Change of boundaries of the Velsky and Kadnikovsky districts of the Vologda province in the mid-XIXth century

The Velsky and Kadnikovsky districts were established in 1780 and included in the Vologda province. Due to the distribution of the State and Palace lands and peasants in western extremity of the Velsky district, a compact enclave of noble estates was formed. These possessions were located in the neighborhood with the Kadnikovsky district on the area of 384 987 dessiatines (1 dessiatine was about 1,09 hectares) and were joined in 12 volosts. According to the VIII revision of the early 1830s, landowner serfs lived in 286 villages of the Velsky district and numbered 10 218 of male census souls or 26 % of the district population. Within the boundaries of the landowners’ volosts there were 2 stateowned villages (where 29 census souls lived) and another 6 villages (where along with the landlords’ there lived 140 census souls of state peas ants). Landowner villages in the Velsky district were more populated compared to state villages. But they were located at a distance from the district center, which created difficulties in their management. After all, it was in the district center that all the institutions related to the management of economic and social life of landlord estates and peasants were located the noble guardianship, the district leader of the nobility and some others. In the Kadnikovsky district the share of landowner serfs reached 85 % of the district population and the existence of noble institutions there was justified. That’s why, starting from 1837, landowners and then governors began to propose to transfer the landlords’ possessions from Velsky to Kadnikovsky district, and on November 28, 1849 Tsar Nikolai I legitimized these proposals. According to the decree, from January 1, 1851 12 landlords’ volosts were transferred from Velsky to Kadnikovsky district. Besides, the state Glubokovsaya volost (92 757 dessiatines of land, 20 villages, 897 census souls) that was completely separated from the main territory of the district by noble estates, was also listed. Thus, the territory of the Velsky district was reduced by 477,7 thousand dessiatines or by 18,6 %, and the population decreased by 11 284 census souls registered under the VIII revision or by 28,7%.