Vologda

 city, capital city of state/province/region, second-level administrative division, district center, City of Labour Valour

City and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: 313,944 (2021 Census). The city serves as a major transport hub of the Northwest of Russia. The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation has classified Vologda as a historic city, one of 41 in Russia and one of only three in Vologda Oblast. 224 buildings in Vologda have been officially recognized as cultural heritage monuments. Brands of Vologda: Vologda butter, Vologda lace, Vologda flax.

History: The first reference to Vologda dates back to 1147. That is why the city is called Moscow's contemporary.
In the XVIth century, Vologda became a major trade center and transit point to North-Eeast Russia, Siberia and West - Ehgland and Holand. At the same time Tsar Ivan the Terrible was going to make Vologda the capital of Russia and the Vologda Kremlin was originally meant to become a Tsar Residence. But something ill-omened occurred: a piece of brick accidentally fell onto the Tsar's head, and he made his getaway to Moscow.
Peter the Great (XVIIIth century) made one of the base of the russian army and fleet of Vologda. However, with the upraise of Petersburg Vologda's significance as a major transport juncture was considerably reduced.
From the second half of XIX century, Vologda becomes a place of politic exiles and is referred to by the contemporaries as a «near-the-capital Siberia». Among the people banished to Vologda were I.Stalin, V.Molotov, M.Ulyanova (Lenin's sister), N.Berdyaev (famous philosopher), B.Savinkov (famous terrorist) and others.
In the beginning 1918, diplomatic representatives from 11 countries, at the head of the US Ambassador Sir David R. Francis, bewaring of the seizure of Petrograd by the German Kaiser's troops, left for Vologda. And Vologda became for several months a "diplomatic capital" of Russia. In spite of repeated requests made by Moscow Soviet officials the foreign diplomatic delegation stayed in Vologda till July, 1918 when embassies moved away.

Now Vologda is an administrative, industrial and culture centre with a population of about 300,000 people. There are 224 monuments of history, architecture and culture on the territory of Vologda (128 monuments are protected by the state). Vologda is world-wide-known of it's butter, lace and flax.

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