Roads

Subject / Topography
ROADS. Historically, the road network in the territory of Leningrad oblast has been developing unevenly: the regions east of the Volkhov River are worse provided with R. because the principal economic, military, and cultural centers have always been concentrated in the west. In the early 21st century, the density of R. in the western regions adjacent to St. Petersburg has reached 217 km per 1000 sq. km, while in the east (Tikhvin, Boksitogorsk, and Lodeynoye Pole Districts) this indicator is 2.5 times lower. In ancient times, waterways served as R.: in winter, people traveled on frozen rivers using sledges (see Drainage Network, “Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.”) The development of land routes is related to the development of the State system and cities. In the Middle Ages, water and land routes (Luzhsky, Vodsky, via the Volkhov, Lake Ladoga, and the Neva) connected Novgorod to the Baltic Coast. From the late 15th c., they were gradually transformed into “His Majesty’s” post roads to Koporye, Ivangorod (Ivangorod Road), and Ladoga – Orekhovo – Korela (with a branch to Tikhvin and Olonets.) The Nienshants-Vyborg R. with a branch to Kexholm (Priozersk), and Nienshants-Narva R. (known in the 18th c. as “Koporye Road.”) were mentioned in the 17th c. The densest network of cross-country R. was formed on the Izhora Hills, the most densely populated agricultural region. From the 18th c., St. Petersburg influenced the generation of the road network. As a result, the road network in the western part of Leningrad Oblast became radial, with main roads connecting the center (St. Petersburg) to various periphery points. The St. Petersburg-Moscow route became the most important one. The first “great perspective road” from St. Petersburg to Moscow via Staraya Russa, Rzhev, and Volokolamsk was opened in 1746 (the St. Petersburg – Sosnitsky post house, in 1742.) It was there that the first post offices were set up. In the 19th c., highway R. appeared that replaced the dirt roads on the key routes (the new St. Petersburg-Moscow road built in 1817-35 was the first of these.) Kovno (currently Kiev) Highway, Narva Highway, Archangel Road (road via Schlusselburg parallel to the Ladoga Canals.) were among the post R in the mid-19th c. In the 20th c., the construction of motor roads began, with virtually full replacement of block stone paving with asphalt paving. The construction of new R. (railway lines included, see October Railroad ) and improvement of the existing ones promoted higher marketability of agriculture, and penetration of elements of urban culture into the country way of life. In the Soviet period, the construction of R. was also related to military purposes: such are the so-called “Voroshilov” R. constructed in the 1930s in the Soikinsky and Kurgalsky Peninsulas; two arc-shaped R. enveloping St. Petersburg in the south and north, informally called “concretes” since concrete slabs were initially used for paving (one of them extends from Bolshaya Izhora to Kirovsk, and the other, from Ushkovo to the settlement named after Morozov.) In the 1970s – 1990s there were numerous straightenings and expansions of R.; R. bypassing inhabited localities were constructed (Murmansk Highway from St. Petersburg to the Ladoga Bridge, or Scandinavia Highway), as well as detour R. around some towns (Gatchina, Kingisepp, Pikalevo.) Currently, a ring R. around St. Petersburg is under construction. A part of the completed eastern semi-ring extends across Vsevolozhsk District. In 2004, the length of public R. in Leningrad Oblast was 10,909 km (federal, 1245 km; regional, 9664 km.) The density of public motor roads for the Oblast in general is 127 km per 1000 sq. km (Russia’s average figure is 31 km per 1000 sq. km.) Roads are constructed in Leningrad Oblast under the regional program of motor road network improvement and development up to 2020. Chistyakov, Anton Yuryevich
Leningrad Oblast, the/Boksitogorsk District
Leningrad Oblast, the/Lomonosov District/Bolshaya Izhora Urban Settlement
Leningrad Oblast, the/Gatchina District/Gatchina Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Ivangorod Town
Topographical landmarks/Izhora Hills, the
Leningrad Oblast, the/Kingisepp District/Kingisepp Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Kirovsk District/Kirovsk Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Lomonosov District/Koporye Village
Topographical landmarks/Kurgalsky Peninsula, the
Topographical landmarks/Ladoga Canal, the
Leningrad Oblast, the/Lodeynoye Pole District
Neighbouring Territories/Narva City
Historical Toponyms/Niyenshants
Neighbouring Territories/Novgorod City
Topographical landmarks/Okhta River, the
Leningrad Oblast, the/Pikalevo Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Priozersk District/Priozersk Town
Saint-Petersburg City
Leningrad Oblast, the/Shlisselburg Town
Topographical landmarks/Soikinsky Peninsula, the
Historical Toponyms/Sosnitsky Yam
Leningrad Oblast, the/Tikhvin District
Leningrad Oblast, the/Vsevolozhsk District/Urban Settlement named after Morozov
Saint-Petersburg City/Ushkovo Settlement
Topographical landmarks/Volkhov River, the
Leningrad Oblast, the/Vsevolozhsk District
Leningrad Oblast, the/Vyborg District/Vyborg Town
Дороги России. М., 1996
Исаченко Г. А. «Окно в Европу»: История и ландшафты. СПб., 1998, С. 346-365
Селин А.А. Ивангородская дорога. СПб., 1996, С. 346-365
Официальное представительство Ленинградской области. URL: http://www.lenobl.ru, http://www.lenobl.ru/economics/transport
Плоткин К.М. Русские и шведские источники XVII в. о путях сообщения Новгородской земли // Псков: Памяти Юрия Павловича Спегальского. 1909–1969. Псков, 1999, С. 176-202
Drainage network
October Railroad, the
Post stations
Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks