Plesetsk

 town, district center

Plesetsk (Russian: Плесе́цк) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Plesetsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, situated about 800 kilometers (500 mi) northeast of Moscow and 180 kilometers (110 mi) south of Arkhangelsk. Municipally, it is the administrative center of Plesetskoye Urban Settlement, one of eight urban settlements in the district. Population: 11,037 (2010 Census). The name is derived from the word "плёс" (plyos) which means "river reach". Plestsy is the name for a small lake which Plesetsk adjoins.
The area was populated by speakers of Uralic languages and then colonized by the Novgorod Republic. It belonged at the trading routes connecting central and northern Russia: first, from Moscow to the White Sea along the Onega River, and then, after 1765, along the newly built road between Saint-Petersburg and Arkhangelsk, which still exists and passes Kargopol and Plesetsk. However, the Plesetsk area until the 1890s was underpopulated since it was located at some distance from the main rivers of the region. From 1796, it belonged to Arkhangelsky Uyezd of Arkhangelsk Governorate. In 1894–1897, Plesetskaya railway station was built during the construction of the railroad between Vologda and Arkhangelsk. Eventually, the volost center was moved from the selo of Navolok to Plesetskaya. During the Russian Civil War in 1918, battles were fought between the Red Army and the British troops in and around Plesetsk. On July 15, 1929, the uyezds were abolished, the governorates merged into Northern Krai, and Plesetsky District was established among others. It became a part of Arkhangelsk Okrug of Northern Krai. In 1930, the okrug was abolished, and the district became subordinate to the central administration of Northern Krai. In 1936, the krai itself was transformed into Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast, and Plesetsk remains the center of Plesetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast.