Nizhny Novgorod Province: counties, villages and villages

In the period from 1714 to 1719, according to the decree of Peter I, regional reform was carried out, within the framework of which new separate subjects were singled out. On the basis of this decree, the Nizhny Novgorod province was removed from the Kazan province and made an independent unit with a center in Nizhny Novgorod.

Stages of formation

Administrative division in 1708 led to the accession of Nizhny Novgorod to the province of Kazan. Six years later, its northwestern part was separated into a separate independent Nizhny Novgorod province. Only three years after becoming again it was added to Kazan. The final independence was received on May 29, 1719 by decree of Peter I. In the period from the seventeenth to the eighteenth centuries various crafts developed actively here. Effective plowing of new lands, the establishment of a social division of labor, the development of commodity-money economy brought the province to a new level.

Local crafts

Most of the residents were involved in potash production. This chemical at that time was used in soap making, the production of glass and paint, as well as in the manufacture of gunpowder. Arzamas county was the center of its production. The villages of the Nizhny Novgorod province were also famous for their skillful blacksmiths and carpenters. The inhabitants of Balakhna mainly worked on shipbuilding and engaged in salt mining. The villages of the Nizhny Novgorod province included several villages. So, for example, in the village of Bogorodskoe there were nine villages at once, each of which was famous for noble tanners. Also in the region industry developed actively. At the beginning of the eighteenth century a large anchorage was built on the territory of the Gorodets Volost. In the middle of this century, Iron and Cast Iron Works of Demidov began their work. The main industrial center was Nizhny Novgorod. They were engaged in cable production, shipbuilding, metalworking, leather dressing, brewing, malt production, bricks and steel, and many others. Also, the province was famous for its good merchants, who made deliveries to various cities and even made it to Siberia.

Composition of the counties before the 1917 revolution

In 1779, the government decided to create the Nizhny Novgorod governorate, which will include thirteen counties. In 1796 the viceroyalty ceased to exist, so the Nizhny Novgorod province was formed. Such a change led to the abolition of Knyagininsky, Makaryevsky, Sergach, Pochinkovsky and Pianskoperevozsky districts. Eight years later, the first three came under restoration. As a result, at the time of the 1917 revolution, the Nizhny Novgorod province consisted of eleven uyezds. The largest of these was the Nizhny Novgorod district with a population of 90,053 people. Arzamas and Balakhna districts were also among the top three leaders with a population of 10,592 and 5,120 respectively. Then came the Gorbatovsky, Sergach, VasilSursky, Semenovsky and Ardatov districts. The smallest were Knyagininsky, Lukoyanovsky and Makaryevsky counties.

The post-revolutionary life of Nizhny Novgorod

After the revolution of 1917 , the Nizhny Novgorod province was enriched with new counties. The counties were not only added, but also partially renamed. 1918 is the date of renaming the Gorbatov Uyezd in Pavlovsk. At the same time the Resurrection district was formed. Two years later, as a result of the renaming of Makaryevsky, Lyskovsky district appeared. 1921 entailed the formation of three more - Vykunsky, Pochinkovsky and Sormovsky. Also this year, the Balakhna district became known as Gorodetsky. A year later, the Nizhny Novgorod province took under its wing two uyezds and six Kostroma volosts, almost a full Kurmysh county from Simbirsk province, and four volosts that belonged to Tambov earlier. Such large-scale territorial changes led to the creation of the Kanavinsky working region. The emergence of new counties contributed to the abolition of the old and their joining and unification with the larger ones. So Pochinkovsky, Kurmyshsky, Knyagininskiy, Voskresensky, Vasilsursky, Varnavinsky and Artdatovsky counties went down in history. Appeared in this year Krasnobakovsky district. In 1924 four volosts were transferred to the Mari Autonomous Region. The North-Dvinskaya province expanded into one volost, which came out of the Nizhny Novgorod. As for the formation of new subjects, they became the Rastyapinsky and Balakhna workers' districts. Also in 1924 the Somov county was transformed into a working area. Following the results of postrevolutionary changes, in 1926 the Nizhny Novgorod province included eleven uyezds and four districts.

Interesting fact

Nowhere in the Russian Empire was there a more developed handicraft industry than in the Nizhny Novgorod lands. In pre-revolutionary times there was a huge number of publications describing this activity. The most vivid and significant for history is the three-volume "Nizhegorod guberniya for research provincial zemstvo." His second volume thoroughly describes all the subtleties of the handicraft industry in this part of Russia. It involves not only the content of the book, but also its execution. Turning the pages, the reader encounters a huge number of unique illustrations. They depict most of the crafts of handicraft production, from primary coal burning to the most complex creations of skilful blacksmiths.

Memo to a contemporary

To date, almost every contemporary is trying to collect the maximum amount of information about his origin. Find out if a person born in the present Nizhny Novgorod region belongs to the nobility, or his ancestors were simple artisans, the genealogical book of the Nizhny Novgorod province helps. You can find it online through the "Unified Center of Genealogy", or contact the local archive. Pedigree books describe employees of different structures. From here you can find out which post was the ancestor: a doctor or postman, a judge, or maybe a forest ranger. The data on the site are presented in 1847, 1855, 1864 and 1891. Also information about your origin can be searched in address books and calendars.