Vyborg

This article is about the Russian city near the Finnish border. For other uses, see Vyborg (disambiguation).

Vyborg (Russian: Выборг;[10]Finnish : Viipuri[ˈʋiːpuri] ;[11]Swedish : Viborg[ˈvǐːbɔrj](listen) ; German: Wiborg[ˈviːbɔʁk] ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Vyborg Bay, 130 km (81 miles) to the northwest of St. Petersburg, 245 km (152 miles) east of the Finnish capital Helsinki, and 38 km (24 miles) south of Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland. The population of Vyborg is as follows: 79,962 (2010 Census);[4]79,224 (2002 Census) ;[12]80,924 (1989 Census) .[13]

Located in the boundary zone between the East Slavic/Russian and Finnish worlds,[14] formerly well known as one of the few medieval towns in Finland, Vyborg has changed hands several times in history, most recently in 1944 when the Soviet Union captured it from Finland during World War II. Finland evacuated the whole population of the city and resettled them within the rest of Finland.[14] On March 25, 2010, Dmitry Medvedev named Vyborg the "City of Military Glory"; in Russia, a city can be awarded such a title if there have been fierce battles in or near the city and where, in the Russian view, the defenders of the homeland have shown bravery, perseverance, and general heroism.[15] During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, Vyborg was officially the second significant city in Finland after Helsinki,[16] representing it as Finland's most multicultural city internationally.[17][18][19]

The city hosts the Russian end of the 1,222 km (759 mi) Nord Stream gas pipeline, laid in 2011 and operated by a consortium led by Russia's Gazprom state hydrocarbons enterprise to pump 55 billion cubic meters (1.9 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas a year under the Baltic to Greifswald, Germany.[20]

Contents
History
Administrative and municipal status
Climate
Economy and culture
Sights
Notable people
Twin towns and sister cities
See also
References
External links

History

Main article: Fief of Viborg
Historical affiliations

Sweden 1293–1710

Tsardom of Russia 1710–1721

Russian Empire 1721–1812

Grand Duchy of Finland 1812-1917

Finland 1917–1918

Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic 1918

Finland 1918–1940

Soviet Union 1940–1941

Finland 1941–1944

Soviet Union 1944–1991

Russia 1991–present

Early history

According to archeological research, the area of what is now Vyborg used to be a trading center on the Vuoksi River's western branch, which has since dried up. The region was inhabited by the Karelians, a Balto-Finnic tribe which gradually came under the domination of Novgorod and Sweden.[21][22] It's been claimed that Vyborg appeared in the 11th–12th centuries as a mixed Karelian-Russian settlement,[23] although there isn't archeological proof of any East Slavic settlement of that time in the area[24] and it isn't mentioned in any earliest historical documents, such as the Novgorod First Chronicle or the Primary Chronicle. Wider settlement in the area of Vyborg is generally regarded to date from 13th century onwards when Hanseatic traders began traveling to Novgorod.[25]

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The Vyborg Castle was founded during the Third Swedish Crusade in 1293 by marskTorkel Knutsson[23][26] on the site of an older Karelian fort which was burned.[27] The castle, which was the first center for the spread of Christianity in Karelia,[28] was fought over for decades between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic. As a result of the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323 between the Republic of Novgorod and Sweden, Vyborg was finally recognized as a part of Sweden.[14] The town's trade privileges were chartered by the Pan-Scandinavian King Eric of Pomerania in 1403. It withstood a prolonged siege by Daniil Shchenya during the Russo–Swedish War of 1496–1497.

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Under Swedish rule, Vyborg was closely associated with the noble family of Bååt, originally from Småland. The late-medieval commanders and fief holders of Vyborg were (almost always) descended from or married to the Bååt family. In practice, though not having this as their formal title, they functioned as Margraves, had feudal privileges, and kept all the crown's incomes from the fief to use for the defense of the realm's eastern border.

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1710 to 1917

Vyborg remained in Swedish hands until its capture in 1710 after the Siege of Vyborg by TsarPeter the Great in the Great Northern War.[14][23] In the course of Peter's second administrative reform, Vyborg became the seat of the Vyborg Province of St. Petersburg Governorate.[29] The 1721 Treaty of Nystad, which concluded the war with Sweden, finalized the transfer of the town and a part of Old Finland to Russia.[14][23] The loss of Vyborg led Sweden to develop Fredrikshamn as a substitute port town.[30] Another result of the loss of Vyborg was that its diocese was moved to Borgå, transforming the town into an important learning centre.[30]

In 1744, Vyborg became the seat of the Vyborg Governorate.[29] In 1783, the governorate was transformed into the Vyborg Viceroyalty,[29] then in 1801 back into Vyborg Governorate.[citation needed] In 1802, the Vyborg Governorate was renamed the Finland Governorate.[29]

One of the largest naval battles in history, the Battle of Vyborg Bay, was fought off the shore of the Vyborg Bay on July 4, 1790.

After the rest of Finland was ceded to Russia in 1809, Emperor Alexander I incorporated the town and the governorate into the newly created Grand Duchy of Finland in 1811 (1812 NS).[14][31]

In the course of the 19th century, the town developed as the center of administration and trade for the eastern part of Finland. The inauguration of the Saimaa Canal in 1856 benefited the local economy as it opened the vast waterways of Eastern Finland to the sea. Vyborg was never a major industrial center and lacked large production facilities, but due to its location it served as a focal point of transports of all industries on the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia, and southeastern Finland.

Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin lived in the town for a period between the February Revolution and October Revolution of 1917.

Finnish period

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fall of the Russian Empire, Finland declared itself independent. During the Finnish Civil War, Vyborg was in the hands of the Finnish Red Guards until it was captured by the White Guard on the Battle of Vyborg, April 29, 1918, and the city served as the actual starting point of the entire civil war, with which the war later spread throughout other Finland.[18][19] In April–May 1918, 360–420 civilians were murdered by White Guards during the Vyborg massacre.

In the inter-war decades, the town was the fourth-largest in Finland and the seat of Viipuri Province. In 1939, Vyborg had roughly 80,000 inhabitants, including sizable minorities of Swedes, Germans, Russians, Romani, Tatars, and Jews. During this time, Alvar Aalto built the Vyborg Library—an icon of functionalist architecture.

See also: Karelian offensive

During the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940, over seventy thousand people were evacuated from Vyborg to other parts of Finland. The Winter War was concluded by the Moscow Peace Treaty, which stipulated the transfer of Vyborg and the whole Karelian Isthmus—emptied of their residents—to Soviet control, where it was incorporated into the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic on March 31, 1940. As the town was still held by the Finns, the remaining Finnish population, some ten thousand people, had to be evacuated in haste before the handover. Thus, practically the whole population of Finnish Vyborg was resettled elsewhere in Finland. The town became the administrative center of Vyborgsky District.

The evacuees from Finnish Karelia came to be a vociferous political force and their wish to return to their homes was an important motive when Finland sought support from Nazi Germany against the Soviet threat. As a result, Finland and Nazi Germany fought on the same side in the Continuation War.

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On August 29, 1941, Vyborg was captured by Finnish troops. At first, the Finnish Army did not allow civilians into the town. Of the 6,287 buildings, 3,807 had been destroyed. The first civilians started to arrive at the end of September and by the end of the year Vyborg had a population of about 9,700. In December 1941, the Government of Finland formally annexed the town along with the other areas lost in the Moscow Peace Treaty.[14] However, this annexation was not recognized by any foreign state, not even Finland's co-belligerent, Germany. By 1942, it had risen to 16,000. About 70% of the evacuees from Finnish Karelia returned after the re-conquest to rebuild their looted homes, but were again evacuated after the Red Army's Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, timed to coincide with the Battle of Normandy. By the time of the Soviet offensive, the town had a population of nearly 28,000. The town was evacuated by June 19 and the defense of Vyborg was entrusted to the 20th Brigade. The town fell to the Red Army on June 20, 1944, but the Finns managed to halt the Soviet offensive at the Battle of Tali-Ihantala—the largest battle fought by any of the Nordic countries—in Viipuri rural municipality which surrounded the town. The town was seriously damaged.

In the subsequent Moscow Armistice of September 19, 1944, Finland returned to the borders set by the Moscow Peace Treaty and ceded more land than the treaty originally demanded. In the 1947 Paris Peace treaties, Finland relinquished all claims to Vyborg.[14]

After the Winter War, Leningrad Oblast wanted to incorporate the area of Vyborg, but it took until November 1944 for it to be finally transferred from the Karelo-Finnish SSR.[31] During the Soviet era, the town was settled by people from all over the Soviet Union. The naval air bases of Pribilovo and Veshchevo were built nearby.

Administrative and municipal status

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Within the framework of administrative divisions, Vyborg serves as the administrative center of Vyborgsky District.[1] As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Vyborgsky District as Vyborgskoye Settlement Municipal Formation.[1] As a municipal division, Vyborgskoye Settlement Municipal Formation is incorporated within Vyborg Municipal District as Vyborgskoye Urban Settlement.[6]

Climate

Similar to many other areas along the Baltic Sea, Vyborg has a humid continental climate[32] (Dfb) with large temperature differences between summer and winter but too mild to be classified subarctic with five months above 10 °C (50 °F) in mean temperature. Winter temperatures are being somewhat moderated by maritime effects compared to Russian cities further inland even on more southerly latitudes, but still cold enough to be comparable to areas much further north that are nearer the Gulf Stream.

Climate data for Vyborg (1991–2020, extremes 1884–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 6.9

(44.4) 		8.4

(47.1) 		13.8

(56.8) 		22.1

(71.8) 		30.0

(86.0) 		32.9

(91.2) 		34.6

(94.3) 		33.4

(92.1) 		27.4

(81.3) 		19.1

(66.4) 		12.0

(53.6) 		8.6

(47.5) 		34.6

(94.3)
Average high °C (°F) −3.4

(25.9) 		−3.3

(26.1) 		1.0

(33.8) 		7.4

(45.3) 		14.9

(58.8) 		19.5

(67.1) 		22.6

(72.7) 		20.8

(69.4) 		15.1

(59.2) 		7.9

(46.2) 		2.3

(36.1) 		−1.0

(30.2) 		8.7

(47.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.0

(21.2) 		−6.3

(20.7) 		−2.6

(27.3) 		3.2

(37.8) 		10.4

(50.7) 		15.3

(59.5) 		18.5

(65.3) 		16.8

(62.2) 		11.6

(52.9) 		5.5

(41.9) 		0.4

(32.7) 		−3.2

(26.2) 		5.3

(41.5)
Average low °C (°F) −8.8

(16.2) 		−9.5

(14.9) 		−6.1

(21.0) 		−0.4

(31.3) 		6.0

(42.8) 		11.3

(52.3) 		14.5

(58.1) 		13.1

(55.6) 		8.4

(47.1) 		3.2

(37.8) 		−1.5

(29.3) 		−5.4

(22.3) 		2.1

(35.8)
Record low °C (°F) −36.8

(−34.2) 		−35.4

(−31.7) 		−29.1

(−20.4) 		−20.9

(−5.6) 		−5.0

(23.0) 		0.1

(32.2) 		5.8

(42.4) 		2.0

(35.6) 		−3.9

(25.0) 		−11.4

(11.5) 		−21.0

(−5.8) 		−33.6

(−28.5) 		−36.8

(−34.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 52

(2.0) 		43

(1.7) 		40

(1.6) 		35

(1.4) 		43

(1.7) 		60

(2.4) 		69

(2.7) 		79

(3.1) 		68

(2.7) 		77

(3.0) 		70

(2.8) 		66

(2.6) 		702

(27.6)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) 22

(8.7) 		35

(14) 		37

(15) 		8

(3.1) 		0

(0) 		0

(0) 		0

(0) 		0

(0) 		0

(0) 		0

(0) 		3

(1.2) 		11

(4.3) 		37

(15)
Average rainy days 6 5 7 10 14 16 15 16 18 18 13 8 146
Average snowy days 22 20 16 7 1 0.1 0 0 0.1 4 14 20 104
Average relative humidity (%) 87 85 82 74 68 71 73 77 82 86 88 89 80
Source: Pogoda.ru.net[33]

Economy and culture

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Vyborg continues to be an important industrial producer of paper. Tourism is increasingly important, and the Russian film festivalWindow to Europe takes place in the town each year.

An HVDC back-to-back facility for the exchange of electricity between the Russian and Finnish power grids was completed near Vyborg in 1982. It consists of three bipolar HVDC back-to-back schemes with an operating voltage of 85 kV and a maximum transmission rate of 355 MW, so that the entire maximum transmission rate amounts to 1,420 MW.[citation needed]

The Nord Stream offshore pipeline runs from Vyborg compressor station at Portovaya Bay along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to Greifswald in Germany. It started operating in September 2011, enabling Russia to export gas directly to Western Europe. The feeding pipeline in Russia (Gryazovets–Vyborg gas pipeline) is operated by Gazprom and is a part of the integrated gas transport network of Russia connecting existing grid in Gryazovets with the coastal compressor station at Vyborg.[34]

Finnish singing culture

Before the war, Vyborg was a major Finnish town of culture. Even today, a few choirs cherish Vyborg singing traditions. These are, for example, the Wiipurilaisen osakunnan kuoro of the University of Helsinki and the Viipurin Lauluveikot male choir,[35][36] which latter was founded in Vyborg in 1897.[37]

Sights

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Vyborg's most prominent landmark is its Swedish-built castle, started in the 13th century and extensively reconstructed in 1891–1894. The Round Tower and the Rathaus Tower date from the mid-16th century and are parts of the Medieval Vyborg town wall. Many of the buildings in historical old town of Vyborg are still in poor condition today.[38][39]

The Viipuri Library by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and the Hermitage-Vyborg Center are a reference point in the history of modern architecture. There are also Russian fortifications of Annenkrone, completed by 1740, as well as the monuments to Peter the Great (1910) and Torkel Knutsson. Tourists can also visit the house where the founder of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin prepared the Bolshevik revolution during his stay in Viipuri from September 24 to October 7, 1917. The main street in Vyborg is called Prospekt Lenina (Russian: проспект Ленина; literally "Lenin Avenue"), formerly also known as Torkkelinkatu,[40] and along it, there is popular Lenin Park [ru].

Sprawling along the heights adjacent to the Gulf of Finland is Monrepos Park, one of the most spacious English landscape gardens in Eastern Europe. The garden was laid out on behest of its owner, Baron Ludwig Heinrich von Nicolay, at the turn of the 19th century. Most of its structures were designed by the architect Giuseppe Antonio Martinelli. Previously, the estate belonged to the future king Frederick I (Maria Fyodorovna's brother), who called it Charlottendahl in honor of his second wife.

Notable people

Born before 1917

See also: Viipuri_Province § Notable people

for people born in Viipuri Province between 1812 and 1917, when it was part of the Grand Duchy of Finland.

Born 1917–1945

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Born after 1945

Twin towns and sister cities

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Vyborg is twinned with:

See also

References

Notes

  1. Oblast Law #32-oz
  2. Charter of Vyborgskoye Urban Settlement, Article 1
  3. Official website of Vyborgskoye Urban Settlement. Head of the Municipal Formation, Gennady Vasilyevich Orlov (in Russian)
  4. 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.
  5. "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  6. Law #17-oz
  7. "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  8. Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  9. Ленинградская область (in Russian). ruspostindex.ru. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  10. [1]
  11. Wuorinen, John H. (1948), ed., Finland and World War II, 1939-1944, New York: Roland Press, p. 172.
  12. 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).
  13. 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]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  14. Life & Society: Tracing Finland's Eastern Border – This Is Finland
  15. HS: Venäjän presidentti nimitti Viipurin "Sotilaskunnian kaupungiksi" (in Finnish)
  16. Chloe Wells: "Vyborg is ours": remembering a 'lost town' in Finland. Paper presented at the European Association for Urban History 13th International Conference, Helsinki, Finland August 24-27, 2016.
  17. Owen Hatherley: "Vyborg looks like Helsinki might after a long, drawn-out war" — Dezeen
  18. Göran Lindgren: Viipuri sodan jaloissa, p. 6. Helsingin Reservin Sanomat, no. 2/2013, March 12, 2013. (in Finnish)
  19. Pimeä historia: Verinen Viipuri – historioitsija Teemu Keskisarja jäljittää kohtalonhetkiä — YLE (in Finnish)
  20. The Pipeline, Nord Stream AG official website, Undated . Accessed: 14 June 2014.
  21. Jussi Katajala (2010). "Suomen kaupungit keskiajalla" (in Finnish). Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  22. Uino, Pirjo (1997). Ancient Karelia. Helsinki: Suomen muinaismuistoyhdistyksen aikakausikirja 104. p. 115.
  23. Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 95. ISBN5-7107-7399-9 .
  24. Uino, Pirjo (1997). Ancient Karelia. Helsinki: Suomen muinaismuistoyhdistyksen aikakausikirja 104. pp. 343–346.
  25. Uino, Pirjo (1997). Ancient Karelia. Helsinki: Suomen muinaismuistoyhdistyksen aikakausikirja 104. p. 118.
  26. Vyborg Castle, Vyborg, Russia - Spotting History
  27. Taavitsainen, Jussi-Pekka (1990). Ancient Hillforts of Finland. Suomen muinaismuistoyhdistyksen aikakausikirja 94. p. 240.
  28. Chisholm 1911.
  29. С. А. Тархов (2001). "Изменение административно-территориального деления России за последние 300 лет". Электронная версия журнала "География".
  30. Lindberg, Johan (May 26, 2016). "Finlands historia: 1700-talet". Uppslagsverket Finland (in Swedish). Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  31. История Выборгского района, история Выборгской земли (in Russian). Муниципальное образование Выборгский район Ленинградской Области. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  32. "Vyborg, Russia Climate Summary". Weatherbase. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  33. "Погода и Климат – Климат Выборг" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  34. "Answers to questions asked by representatives of non-governmental organizations on the EIA procedure for the Nord Stream Project"(PDF) . Nord Stream AG. October 20, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
  35. Kuoron esittely – Viipurin Lauluveikot (in Finnish)
  36. Ulkoministeriö. Suomen suurlähetystön tiedote Viipurin lauluveikkojen konserttimatkasta Kiinaan toukokuussa 2013. (in Finnish)
  37. Kuoron historia – Viipurin Lauluveikot (in Finnish)
  38. Raunio, Marjut; Schönberg, Kalle (May 6, 2013). "Viipurissa puretaan vanhan keskustan arvorakennuksia" [The value buildings of the old center are being demolished in Vyborg]. YLE (in Finnish). Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  39. Kozin, Daniel (October 27, 2019). "Vyborg Restoration: How Russia's Most Scandinavian Town Is Coming Back to Life". The Moscow Times. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  40. Viktor Dmitriew: Viipurin Suomalaisen Kirjallisuusseuran toimitteita 10, 1992. (in Finnish)

Sources