The district is located on both banks of the Northern Dvina and its main right tributary, the Vychegda. The Northern Dvina and the Vychegda divide the district into three comparably sized areas.
A major part of the district belongs to the basins of the Northern Dvina and the Vychegda, including such major tributaries of the Northern Dvina as the Ustya (left) and the Uftyuga (right). The rivers in the southeastern corner of the district (i. e., areas south of the town of Koryazhma) drain into the Lala, a tributary of the Luza, in the basin of the Yug.
Almost the whole territory of the district is covered by coniferous forests (taiga).
In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Archangelgorod Governorate, and Solvychegodsk was designated as one of the cities. In 1780, the governorate was abolished and transformed into Vologda Viceroyalty. The latter was abolished in 1796, and the part of it which included Solvychegodsk was made into Vologda Governorate. In 1918, the area was transferred to the newly established Northern Dvina Governorate, and in 1924 the uyezds were abolished in favor of the new divisions, the districts (raions).
In the following years, the district remained in the same borders (with the exception of Solvychegodsky District, which was split out in 1938 and merged back in 1958), but the first-level administrative division of Russia kept changing. In 1929, Northern Dvina Governorate was merged into Northern Krai, which in 1936 was transformed into Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. Kotlassky District remained in Arkhangelsk Oblast ever since.
As a municipal division, the district is incorporated as Kotlassky Municipal District.[7] The town of oblast significance of Kotlas is incorporated separately from the district as Kotlas Urban Okrug.[7] The municipal district is divided into three urban settlements and one rural settlement (the administrative centers are given in parentheses):[7]
In 2010, timber industry accounted for 90.3% of the total industrial output of the district.[13]
Agriculture
In 2010, there were ninety-six farms in the district,[14] producing meat (beef and pork), milk, cereals, and potatoes.
Transportation
Kotlas is an important railway hub, where the railway to Kirov branches off southeast from the main railway, connecting Konosha and Vorkuta (in the Komi Republic).
The Northern Dvina and the Vychegda Rivers are navigable; there is regular passenger navigation on the Vychegda.
Roads connect Kotlas with Veliky Ustyug (and eventually Vologda and Kostroma) to the south, Syktyvkar to the east, and Krasnoborsk (eventually Arkhangelsk) to the north. There are also local roads. There is regular passenger bus traffic originating from Kotlas.
St. Nicholas Church in Nyuba, built between 1818 and 1821. Architectural monument protected at the local level.
The district contains nine objects of cultural heritage protected at the federal level (all of them in Solvychegodsk), and additionally fifty-two monuments of history and architecture of local importance (thirty-three of them in Solvychegodsk).[15][16] Most of these are brickstone churches built prior to 1917. The federal list of cultural heritage includes the following Solvychegodsk ensembles:
The biggest museum in the district, Solvychegodsk Museum of Art and History, is housed in the former Annunciation Cathedral in Solvychegodsk.[17] There is also a small private museum devoted to the fictional author Kozma Prutkov, who, according to the official biography, was born in Solvychegodsk. In the village of Medvedki there is the museum devoted to the Soviet naval officer Nikolay Kuznetsov, who was born in Medvedki and eventually reached the ranks of the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces.[18]
Sport
It has a youth bandy team called Salyut-Vychegda.[19]
^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.).
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