Pytalovo
Encyclopedia
Pytalovsky District
Pytalovsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the 24 in Pskov Oblast, Russia....
of Pskov Oblast
Pskov Oblast
Pskov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Pskov Oblast borders the countries of Estonia and Latvia, as well as Belarus. It is the westernmost federal subject of contiguous Russia . Its major cities are the administrative center Pskov and Velikiye Luki . Area: 55,300 km²...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Population:
Pytalovo was part of independent Latvia as Abrene
Abrene district
The Abrene district was an administrative district in the Republic of Latvia with an area of 4292 square kilometers, formed in 1925 from the northern part of the Ludza district and the western part of the Ostrov region as the Jaunlatgale district, but this was renamed Abrene in 1938...
until Latvia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union. Latvia disputed Russian jurisdiction over the region until signing a border treaty with Russia in 2007.
History
The village of Pytalovo by 1878 had a population of 57 and was a part of Ostrovsky Uyezd of Pskov Governorate. It grew into a town after becoming a railway station by a newly constructed railroad branch.By the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty
Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty
The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty also known as the Treaty of Riga, was signed on 11 August 1920 by representatives of the Republic of Latvia and Soviet Russia...
of 1920, part of Ostrovsky Uyezd, including Pytalovo, was passed to Latvia and the town was known since then by its Latvian
Latvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
name Jaunlatgale (until 1938 when its official name was changed to Abrene). During the interwar period it was the administrative center of the Abrene district
Abrene district
The Abrene district was an administrative district in the Republic of Latvia with an area of 4292 square kilometers, formed in 1925 from the northern part of the Ludza district and the western part of the Ostrov region as the Jaunlatgale district, but this was renamed Abrene in 1938...
.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
annexed Abrene together with the eastern part of the Abrene District from Latvian SSR
Latvian SSR
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Latvian SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the Soviet Union. Established on 21 July 1940 as a puppet state during World War II in the territory of the previously independent Republic of Latvia after it had been occupied by...
to Pskov Oblast
Pskov Oblast
Pskov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Pskov Oblast borders the countries of Estonia and Latvia, as well as Belarus. It is the westernmost federal subject of contiguous Russia . Its major cities are the administrative center Pskov and Velikiye Luki . Area: 55,300 km²...
of the Russian SFSR. Most of the Latvian inhabitants left the town and the town was renamed back to Pytalovo. This change of jurisdiction has been a matter of Latvian-Russian disagreement since the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
. Pytalovo is the largest town in this disputed region.
In 2007 border treaty between Latvia and Russia was signed and ratified. Pytalovo was recognized as Russian territory.
Places of interest
Among places of interest in town Pytalovo there is a modernistModernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
style railroad station building built in the early 20th century, the wooden building of the functioning St. Nicholas Church built in 1931, the post office building (early 20th century), and the house of merchant Ilyin (built in the 1920s) located at 9 Pushkinskaya Street.