Tver, Central Federal District, Russia

Medieval origins | Grand princedom | Later history | 18th century | 19th century | 20th century | Administrative and municipal status | City division | Economy | Railway | Roads | Public transit | Air | Water | Culture | Sports

🇷🇺 Tver is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is 180 km (110 mi) north-west of Moscow. Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian Empire. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa Rivers. The city was known as Kalinin from 1931 to 1990. The city is where three rivers meet, splitting the town into northern and southern parts by the Volga River, 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.

Medieval origins Tver's foundation year is officially accepted to be 1135, although there is no universal agreement on this date and some estimates place it as late as the second half of the 13th century. According to one hypothesis, the name of the city is of Finnic origin, *Tiheverä. 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, the Grand 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 "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, Prince Ivan Kalita of the Grand Duchy 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 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 ducal 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. Grand Prince 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 probably the first ever firsthand account 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 the Great seized the city. The principality was given as an appanage to Ivan's grandson, only to be abolished several decades later. Last scions of the ruling dynasty were executed by Ivan the Terrible during the Oprichnina. At 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 km (17 mi) north-east 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 centre 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 centre (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 centre 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 Josef 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 historic name of Tver was restored on 17 July 1990.

Apart from the suburban White Trinity Church (1564) (Храм Троицы Живоначальной, the Temple of the Lifegiving Trinity), there are no ancient monuments left in Tver. The central part is graced with Catharinian and Soviet edifices, bridges, and embankments. Tver's most notable industries are rolling stock manufacturer Tver Carriage Works, opened in 1898, an excavator factory, and a glass factory. Tver is home to Migalovo, which is one of Russia's biggest military airlift facilities.

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: 1 Zavolzhsky City District – part of the city, on the left bank of Volga River 2 Moskovsky City District – east of the city, on the right bank of Volga River oriented towards Moscow 3 Proletarsky City District – west part of the city, named after the Proletarka plant. 4 Tsentralny City District – central part of the city including historical downtown and neighbourhood in a near proximity.

Education • Tver is home to Tver State University, the highest rated university in the region. It is also home to the Tver State technical university, medical university, agricultural academy, and more than twenty colleges and lyceums, branch campuses of some Moscow higher educational institutions and more than fifty high schools. • The Tver State Medical Academy is located in Tver. • The Tver Branch of MESI. Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics – a university with more than 75 years of history. • Tver also houses the Zhukov Air and Space Defense Academy. • Tver also has around fifty secondary schools, a private school (lycee), and the Suvorov military school.

Economy There is a garment factory located in Tver, established in 1918. As of 2016, the factory has 300 workers.

Railway The Oktyabrskaya Railway linking Moscow and St. Petersburg crosses the city. Since 1850, there has been a railway connection between Tver and Moscow. The primary Tver Railway Station has a locomotive and car shed, allowing it to service both passenger and cargo trains. In addition to the Tver Central Station, there are four minor stations within the city perimeter: Lazurnaya, Proletarskaya, Doroshikha and PPGT. The suburban railway service links Tver to Moscow, Bologoye, Torzhok. Most trains passing from Moscow to the north-west regions make a short stop in Tver. The high-speed train Sapsan, which connects Moscow with St. Petersburg, also makes stops in Tver, as well as the Tolstoy train connecting Moscow to Helsinki, Finland.

The newly designed high-speed railway line between Moscow and St Petersburg is expected to have a "New Tver'" station several km southward of the city border.

The narrow gauge railway of KSM-2 factory, Tver plant of building materials No.2.

Roads The major M10 Highway linking Moscow and St. Petersburg also crosses the city. This motorway is a part of the Pan-European corridors system. The roads to Rzhev (A112), Vesyegonsk (P84) and Volokolamsk (P90), along with many smaller regional roads, originate in the city. The new highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, that is designed at the present time, will pass close to the northern border of Tver. Tver is notable for a high number of private cars: there are 288 cars per thousand residents, which is well above average among the other regions of Russia.

Public transit There is a local bus station that interconnects Tver with minor towns of Tver Oblast, neighbouring oblasts, and Moscow.

Local public transit consists of trolleybuses, trams, buses, and marshrutkas (routed taxis). The latter two have taken priority during recent years.

In November 2018, the tram traffic in Tver was completely stopped. On August 7, 2019, all car drivers, as well as track fitters and support staff of the trams, left by "mutual agreement". At the same time, the dismantling of the contact network and the tracks along the last existing route began. The city administration said that it was necessary to completely repair the roadbed.

In recent years, there has been a tendency to reduce the route network of trolley buses. During the first quarter of 2020, local authorities plan to introduce a new transport model, which implies the elimination of trolleybus traffic and the duplication of its routes with buses. From April 14, 2020, the last of the existing trolleybus routes (No. 2) was replaced by a bus route 42 on which diesel buses now operate.

Air There are two airfields within the city: Migalovo military air base and Zmeyovo airport; although the nearest airport with regular scheduled commercial service is Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow.

Water The river station (Речной Вокзал, "rechnoy vokzal") is located on the left bank of the Volga River, close to the confluence with the river Tvertsa. There is also a small cargo port in the lower part of the Volga. During the summertime, pleasure boats ply up and down the Volga, with their base off the river station.

Culture Tver is home to: • Tver Oblast Academic Drama Theatre • Tver State Youth Theatre • Tver State Puppet Theatre • Tver State Philharmonic Orchestra • Tver State Circus • The Tver Oblast Art Gallery • The Tver state Art architecture and Literature Museum

Sports The city association football team, FC Volga Tver, was dissolved in 2017.

Europe/Moscow/Tver_Oblast 
<b>Europe/Moscow/Tver_Oblast</b>
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Tver has a population of over 425,072 people. Tver also forms the centre of the wider Tver Oblast which has a population of over 1,353,392 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Tver see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Tver has links with:

🇮🇹 Bergamo, Italy 🇫🇷 Besançon, France 🇷🇺 Budyonnovsk, Russia 🇺🇸 Buffalo, USA 🇺🇦 Feodosia, Ukraine, until 2022 🇦🇲 Gyumri, Armenia 🇫🇮 Hämeenlinna, Finland 🇭🇺 Kaposvár, Hungary 🇮🇳 Kozhikode, India 🇮🇹 Montemurlo, Italy 🇧🇾 Orsha, Belarus 🇩🇪 Osnabrück, Germany 🇮🇹 Palosco, Italy 🇧🇬 Veliko Tǎrnovo, Bulgaria 🇨🇳 Yingkou, China
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Tver is: -144.066,-56.852

Locations Near: Tver 35.9338,56.8524

🇷🇺 Konakovo 36.75,56.7 d: 52.5  

🇷🇺 Klin 36.733,56.333 d: 75.7  

🇷🇺 Dubna 37.16,56.747 d: 75.5  

🇷🇺 Solnechnogorsk 36.983,56.183 d: 98.4  

🇷🇺 Istra 36.867,55.917 d: 118.8  

🇷🇺 Mozhaysk 36.04,55.494 d: 151.2  

🇷🇺 Kimry 37.35,56.867 d: 86.1  

🇷🇺 Zelenograd 37.181,55.983 d: 123.5  

🇷🇺 Naro-Fominsky District 36.733,55.383 d: 170.7  

🇷🇺 Dmitrov 37.529,56.344 d: 112.8  

Antipodal to: Tver -144.066,-56.852

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 15619.4  

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 15299.7  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 14773.1  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 14687.7  

🇨🇱 Port Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 14832  

🇨🇱 Puerto Montt -72.933,-41.467 d: 14832  

🇨🇱 Valdivia -73.233,-39.8 d: 14718.5  

🇨🇱 Coyhaique -72.067,-45.567 d: 15093.4  

🇨🇱 Punta Arenas -70.91,-53.162 d: 15557.8  

🇨🇱 Temuco -72.667,-38.733 d: 14599.2  

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