The area in general was populated by speakers of
Uralic languages and then colonized by the
Novgorod Republic.
Solvychegodsk was founded in the 14th century. After the fall of Novgorod, the area became a part of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow. In the course of the
administrative reform carried out in 1708 by
Peter the Great, the area was included into
Archangelgorod Governorate, and Solvychegodsk was designated as one of the cities. In 1780, the governorate was abolished and transformed into
Vologda Viceroyalty. The latter was abolished in 1796, and the part of it which included Solvychegodsk was made into
Vologda Governorate. In 1918, the area was transferred to the newly established
Northern Dvina Governorate, and in 1924 the
uyezds were abolished in favor of the new divisions, the districts (raions). Kotlassky District was formed on June 25, 1924 and included areas of former
Solvychegodsky and
Velikoustyugsky Uyezds. In 1928, it was merged with
Solvychegodsky District and in 1931, a part of
Krasnoborsky District was appended to Kotlassky District. In the following years, the district remained in the same borders (with the exception of Solvychegodsky District, which was split out in 1938 and merged back in 1958), but the first-level administrative division of Russia kept changing. In 1929, Northern Dvina Governorate was merged into
Northern Krai, which in 1936 was transformed into
Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. Kotlassky District remained in Arkhangelsk Oblast ever since. ==Administrative and municipal status==