 HISTORY The foundation of the town of Kirov is surrounded by legend. Even the original name, Viakta or Khlynov, is a subject of debate. Is the town built on the settlement of the udmurtic tribe of the Vatka? Or is the name Viatka of Slavic origin? |
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| The first
mention of Viatka in the chronologies took place in 1374.
It was in this year that the Novgorod freebooters
undertook a campaign against the Volga Bulgarians, who
belonged to the Kingdom of the Golden Horde at the time.
After intial successes, the group broke up into two
parts. One of these groups travelled north and, according
to the chronology, plundered Viatka. Until today, it is
unclear whether the chronologist meant a specific
settlement or an entire region when he mentioned Viatka. Originally the region on the Viatka was settled by Udmurtic tribes. In the late 12th century and the early 13th century, Slavs also began to settle here. Most of all, the region was colonized by Novgorod. Unlike Novgorod, Viatka played a marginal role in the battles for more territory and influences which took place among the Russian nobles. It was far too distant to play any crucial role and was also difficult to reach since it was surrounded by dense forests and swamps. Nonetheless, the territory changes ownership quite often: at one point, it belonged to Susdal, then to Moscow, then again to the Galician nobles. During this entire period, Viatka was able to retain its political and administrative autonomy. Like Novgorod, it was governed by a people's assembly (vetshe). In 1391, the Viatka region was pillaged by the Mongols. Such attacks also took place later, when the region was invaded by the Tartars who lived around Kazan and in Siberia. These invasions usually enjoyed the support of the tribal peoples of the Mari and the Udmurts, the neighbours of the Russian settlers. The history of Viatka as a region of political banishment began under Boris Godunov, who had noisome followers and relatives of the later dynasty of the Romanovs deported to Viatka. In the course of time, many people shared their fate. The most famous of these include the writers A. Herzen, M. Saltikov-Shtshedrin and W. Korolenko. In the early 20th century, the region became the goal for the forced relocation of people from the Western provinces of the Tsarist Empire such as Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Byelorussians and Poles. Until today, the Viatka area is known as an agrarian region; most of all, it is famous for cattle-breeding and milk-products. Earlier, honey-production, hunting and fishing existed next to crop-production and cattle-breeding. During the late 17th/early 18th centuries, the first small metallurgical enterprises were established. The region was also famous for its artisans; most importanly, the carpenters enjoyed a wide reputation. During the Second World War, the region and the town, renamed to Kirov in 1934, were a part of the Soviet hinterland. Within a relatively short period, a great number of armament factories were established. Today, the region's poor connection to the infrastructure is one of its main problems: in 1985, there were as little as 12.6 km2 of paved roads for 1,000 km2 of surface area. This problem has had grave demographic consequences. Between 1970 and 1985, the rural population was reduced from 784,000 to 524,000. Marion Krause |
