Tver Oblast
Тверская область (Russian)
—  Oblast  —
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 57°09′N 34°37′E / 57.15°N 34.617°E / 57.15; 34.617Coordinates: 57°09′N 34°37′E / 57.15°N 34.617°E / 57.15; 34.617
Political status
Country	Russia
Federal district	Central[1]
Economic region	Central[2]
Established	January 29, 1935
Administrative center	Tver
Government (as of March 2011)
- Governor	Andrey Shevelyov[3]
- Legislature	Oblast Duma
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)[4]
- Total	84,100 km2 (32,471.2 sq mi)
Area rank	39th
Population (2010 Census)[5]
- Total	1,353,392
- Rank	33rd
- Density[6]	16.09 /km2 (41.7 /sq mi)
- Urban	74.7%
- Rural	25.3%
Time zone(s)	MSK (UTC+04:00)[7]
ISO 3166-2	RU-TVE
License plates	69
Official languages	Russian[8]
http://www.region.tver.ru/

Tver Oblast (Russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, Tverskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast (Кали́нинская о́бласть) after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: 1,353,392 (2010 Census).^[5]

Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much of its 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 modernized tourist infrastructure. 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 of the World War II. Staritsa was a seat of the last appanage principality in Russia. Ostashkov is a major tourist center.

Administrative divisions[link]

Economy[link]

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

Tver Karelians[link]

A branch of Karelians, known as Tver Karelians used to live in the oblast. They numbered 140,567 in 1926. Due to the heavy casualties suffered during the 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.^[9]

Demographics[link]

Population: 1,352,392 (2010 Census);^[5] 1,471,459 (2002 Census);^[10] 1,670,117 (1989 Census).^[11]

Ethnic composition (2010):^[5]

• Russians - 93.4%
• Ukrainians - 1.2%
• Armenians - 0.7%
• Karelians - 0.6%
• Tatars - 0.5%
• Belarusians - 0.4%
• Azeris - 0.4%
• Romani people - 0.4%
• Uzbeks - 0.3%
• Others - 2.1%
• 99,260 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.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Media related to Tver Oblast at Wikimedia Commons
• (Russian) Official website of Tver Oblast

Tver (English) Тверь (Russian)
-  City[1]  -
The Volga in Tver
Location of Tver Oblast in Russia
Tver Location of Tver in Tver Oblast
Coordinates: 56°51′45″N 35°55′27″E / 56.8625°N 35.92417°E / 56.8625; 35.92417Coordinates: 56°51′45″N 35°55′27″E / 56.8625°N 35.92417°E / 56.8625; 35.92417
Coat of arms	Flag
Administrative status (as of December 2006)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Tver Oblast[1]
Administratively subordinated to	City of Tver[1]
Administrative center of	Tver Oblast,[1] City of Tver[1]
Municipal status (as of September 2006)
Urban okrug	Tver Urban Okrug[2]
Administrative center of	Tver Urban Okrug[2]
Mayor[citation needed]	Vladimir Babichev[3]
Representative body	City Duma[citation needed]
Statistics
Area	152 km2 (59 sq mi)[citation needed]
Population (2010 Census, preliminary)	403,726 inhabitants[4]
- Rank in 2010	46th
Population (2002 Census)	408,903 inhabitants[5]
- Rank in 2002	45th
Density	2,656 /km2 (6,880 /sq mi)[6]
Time zone	MSK (UTC+04:00)[7]
First mentioned	1135[citation needed]
Previous names	Tver (until 1931),[citation needed] Kalinin (until 1991)[citation needed]
Postal code(s)	170000-170043[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 4822[citation needed]
Official website
Tver on WikiCommons

Tver (Russian: Тверь; IPA: [tvʲerʲ]) is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 (2010 Census preliminary results);^[4] 408,903 (2002 Census);^[5] 450,941 (1989 Census).^[8]

Located north of Moscow, Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian Empire, with a population of 60,000 on January 14, 1913. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa Rivers. The city was known as Kalinin (Кали́нин) from 1931 to 1990.

History[link]

Medieval origins[link]

The first written record of Tver is dated 1135.^{[citation needed]} Originally a minor settlement of Novgorodian traders, it passed to the Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1209. In 1246, Alexander Nevsky granted it to his younger brother Yaroslav Yaroslavich (d. 1271), from whom a dynasty of local princes descended. Four of them were killed by the Golden Horde and were proclaimed saints by the Russian Orthodox church.

Formerly a land of woods and bogs, the Principality of Tver was quickly transformed into one of the richest and most populous Russian states. As the area was hardly accessible for Tatar raids, there was a great influx of population from the recently devastated South. By the end of the century, it was ready to vie with Moscow for supremacy in Russia. Both Tver and Moscow were young cities, so the outcome of their rivalry was far from being certain.

Grand princedom[link]

Statue of Afanasy Nikitin

Mikhail, the Grand Prince of Tver, who ascended the throne of Vladimir in 1305, was one of the most beloved of medieval Russian rulers. His policy of open conflict with the Golden Horde led to his assassination there in 1318. His son Dmitry "the Terrible Eyes" succeeded him, and, concluding an alliance with the mighty Grand Duchy of Lithuania, managed to raise Tver's prestige even higher.

Exasperated by Dmitry's influence, Prince Ivan Kalita of the Grand Duchy of Moscow engineered his murder by the Mongols in 1326. On hearing the news of this crime, the city revolted against the Horde. The Horde joined its forces with Muscovites and brutally repressed the rebellion. Many citizens were killed, enslaved, or deported. This was the fatal blow to Tver's pretensions for supremacy in Russia.

In the second half of the 14th century, Tver was further weakened by dynastic struggles between its princes. Two senior branches of the ruling house, those of Kashin and Kholmsky, asserted their claims to the grand ducal throne. The claimants were backed up by Moscow and eventually settled at the Moscow Kremlin court.

During the Great Feudal War in the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Tver once again rose to prominence and concluded defensive alliances with Lithuania, Novgorod, Byzantium, and the Golden Horde. Grand Prince Boris of Tver sent one of his men, Afanasy Nikitin, to search for gold and diamonds as far as India. Nikitin's travelogue, describing his journey from 1466 to 1472, is probably the first ever firsthand account of India by a European. A monument to Nikitin was opened on the Volga embankment in 1955.

Later history[link]

At last, on September 12, 1485, the forces of Ivan the Great seized the city. The principality was given as an appanage to Ivan's grandson, only to be abolished several decades later. Last scions of the ruling dynasty were executed by Ivan the Terrible during the Oprichnina. At that turbulent time, Tver was ruled by Simeon Bekbulatovich, a former khan of Kasimov. The only remnant of his ephemeral reign is a graceful tent-like church in the village of Kushalino, 28 kilometers (17 mi) northeast of Tver.

The city's decline was not irrevocable, however. With the foundation of St. Petersburg, Tver gained importance as a principal station on the highway (and later railway) on the way there from Moscow. It was much visited by Russian royalty and nobility traveling from the old capital to the new one and back.

A royal palace in Tver

Following a great fire of 1763, the city was rebuilt in Neoclassical style. Under Catherine the Great, the central part was thoroughly reconstructed. Crumbling medieval buildings were razed and replaced with imposing Neoclassical buildings. The most important of these are the Travel Palace of the Empress (designed by the celebrated Matvei Kazakov), and the Ascension church (designed by Prince Lvov and consecrated in 1813).

In 1931, the city was renamed Kalinin, after a notable Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin who had been born nearby.^{[citation needed]} The last vestige of the pre-Petrine epoch, the Savior Cathedral, was blown up in 1936. In 1940, the NKVD executed more than 6,200 Polish policemen and prisoners of war from Ostashkov camp.

The Wehrmacht occupied Kalinin for two months in 1941, leaving the city in ashes. A large-scale resistance movement in the city and the oblast resulted in over 30,000 German soldiers and officers being killed during the occupation of the city. Kalinin was the first major city in Europe to be liberated from the Wehrmacht.

During the Cold War, Kalinin was home to the Kryuchkovo air base, which is no longer in service. City's historic name of Tver was restored in 1990.^{[citation needed]}

Apart from the suburban White Trinity Church (1564), there are no ancient monuments left in Tver. The central part is graced with Catharinian and Soviet edifices, bridges, and embankments. Tver's most notable industries are a railroad car plant, opened in 1898, an excavator factory, and a glass making factory. Tver is home to Migalovo, which is one of Russia's biggest military airlift facilities.

Administrative and municipal status[link]

Administratively, it is incorporated as the City of Tver—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[1] Municipally, the City of Tver is incorporated as Tver Urban Okrug.^[2] The city of Tver has also seen use within modern video games such as Mount & Blade. It is represented as a hub of trading and military stationing.

Climate[link]

Tver has got a humid continental climate, which is typical for Central Russia. Winters are long, snowy and cold, but extremely severe frosts (below −35 °C (−31 °F)) are rare. Summer is warm and humid, temperature is often higher than +30 °C (86 °F).

Education[link]

Tver is home to Tver State University, the most highly rated university of the region. It is also home to the Tver State technical university, medical, and agricultural academies and more than 20 colleges and lyceums, branch campuses of some Moscow higher educational institutions and more than 50 high schools.

The Tver State Medical Academy is a medical school located in Tver, one of the largest and most reputable in Russia.

The Tver Branch of MESI. Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics (MESI) - a university with more than 75-year history. MESI is a leader in ratings among the economic institutions of Moscow and Russia.

Tver also houses the Zhukov Air and Space Defense Academy.

Tver also has around 50 secondary schools, a private school (lycee), and Suvorov military school.

Transportation[link]

Tver railway depot and roundhouse, ca. 1860. Photo courtesy SMU.

Railway[link]

The Oktyabrskaya Railway linking Moscow and St. Petersburg is crossing the city. The primary Tver' Railway Station has a locomotive and car shed, allowing it to service both passenger and cargo trains. In plus to the Tver' Station, there are three minor stations within the city perimeter: Lazurnaya, Proletarskaya and Doroshikha. The suburban railway service links Tver to Moscow, Bologoe, Torzhok and Vasilevsky Mokh (via separate line). Most trains passing from Moscow to the north-west regions make a short stop in Tver'.

The newly designed high-speed railway line between Moscow and St Peterburg is expected to have "New Tver'" station several kilometers southwards of city border.^[10]

Roads[link]

The major M10 motorway linking Moscow and St Peterburg is also crossing the city. This motorway is a part of Pan-European corridors system. The roads to Rzhev (A112), Vesyegonsk (P84) and Volokolamsk (P90), along with many smaller regional roads, originate in the city. The new highway between Moscow and St Peterburg, that is designed at the present time, will pass closely to the northern border of Tver'. Tver' is notable by a pretty high relative number of private cars: there are 288 cars per thousand residents, which is well above average among other regions of Russia.^[11]

There is also a local bus station that interconnects Tver' with minor towns of Tver Oblast, neighboring oblasts, and Moscow.

Local public transport consists of trolleybuses, trams, buses, and marshrutkas (routed taxis). The latter two take priority during recent years.

Air[link]

There are two airfields within the city: Migalovo military air base and Zmeyevo airport.

Water[link]

The riverside station is located on the left bank of the Volga River, closely upstream the outfall of Tvertsa. There is also a small cargo port in the lower part of the Volga. During the summertime, the cruisers are acting up and down the Volga, having their base in the City Park.

Culture[link]

The Zvezda Cinema (1937) is the largest in Tver Oblast

Tver is home to:

• Tver Oblast Academic Drama Theater
• Tver State Youth Theater
• Tver State Puppet Theater
• Tver State philharmonic orchestra
• Tver State Circus
• The Tver Oblast Art Gallery
• The Tver state Art architecture and Literature Museum

Sports[link]

The city association football team, FC Volga Tver, plays in the Russian Second Division.

Religion[link]

Tver has four functioning Russian Orthodox cathedrals, fifteen Orthodox churches, a Catholic church, a mosque, and a synagogue.

Notable people[link]

Stepan Razin Embankment in Tver

• Darya Klishina, athlete
• Igor Aksyonov, association football player
• Anastasia Dobromyslova, professional darts player
• Vladimir Gardin, actor and film director
• Ilya Kovalchuk, NHL player
• Mikhail Krug, singer
• Miron Akimovich Ljubovsky, surgeon
• Afanasy Nikitin, merchant and explorer
• Boris Pugo, politician
• Nadia Russo, pioneering aviatrix
• Alexander Smirnov (figure skater), ice skater
• Andrei Tupolev, aircraft designer
• Yuri Zhdanov, chemistry professor and husband of Svetlana Aliluyeva
• Leo Frankowski, an American science fiction author of Polish ancestry has settled in Tver, building a modern castle for his family.

Twin towns and sister cities[link]

Tver is twinned with:

• Vadodara, India
• Bergamo, Italy
• Kaposvár, Hungary
• Osnabrück, Germany
• Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
• Besançon, France
• Lublin, Poland
• Hämeenlinna, Finland
• Buffalo, New York, United States
• Yingkou, China

References[link]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Законодательное Собрание Тверской области. Закон №34-ЗО от 17 апреля 2006 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Тверской области», в ред. Закона №126-ЗО от 13 декабря 2006 г «О внесении изменений в Закон Тверской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Тверской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Тверские ведомости", №17 (специальный выпуск), 19 апреля 2006 г. (Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast. Law #34-ZO of April 17, 2006 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Tver Oblast, as amended by the Law #126-ZO of December 13, 2006 On Amending the Law of Tver Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Tver Oblast". Effective as of the official publication date.).
• Законодательное Собрание Тверской области. Закон №4-ЗО от 18 января 2005 г. «Об установлении границ муниципальных образований Тверской области и наделении их статусом городских округов, муниципальных районов», в ред. Закона №88-ЗО от 18 сентября 2006 г «О внесении изменений в отдельные Законы Тверской области, регулирующие вопросы установления границ муниципальных образований "Калининский район", "город Тверь" Тверской области». Вступил в силу через десять дней после официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Тверские ведомости", №3, 21–27 января 2005 г. (Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast. Law #4-ZO of January 18, 2005 On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Tver Oblast and on Granting Them the Status of Urban Okrugs, Municipal Districts, as amended by the Law #88-ZO of September 18, 2006 On Amending Several Laws of Tver Oblast Which Legislate the Issues of the Establishment of the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Kalininsky District, City of Tver of Tver Oblast. Effective as of the day which is ten days after the official publication.).
• This article incorporates material translated from the Russian Wikipedia

v t e Cities, towns, and closed administrative-territorial formations in Tver Oblast Administrative center: Tver Cities and towns (All levels) Andreapol Bezhetsk Bely Bologoye Kalyazin Kashin Kimry Konakovo Krasny Kholm Kuvshinovo Likhoslavl Nelidovo Ostashkov Rzhev Staritsa Toropets Torzhok Tver Udomlya Vesyegonsk Vyshny Volochyok Zapadnaya Dvina Zubtsov Closed administrative-territorial formations Ozyorny Solnechny

vep:Tver'