The district occupies the lower course of the Onega River and the White Sea coast around the Onega Bay, including the western part of the Onega Peninsula (which it shares with Primorsky District). The waters of the district drain into the Onega and the short rivers of the Onega Bay basin. The main tributaries of the Onega within the district limits are the Kodina and the Kozha Rivers. The exception is the southwestern part of the district which lies in the basin of the Ileksa River, a tributary of Lake Vodlozero, in the Baltic Sea basin. The divide between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans thus runs through the district. There are many lakes throughout the district; the biggest one being Lake Kozhozero, the source of the Kozha, a left tributary of the Onega. The islands in the Onega Bay are also administered by Onezhsky District. The biggest island of the Onega Bay is Kiy Island.
The area was originally populated by speakers of Uralic languages and then colonized by the Novgorod Republic. It was located on the trading route connecting central and northern Russia, from Moscow to the White Sea along the Onega River. After the fall of Novgorod, the area became a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The descendants of the Novgorod population are the Pomors who inhabit the White Sea coast and traditionally are engaged in fishery. Many localities in the district along the coast, such as Unezhma (now abandoned),[14] have historical significance as old Pomor villages. The western coast of the Onega Bay is known as the Pomor Coast (Pomorsky Bereg).
On July 15, 1929, the uyezds were abolished, the governorates merged into Northern Krai, and Onezhsky District was established among others. It became a part of Arkhangelsk Okrug of Northern Krai.[2]
In the following years, the first-level administrative division of Russia kept changing. In 1930, the okrug was abolished, and the district was subordinated to the central administration of Northern Krai. In 1936, the krai was transformed into Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast itself was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. Onezhsky District remained in Arkhangelsk Oblast ever since.
Between July 15, 1929 and July 31, 1931, Chekuyevsky District with the administrative center in the selo of Chekuyevo existed and was a part of Northern Krai. In 1931, the district was abolished, and its area was divided between Plesetsky and Onezhsky Districts.[15]
On December 17, 1940, Belomorsky District was established on the Onega Peninsula, on the areas which previously were parts of Primorsky and Onezhsky Districts. The administrative center of the district was established in the selo of Pertominsk. On September 30, 1958, Belomorsky District was abolished, with its area shared between Primorsky and Onezhsky Districts.[15]
As a municipal division, the district is incorporated as Onezhsky Municipal District, with the town of oblast significance of Onega being incorporated within it as Onezhskoye Urban Settlement.[7] The municipal district is divided into two urban settlements and six rural settlements (the administrative centers are given in parentheses):[7]
The economy of the district is based on timber industry. There is also production of construction materials.[16]
Agriculture
Fishery was a traditional occupation of Pomors on the White Sea coast. There are still two fishing collective farms. Inland, there is production of milk and meat as well as potatoes and vegetables.[16]
Transportation
The only railway line in the district branches off in Obozerskaya railway station from the railroad between Moscow and Arkhangelsk and runs west to Onega and Belomorsk where it joins the railroad between Petrozavodsk and Murmansk. It was built during World War II to secure the transport of goods from the harbor of Murmansk to central Russia.
Onega is connected to Severodvinsk by a road. There are no all-seasonal roads on the left bank of the Onega River within the district.
The Onega is navigable downstream from the selo of Porog; there is regular passenger navigation. There is also limited passenger service on the Onega Bay.
Onezhsky District has a very high concentration of historical, archaeological, and architectural monuments. The district contains thirty-two objects classified as cultural and historical heritage by Russian Federal law, and additionally eighteen objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local importance.[17] Most of these are wooden churches and chapels.
The monuments classified as historical and architectural heritage are the following:
the Ascention Church in the village of Kusheretskaya (17th century); has been moved to the Malye Korely open-air museum
the ensemble of Makaryinsky Pogost (St. Makarius Church, the Church of the Erection of the Cross, and the bell-tower, 17th and 18th century) in the village of Makaryinskaya;[clarification needed] burned down in 1985 and no longer exists
wooden St. Nicholas church in the village of Nizhmozero; burned down in the 1970s
wooden St. Iliya Church in the village of Vazentsy; destroyed in the 1970s
the ensemble of Verkhnemudyugsky Pogost (the Church of the Entrance to Jerusalem, the Church of the Tikhvin icon of the Virgin, and the bell-tower, 18th century) in the village of Verkhovye; burned down in 1997 and no longer exists
the ensemble of the former monastery on Kiy Island
the ensemble of the Maloshuyka Pogost, consisting of wooden St. Nicholas Church (1638), the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (1873), and the bell-tower (1825), located in the village of Abramovskaya
the chapel of the Erection of the Cross (18th century) in the village of Matveyevka[clarification needed]
the ensemble of the Piyala Pogost, consisting of the Ascension Church (1654) and the bell-tower (1700)
the ensemble of the Purnema Pogost, consisting of the St. Nicholas Church (1618) and the Nativity Church (1860)
the ensemble of the Turchasovsky Pogost, consisting of the Transfiguration Church (1786) and the bell-tower (1908)
The most notable wooden churches are triple church ensembles, which consist of two churches (a bigger, unheated, church used in the summer, and a smaller, heated church used in the winter, and a bell-tower). Not more than a dozen of these triple wooden ensembles survived intact, and one of them, the ensemble in the village of Vorzogory, is located in Onezhsky District. Two more, Makaryinsky Pogost and Verkhnemudyugsky Pogost, burned down in 1985 and 1997, respectively.
The Kozheozersky Monastery, founded in 1560, is of great historical value. Nikon, the future patriarch of Moscow and reformer of the Russian Orthodox Church, was an abbot of the monastery from 1643 to 1646. The monastery is located on a peninsula (formerly an island) on Lake Kozhozero and can only be accessed by hiking up the Kozha River for several days.
The only state museum in the district is the Onega Historical Museum.[18]
^The count of urban-type settlements may include the work settlements, the resort settlements, the suburban (dacha) settlements, as well as urban-type settlements proper.
Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Областной закон №65-5-ОЗ от 23 сентября 2009 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №232-13-ОЗ от 16 декабря 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в отдельные Областные Законы в сфере осуществления местного самоуправления и взаимодействия с некоммерческими организациями». Вступил в силу через десять дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волна", №43, 6 октября 2009 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Council of Deputies. Oblast Law #65-5-OZ of September 23, 2009 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #232-13-OZ of December 16, 2014 On Amending Various Oblast Laws Dealing with the Process of Municipal Self-Government and Relations with Non-Profit Organizations. Effective as of the day which is ten days after the official publication.).
Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Областной закон №258-внеоч.-ОЗ от 23 сентября 2004 г. «О статусе и границах территорий муниципальных образований в Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №224-13-ОЗ от 16 декабря 2014 г. «Об упразднении отдельных населённых пунктов Соловецкого района Архангельской области и о внесении изменения в статью 46 Областного закона "О статусе и границах территорий муниципальных образований в Архангельской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волна", №38, 8 октября 2004 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Council of Deputies. Oblast Law #258-vneoch.-OZ of September 23, 2004 On the Status and Borders of the Territories of the Municipal Formations in Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #224-13-OZ of December 16, 2014 On Abolishing Several Inhabited Localities in Solovetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast and on Amending Article 46 of the Oblast Law "On the Status and Borders of the Territories of the Municipal Formations in Arkhangelsk Oblast". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).