Pytalovo

Pytalovo (English)
Пыталово (Russian)
-  Town[1]  -

Location of Pskov Oblast in Russia
Pytalovo
Location of Pytalovo in Pskov Oblast
Coordinates: 57°04′N 27°55′E / 57.067°N 27.917°E / 57.067; 27.917Coordinates: 57°04′N 27°55′E / 57.067°N 27.917°E / 57.067; 27.917
Coat of arms
Administrative status (as of February 2013)
Country Russia
Federal subject Pskov Oblast[1]
Administrative district Pytalovsky District[1]
Administrative center of Pytalovsky District[2]
Municipal status (as of February 2013)
Municipal district Pytalovsky Municipal District[3]
Urban settlement Pytalovo Urban Settlement[3]
Administrative center of Pytalovsky Municipal District,[4] Pytalovo Urban Settlement[3]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census) 5,826 inhabitants[5]
Time zone MSK (UTC+03:00)[6]
Known since the end of the
18th century
Town status since 1933[7]
Previous names Pytalovo or Novo-Dmitrovskoye (until 1925),[8]
Jaunlatgale (until 1938),[7]
Abrene (until 1945)[7]
Postal code(s)[9] 181410
Pytalovo on Wikimedia Commons

Pytalovo (Russian: Пыта́лово; Latvian: Pitalova) is a town and the administrative center of Pytalovsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Utroya River (a tributary of the Velikaya), 102 kilometers (63 mi) southwest of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 5,826 (2010 Census);[5] 6,806 (2002 Census);[10] 7,166 (1989 Census).[11]

Etymology

Accounts of the origin of Pytalovo's name reflect the region's dichotomy. The unofficial Pytalovo website offers two possibilities for the origin of the town's name,[12] neither based in any verifiable historical facts. One is that it was named for Lieutenant Pytalov, a guard to Catherine the Great, who received the lands in 1766 for reasons unknown, that estate subsequently being sold off by his descendants.[12] The other is that the name "speaks for itself" (i.e., it is derived from the Russian verb "пытать", to torture), named for a church courtyard with a large iron cross used to torture and execute people.[12]

A viable historical explanation is that Pytalovo is Russified Latvian for "Pietālava" (Latvian "pie Tālavas", or Latgalian "pī Tuolavas"), meaning "near Tālava", with Tālava being the name of an ancient Latvian feudal state.[13] Russophones comprised the majority of the population in a number of parishes during Latvia's initial independence, with further Russification ongoing. Nevertheless, the older generation testified to their Latvian heritage.[14] Historian Carl von Stern wrote of a cultural awakening amongst the region's inhabitants in the 1930s despite generations of Russification. Two thousand inhabitants from across Pskov gathered in September 1934 and proclaimed: "We are not Russian, but, indeed, Latvian. We are returning to our Latvian heritage. Latvians, lend us your helping hand, support and hasten our return!"[14] Audiences wept as they heard old familiar folk songs sung with words and a language lost over time.[14] A more concrete testament to Pytalovo's Latvian heritage is that the Latvian folk costumes of the region are the only ones which still preserve the most ancient tradition of white dress, once used in both daily life and for festive occasions.[15]

History

Pytalovo, alternatively known as Novo-Dmitrovskoye (Ново-Дмитровское),[8] had been known since the end of the 18th century. In the last quarter of the 19th century, it had a population of 59.[8] It grew significantly after gaining a railway station by a newly constructed railway branch.

By the Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty of 1920, a part of Ostrovsky Uyezd, including Pytalovo, was passed to Latvia. In 1925, Latvians renamed it Jaunlatgale, which it was known as until 1938, when the name was changed to Abrene.[7] In 1933, it was granted town status.[7] During the interwar period, it was the administrative center of Abrene District. After the annexation of Latvia by the Soviet Union in 1940, the town originally remained a part of the Latvian SSR. During World War II, the town was occupied by the German Army from July 5, 1941 until July 22, 1944.[7] On January 16, 1945,[7] the town and the surrounding areas were transferred to Pskov Oblast of the Russian SFSR and Pytalovsky District was established.[16] At the same time, the town's original name (Pytalovo) was restored.[7]

Whether the region is historically Russian or Latvian became a highly politicized issue after Latvia restored its independence in 1991 and a border dispute erupted with Russia over the region. The Abrene District, constituting roughly 2% of Latvia's territory, was transferred to the Russian SFSR in 1945, but it had originally been a part of Russia and ceded to Latvia only a quarter century earlier, in 1920. Russian President Vladimir Putin famously uttered in 2005 that Latvia "will get the ears of a dead donkey but not Pytalovo [Abrene]".[17] The border dispute was not resolved until 2007, when a treaty between Latvia and Russia recognizing the existing border was signed.[18]

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Pytalovo serves as the administrative center of Pytalovsky District,[2] to which it is directly subordinated.[1] As a municipal division, the town of Pytalovo is incorporated within Pytalovsky Municipal District as Pytalovo Urban Settlement.[3]

Economy

Industry

As of 2003, only two industrial enterprises survived in Pytalovo—a textile factory and a printing house. A milk factory and a flax production factory, previously the biggest enterprises in the district, were defunct.[19]

Transportation

Pytalovo is an important railway station on the railway from St. Petersburg via Pskov to Rēzekne in Latvia and further to Vilnius. In Pytalovo, another railway to Gulbene and Riga branches off west. As of 2012, there was passenger traffic on the railway.

Pytalovo has an easy access to the European route E262, from Ostrov to Kaunas via Rēzekne and Daugavpils.

Culture

Among places of interest in town Pytalovo there is a railway station building built in the modernist style in the early 20th century, the wooden building of the functioning St. Nicholas Church built in 1931, the post office building (early 20th century), and the house of merchant Ilyin (built in the 1920s).

Pytalovo is home to an ethnographic museum focusing on Russian and Latgalian cultures.[20]

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Law #833-oz stipulates that the borders of the administrative districts are identical to the borders of the municipal districts. The Law #420-oz, which describes the borders and the composition of the municipal districts, lists the town of Pytalovo as a part of Pytalovsky District.
  2. 1 2 Государственный комитет Российской Федерации по статистике. Комитет Российской Федерации по стандартизации, метрологии и сертификации. №ОК 019-95 1 января 1997 г. «Общероссийский классификатор объектов административно-территориального деления. Код 58 253», в ред. изменения №259/2014 от 12 декабря 2014 г.. (State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation. Committee of the Russian Federation on Standardization, Metrology, and Certification. #OK 019-95 January 1, 1997 Russian Classification of Objects of Administrative Division . Code 58 253, as amended by the Amendment #259/2014 of December 12, 2014. ).
  3. 1 2 3 4 Law #420-oz
  4. ↑ Федеральная служба государственной статистики. Федеральное агентство по технологическому регулированию и метрологии. №ОК 033-2013 1 января 2014 г. «Общероссийский классификатор территорий муниципальных образований. Код 58 653». (Federal State Statistics Service. Federal Agency on Technological Regulation and Metrology. #OK 033-2013 January 1, 2014 Russian Classification of Territories of Municipal Formations. Code 58 653. ).
  5. 1 2 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  6. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №248-ФЗ от 05 апреля 2016 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #248-FZ of April 05, 2016 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 371. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
  8. 1 2 3 Поспелов, Е. М. (2001). Географические названия мира: Топонимический словарь (in Russian). АСТ.
  9. ↑ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (Russian)
  10. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 Unofficial website of Pytalovo. О названии города (Russian)
  13. ↑ D. Eglitis quoting historian Edgars Andersons in Imagining the Nation: History, Modernity, and Revolution in Latvia. Penn State Press, 2002.
  14. 1 2 3 Latviskā Jaunlatgale', V. Krasnais, "Latviskā Jaunlatgale, Apgabala Vēsturiskie Likteņi, retrieved June 22, 2013; also available at ; local community leader A. Briedis recounted during the period: "Nevertheless, the older generation in these parishes completely confirms that in older times they had spoken Latvian and that the Russians had called them Latvians. But now, as the older generation passes on, children are being educating in Russian schools as Russians even under Latvia".
  15. ↑ "Несколько столетий тому назад одежда белого цвета была широко распространена по всей территории Латвии. Теперь Абренский этнографический район остался единственным, где еще можно встретить такую одежду. Характерно, что здесь белыми были как праздничный наряд, так и рабочая одежда." from Abrene Women's Folk Costume, Latvian State Printing House, Riga. ca. 1960
  16. ↑ Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast, p. 14
  17. ↑ R. Mole. The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union: Identity, Discourse and Power in the Post-Communist Transition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Routledge, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Treaty puts legal stamp on EU external border". New Europe Online. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  19. ↑ Никоноров, Николай (November 13, 2003). Не потопаешь - не полопаешь. Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian) 2003 (29).
  20. ↑ Пыталовский музей Дружбы Народов (in Russian). Российская сеть культурного наследия. Retrieved July 15, 2012.

Sources

External links

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