Perm Governorate

58°00′50″N 56°14′56″E / 58.0139°N 56.2489°E / 58.0139; 56.2489

Perm Governorate (Russian: Пермская губерния, romanized: Permskaya guberniya), also known as the Governorate of Perm, was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR from 1781 to 1923. It was located on both slopes of the Ural Mountains, and its administrative center was the city of Perm. The region gave its name to the Permian period, the last period of the Paleozoic era.

On November 20 (December 1), 1780, Catherine the Great signed a decree establishing the Governorate of Perm consisting of the two oblasts – Perm and Yekaterinburg (roughly corresponding to the modern Perm Krai and Sverdlovsk Oblast of Russia), and the establishment of the provincial city of Perm. The first Governor-General of Perm and Tobolsk Governorate-General was appointed Lieutenant-General Yevgeny Petrovich Kashkin. In accordance with the decree of Emperor Paul I of December 12, 1796 "A new division of the state in the province", Perm and Tobolsk governorate-general was split into Perm and Tobolsk Governorates. On July 15, 1919, Yekaterinburg Governorate was separated from the Perm Governorate, consisting of 6 uyezds, located in the east, beyond the Urals. On November 4, 1920, Sarapulsky Uyezd of Vyatka Governorate was included in Perm Governorate. On November 3, 1923, Perm Governorate was abolished and its territory was included in the Ural Oblast with its center in Yekaterinburg.

Perm Governorate was bordered with Vologda Governorate (to the north), Tobolsk Governorate (to the east), Orenburg and Ufa governorates (to the south) and Vyatka Governorate (to the west).

Governorate's area was 332,052 km², 181,000 of them – in Europe and 151,000 – in Asia. Ural mountains, that crossed governorate from north to south for 640 km was a border between European and Asian parts and split it in two administrative oblasts – Perm to the west, and Yekaterinburg to the east. Highest point of governorate was Konzhakovsky Kamen (1565 m). European part of Perm governorate situated in basin of Kama River, Asian part – in basin of Tobol River. Drainage basin of Pechora River occupied extreme north of Cherdynsky Uyezd.

The Perm Governorate was one of the main centres of mining, metallurgical and metal-processing industries of the Russian Empire. In the middle of the 19th century, there were 4 fiscal and 18 private mining districts on the territory of the province, the largest industrial centres were Yekaterinburg and Motovilikha Plants in Perm suburbs. At the beginning of the 19th century 9 state enterprises, 69 private and possession plants, about 300 mines, 13 salterns, 14 coal mines, gold, platinum and silver mines were operating in the Governorate. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, joint-stock companies arose (11 in metallurgy, 12 in gold-platinum), including those with French, Belgian and British capital. In the 1910s, there were more than 260 thousand workers in the province, 80% of the enterprises had more than 500 workers.

The mining enterprises (mining and production of copper, iron, steel and pig iron, gold, platinum, hard coal and salt) occupied the middle belt of the Governorate on the territory of the Ural mountain range and covered the uyezds centered around towns of Perm, Solikamsk and Cherdyn on the western side of the range, and Verkhoturye, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoufimsk and parts of Kamyshlov and Irbit on the eastern side. By the beginning of the 20th century, the manufacture of simple agricultural machinery and implements, which were supplied outside the Governorate, had developed considerably.

Cereals (rye, oats, barley) were sown almost throughout the Governorate, but with different successes. The main producers were the southern uyezds – Shadrinsky, Kamyshlovsky, Krasnoufimsky and Osinsky. In the southern districts, significant quantities of wheat, millet and buckwheat were grown, as well as flax for seed production. In the Okhansky, Kungursky, Permsky and Irbitsky uyezds the yields were average, and in the Cherdynsky, Verkhotursky, Solikamsky, and Yekaterinburgsky uyezds there was not enough bread even for the rural population. Vegetable farming was widespread, but not gardening – fruit bushes (gooseberry, raspberry) were bred. Beekeeping was developed in Krasnovfimsk, Osinsky, Okhansky and Kungursky uyezds.