Tver

Capital of Tver region, in the northwestern Russian Federation, 160 km/100 mi northwest of Moscow; population (1990) 454,000. Tver is a transport centre on the Moscow–St Petersburg road and railway line, and has a port on the River Volga. The chief economic activities are the textile industry (producing cotton and artificial fibres), together with the manufacture of railway rolling-stock and chemicals.

Known since 1208, from the 1240s it was the capital of Tver principality (later Grand Principality), which after prolonged rivalry with Muscovy was absorbed by the latter in 1485. It was an important centre of crafts and commerce in the 14th–15th centuries. The town was attacked successively by Mongol Tatars, Ivan III, and Ivan the Terrible, and in 1763 was totally destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt at the behest of Catherine (II) the Great.

In 1466–72 the Tver merchant Nikitin was the first European to travel to India. The city contains many interesting classical buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. It was renamed in 1932 in honour of Soviet President Mikhail Kalinin.

Tver

Oblast (region) in the western Russian Federation; area 84,100 sq km/32,471 sq mi; population (1996) 1,651,000 (73% urban). The capital is Tver. There are textile, food processing, chemical engineering, traditional handicrafts, and cottage industries. Flax and potatoes are grown, and there is dairy farming.

The region is situated in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow on the upper Volga. It is partly covered with mixed coniferous and deciduous forests. There are plentiful peat and lignite (brown coal) deposits. Cities include Vishniy Volochek, and Rzhev.