Pytalovo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 57°04′N 27°54′E / 57.067°N 27.900°E / 57.067; 27.900

Coat of arms of Pytalovo

Pytalovo (Russian: Пыта́лово; Latvian: Jaunlatgale, Pitalova, Abrene; German: Neu-Lettgallen) is a town and the administrative center of Pytalovsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Pytalovo Urban Settlement in Pytalovsky Municipal District.[1] Population: 5,826 (2010 Census);[2] 6,806 (2002 Census);[3] 7,166 (1989 Census).[4]

History

Pytalovo (whose alternative name was Novo-Dmitrovskoye) was known as a village in Ostrovsky Uyezd of Pskov Governorate since the end of the 18th century.[5] By 1878, it had a population of 57. It grew significantly after becoming a railway station by a newly constructed railroad branch.

By the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty of 1920, a part of Ostrovsky Uyezd, including Pytalovo, was passed to Latvia and the town was known since then by its Latvian name Jaunlatgale (until 1938 when its official name was changed to Abrene). During the interwar period it was the administrative center of the Abrene district. In 1933, it was granted town status. In 1940, Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the eastern part of Abrene District became a part of Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.[6] Between 5 July 1941 and 22 July 1944, the area was occupied by German troops.

On January 16, 1945, the area was transferred from the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Pskov Oblast of the Russian SFSR, Abrene was renamed Pytalovo, and Pytalovsky District with the administrative center in Pytalovo was created. After Latvia regained independence in 1991, it laid territorial claims on Pytalovsky District. In 2007, the treaty between Latvia and Russia recognized the existing border.[7]

Etymology and heritage

Whether the region is historically Russian or Latvian became a highly politicized issue after Latvia restored its independence and a border dispute erupted with Russia over the region.[8] While the border dispute has been resolved, accounts of the origin of Pytalovo's name reflect the ongoing dichotomy.

The official Pytalovo web site offers two possibilities for the origin of the town's name, neither with any verifiable historical basis.[9] One is that it was named for Lieutenant Pytalov, a guard to Catherine II, who received the lands in 1766 for reasons unknown, that estate subsequently being sold off by his descendants. The other is that the name "speaks for itself", named for a church courtyard with a large iron cross, where people were tortured and executed.

A viable historical explanation is that Pytalovo is Russified Latvian for Pietālava ("pie Tālava"), or "near Tālava," Tālava being the name of an ancient Latvian feudal state.[10] Russophones comprised the majority population in a number of parishes during Latvia's initial independence with further Russification continuing. Nevertheless, the older generation testified to their Latvian heritage.[11] Historian Carl von Stern wrote of a cultural awakening amongst the region's inhabitants in the 1930s despite generations of Russification. Two thousand inhabitants from across Pskov gathered in September 1934 and proclaimed: "We are not Russian, but, indeed, Latvian. We are returning to our Latvian heritage. Latvians, lend us your helping hand, support and hasten our return!"[12] Audiences wept as they heard old familiar folk songs sung with words and a language lost over time.[12] A more concrete testament to Pytalovo's Latvian heritage is that the Latvian folk costumes of the region are the only ones which still preserve the most ancient tradition of white dress, once used in both daily life and for festive occasions.[13]

Economy

Industry

As of 2003, only two industrial enterprises survived in Pytalovo — a textile factory and a printing house. A milk factory and a flax production factory, previously the biggest enterprises in the district, were defunct.[14]

Transportation

Pytalovo is an important railway station on the railway from St. Petersburg via Pskov to Rēzekne in Latvia and further to Vilnius. In Pytalovo, another railroad to Gulbene and Riga branches off west. As of 2012, there was passenger traffic on the railway.

Pytalovo has an easy access to the European route E262, from Ostrov to Kaunas via Rēzekne and Daugavpils.

Places of interest

Among places of interest in town Pytalovo there is a modernist style railroad station building built in the early 20th century, the wooden building of the functioning St. Nicholas Church built in 1931, the post office building (early 20th century), and the house of merchant Ilyin (built in the 1920s).

Pytalovo hosts an ethnographic museum focusing on Russian and Latgalian culture.[15]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Law #420-OZ
  2. ↑ "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. May 21, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2012. 
  4. ↑ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров." [All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989) (in Russian). Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. Retrieved February 9, 2012. 
  5. ↑ Поспелов, Е. М. (2001). Географические названия мира: Топонимический словарь (in Russian). АСТ. 
  6. ↑ Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 371. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9. 
  7. ↑ "Treaty puts legal stamp on EU external border". New Europe. Retrieved August 8, 2013. 
  8. ↑ The Abrene region, roughly 2% of Latvia's territory, had been annexed to the Russian SFRS during the Soviet era. Putin famously uttered "They'll [Latvia] get the ears of a dead donkey but not Pytalovo [Abrene]." Mole, R. The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union: Identity, Discourse and Power in the Post-Communist Transition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Routledge, 2012.
  9. ↑ О названии города, retrieved June 22, 2013
  10. ↑ Eglitis, D. Imagining the Nation: History, Modernity, and Revolution in Latvia. Penn State Press, 2002. quoting historian Edgars Andersons
  11. ↑ Latviskā Jaunlatgale', V. Krasnais, "Latviskā Jaunlatgale, Apgabala Vēsturiskie Likteņi, retrieved June 22, 2013; also available at ; local community leader A. Briedis recounted during the period: "Nevertheless, the older generation in these parishes completely confirms that in older times they had spoken Latvian and that the Russians had called them Latvians. But now, as the older generation passes on, children are being educating in Russian schools as Russians even under Latvia."
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 viz. Krasnais
  13. ↑ "Несколько столетий тому назад одежда белого цвета была широко распространена по всей территории Латвии. Теперь Абренский этнографический район остался единственным, где еще можно встретить такую одежду. Характерно, что здесь белыми были как праздничный наряд, так и рабочая одежда." from Abrene Women's Folk Costume, Latvian State Printing House, Riga. ca. 1960
  14. ↑ Никоноров, Николай (November 13, 2003). "Не потопаешь - не полопаешь". Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian) 2003 (29). 
  15. ↑ "Пыталовский музей Дружбы Народов" (in Russian). Российская сеть культурного наследия. Retrieved July 15, 2012. 

Sources

  • Псковское областное Собрание депутатов. Закон №833-оз от 5 февраля 2009 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Псковской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Псковская правда", №20, 10 февраля 2009 г. (Pskov Oblast Council of Deputies. Law #833-oz of February 5, 2009 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast. Effective as of the official publication date.).
  • Псковское областное Собрание депутатов. Закон №420-оз от 28 февраля 2005 г. «Об установлении границ и статусе вновь образуемых муниципальных образований на территории Псковской области», в ред. Закона №1251-ОЗ от 7 февраля 2013 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 24 Закона Псковской области "Об установлении границ и статусе вновь образуемых муниципальных образований на территории Псковской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Псковская правда", №41-43, №44-46, №49-51, 4 марта 2005 г., 5 марта 2005 г., 11 марта 2005 г. (Pskov Oblast Council of Deputies. Law #420-oz of February 28, 2005 On Establishing the Borders and the Status of the Newly Formed Municipal Formations on the Territory of Pskov Oblast, as amended by the Law #1251-oz of February 7, 2013 On Amending Article 24 of the Law of Pskov Oblast "On Establishing the Borders and the Status of the Newly Formed Municipal Formations on the Territory of Pskov Oblast". Effective as of the official publication date.).

External links

Cities and towns
Districts
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.