Tver (Russian: Тверь, IPA: [tvʲerʲ]) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located 180 kilometres (110 mi) northwest of Moscow. Population: 416,216 (2021 census).
The city is situated where three rivers meet, splitting the town into northern and southern parts by the Volga, and divided again into quarters by the Tvertsa river, which splits the left (northern) bank into east and west halves, and the Tmaka River which does the same along the southern bank. According to one hypothesis, the name of the Tvertsa is of Finnic origin, Tiheverä.
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian Empire, with a population of 60,000 by 14 January 1913. The city was known as Kalinin (Калинин) from 1931 to 1990.
Aside from the White Trinity Church (1564), built of limestone (rather than usual brick) and located in a district of traditional log houses away from the city center, there are no pre-Petrine buildings left in Tver. The central part, featuring the Volga embankments and bridges, is graced with Catharinian and Soviet edifices.
History
Tver's foundation year is officially accepted to be 1135. Originally a minor settlement of Novgorodian traders, it passed to the grand prince of Vladimir in 1209. In 1246, Alexander Nevsky granted it to his younger brother Yaroslav Yaroslavich (d. 1271), from whom a dynasty of local princes descended. Four of them were killed by the Golden Horde and were proclaimed saints by the Russian Orthodox church.
Formerly a land of woods and bogs, the Principality of Tver was quickly transformed into one of the richest and most populous Russian states. As the area was hardly accessible for Tatar raids, there was a great influx of population from the recently devastated south. By the end of the century, it vied with Moscow for supremacy in Russia. Both Tver and Moscow were recently founded cities, so the outcome of their rivalry was far from certain.
Grand princedom
Mikhail Yaroslavich, the prince of Tver, who ascended the throne of Vladimir in 1305, was one of the most revered medieval Russian rulers. His policy of open conflict with the Golden Horde led to his assassination there in 1318. His son, Dmitry Mikhailovich ("the Terrible Eyes"), succeeded him and, concluding an alliance with the mighty Grand Duchy of Lithuania, managed to raise Tver's prestige even higher.
Exasperated by Dmitry's influence, Ivan Kalita, the prince of Moscow, engineered his murder by the Mongols in 1326. On hearing the news of this crime, the city revolted against the Mongol Horde. The Horde joined its forces with the Muscovites and brutally repressed the rebellion. Many citizens were killed, enslaved or deported. This was the fatal blow to Tver's aspirations for supremacy in Russia.
In the second half of the 14th century, Tver was further weakened by dynastic struggles between its princes. Two senior branches of the ruling house, those of Kashin and Kholmsky, asserted their claims to the grand princely throne. The claimers were backed up by Moscow and eventually settled at the Moscow Kremlin court.
During the Great Feudal War in the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Tver again rose to prominence and concluded defensive alliances with Lithuania, Novgorod, Byzantium, and the Golden Horde. Boris of Tver sent one of his men, Afanasy Nikitin, to search for gold and diamonds as far as India. Nikitin's travelogue, describing his journey from 1466 to 1472, is one of the first ever firsthand accounts of India by a European. A monument to Nikitin was opened on the Volga embankment in 1955.
Later history
On 12 September 1485, the forces of Ivan III seized the city, leading to it to be formally annexed by Moscow. The principality was given as an appanage to Ivan's son, Ivan the Young, only to be abolished several decades later. The last scions of the ruling dynasty were executed by Ivan the Terrible during the oprichnina. During that turbulent time, Tver was ruled by Simeon Bekbulatovich, a former khan of Kasimov. The only remnant of his ephemeral reign is a graceful tent-like church in the village of Kushalino, 28 kilometres (17 mi) northeast of Tver.
18th century
The city's decline was not irrevocable, however. With the foundation of St. Petersburg, Tver gained importance as a principal station on the highway (and later railway) en route from Moscow. It was much visited by Russian royalty and nobility traveling from the old capital to the new one and back.
In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, Tver was included into Ingermanlandia Governorate (since 1710 known as Saint Petersburg Governorate). In 1727 it was transferred to the newly established Novgorod Governorate. In 1775, Tver Viceroyalty was formed from the lands which previously belonged to Moscow and Novgorod Governorates, and the whole area was transferred to Tver Viceroyalty, which in 1796 was transformed to Tver Governorate. Tver was the center of Tverskoy Uyezd.
Following a devastating fire of 1763, the city was rebuilt in a Neoclassical style. Under Catherine the Great, the central part was thoroughly reconstructed. Crumbling medieval buildings were razed and replaced with imposing Neoclassical buildings. The most important of these are the Travel Palace of the Empress (designed by the celebrated Matvei Kazakov), and the Ascension church (designed by Nikolay Lvov and consecrated in 1813).
19th century
In 1809, a committee was established to improve the city. An architect designed the Cathedral of Christ and houses on the waterfront and in the city center (30 buildings), and rebuilt the summer palace. Catherine Pavlovna (a sister of Alexander I) was married to the governor of Tver, and the palace was a social center and literary salon for Tver and visitors from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Writer and historian Nikolay Karamzin read excerpts from his History of the Russian State to Alexander. Napoleon was near Tver in 1812.
20th century
On 12 July 1929, the governorates and uyezds were abolished. Tverskoy District, with the administrative centre in Tver, was established within Tver Okrug of Moscow Oblast. On 23 July 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast.
On 20 November 1931, the city was renamed Kalinin after the nominal head of state (1919–1946) and affiliate of Joseph Stalin, Mikhail Kalinin, who had been born nearby. Simultaneously, Tverskoy District was renamed Kalininsky District. On 29 January 1935, Kalinin Oblast was established, and Kalininsky District was transferred to Kalinin Oblast.
The last vestige of the pre-Petrine epoch, the Saviour Cathedral, was blown up in 1936. In 1940, the NKVD executed more than 6,200 Polish policemen and prisoners of war from Ostashkov camp.
The Wehrmacht entered Kalinin on Monday 13 October 1941 according to MI9 photographs, occupied Kalinin for two months from Monday 13 October 1941/Tuesday, 14 October to 19 December 1941, leaving the city in ashes. Kalinin was the first major city in Europe to be retaken from the Wehrmacht.
During the Cold War, Kalinin was home to the Kryuchkovo air base, which is no longer in service. The city's historical name of Tver was restored on 17 July 1990.
Administrative and municipal status
Tver is the administrative centre of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative centre of Kalininsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Tver Okrug, an administrative unit with a status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Tver Okrug is incorporated as Tver Urban Okrug.
City division
The city was divided into districts in 1936. The districts were updated several times in 1965 and 1976. The final city division, currently in use, divides the city into four districts:
- Zavolzhsky District – part of the city, on the left bank of Volga River
- Moskovsky District – east of the city, on the right bank of Volga River oriented towards Moscow
- Proletarsky District – west part of the city, named after the Proletarka plant.
- Tsentralny District – central part of the city including historical downtown and neighbourhood in a near proximity.
Politics
The Tver City Duma, the local parliament, is composed of 33 deputies. The executive branch is the Administration of Tver. The structure consists of the mayor (since 2017 – Alexey Ogonkov), his deputies, industry bodies (departments of architecture and construction, housing and communal services, health and social policy, property management and land resources; economy, investment and industrial policy, a number of departments and divisions), as well as the administration of the four districts: Zavolzhsky, Moskovsky, Proletarsky and Tsentralny. A considerable part of the government buildings of the city of Tver and the Tver Oblast lay along Sovetskaya Street: the building on the square of St. Michael (Sovetskaya, 44) is the residence of the Governor of the Oblast, and a former Regional Party Committee (Sovetskaya, 33) is The Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast.
Tver City Duma as a representative body of the city existed from 1785 to 1918, was reconstituted after the dissolution of councils and adoption of the new Constitution of Russia in 1993. On 20 March 1994, elections were held in the House of Representatives, which on 26 May was renamed Tver City Duma. On 7 June deputies were able to hold the first meeting, and on 14 June Valery Matitsyn was elected a speaker (later this post was held by Valery Pavlov, Victor Pochtaryov, Dmitry Bazhenov, Igor Serdyuk, Andrei Borisenko, Lyudmila Polosina, Vladimir Babichev). In 1996, deputies adopted the founding document of the city – the Charter of the city of Tver, putting in it the principle of rotation in the Duma elections. Second election based on it was held on 27 October 1996 . In the future years elections held every two years in the "even" and "odd" electoral districts. In 2007, 12 former deputies (including the former chairman of the Duma Victor Pochtaryov) were convicted of taking bribes for decisions in favor of Rosvodokanal and other utilities. In October 2008, the elections of some deputies have already passed on party lists, and in March 2009 the entire City Duma has been transferred to this system, while discontinued the practice of rotation of deputies. In the elections of 2009, the best result (49 % of the vote) was shown by local communists.
On 27 October 1996 simultaneously with elections to the City Duma passed the first general elections of the head of the city, won by Alexander Belousov, who led the municipal administration since 1991 and received more than 50 % of the vote. On 30 October 2000 he was reelected to a second term, and on 9 April 2003 he died of a heart attack. On 26 July 2001 in early Mayoral elections opposition candidate Oleg Lebedev won. On 2 December 2007 when he was supported by the pro-government party United Russia, he was re-elected for a second term, receiving more than 70 % of the vote. On 11 April 2008 he was suspended by the Tsentralny District Court in connection with a criminal case opened in 2005, closed in 2006 and renewed by the Prosecutor General of Russia in March 2008 (Lebedev was accused of hindering the work of the investigation against his deputy Oleg Kudryashov). On 2 May Oleg Lebedev was reinstated, and on 3 June, again dismissed, and on 25 June he was taken into custody and transported to Kashin, where he was convicted by visiting college of Tver Regional Court jury to eighteen years' imprisonment, which automatically meant the termination of his powers. In 2009, he was released on parole, but the position was not restored.
In late 2008, Tver City Duma adopted amendments to the charter of the city, under which direct elections of the Mayor were abolished and a new position of head of the city administration introduced. This amendment to the charter of the city was met with a mixed public reaction and local attempts to bring the issue by the Communists to citywide referendum were not supported by City Duma. In March 2009, City Duma elected Vladimir Babichev as the new mayor (now ceremonial post), and in May the same year, Vasily Toloko was appointed as the head of the city administration. He had previously been the first deputy governor of the Tver Oblast. The mayor and the head of the local administration were elected with a thin majority of seventeen votes (United Russia, Fair Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party) against sixteen (Communist Party). On 27 December 2011 by a majority vote (22 for, six against) City Council voted in favor of early termination of Vasily Toloko. On 29 March 2012 the Tver City Duma (25 for, 4 against) appointed Valery Pavlov to the post of Head of the Administration. He had previously held the post of the first deputy head of Cuty Administration.