Olonets province was one of the northern partsRussian Empire. She was singled out as a separate governorship by the decree of Catherine the Great in 1784. Apart from small breaks, the province existed until 1922.
Location
Olonets province was located within 60-68 degrees north latitude, 45-59 degrees east longitude.
Bordered province with the following lands:
- Novgorod and St. Petersburg provinces, the shores of Lake Ladoga (south);
- Arkhangelsk province (north);
- White Sea, Vologda Province (east);
- Finland (west).
The length in both directions was 700 versts, and the total area was just over 116 square versts, which is 130 square kilometers.
History
Future Olonets province was part ofdifferent territories, the most famous of which was Veliky Novgorod. In 1649, the Olonets district was created. He was part of the Ingermanladskaya, St. Petersburg, Novgorod provinces.
The history of Olonets province begins in 1773of the year when Catherine the Great mentioned above created the Olonets province. Later it became a province, and since 1784 - governorship. From 1796 to 1801, the governorship was abolished.
1801 is considered the year of creation of Olonets province. The rules of this time were Alexander II, and he also approved the emblem of the province.
With the advent of Soviet power, the province wasincluded in the Union of communes of the Northern region, and later - in the Karelian labor commune. In 1920, the province was re-established, since the Russian and Vepsian population lived there. But having closed his eyes to the national uniformity of the Karelian labor commune, in 1922, they decided to abolish the Olenetsky province and divide it into different districts and provinces, including Karelia.
Governors of the province
The first ruler of the Olonets governorship became Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin. He is known for his poetry, but in addition he was a statesman, a senator, a secret adviser.
Ruler, he stayed only two years.During this time, he managed to organize the formation of various provincial institutions, put into operation the first city hospital in the province. Thanks to on-site inspections, he wrote notes in which he showed the interrelation of natural and economic factors.
If we consider the governors of the province since 1801, then there were more than twenty. The first governor of the Olonets province Okulov Alexey Matveyevich managed the affairs for only one year.
The wealth of the land
Olonets province was rich in water resources. On its territory there were a large number of lakes and rivers. The largest of them are Lake Onega, the Svir, Onega, Vyg and other rivers.
Also the region is rich in forests and the following minerals:
- granite;
- gold;
- lead;
- silver;
- mica;
- iron ores;
- marble;
- amatists;
- pearls;
- multi-colored clay;
- marcial waters.
Edge had its disadvantages in the form of barrenrocky soil and unfavorable climate with often varying winds. But the presence of animals in the forests, and in the waters of the fish compensated for these similar defects for people.
Provincial city
Petrozavodsk was the main city on Olonets land all the time. Today it is the largest city of the region, as well as the capital of the Republic of Karelia.
The history of the city began with the foundation in 1703Shuisky Arms Factory, Peter the First. The territory of the plant was surrounded by a rampart and guns were placed on it. The plant gradually turned into a fortress, which was able to resist the Swedes. Soon the plant became the largest enterprise of the state.
Since Peter the First was at the factory, a wooden palace was built for him, a marching church, a garden were laid out. A settlement also arose around the plant, which increased every year.
Under Catherine the Great, a new cannon-foundry (Alexandrovsky) was built. After its opening in 1777, Petrozavodsk officially became a city, and in 1781 the center of the Olonets land.
During the war of 1812 the city became temporaryrefuge for part of the treasures of the Academy of Arts. The Russian National Library, the Ministry of Education, part of the Main Pedagogical Institute, as well as the affairs of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences, moved to Petrozavodsk.
More detailed information about other localities of the region is contained in the book “Olonets Gubernia: Lists of Settlements of 1879”.
