The area was in the Middle Ages dependent on the
Novgorod Republic, later it belonged to Derevskaya Pyatina, one of the five into which Novgorod Lands were divided. The village of
Zhabny is believed to be founded in the 12th century and to be a native place of
Nilus Stolobensky, the 15th century saint and the founder of the Nilov Monastery on
Stolobny Island. In the course of the
administrative reform carried out in 1708 by
Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as
Saint Petersburg Governorate). In 1727, separate
Novgorod Governorate was split off. In 1775,
Tver Viceroyalty (since 1796 known as
Tver Governorate) was established, and parts of the current area of the district were transferred to Tver Viceroyalty. In the 19th century, the area was split between
Valdaysky Uyezd of Novgorod Governorate and
Vyshnevolotsky and
Ostashkovsky Uyezds of Tver Governorate. The area of the district currently belongs to Firovsky District. On July 12, 1929 Tver Governorate with its uyezds was abolished, and Vyshnevolotsky District was established, with the administrative center in the town of
Vyshny Volochyok. It belonged to
Tver Okrug of
Moscow Oblast. On July 23, 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On October 1, 1929
Western Oblast was established. The northern part of Ostashkovsky Uyezd was transferred to Northern Oblast, and the oblast was divided into districts. In particular, Ostashkovsky District with the administrative center of Ostashkov was established as a part of
Velikiye Luki Okrug. On August 1, 1930 the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast. On March 5, 1935
Kalinin Oblast was established. It included areas which formerly belonged to Moscow, Leningrad, and Western Oblasts. In particular, Firovsky District was established on the areas which previously belonged to Bologovsky, Ostashkovsky, and Vyshnevolotsky Districts. In February 1963, during the abortive administrative reform by
Nikita Khrushchev, Firovsky District was merged into Vyshnevolotsky District, but on April 6, 1972 it was re-established. In 1990, Kalinin Oblast was renamed Tver Oblast. Another district established on July 12, 1929 was
Yesenovichsky District with the administrative center in the
selo of
Yesenovichi. It was a part of Tver Okrug of Moscow Oblast. In 1935, it was transferred to Kalinin Oblast. On August 22, 1958 Yesenovichsky District was abolished and split between Vyshnevolotsky,
Novotorzhsky,
Kamensky, and Firovsky Districts. ==Economy==