Vologda Oblast is a federal subject

Federal subjects of Russia

Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...

 of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 (an oblast

Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...

). Its administrative center is Vologda

Vologda

Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...

. The largest city is Cherepovets

Cherepovets

Cherepovets is the largest city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Sheksna River, a tributary of the Volga River. Population: 311,869 ; It is served by Cherepovets Airport.-Location:...

.

Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the magnificent Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery , loosely translated in English as the St. Cyril-Belozersk Monastery, used to be the largest monastery of Northern Russia. The monastery was dedicated to the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, for which cause it was sometimes referred to as the Dormition Monastery...

, Ferapontov Convent (a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

), medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk

Belozersk

Belozersk , known as Beloozero until 1777 , is a town and the administrative center of Belozersky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, situated on the southern bank of Lake Beloye, from which it takes the name...

, baroque churches of Totma

Totma

Totma is a town and the administrative center of Totemsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia,, located on the left bank of the Sukhona River at the confluence with the Pesya Denga River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Totemskoe Urban Settlement in Totemsky Municipal District. Population:...

 and Ustyuzhna

Ustyuzhna

Ustyuzhna is a town and the administrative center of Ustyuzhensky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Mologa River. Population:...

, etc.

Large reserves of wood and fresh water are the main natural resources.

Geography

Vologda Oblast borders with Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....

 (N), Kirov Oblast

Kirov Oblast

Kirov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: -History:In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vyatka remained a place of exile for opponents of the tsarist regime, including many prominent revolutionary figures.In 1920, a number of...

 (E), Kostroma Oblast

Kostroma Oblast

Kostroma Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kostroma.Major historic towns include Kostroma, Sharya, Nerekhta, Galich, Soligalich, and Makaryev. Textile industries have been developed there since the early 18th century...

 (SE), Yaroslavl Oblast

Yaroslavl Oblast

Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma, and Vologda Oblasts. This geographic location affords the oblast the advantages of proximity to Moscow and St. Petersburg...

 (S), Tver Oblast

Tver Oblast

Tver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno...

 (SW), Novgorod Oblast

Novgorod Oblast

Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located there...

 (SW), Leningrad Oblast

Leningrad Oblast

Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...

 (W), and the Republic of Karelia

Republic of Karelia

The Republic of Karelia is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is located in the northwestern part of Russia, taking intervening position between the basins of White and Baltic seas...

 (NW).

Demographics

Vital Statistics for 2007
Source

• Birth Rate: 11.46 per 1000
• Death Rate: 15.86 per 1000
• Net Immigration: +0.3 per 1000
• NGR: -0.44% per Year
• PGR: -0.41% per Year

Administrative divisions

The oblast is administratively divided into four cities and towns under the oblast's jurisdiction

City of federal subject significance

City of federal subject significance is an umbrella term used to refer to a type of an administrative division of a federal subject of Russia which is equal in status to a district but is organized around a large city; occasionally with surrounding rural territories.According to the 1993...

 (Vologda

Vologda

Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...

, Cherepovets

Cherepovets

Cherepovets is the largest city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Sheksna River, a tributary of the Volga River. Population: 311,869 ; It is served by Cherepovets Airport.-Location:...

, Sokol

Sokol, Vologda Oblast

Sokol is a town in the center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at both banks of the Sukhona. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Sokolsky District, by which it is completely surrounded but is not administratively...

, and Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug

Veliky Ustyug is a town in the northeast of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Velikoustyugsky District, by which it is completely...

) and twenty-six districts. Another ten towns (Babayevo

Babayevo

Babayevo is a town and the administrative center of Babayevsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Kolp River west of Vologda. Population:...

, Belozersk

Belozersk

Belozersk , known as Beloozero until 1777 , is a town and the administrative center of Belozersky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, situated on the southern bank of Lake Beloye, from which it takes the name...

, Gryazovets

Gryazovets

Gryazovets is a town and the administrative center of Gryazovetsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Gryazovetskoe Urban Settlement in Gryazovetsky Municipal District. Population: -History:...

, Kadnikov

Kadnikov

Kadnikov is a town in Sokolsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia,, located on the bank of the Sodima River, southeast of Vologda. Municipally, it is incorporated as Kadnikovskoe Urban Settlement in Sokolsky Municipal District. Population: -History:...

, Kharovsk

Kharovsk

Kharovsk is a town and the administrative center of Kharovsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia,, located on the Kubena River north of Vologda. Kharovsk also serves as the administrative center of Kharovsky Selsoviet which it is administratively not part of. Municipally, it is incorporated as a...

, Kirillov, Nikolsk

Nikolsk, Vologda Oblast

Nikolsk is a town and the administrative center of Nikolsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia,, located on the right bank of the Yug River close to the point where it flows into the White Sea. Municipally, it is incorporated as Nikolskoye Urban Settlement in Nikolsky Municipal District...

, Totma

Totma

Totma is a town and the administrative center of Totemsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia,, located on the left bank of the Sukhona River at the confluence with the Pesya Denga River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Totemskoe Urban Settlement in Totemsky Municipal District. Population:...

, Ustyuzhna

Ustyuzhna

Ustyuzhna is a town and the administrative center of Ustyuzhensky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Mologa River. Population:...

, and Vytegra

Vytegra

Vytegra may refer to:*Vytegra, a town in Vologda Oblast, Russia*Vytegra River, a river in Vologda Oblast, Russia...

) have the status of the towns of district significance. The town of Krasavino

Krasavino

Krasavino is a town in the northeast of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Northern Dvina River northeast of Vologda and north of Veliky Ustyug, to which it is administratively subordinated. Municipally, it is incorporated as urban settlement of Velikoustyugsky Municipal...

 is under administrative jurisdiction of Veliky Ustyug Town of Oblast Significance.

Arts and culture

Three of the towns in the oblast - Belozersk, Totma, and Veliky Ustyug - are classified as historical towns by the Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation, which implies certain restrictions on construction in their historical centers.
Various handicraft

Handicraft

Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...

s were developed in the area. A number of those are protected by law. The most notable handicrafts include lace-making

Lace

Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...

 (Vologda, Ust-Kubensky District, and the towns of Kadnikov and Gryazovets), metal works (Veliky Ustyug and Totma), and enamel

Vitreous enamel

Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...

production (Veliky Ustyug and Vologda).

External links

Culture of the Vologda Region Architecture of Vologda Oblast