Ryvkina, G. V. MAINTENANCE AND CONDITION OF THE ROADWAYS OF THE KARELIAN COUNTIES OF THE OLONETS PROVINCE IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES. Proceedings of Petrozavodsk State University. 2021;43(4):110–117. DOI: 10.15393/uchz.art.2021.625


Ethnology, anthropology and ethnography

MAINTENANCE AND CONDITION OF THE ROADWAYS OF THE KARELIAN COUNTIES OF THE OLONETS PROVINCE IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Ryvkina
G. V. 		Karelian Research Centre RussianAcademy of Sciences
Keywords:
Olonets province
road construction
road culture		 Summary: The study of the formation of the road network of the Olonets province opens up prospects for a more detailed consideration of the processes of penetration of cultural elements into Karelian villages related to education, health, technological progress, intercultural interactions, etc. The formation of the Olonets Province as an independent administrative unit in 1801 can be considered a start of development of the internal land roads of Karelia. The functions of supervising the main postal routes of the Olonets province were assigned to the provincial road Commission. After the zemstvo reform of 1866, these powers were transferred to the zemstvo institutions of the province. The roads of the province were divided into two specific categories – zemstvo and country roads. Performing road repairs was a natural duty of the peasants. The condition of postal roads and zemstvo tracts in the second half of the XIX century was characterized by contemporaries as satisfactory. Country roads were in a more difficult condition, often represented by horseback riding and hiking trails; were narrow, rocky, and passed through swampy terrain. Of particular importance to the country roads of the Karelian counties of the region were the places of transportation, as well as bridges. After the establishment of a special road capital in 1895, the zemstvos launched extensive activities for the construction of cart roads in the province. Thanks to these activities, it is possible speak of the emergence of a large-scale land road network of the region in the first decade of the twentieth century, including post roads, county tracts and back roads, which could be used for wheeled transport.



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