Tver

/tvair/; Russ. /tvyerdd/, n.

a city in the W Russian Federation in Europe, NW of Moscow, on the Volga. 447,000. Formerly (1934-90) Kalinin.

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▪ Russia

formerly  (1931–90) Kalinin, 

      city and administrative centre of Tver oblast (province), western Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the upper Volga and Tvertsa rivers.

      The first mention of Tver dates from 1134–35, when it was subject to Novgorod. It became part of the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal in 1209, and in 1246 it became the capital of the Principality of Tver. In 1327, with its kremlin large and well fortified, Tver organized an uprising against the Tatars but was defeated. The Principality of Tver was annexed by Moscow in 1485. In the 14th and 15th centuries Tver was well known as an important crafts centre. With the construction of the Vyshny Volochok canal system between the Tvertsa and the Msta rivers in 1703–08, river trade through Tver became important. Although this route is no longer used, Tver remains the major river port of the upper Volga and is linked by the Moscow Canal to the national capital. The city was laid out in a gridiron pattern in the 18th century, and a number of historic buildings survive.

      Tver is now the centre of a major flax-growing region and is also an industrial centre, with emphasis on textile manufacturing and other light industries and on the manufacture of railroad rolling stock. It was renamed Kalinin in 1931 after Mikhail Kalinin (1875–1946), a revolutionary and ceremonial head of state of the Soviet Union, but it reverted to its old name in 1990. The city was severely damaged during World War II when it was captured and occupied by the Germans in 1941. Its buildings were subsequently restored. Pop. (1989 prelim.) 451,000.

▪ historical principality, Russia

in full  Principality Of Tver,  Russian  Tver, or Tverskoye Knyazhestvo,  

      medieval principality located in the region northwest of Moscow and centring on the city of Tver and including the towns of Kashin, Mikulin, Kholm, Dorogobuzh, and Staritsa. Descendants of Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich (brother of Alexander Nevsky and son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich) founded the principality in 1246. Under their rule Tver rivaled Moscow for supremacy in northeastern Russia during the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1305 Yaroslav's son Michael I was made grand prince of Vladimir (i.e., chief among the Russian princes). Yury of Moscow, however, gained the support of Öz Beg (Uzbek), khan (1313–41) of the Golden Horde, and in 1317 replaced Michael as grand prince. Michael refused to accept his loss and defeated the military force sent by Öz Beg and Yury to dethrone him. He was killed by Öz Beg in 1318.

      In 1322 the patent conferring the title was again bestowed on a Tver prince, Dmitry Mikhaylovich. But he was executed (1326) by Öz Beg for killing Yury of Moscow. The patent was then passed to his brother Alexander, who held it until the Tver population revolted against Mongol officials (1327). Tver was then plundered by an expedition sent by the Golden Horde; the patent for the grand prince of Vladimir was never again bestowed upon a Tver prince.

      Alexander fled to Lithuania, but his brothers, Constantine and Vasily, tried to restore the principality. Although Tver suffered from civil war during Vasily's reign (1346–67), it was strong enough by 1368, under Michael II, son of Alexander, to join Lithuania and challenge Moscow's dominant position. Dmitry Donskoy decisively defeated Michael in 1375 and forced Tver to acknowledge Moscow's suzerainty. Michael and his son Ivan, however, maintained Tver's independence, and under the rule of Boris Aleksandrovich (1425–61) the principality flourished culturally and economically, while maintaining cordial relations with Moscow. Nevertheless, in 1485 Ivan III of Moscow annexed the Principality of Tver, whose last prince, Michael III Borisovich (1461–85), unsuccessfully allied himself with King Casimir IV of Poland and was forced to flee.

▪ oblast, Russia

formerly  (1931–90) Kalinin, 

      oblast (province), western Russia. It occupies an area of 32,471 square miles (84,100 square km) and extends from the morainic Valdai Hills in the southwest, across the broad, swampy plain of the upper Volga River, to the shore of the huge Rybinsk Reservoir in the northeast. The Valdai Hills have scores of lakes and many areas of swamp. The chief cities in the oblast are Tver, the administrative centre, Vyshny Volochok, and Rzhev. The oblast is largely forested with spruce, pine, and birch; peat bogs, grass marsh, and floodplain meadows are also extensive, and most of the soils are of low fertility. Oak and other deciduous species occur in the south. The climate is continental, with about 24 inches (600 mm) of precipitation a year. Although only about one-quarter of the land area is plowed, agriculture dominates the economy, consisting chiefly of dairying, livestock, and the growing of flax. Rye, oats, and wheat are the chief grains grown. The oblast's industry is concerned with processing local agricultural and forest products, the manufacture of both linen and cotton textiles, and timber working, with some light engineering. Tver, the capital, has some heavy machinery, including railroad rolling stock. Peat and lignite (brown coal) are exploited locally. Pop. (1990 est.) 1,674,000.

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