Novgorod region is a subject of the Russian Federation. It is located
in the northwest of the European part of the country. The region is part
of the Northwestern Federal District.
The administrative center
is Veliky Novgorod.
The area of the region is the sixth of the
seven regions of the Northwestern Federal District and is 54.5 thousand
km². The length of the territory of the region from west to east is 385
km, and from north to south - 278 km. The Novgorod Region borders on the
Pskov Region in the west and southwest, on the Tver Region in the south
and southeast, on the Leningrad Region in the north and northwest, and
on the Vologda Region in the northeast. Population - 575 867 people.
(2023). In Veliky Novgorod, according to data for 2021, 225 thousand
people live
Formed by decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed
Forces dated July 5, 1944. Historically, the region was preceded by the
Novgorod province, formed in 1727.
The Novgorod region is located between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The federal highways M10 "Russia" (free) and M11 "Neva" (paid) pass through the territory of the region, connecting these megacities.
The region is located in the north-west of the Russian Plain,
occupying the territory of the Priilmenskaya lowland and the northern
spurs of the Valdai Upland.
The western part of the region is
occupied by the heavily swampy Priilmenskaya lowland, in the center of
which is Lake Ilmen, the largest of the lakes in the region.
To
the east, the lowland rises and closes with the Valdai ledge, behind
which lies the Valdai Upland, one of the most beautiful places on the
East European Plain. 52 rivers flow into Lake Ilmen, the largest of them
are Msta, Shelon and Lovat with Polist, one river flows out - Volkhov.
About a thousand rivers flow through the territory of the region,
more than 800 lakes are located. Almost the entire territory of the
Novgorod region lies within the Ilmen-Volkhov basin, a small
northeastern part belongs to the basin of the Mologa, a tributary of the
Volga, and the western part belongs to the upper reaches of the Luga
River.
The territory of the region is divided into two
sub-provinces: southern taiga and mixed forests.
The Novgorod region has a temperate continental cyclonic climate and
is included in the Atlantic-continental region of the temperate zone,
which is characterized by features of both maritime and continental
climates.
The main features of the region's climate and weather
are determined by its geographic location in the northwest, 100–400 km
from the Baltic Sea. The climate is characterized by a moderate amount
of heat, excess moisture, four-season rhythms: cool short summers, long
warm autumns, mild winters with thaws, and cool long springs.
The
main feature of the weather is inconstancy. It is determined by the
nature of the circulation of air masses. The area lies in the area of
western transfer of air masses and active cyclonic activity. The
alternation of cyclones and anticyclones, sea and continental air masses
creates unstable weather, frequent changes of cold and warm weather, dry
weather and weather with precipitation.
The average annual
temperature varies from southwest to northeast from 4.5ºС to 2.5ºС. The
average temperature of the coldest month - January - 8 - 10.5ºС, the
warmest - July +16 - +18ºС. The annual temperature range is 25-27°C.
The absolute minimum temperatures reach -37... -45°C. Absolute
maximums +35... +37°C.
The annual rainfall is 600-800 mm. The
snow cover lies for 120-150 days, its thickness increases from southwest
to northeast from 25 to 50 cm2.
As of 01/01/2019, there are 129 specially protected natural areas in
the Novgorod region with an area of 397 thousand hectares (7.3% of the
total area of the region). The number of protected areas of federal
significance includes the state nature reserve "Rdeisky", the national
park "Valdaisky" and the natural monument "Grove of Academician N. I.
Zheleznov", protected areas of regional significance are represented by
13 state nature reserves (of which 3 are biological, 10 are complex) and
112 natural monuments, protected areas of local importance - 1 natural
monument.
As of November 14, 2022, there are 128 specially
protected natural areas of regional significance (10 state natural
reserves of regional significance, 3 state natural biological reserves
of regional significance, 114 natural monuments of regional
significance, 1 protected natural complex of regional significance) with
a total area of 229,267 .98 hectares (4.21% of the total area of the
region).
The number of protected areas of federal significance
located on the territory of the Novgorod region includes: FGU "State
Nature Reserve "Rdeysky", FGU "National Park "Valdaisky", natural
monument "Grove of Academician N.I. Zheleznov" with a total area of
196,035.3 hectares (3.59% of the total area of the region).
Minerals: deposits of sand, boulder-gravel-sand raw materials, peat,
sapropel, brown coal, refractory and building clay, bauxite, etc. The
region is rich in mineral and radon springs, therapeutic mud (the resort
"Staraya Russa" has been widely known since the 19th century) .
According to the degree of development of drinking underground mineral
waters, the Novgorod region is the main leader in the North-West region.
In recent years, the process of discovering new deposits has been
actively going on. As of January 1, 2019, 196 deposits of solid minerals
have been explored and accounted for by the state balance in the region.
Of these, the following are currently being developed: building
sands and boulder-gravel-sand raw materials - 166, refractory clays - 3,
brick and ceramic clays - 3, quartz-containing glass sands - 2, building
stone - 4, limestones - 3, natural facing stone ( limestone) - 3, out of
641 peat deposits, 9 are being developed, sapropel - 3, therapeutic mud
- 1.
Along with exploited deposits, there are industrial
deposits, the raw materials of which are not used for economic reasons
(combustible shale, bauxite, brown coal, refractory clay, mineral
paints).
The territorial balance of mineral reserves of the
Novgorod region takes into account the reserves of the following types
of minerals: refractory clays, mineral paints, cement raw materials,
kaolins (refractory clays), glass raw materials (quartz sands), sands
for concrete and silicate products, sand and gravel material, carbonate
rocks for firing on lime, carbonate rocks (building stone), natural
facing stones (limestone), brick and tile raw materials (fusible clay),
mineral, drinking and technical underground waters, therapeutic mud,
peat, sapropel.
Non-metallic minerals (refractory clays, glass
sands, building sands and sand and gravel raw materials) are actively
demanded and exploited in the Novgorod region. The region is rich in
mineral and radon springs, therapeutic mud (the resort "Staraya Russa"
has been widely known since the 19th century). According to the degree
of development of drinking underground mineral waters, the Novgorod
region is the main leader in the North-West region. In recent years, the
process of discovering new deposits has been actively going on.
There are 11 deposits of refractory clays with recorded reserves of
145.186 million tons on the territory of Borovichsky, Lyubytinsky and
Okulovsky municipal districts of the Novgorod region. Of these,
Borovichi Refractory Plant JSC is developing the Malinovetskoye and
Okladnevskoye deposits located in the Borovichi municipal district.
Refractory clays are represented by one deposit located in the
Lyubytinsky municipal district, which was discovered in 1949 with a
total recorded reserves of 2387 thousand tons. This deposit is currently
not being developed.
The state balance of stocks of glass raw
materials takes into account 6 quartz sand deposits located in the
Lyubytinsky municipal district with total recorded reserves of 36.602
million tons. According to the degree of industrial development,
explored deposits are classified into groups: developed (4 deposits) and
prepared for industrial development (2 deposits).
There are 245
deposits of sand and 115 deposits of sand and gravel material on the
territory of the Novgorod region with total recorded balance reserves of
586.66 million m3.
In the Novgorod region, 8 deposits of
carbonate rocks for the production of building stone, 3 deposits for
firing for lime, 7 deposits for the production of facing stone are
explored and accounted for by the balance sheet. The largest deposits of
carbonate rocks are concentrated in the Okulovsky municipal district.
There are 17 deposits of brick-tile raw materials (fusible clays) in
the Novgorod region.
284 lake deposits of sapropel have been
discovered and explored on the territory of the region. In total, the
territorial balance of sapropel reserves as of 01.01.2022 included 4
deposits located in the Volotovsky minimal district, Lyubytinsky,
Moshensky and Novgorodsky municipal districts, with balance reserves in
the amount of 1.323 million tons.
The territory of the Novgorod
region is one of the regions richest in peat in the European part of
Russia, yielding only to the Leningrad and Vologda regions. Peat
resources are available in almost all administrative districts of the
region, but they are unevenly distributed over the territory. The
territorial balance of peat reserves as of January 1, 2022 included 642
deposits. Subsoil users carry out exploration and extraction of peat at
seven deposits.
The Novgorod region is one of the oldest historical and cultural
territories of Russia, which is the initial center for the development
of Russian statehood, literacy and spirituality.
Three kilometers
from the center of the region - Veliky Novgorod, Rurik's settlement is
located, the place where the ancient capital of Rus' was located. The
first Russian dynasty was born here, which ruled the country for more
than seven centuries. Princes Rurik and Prophetic Oleg, Vladimir the
Baptist and Yaroslav the Wise, Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan
III and Ivan the Terrible left their mark here. In memory of the calling
of Rurik, on the initiative of Emperor Alexander II, in 1862, a
grandiose monument "Millennium of Russia" was erected in the center of
the Novgorod Kremlin, the composition of which is based on both the
"Monomakh's hat" and the veche bell - symbols of Russian statehood and
democracy.
Veliky Novgorod, the motherland of Russia, has a
special place in the history of the fatherland; ideas about the era of
the birth and flourishing of Russian culture are associated with it.
Novgorod land is known throughout the world for its unique architectural
monuments, iconography, famous frescoes and archaeological finds.
In the historical center of the city - the Novgorod Kremlin - there
is the oldest Russian stone church - the Cathedral of St. Sophia. It was
here that the first Russian books were written and the first birch bark
letters were found, which became a sensation in the field of archeology.
Here, under the vaults of the Vladychnaya Chamber, in January 1478, the
name of the new state, “Russia”, was first heard.
Novgorod is the
oldest center of Russian education and book learning. Since 1030, on the
initiative of Yaroslav the Wise, the first school in Rus' appeared here,
the creation of which became the initial stage in the history of
national education. Numerous birch-bark letters testify to the wide
spread of literacy among the population of Novgorod.
None of the
ancient Russian cities has preserved such a number of manuscripts as
Veliky Novgorod. The library at the Sophia Cathedral was the largest
book depository of Ancient Rus'. A third of all ancient Slavic books
come from Novgorod. The famous Ostromir Gospel, the Gennadievskaya Bible
- the first complete set of biblical books in the Slavic language,
Domostroy, all these books are of Novgorod origin. Since the formation
of the centralized Russian state, the collection of books from St.
Sophia Cathedral has served to prepare numerous state and church reforms
in the field of education, publishing and librarianship. For the sake of
this, book treasures were exported to Moscow, and later to the new
capital of St. Petersburg, forming the basis of the country's largest
book collections.
The first information about the formation of
domestic science is also associated with Novgorod. Here, in 1136, Kirik,
the resident of the Antoniev Monastery, wrote the first mathematical
work of Ancient Rus' - "The Teaching about Numbers".
Over the
centuries-old history, innumerable artistic and architectural treasures
of world significance have been created in Veliky Novgorod, without
which it is difficult to imagine the history of national culture.
The region is especially proud of its unique cultural and historical
heritage: 37 monuments and architectural ensembles of Veliky Novgorod
are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The
attractiveness of Novgorod as a city-museum is extremely high, in which
dozens of ancient temples and monasteries have been preserved, including
the world-famous Churches of the Savior on Nereditsa (1198) and the
Church of the Savior on Ilyina Street (1378). Many of the temples
contain priceless frescoes, which are considered examples of ancient
Russian monumental art. Only in Veliky Novgorod have preserved frescoes
made by the hand of the brilliant Theophan the Greek.
Despite the
wartime destruction, the city still retains the ancient rampart and moat
ring that surrounds its historic center. The Novgorod Kremlin is one of
the oldest stone fortresses in Russia, built at the end of the 15th
century. The special historical atmosphere of the city is formed by
pristine suburban landscapes and an extensive system of small and large
rivers, which earned Novgorod the glory of the "Venice of the North".
The most significant objects of cultural heritage include: the
Iversky Monastery, travel palaces in the villages of Korostyn, Shimsky
District, in the villages of Edrovo and Yazhelbitsy, Valdai District,
the house-museums of F.M. Dostoevsky in Staraya Russa, N.A. Nekrasov and
G.I. Uspensky in Chudovo, the estate of A.V. Suvorov in the village of
Konchanskoe-Suvorovskoe, Borovichi district, and many others.
It
is traditionally believed that in the 6th century the Krivichi tribes
came to this territory, and in the 8th century, in the process of the
Slavic settlement of the East European Plain, the Ilmen Slovene tribe
came. Finno-Ugric tribes lived on the same territory, leaving a memory
of themselves in the names of numerous rivers and lakes.
From the
VIII-IX centuries (c 862) - Novgorod land (the central part of its
pyatins);
882-1136 - as part of Kievan Rus;
1136-1478 - as part of
the Novgorod Republic;
in 1478, the Novgorod land was subordinated to
the Moscow principality with the preservation of its five (pyatina -
county - churchyard) division.
In 1706, through the efforts of
Metropolitan Job of Novgorod and Velikolutsk, the first school was
opened at the bishop's house in Novgorod - the Greek-Slavonic school, at
the origins of which are the Likhud brothers.
Since 1708, as part of
the Ingermanland province
Since 1727, the modern territory of the
region was the western part of the Novgorod province, and since 1918,
parts of the Cherepovets province, and since 1921 both provinces were
also part of the North-Western region.
In 1740, by decree of Empress
Anna Ioannovna, a theological seminary was founded in Novgorod on the
territory of the Antoniev Monastery.
In 1786, Governor-General
Arkharov solemnly opened the first secular educational institution in
Novgorod - a four-year public school. A year later, similar ones
appeared, but small two-class ones in the county towns of Staraya Russa,
Valdai, Borovichi.
In 1828, a male and female parish Novgorod school
appeared in Novgorod.
In 1834, at the behest of Nicholas I, a cadet
corps was created in the village of Novoselitsy near Novgorod with the
donations of Count Arakcheev.
In 1865, the Nikolaev women's school of
the 1st category was opened, which was renamed the women's gymnasium
five years later.
In 1868, the Alexander Teacher's School was opened
to deal with the shortage of teachers.
On August 1, 1927, both
provinces were abolished, and the territory became part of the Novgorod,
Borovichi districts and the western part of the Cherepovets district of
the Leningrad region, and the territory of the modern Kholmsky district
became part of the Velikoluksky district.
Since July 1930, the
district division was abolished: the districts that later became part of
the region, as well as the cities of Novgorod and Borovichi, became
directly subordinate to the Leningrad Executive Committee ----
July
5, 1944 - By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR, the Novgorod region was formed as part of the RSFSR from the
districts formed in the Leningrad region and the Kalinin region, and the
cities of regional subordination of Novgorod, Borovichi and Staraya
Russa. The region included all the modern districts of the region, but
on August 22, 1944, the Kholmsky district was transferred to the
Velikoluksky region, which it was part of until 1958, and Belebelkovsky,
Dregelsky, Zaluchsky, Lychkovsky, Mstinsky, Opechensky, Polavsky,
Utorgoshsky were abolished at the expense of enlargement with the
inclusion of their territory in the current ones, the Molvotitsky
district was abolished and re-formed as Marevsky. In addition, in 1956,
the Dmitrovsky and Mozolevsky village councils were transferred from the
Dregelsky district to the Boksitogorsky district of the Leningrad
region.
On February 16, 1967, by the Decree of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Novgorod Region was awarded the Order of
Lenin.
Since the late 1950s and early 1960s, the electronic
industry began to develop rapidly in the Novgorod region. In Soviet
times, Novgorod was one of the centers of radio electronics.