Kargopolsky District (Russian: Каргопо́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.^[1] As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Kargopolsky Municipal District.^[7] It is located in the southwest of the oblast and borders with Plesetsky District in the north, Nyandomsky District in the northeast, Konoshsky District in the east, Kirillovsky District of Vologda Oblast in the south, Vytegorsky District, also of Vologda Oblast, in the southwest, and with Pudozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia in the northwest. The area of the district is 10,127 square kilometers (3,910 sq mi).^[4] Its administrative center is the town of Kargopol.^[3] Population: 18,466 (2010 Russian census);^[5] 21,514 (2002 Census);^[9] 24,589 (1989 Soviet census).^[10] The population of Kargopol accounts for 55.3% of the district's total population.^[5]

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Kargopolsky District Каргопольский район
District
Primary school in the village of Gavrilovskaya in Kargopolsky District
Coat of arms
Location of Kargopolsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast
Coordinates: 61°30′N 38°56′E
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Arkhangelsk Oblast[1]
Established	July 15, 1929[2]
Administrative center	Kargopol[3]
Area [4]
• Total	10,127 km2 (3,910 sq mi)
Population  (2010 Census)[5]
• Total	18,466
• Estimate  (2018)[6]	17,023 (−7.8%)
• Density	1.8/km2 (4.7/sq mi)
• Urban	55.3%
• Rural	44.7%
Administrative structure
• Administrative divisions	1 Towns of district significance, 12 Selsoviets
• Inhabited localities[3]	1 cities/towns, 242 rural localities
Municipal structure
• Municipally incorporated as	Kargopolsky Municipal District[7]
• Municipal divisions[7]	1 urban settlements, 5 rural settlements
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK [8])
OKTMO ID	11618000
Website	http://www.kargopolland.ru/

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The area was populated by speakers of Uralic languages and then colonized by the Novgorod Republic. Traditionally, the foundation of Kargopol is thought to be in 1146, although it was not first mentioned in the chronicles until the 14th century. In the 15th century, it was already a fortress, playing an important role in the struggle between Novgorod and the emerging power of Moscow. In particular, in 1447 the outlaw prince Dmitry Shemyaka, after being chased from Moscow by Vasily II, fled to Kargopol and stayed there for over a year. After the fall of Novgorod, the area became a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In the 16th century, Kargopol was one of the biggest towns of Russia, and was mainly a merchant town due to its location on the road from Moscow to Arkhangelsk (at the time, the main Russian harbor for European trade). Kargopol was also used for political exile. For instance, Ivan Bolotnikov, the leader of the peasant insurgence, was sent to Kargopol in 1607, where he was blinded and then drowned. After St. Petersburg was built in 1703, the trade was rerouted to the Baltic Sea and the importance of Kargopol diminished.

In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known from 1710 as Saint Petersburg Governorate). In 1727, it was transferred to the newly established Novgorod Governorate. After a number of administrative reforms, in 1801 Kargopol ended up as the seat of Kargopolsky Uyezd, one of the four uyezds of the newly established Olonets Governorate. On April 30, 1919, Kargopolsky Uyezd was transferred to Vologda Governorate, and in 1922, when Olonets Governorate was abolished, some areas from Vytegorsky Uyezd were transferred to Kargopolsky Uyezd. On July 15, 1929, the uyezds were abolished, the governorates merged into Northern Krai, and Kargopolsky District was established among others. It became a part of Nyandoma Okrug of Northern Krai.^[2]

The areas south of Lake Lacha belonged to Kirillovsky Uyezd of Novgorod Governorate. In 1918, five uyezds of Novgorod Governorate, including Kirillovsky Uyezd, were split off to form Cherepovets Governorate. In 1919, these areas were transferred to Kargopolsky Uyezd.^[11]

In the following years, the first-level administrative division of Russia kept changing. In 1930, the okrug was abolished, and the district was subordinated to the central administration of Northern Krai. In 1936, the krai was transformed into Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast itself was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. Kargopolsky District remained in Arkhangelsk Oblast ever since.

The district is almost exclusively located in the basin of the Onega River, which is the biggest river in the district, and belongs to the basin of the White Sea. The source of the Onega is Lake Lacha, which is the biggest lake in the district. The northeastern shore of Lake Vozhe, also in the basin of the Onega, belongs to Kargopolsky District, but the lake itself is in Vologda Oblast. The two lakes are connected by the Svid River. The major tributary of the Onega is the Voloshka River (left). Some minor areas in the northwest of the district belong to the basin of the Vodla River and eventually of the Baltic Sea, and very minor areas in the southwest belong to the basin of the Kema River and eventually to the Caspian Sea.

There are many lakes in the district, especially in the northwest. The biggest lake after Lake Lacha is Lake Lyokshmozero, which is connected to the Onega by the Lyokshma River.

The major part of the district is covered by coniferous forests (taiga).

The northern part of the district, including Lake Lyokshmozero, is included into Kenozersky National Park (which is split between Kargopolsky and Plesetsky Districts).

The borders of Kargopolsky District for the most part conform to those of the municipal district, with the exception of the settlement of Sovza, which is administratively a part of Yertsevsky Selsoviet of Konoshsky District,^[12] but is municipally incorporated within Ukhotskoye Rural Settlement of Kargopolsky Municipal District.^[7]

Kargopolsky District has a very high concentration of historical, archaeological, and architectural monuments. The district contains 40 objects (thirteen of them in Kargopol) classified as cultural and historical heritage by Russian Federal law, and additionally 182 objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local importance.^[16] Most of these are the white-stone churches of the town of Kargopol and wooden churches and chapels located in the area. The town of Kargopol contains a number of white-stone churches, the earliest of which, the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, dates back to 1552. This is the oldest building of mainland Arkhangelsk Oblast (some buildings of the Solovetsky Monastery also stem from the 16th century).

The monuments classified as historical and architectural heritage include:

• The Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ (1552–1562) with the bell-tower (1766–1767) in Kargopol
• The Resurrection Church (end of 17th century) in Kargopol
• The Church of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (1740–1751) in Kargopol
• The Holy Trinity Church (1790–1802) in Kargopol
• The Presentation Church (1803) in Kargopol
• The ensemble of three churches: the Annunciation Church (1692), the Saint Nicholas Church (1741), and the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos (1678–1680) in Kargopol
• The ensemble of Aleksandro-Oshevensky Monastery (from 1707) in Oshevensk^{[clarification needed]}
• The ensemble of Pogost Bolshaya Shalga consisting of the Nativity Church (1745) and the Intercession Church (1857) in Bolshaya Shalga^{[clarification needed]}
• The Saint Nicholas Church (1659) in Pavlovsky Pogost; no longer exists^[17]
• The Saint Nicholas Church (1666) in Volosovo^{[clarification needed]}
• The Church of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple in Krasnaya Lyaga, a former village west of Kargopol;
• The triple ensemble in Lyadiny (Gavrilovskaya) the Church of the Protection of the Theotokos (1693), the Intercession Church (1761), and the bell-tower (1820). The Intercession Church and the bell-tower burned down on May 6, 2013 and do not any longer exist.^[18]
• The Saint Nicholas Chapel (1834) in the village of Pogost
• The ensemble of the Saunino Pogost consisting of the Church of Saint John Chrysostom (1665) and the bell-tower (18th century) in Kiprovo

The only state museum in the district is Kargopol State Museum of History, Art, and Architecture, founded in 1919.^[19] This is cloak organization, which not only holds ethnographic, art and historic exhibits, but also protects some of the architectural monuments in Kargopol and surroundings. Fifteen buildings, including a number of churches, belong to the museum. Another museum was open in 1994 in the school of the selo of Lyadiny.^[20] There are also two private museums in Kargopol.

There is a traditional handicraft in Kargopol and the area which is production of painted clay toys.^[21]