A Brief History
The archaeological digs carried out near Kubenskoye Lake by the Archaeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Antiquities of the North, a scientific organization, testify to the fact that the history of the District of Vologda began with the mesolithic period approximately 9500 years ago. The scholars believe that the settlement of Minino-I was inhabited over many historic epochs. The first residents of it were engaged mostly in hunting, fishing and gathering. Later the people began to grow flax, wheat, barley and breed cattle. The finds of grain were discovered on the area that comprises modern day Vologda Oblast for the first time ever. The archaeologists also exposed cultural links of the settlement of Minino with south-west and north-east of Russia.
The geographical situation of the district is very advantageous due to the proximity of the navy route connecting the Volga River and the Dvina.
Another point of interest historically is the building style of Minino. Street planning was that typical of an Old Russian town. Moreover, the inhabitants of Minono were able to process non-ferrous metals. Among the archaeological finds were jewels and household goods, intricate adornments for men's and women's clothes.
Photo: Burial ground of Minino-II. Set of adornments (taken from the book "Kubenskoye Lake: a Glance through Millennium")
Vologda Uyezd (District) was first mentioned in 1481. At that time a third of modern day area of the Vologda Oblast belonged to the District of Vologda (Districts of Gryazovets, Mezhdurech'ye, Sokol, Ust'-Kubinsky, Kharovsk, Syamzha, Verkhovazh'ye and Tarnoga).
No account of the District of Vologda would be complete without mentioning Saint Gerasim, the first saint of the North of the country, the Spas-Kamenny Monastery on Kubenskoye Lake (1260) and Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery (1371), the first temples erected in the North, and Dionisy, a genius of Russian medieval art.
Country estate of the Ryazanovs and Andreevs (settlement of Kurkino)
The history of the district is also the story of exceptional nobleman families. The Zubovs, the Andreevs, the Ryazanovs and the Sablins were held in great respect all over the district. During the Patriotic War of 1812 A.Endagurov, a nobleman and landlord, distinguished himself in action in Prussia. S.Kolchinsky was engaged in the battle at Borodino. P.Kvashnin-Samarin took part in the military actions at Leipzig. The pioneer of the Russian aircraft construction A.Mozhaisky (1825-1890) spent seven years in the village of Kotelnikovo. There he watched the birds flying and carried out his experiments. The great aircraft designer S.Ilyushin was born in the village of Dilyalevo. The District of Vologda is a native town to the poet and interpreter A.Olyoshev, the playwright V.Gilyarovsky, the geologist D.Belyankin and the lieutenant-general N.Vedenichev. The renowned Russian poet S.Esenin got married in one of the churches of the District of Vologda.
By virtue of the location the district was a major intellectual centre of the Vologda gubernia. In 1892 the first agricultural school was opened in the village of Ostakhovo. The Dairy Institute founded in the District of Vologda in 1911 became the first specialized educational institution in the world. Having established a school for serfs, the land-owning lady Zaletskaya initiated production of laces.
Prior to the World War I the District of Vologda was the most industrially-developed gubernia's region with a population of 184619 people. The number of plants and factories on the territory of the District of Vologda amounted to 29, and was bigger than the combined factories of other gubernia's districts.
After the October Revolution the agriculture of the district was in decline, the area under crop became three times less. By the year 1925 the agroindustrial complex was on the rise again. Butter factories, credit and land-reclamation companies sprouted up in many settlements.
On June 15, 1929 the Vologda rural district was formed within the area of the district of Vologda. At that time the population of 74689 people squeezed into 1115 settlements.
It is only since 1962 that the District of Vologda has had its present area.
In the 1960s the economic development was on the increase. Agroindustrial complex was a clear dominant. The number of battery and hog-breeding farms increased all over the district. Greenhouse market-gardening was also rapidly developing.