| Veliky Ustyug (English) Великий Устюг (Russian) |
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The Sukhona embankment, as seen from the Troitsko-Gledensky Monastery |
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Location of Vologda Oblast in Russia |
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Veliky Ustyug
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Vologda Oblast |
| Administratively subordinated to | Veliky Ustyug Town of Oblast Significance[2] |
| Administrative center of | Veliky Ustyug Town of Oblast Significance, Velikoustyugsky District[1] |
| Municipal status (as of May 2010) | |
| Municipal district | Velikoustyugsky Municipal District[3] |
| Urban settlement | Urban Settlement of Veliky Ustyug[3] |
| Administrative center of | Velikoustyugsky Municipal District, Urban Settlement of Veliky Ustyug[3] |
| Statistics | |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
31,664 inhabitants[4] |
| Population (2002 Census) | 33,419 inhabitants[5] |
| Time zone | MSD (UTC+04:00)[6] |
| First mention | 1207[7] |
| Official website | |
Veliky Ustyug (Russian: Вели́кий У́стюг) 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 (one of the four in Vologda Oblast). It also serves as the administrative center of Velikoustyugsky District, by which it is completely surrounded but is not administratively a part of. The town of Krasavino and the urban-type settlement of Kuzino are administratively subordinated to the town of Veliky Ustyug. Municipally, it is incorporated as Urban Settlement of Veliky Ustyug of Velikoustyugsky Municipal District.[3] Population: 31,664 (2010 Census preliminary results);[4] 33,419 (2002 Census);[5] 36,202 (1989 Census);[8] 36,000 (1970).
Veliky Ustyug has a great historical significance and in the past was one of the major cities of Russian North. Whereas it preserved some of the past urban structure and many of the architectural monuments, it was completely deprived of its leading role, and is currently merely a tourist attraction. It is served by Veliky Ustyug Airport.
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Veliky Ustyug is located close to confluence of the Sukhona (flowing from the west) and the Yug (from the south). Downstream from this confluence the two rivers form a single waterway known as the Northern Dvina, sometimes referred to as the Little Northern Dvina. The historical center of the town is located at the left (high) bank of the Sukhona, and, in contrast to many historical Russian towns, there is an embankment along the Sukhona. Dymkovskaya Sloboda and Troitse-Gledensky Monastery are located on the right bank of the Sukhona. New parts of the town, mostly industrial areas, face the Northern Dvina. The only bridge in Veliky Ustyug is across the Sukhona and is located upstream of the town center.
Previously, Gleden was a fortress, and the left bank of the Sukhona was a posad — a territory outside the fortress populated by craftsmen. In 15th century, the fortress was destroyed in an attack by Vyatka army, and the new fortress was built in the former posad area. The fortress was eventually demolished when it became apparent than no military threat to Veliky Ustyug exists.
The first recorded settlement in the area was the monastic settlement at Gleden (Гледен), founded near the confluence of the Yug and the Sukhona, where now Troitsko-Gledensky Monastery is located. The name Ustyg means "the mouth of the Yug". By the late fifteenth century the community had acquired the title Great - Veliky (Великий).
The town of Veliky Ustyug was first mentioned in a chronicle in 1207. In 1212, Mikhaylo-Arkhangelsky Monastery was founded. It was a part of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality (in contrast to the neighboring lands, most notably Totma, colonized by Novgorod. Thus Veliky Ustyug created the only obstacle in the Novgorod trade with the North, as the Sukhona and the Notrthern Dvina were the main waterway connecting Novgorod with the White Sea. Clashes between Novgorod and Ustyug became regular, in particular, throughout the whole 14th century.[9] In 1328, Ustyug was included into the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
The town was not immediately affected by the Mongol invasion of Rus' in 13th century, however, it rapid growth in the second half of the century was due to influx of refugees from Central Russia.[9] In 15th century, Veliky Ustyug became notable for the war between Vasily II of Moscow and his cousin Dmitry Shemyaka, which left Northern Russia deserted. Shemyaka took Veliky Ustyug in 1450, drowned in Sukhona those citizens who refused to accept him as a prince, and made the town his residence for two years, until he was driven off by the forces of Vasily.[9] In 15th century, the town had a great military importance and became the base for the operations against Finno-Ugric peoples. In 1613, during the Time of Troubles, Veliky Ustyug was sieged by Polish troops but never taken.[9] Located at the junction of important trade routes, the city turned into a significant commercial and industrial centre in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Veliky Ustyug area was the birthplace of the explorers Semyon Dezhnev, Yerofey Khabarov, Vladimir Atlasov, and of Saint Stephen of Perm. Veliky Ustyug lost its key role as a river port with the diminishing importance of the Sukhona river route for trade between China and western Europe, which started with the foundation of Saint-Petersburg in 1703, whereby the trade was diverted to the Baltic Sea.
16th and 17th centuries were also the time of the highest rise of the culture in Ustyug, in which the town acquired a national-wide significance. The town is known for its remarkable handicrafts, such as silver filigree, birch bark fretwork, decorative copper binding, and niello. Ustyug developed a distinct manner of icon painting, Ustyug icon painting (Russian: Устюжское письмо). In 17th century, Veliky Ustyug was a major producer of tiles, which are still visible on many Ustyug churches and also were sold to neighboring towns of Russian North.
In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great Veliky Ustyug was explicitly mentioned as one of the twenty towns included into Archangelgorod Governorate. From 1719, it was the center of Ustyug Province, one of the four provinces of the Governorate. In 1780, the governorate was abolished and transformed into Vologda Viceroyalty. The latter was abolished in 1796, and Veliky Ustyug became the center of Velikoustyugsky Uyezd of Vologda Governorate. In 1918, the town became the administrative center of the newly established Northern Dvina Governorate. In 1924 the uyezds were abolished in favor of the new divisions, the districts (raions).
In 1929, Northern Dvina Governorate was merged into Northern Krai. The krai consisted of five okrugs, one of which, Northern Dvina Okrug, had an administrative center is Veliky Ustyug. In July 1930 the okrugs were abolished, and the districts became directly subordinate to Northern Krai. In 1936, Northern Krai was transformed into Northern Oblast, and in 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. Veliky Ustyug remained in Vologda Oblast ever since.
Veliky Ustyug, in contrast to the majority of historical Russian towns, managed to preserve almost all of its architectural and cultural monuments. This was in a great part due to the efforts of the local intellectuals grouped around the Regional Museum, and most notably of Nikolay Bekryashev, the museum director from 1924 to 1938. This group managed to convince the authorities that the churches and old buildings have a historical significance and must be handed in the museum rather than demolished.
There ara a number of timber industry enterprises in Veliky Ustyug, as well as the shipyard, food industry, and a number of enterprises serving the tourist industry, in particular, the jewellery production plant.[10]
Tourism is an important branch of economy in Veliky Ustyug. It started in 1960s and got a further boost in 1990s when Veliky Ustyug started to be marketed as the residence of Ded Moroz.
A number of roads connect Veliky Ustyug with other towns. The road to the north runs to Krasavino and further to Kotlas. The one to the south runs to Nikolsk and further to Manturovo, where it connects to the road to Kostroma. The road to the southwest connects Veliky Ustyug with Vologda via Totma. It was built in the beginning of 2000s, and before this road was opened, the only way to get from Veliky Ustyug to Vologda was via Nikolsk and Totma. All these roads are paved. An unpaved road, originating from Kuzino (which is connected with Veliky Ustyug by a ferry crossing) runs to Luza and continues to Lalsk and further to the Komi Republic.
The railroad connects Veliky Ustyug with Yadrikha railway station on the railroad connecting Konosha and Kotlas. The passenger service to Veliky Ustyug has been discontinued in 2005.
The Sukhona, the Yug, and the Northern Dvina are all navigable in Veliky Ustyug, but there is no passenger navigation except for a number of ferry crossings.
Veliky Ustyug is served by Veliky Ustyug Airport with occasional passenger service to Vologda.
Veliky Ustyug preserves much of its past architectural heritage and has one of the best preserved architectural ensembles in Russia. The town contains 152 objects classified as cultural and historical heritage by the Russian Federal law, and additionally twenty-five objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local importance.[11] The town of Veliky Ustyug is classified as a historical town by the Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation, which implies certain restrictions on construction in the historical center.[12]
Most of the architectural monuments are located on the left bank of the Sukhona, and many of these are the living houses. The exceptions are Troitsko-Gledensky monastery and the Dymkovo Sloboda, both located on the right bank of the Sukhona. Troitsko-Gledensky Monastery is located in the village of Morozovitsa, in Velikoustyugsky District.
The principal architectural ensembles of Veliky Ustyg are
The monuments of civil architecture are mostly concentrated along the Sukkhona, along Sovetsky Avenue and along Krasnaya Street.
Some of these buildings belong to Velikoustyugsky Museum of History, Art, and Architecture.[13] The museum was open in 1909in the premises of Mikhaylo-Arkhangelsky Monastery. In 1918 it was transformed into the Museum of the Northern Dvina Culture. Between 1924 and 1938 the museum director was Nikolay Bekryashev, an artist, who devoted his energy to extending the museum to the old buildings, mostly churches, of the town, which thus were saved from destruction. In particular, a big collection of icons and objects of applied arts survived. Despite the efforts of Bekryashev and other museum employees, some of the buildings were destroyed by the authorities.[14] The museum currently serves as a umbrella institution which organizes permanent and temporary exhibits in the former church buildings.
Since 1990s, Veliky Ustyug was marketed as the residence of Ded Moroz, a fictitional character somewhat similar to Santa Claus. In 1998, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov proposed to officially locate the residence of Ded Moroz in Veliky Ustyug. The residence, which is a resort promoted as the Votchina (Russian: Вотчина, Estate), of Ded Moroz, is a major tourist attraction.[15] It is actually located 16 km from the town, on the premises of Velikoustyugsky District. There is a dedicated post office there which answers children's mail to Ded Moroz and has already answered more than 1.2 million letters.
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 8,000 |
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| 1900 | 11,300 |
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| 1920 | 19,100 |
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| 1930 | 23,400 | 22.5% | |
| 1940 | 32,100 | 37.2% | |
| 1960 | 37,000 |
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| 1970 | 36,700 | −0.8% | |
| 1980 | 37,900 | 3.3% | |
| 1990 | 36,200 | −4.5% | |
| 2000 | 35,000 | −3.3% | |
| Est. 2008 | 32,000 | −8.6% | |
The population of Veliky Ustyug was steadily growing until the second half of 20th century. Currently it is on decline, as it is pretty much everywhere in Russia outside the big cities.
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