashkov is a major tourist center.

Geography

Tver Oblast is located in the west of the middle part of the East European Plain. It stretches for 260 km from north to south and 450 km from west to east. The area borders Yaroslavl Oblast in the east, Vologda Oblast in the northeast, Novgorod Oblast in the northwest and north, Moscow in the southeast, Smolensk Oblast in the southwest, and Pskov Oblast in the west.

The area of Tver Oblast is 84201 km², the 38th of 85 subjects. This accounts for 0.49% of the territory of Russia, and it is the largest territory (by area) of the Central Federal District.

Relief

Tver Oblast as a whole is characterized by flat terrain with alternating lowlands and highlands due to its location in the East European Plain. In the western part of the province, occupying about one-third of its area is Valdai Hills, with elevations of 200–300 m above sea level. It is surrounded by depressions, lowlands, and has a height of 100–150 m. The highest point of the area has a height of 347 m and is located on the hill Tsninsky (The top of the Valdai). The lowest point (61 m) – the extreme north-west area of the river's edge Kunya (Russian: Кунья) on the border with the Novgorod Oblast.

Natural resources

Minerals discovered and developed in the Tver Oblast are mainly deposits of ancient seas, lakes and swamps, and partly a consequence of glaciers (clastic rocks).

Minerals of industrial importance are the seams of brown coal, which form part of the Moscow coal basin. The largest deposit is Bolshoy Nelidovskiy, which gave between 1948 and 1996 about 21 million tons.

Widespread powerful peat deposits totaling 15.4 billion m³. The estimated reserves of peat are 2.051 billion tonnes, representing approximately 7% of the stock of European Russia. On an industrial scale mastered 43 peat deposits with a total area of about 300 hectares, the main exploited stocks are concentrated in five fields located in the central and southern parts of the oblast. From 1971 to 1999, has developed more than 44 million tons of peat.

Distributed limestones (near the town of Bayou several centuries developed reserves of white Staritskogo stone). Dolomitic limestones are common along rivers Vazuza, Osugi, Tsna (marble-like limestone), there are deposits of tile, brick and pottery ( refractory ) of clay and quartz sand, sapropel are numerous underground fresh water and mineral formations, and sources for the medicinal table water Kashinskaya [ru].

Rivers

The region is a watershed of the Caspian Sea and Baltic Sea. In the south, the Belsky district has several tributaries of the upper reaches of the river Vop, the right tributary of the Dnieper River (basin of the Black Sea). Go to the Caspian Sea basin owns 70% of the region, the Baltic Sea – 29.7%^{[clarification needed]}.

There are more than 800 rivers in the region longer than 10 km with a total length of about 17,000 km. The main river – Volga ( 685 km within the region). Its source is in the Ostashkov area. The most important tributaries of the Volga: the Mologa (280 km), the Medveditsa (269 km), the Tvertsa (188 km). Other important rivers: the Western Dvina and its tributary the Mezha (259 km), the Msta and the Tsna (160 km).

Climate

The climate is humid continental, transitional from continental Russia to the more humid north-western regions. The area lies in a zone of comfort for living and recreation in climatic conditions. Average January temperatures range from −8 °C (18 °F) in west to −13 °C (9 °F) in northeast, and July from +17 °C (63 °F) to +19 °C (66 °F) °C. The average annual rainfall ranges from 560 to 720 mm, and the greatest amount of precipitation falls on the western slopes of the Valdai Hills. The snow cover starts in mid-November, the period with snow cover lasts 130–150 days, and snow depth is about 40–60 cm, with a maximum of 80 cm.

History

18th-century view of Tver

There was a settlement on land at the confluence of the Tmaka River and Volga Rivers in the 9th and 10th centuries. A fortress was built on the site much later, during the fighting between the Rostov-Suzdal princes and the Novgorod Republic. From the 13th to 15th centuries, the area was part of the Principality of Tver, which competed with Moscow for supremacy in Russia,^[15] except for the western outskirts with Toropets, which were part of the Principality of Smolensk and Grand Duchy of Lithuania.^[16] The south-western part with Bely formed part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1654.^[17]

In the 18th century, Tver became an administrative center; at first, it was part of Saint Petersburg Governorate (1708–1727), and then, of Novgorod Governorate. In 1775, the Tver Viceroyalty was formed; in 1796, it was transformed into Tver Governorate. In September 1929,^[18] Tver became the administrative center of Tver District of Moscow Oblast in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR). In November 1931, the city of Tver was renamed Kalinin.^[19] On 29 January 1935, Kalinin Oblast was formed from parts of Western, Leningrad and Moscow Oblasts.^[20] Ostashkov housed a NKVD prisoner-of-war camp for some 7,000 Poles, taken prisoner during the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, 6,300 of whom were murdered in 1940 in Kalinin as part of the Katyn massacre, and buried in Mednoye. Germany occupied part of this area from 1941 to 1943.

On 17 July 1990, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, the Kalinin Oblast was renamed Tver Oblast.^[21][22] On 21 April 1992, the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia approved the decision of the presidium of the parliament to rename the region, amending Art. 71 of the Constitution of the Russian SFSR of 1978,^[23] which entered into force on May 16, 1992.^[24]

On 13 June 1996, Tver Oblast, alongside Leningrad Oblast and the city of Saint Petersburg, signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.^[25] This agreement would be abolished on 19 February 2002.^[26]

On August 23, 2023, a private jet carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group leader, crashed in the region.^[27]

Politics

Oblast Administration building, May 2008

During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Tver CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). After the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution of the USSR in March 1990, the CPSU lost its monopoly on power. The head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.^{[citation needed]}

The Charter of Tver Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Administration, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day-to-day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the Oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.^{[citation needed]}

Government

On 13 March 2011, elections to the regional legislative assembly were held. United Russia received 39.8% of the vote, the Communist Party – 24.6%, A Just Russia – 21.3%, and the Liberal Democratic Party – 11.01%. Thus, according to the party lists, the United Russia party received nine seats in the Legislative Assembly. In single-mandate constituencies, candidates from United Russia also won in 17 out of 20 constituencies, and communist candidates won in the other three. In general, United Russia received 26 mandates out of 40. The Communists received eight mandates, A Just Russia – four, and the Liberal Democratic Party – two.^{[citation needed]}

Legislative power is exercised by the Legislative Assembly of the Tver Oblast, and executive power is exercised by the Government of the Tver Oblast, headed by the Governor.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Tver Oblast

Administratively, Tver Oblast is divided into two urban-type settlements under the federal government management (Ozyorny and Solnechny), five cities and towns of oblast significance (Tver, Kimry, Rzhev, Torzhok, and Vyshny Volochyok), and thirty-six districts.

Economy

Tver Oblast has a very strong economy due to its machinery industry in the automobile and aeronautics sectors.

Transportation

The Oblast has a well-developed infrastructure consisting of railway, river, motor vehicle, air, and pipeline transportation systems. Tver Oblast has one of the highest proportions of paved roads in the country. The region's location between Russia's two major cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, has an obvious influence on traffic flows from Northern Europe and the Baltic countries to central Russia.

Passes through the region connecting the main "two capitals" Railway – October single-track railway with branches in Rzhev and Vyazma, Kuvshinovo and Selizharovo through Torzhok. Equally important are single-track diesel Moscow – Kashin – St. Petersburg and Moscow – Riga, and Yaroslavl – Bologoe – Great Luke and Bologoe – The bottom of the (station ), but very popular.

The area is crossed by two federal highways: M10 "Russia" and M9 "Baltic". Of internal roads are significant Torzhok A111 – A112 Ostashkov and Tver-Rzhev. The length of paved roads – 16,032 km.

There are three civilian airports close to Tver: Migalovo with a runway for commercial aviation, 2500m in length, airport local lines Zmeevo (now – heliport) and Orlovka Airfield (ICAO: UUTO).

The development of navigation on the Volga river port "Tver" with a cargo jetty for boats "river-sea" with a draft of up to four meters.

Four railways going from Moscow to the north, northwest and west cross the region:

to Saint Petersburg via Tver – Bologoye (main course of the Oktyabrskaya Railway), west across the Rzhev – Velikiye Luki (branch of Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw and Kaliningrad – Berlin. to Kimry – Sonkovo – Pestovo – St. Petersburg; to Pskov through Tver – Bologoe. The largest railway junction of Tver Oblast is located in Bologoye. Bologovskiy assembly includes five areas: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Pskov, Yaroslavl, and Great Luke.

The narrow gauge railway of KSM-2 factory, Tver serves a factory of building materials No.2 in Tver.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1897	1,769,135	—
1926	2,242,350	+26.7%
1959	1,806,787	−19.4%
1970	1,717,237	−5.0%
1979	1,649,022	−4.0%
1989	1,670,117	+1.3%
2002	1,471,459	−11.9%
2010	1,353,392	−8.0%
2021	1,230,171	−9.1%
Source: Census data

Population: 1,230,171 (2021 Census);^[28] 1,353,392 (2010 Census);^[14] 1,471,459 (2002 Census);^[29] 1,670,117 (1989 Soviet census).^[30]

Vital statistics for 2022:^[31][32]

• Births: 8,846 (7.2 per 1,000)
• Deaths: 21,940 (17.9 per 1,000)

Total fertility rate (2022):^[33]
1.30 children per woman

Life expectancy (2021):^[34]
Total — 67.87 years (male — 62.81, female — 73.04)

Ethnic composition (2021):^[35]

• Russians – 94.2%
• Tajiks – 0.7%
• Armenians – 0.6%
• Ukrainians – 0.6%
• Azerbaijanis – 0.3%
• Tatars – 0.3%
• Karelians – 0.3%
• Others – 3%
• 144,410 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.^[36]

Religion

Religion in Tver Oblast as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[37][38]
Russian Orthodoxy			30%
Other Orthodox			0.5%
Christians			9%
Islam			1%
Spiritual but not religious			34%
Atheism and irreligion			20%
Other and undeclared			5%

According to a 2012 survey,^[37] 30% of the population of Tver Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 9% are unaffiliated generic Christians, and 1% are Muslims. In addition, 34% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 20% is atheist, and 5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.^[37]

Tver Karelians

Main article: Tver Karelia

A branch of Karelians, known as Tver Karelians, live in the oblast. They numbered 140,567 in 1926. Due to heavy casualties suffered during World War II, they vanished as a separate ethnic group from most parts of the oblast. The Tver Karelians numbered 14,633 according to the 2002 Census.^[39]

Culture

Nashestvie in 2015

Bolshoe Zavidovo in Tver Oblast hosts Nashestvie, the largest festival of Russian rock, since 2009. Previously, in 2004–2008, it was hosted in Emmaus, also in Tver Oblast.

References

1. Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
2. Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
3. Law #91
4. Charter of Tver Oblast, Article 8
5. Charter of Tver Oblast, Article 82
6. Official website of Tver Oblast. Andrei Vladimirovich Shevelyov, Governor of Tver Oblast Archived April 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
7. Charter of Tver Oblast, Article 105
8. "Сведения о наличии и распределении земель в Российской Федерации на 01.01.2019 (в разрезе субъектов Российской Федерации)". Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
9. "Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации". Federal State Statistics Service. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
10. "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
11. "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
12. Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
13. Resolution of January 29, 1935
14. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
15. Figes, Orlando (2022). The Story of Russia. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1526631749.
16. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XII (in Polish). Warszawa. 1892. p. 410.
17. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom I (in Polish). Warszawa. 1880. p. 217.
18. Colton, Timothy J. (1995). Moscow: Governing the Socialist Metropolis. Harvard University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-674-58749-6.
19. Shimotomai, Nobuo; Aronson, Elliot (July 27, 2016). Moscow under Stalinist Rule, 1931-34. Springer. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-349-21607-9.
20. "Калининская – Тверская область". www.knowbysight.info. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
21. "Указ Президиума Верховного Совета РСФСР от 17.07.1990 "О переименовании Калининской области в Тверскую область" | ГАРАНТ". base.garant.ru. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
22. "17 июля 1990 года Калинин стал Тверью". Tvernews (in Russian). July 17, 2021.
23. "Закон РФ от 21 апреля 1992 г. N 2708-I "Об изменениях и дополнениях Конституции (Основного Закона) Российской Советской Федеративной Социалистической Республики" / Раздел I (п.п. 1 - 25)". constitution.garant.ru. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
24. "Çàêîíû ÐÑÔÑÐ/ÐÔ 1990-1993 è ïîïðàâêè ê íèì äî âåñíû 1995". www.politika.su. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
25. "Newsline – June 14, 1996 Yeltsin Signs More Power-Sharing Agreements". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. June 14, 1996. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
26. Chuman, Mizuki. "The Rise and Fall of Power-Sharing Treaties Between Center and Regions in Post-Soviet Russia" (PDF). Demokratizatsiya: 146. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
27. "Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead in a plane crash outside Moscow". APnews. August 22, 2023. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
28. Russian Federal State Statistics Service. Всероссийская перепись населения 2020 года. Том 1 [2020 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1] (XLS) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
29. Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
30. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
31. "Information on the number of registered births, deaths, marriages and divorces for January to December 2022". ROSSTAT. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
32. "Birth rate, mortality rate, natural increase, marriage rate, divorce rate for January to December 2022". ROSSTAT. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
33. Суммарный коэффициент рождаемости [Total fertility rate]. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (in Russian). Archived from the original (XLSX) on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
34. "Демографический ежегодник России" [The Demographic Yearbook of Russia] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat). Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
35. "Национальный состав населения". Federal State Statistics Service. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
36. "ВПН-2010". www.perepis-2010.ru. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
37. ""Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia"". Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
38. 2012 Arena Atlas Religion Maps. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 21/04/2017. Archived.
39. Демоскоп Weekly — Приложение. – Weekly Demoscope – Application.

Sources

• Законодательное Собрание Тверской области. Постановление №436 от 5 ноября 1996 г. «Об Уставе Тверской области», в ред. №19-ПУ от 15 июля 2015 г. «Поправки к Уставу Тверской области». Опубликован: "Тверские ведомости", №98, 4–10 декабря 1998 г. (Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast. Resolution #436 of November 5, 1996 On the Charter of Tver Oblast, as amended by the #19-PU of July 15, 2015 Amendments to the Charter of Tver Oblast. ).
• Всероссийский центральный исполнительный комитет. Постановление от 29 января 1935 г. «Об образовании Калининской области». (All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Resolution of January 29, 1935 On the Formation of Kalinin Oblast. ).

External links

• (in Russian) Official website of Tver Oblast Archived May 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine