Roshchino

Roshchino ( _ru. Рощино; _fi. Raivola), before 1948–Raivola, is an urban-type settlement in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, and a station on Saint Petersburg-Vyborg railroad. It is situated on the Karelian Isthmus 60 km north-west of St. Petersburg, approximately half-way to Vyborg. In wooded areas surrounding Roshchino there are multiple marshes and small lakes. Lintula larch forest is located some three kilometers to the west from the railroad station.

Population: 9,393 (2002 Census); 8,436 (1989 Census).

History

Raivola was first shown on maps of Finland in the 16th century [ _ru. Киселев И.В. Райвола на картах. (in proceedings of 1999's conference, Cf below)] . After 1812 it was under jurisdiction of Grand Duchy of Finland being part of Russian Empire. The mixed Russian-Finnish population of the area was engaged in agriculture. Around 1802 count Saltykov resettled some 609 of his subjects from the Orlov region to the area to meet growing manpower demands for his iron works; in addition to the iron foundry maps of mid-19th century show also sawmill. After the railroad to Helsinki was opened by czar Alexander II in 1870, Raivola was used for changing of locomotive crews. Establishment of the railroad station turned Raivola into suburb of St. Petersburg and development of the area continued with construction of summer cottages. By end of the century the population stood around 2,000, of which 169 were Finns. The village had shops, warehouses, two (Finnish and Russian) schools, and Russian Orthodox church of St. Nicholas with library and medical facility. Also hydro-electric power station and telephone station were established. The importance of the local railway station was eclipsed by Terijoki where Finnish customs depot was established in 1911 [ _ru. Алексеева О.Б. Станция Райволо-Рощино в составе железной дороги Санкт-Петербург-Риихимяки. ("Ibid")]

In first quarter of the 20th century Raivola was a summer home to Finnish-Swedish family of modernist poet Edith Södergran who died in Raivola in 1923.

After the Russian October Revolution and independence of Finland, Raivola was recognized as part of Finnish Karelia by articles of Treaty of Tartu in 1920, and the majority of Russian inhabitants have left. The Soviet Union gained control of Raivola following Winter War in 1940. Soviet government's decree of May 28, 1940 provided for establishment of collective farms and resettlement of Russians from Yaroslavl Oblast. Plans of Stalin's government also included forced population transfer of native Finns (116 people, mostly sick and elderly) [ _ru. Балашов Е.А. Райвола: переселенческая политика по обе стороны границы. 1939-1945 гг. ("Ibid")] to Kazakhstan however were disrupted by the Nazi invasion. Finland has joined hostilities hoping to reverse losses of 1940 but as result of the war the USSR regained Raivola by Paris Peace Treaties, 1947. In 1948, the village was renamed as Roshchino and again became suburb of Leningrad (the railroad was electrified in 1954) with seasonal swelling of population due to widespread construction of summer cottages, development of privately owned and leased garden plots, establishment of recreational facilities, and youth summer camps.

Lintula Larch Forest

The Lintula Larch Forest ( _ru. Корабельная роща, "Korabelnaya roshcha", lit. "shipbuilding timber grove", or Линдуловская лиственничная роща; _fi. Lehtikuusimetsä) had a major impact on the cultivation of larch throughout the world and is considered one of the most important cultivated forests in northern Europe [Redko, Georgi and Eino Mälkönen (2005). [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a714025717 The Lintula Larch Forest] . "Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research" 20.3, 252-282.] . It was established by order of Peter the Great to supply the Russian Navy with shipbuilding timber. Ferdinand Gabriel Fockel, a German forest expert, established the oldest stands in 1738–1750 with seedlings of European Larch ("Larix decidua") from the province of Arkhangelsk. Since then the area of the forest has expanded and currently the total area of larch is 55.9 ha (23.5 ha of the 'old stands' established before 1851 still remain).

Possible origins of name

*Two versions explaining the origins of the name "Raivola" exist: one using Finnish verb "raivata", which means "to clean" or "to grub out", and second deriving from the adjective "raivo"—"mad", possibly alluding to the riding style of Russian coachmen, settled here in time of Peter the Great. The latter version is less likely since the coach station and adjacent residences were located not in Raivola but in neighboring Kivennapa.
*Name "Roshchino" used after 1948 is derived from " _ru. роща" ("roshcha", meaning "grove") referring to the Lintula larch grove.

External links

* [http://roschino.narod.ru Unofficial website of Roshchino] en icon ru icon
* [http://www.raivola.net Raivola website, sponsored by ProKarelia] fi icon

References

Other references

* _ru. "Райвола-Рощино: История и люди: Материалы науч.конф.", 22-23 сент. 1999 г./ Библ.-инф. центр МО «Выборгский район» Ленинградской области; Сост. и ред. А.Прокопенко—Materials of conference "Raivola-Roshchino: History and people", September 22-23, 1999 at Library and Information Center of Vyborg district, A.Prokopenko (Ed.). Includes summaries of most of the proceedings which are available at [http://roschino.narod.ru the Roshchino's website] in the "Papers" section).