, 1708
Tsar Peter the Great issued an edict which established seven governorates. The description of the borders of the governorates was not given; instead, their area was defined as a set of towns and the lands adjacent to those towns. In the present area of Arkhangelsk oblast, two of the governorates—
Archangelgorod Governorate and
Ingermanland Governorate—were located. The governorates were subdivided into
uyezds, and uyezds into
volosts. The centers of the following uyezds of Archangelgorod Governorate were located in the present-day area of Arkhangelsk Oblast, •
Arkhangelskoy Uyezd (the administrative center was
Arkhangelskoy); •
Kevrolsky Uyezd (
Kevrol); •
Mezensky Uyezd (
Mezen); •
Solvychegodsky Uyezd (
Sol Vychegodskaya); •
Ustya volosts; •
Vazhsky Uyezd (
Shenkursk);
Pustozyorsky Uyezd (with the center in
Pustozerskoy) was located in what is now Nenets Autonomous Okrug. On , 1719, the governorate was divided into provinces:
Archangelgorod,
Vologda,
Galich, and
Ustyug. The uyezds were transformed into districts, however, in 1727 the districts were transformed back into uyezds. On , 1780, Archangelgorod Governorate was transformed into
Vologda Viceroyalty. •
Arkhangelsk Okrug (with the administrative center located in
Arkhangelsk; •
Nenets Okrug (with the borders and the seat to be defined); •
Northern Dvina Okrug (
Veliky Ustyug); •
Nyandoma Okrug (
Nyandoma); •
Vologda Okrug (
Vologda). All these okrugs (except for the Nenets Okrug) were divided into districts. In 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts became directly subordinate to the Northern Krai. In 1936, according to the new
Soviet Constitution, the Northern Krai was transformed into
Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and
Vologda Oblast. In 1941, three districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast—
Oparinsky,
Lalsky, and
Podosinovsky—were transferred to
Kirov Oblast. During the attempted administrative reform in 1963, districts were subdivided into urban and rural districts. The reform was abandoned in 1965, and the division into districts was restored. On March 23, 1987, Solovetsky District was established, and in 2001, Novaya Zemlya obtained the district status.
Abolished districts After 1929 (with the exception of the aborted reform of 1963–1965) borders between the districts sometimes were modified, and as a result some of the districts in the area currently belonging to Arkhangelsk Oblast were abolished, •
Arkhangelsky District (the administrative center in the city of Arkhangelsk), Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1952, abolished in 1955, merged into Primorsky District; •
Belomorsky District (
selo of
Pertominsk), Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1940, abolished in 1958, the area was divided between Primorsky and Onezhsky Districts; •
Chekuyevsky District (
selo of
Chekuyevo), Northern Krai, established in 1929, abolished in 1931, the area was divided between Plesetsky and Onezhsky Districts; •
Cherevkovsky District (
selo of
Cherevkovo), Northern Krai, later Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1924, abolished in 1959, the area was divided between Krasnoborsky, Verkhnetoyemsky, and Ustyansky districts; •
Karpogorsky District (
selo of
Karpogory), Northern Krai, later Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1929, abolished in 1959, merged into Pinezhsky District, with the simultaneous transfer of the district center to Karpogory; •
Priozyorny District (
selo of
Konyovo), Northern Krai, later Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1929, abolished in 1963, merged into Plesetsky District; •
Rovdinsky District (
selo of
Rovdino), Northern Krai, later Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1929, abolished in 1931, reestablished in 1935, abolished in 1959, the area was split between Shenkursky and Velsky Districts; •
Solvychegodsky District (town of
Solvychegodsk), Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1938, abolished in 1958, merged into Kotlassky District; •
Yemetsky District (
selo of
Yemetsk), Northern Krai, later Arkhangelsk Oblast, established in 1929, abolished in 1959, merged into Kholmogorsky District. ==References==