The whole area of the district belongs to the drainage basin of the
Mologa River, a major tributary of the
Rybinsk Reservoir. The Mologa crosses the eastern part of the district from south to north, and stretches of its course form the boundary between Lesnoy District and Maksatikhinsky and Sandovsky Districts. The principal tributaries of the Mologa within the district are the
Keza and the
Saragozha. 65% of the district area is covered by forests.[2]
History
The area of the district was originally populated by the
Finnic peoples, in the 11th century,
Slavs started to arrive. In the 13th century, the town of
Ilovl (Ilov) was located in the area, which belonged to the
Novgorod Republic. The town was presumably destroyed by
Mongols. In the 15th century, together with Novgorod, the area was annexed by the
Grand Duchy of Moscow. It belonged to
Bezhetsk Pyatina, one of the five
pyatinas into which Novgorod lands were divided.[10]
In the course of the
administrative reform carried out in 1708 by
Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as
Saint Petersburg Governorate), but in 1727 it was transferred to
Moscow Governorate. In 1775,
Tver Viceroyalty was formed from the lands which previously belonged to Moscow and
Novgorod Governorates, and in 1776
Vesyegonsky Uyezd was established as a part of Tver Viceroyalty. In 1796, the viceroyalty was transformed into
Tver Governorate, and Vesyegonsky Uyezd was abolished, the area was moved to
Bezhetsky Uyezd. In 1803, the uyezd was re-established. The area was split between three
volosts of Vesyegonsky Uyezd, Nikolskaya, Mikhaylovskaya, and Lopatinskaya Volosts.[10] On April 25, 1921, Vesyegonsky Uyezd was transferred to newly established
Rybinsk Governorate. In 1922, part of the area was transferred to
Vyshnevolotsky Uyezd of Tver Governorate. On February 15, 1923, Rybinsk Governorate was abolished, and Vesyegonsky uyezd was transferred back to Tver Governorate.[10][11]
On July 12, 1929 the governorates and uyezds were abolished. Mikhaylovsky District, with the administrative center in the
selo of Smerdyn, was established within
Bezhetsk Okrug of
Moscow Oblast. On July 23, 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On December 25, 1930 Smerdyn was renamed Lesnoye, and Mikhaylovsky District was renamed Lesnoy District. On January 29, 1935
Kalinin Oblast was established, and Lesnoy District was transferred to Kalinin Oblast. In February 1963, during the abortive administrative reform by
Nikita Khrushchev, Lesnoy District was merged into Maksatikhinsky District, but on December 30, 1966 it was re-established.[11] In 1990, Kalinin Oblast was renamed Tver Oblast.
Economy
Industry
There are enterprises of timber and food industries in the district.[12]
Agriculture
The main agricultural specialization of the district is cattle breeding with meat and milk production.[13]
Transportation
Lesnoye is connected by road with Maksatikha. There are some local roads, however, there are no roads which connect the district and Novgorod Oblast.
None of the rivers in the district are navigable.
Culture and recreation
The district contains seven cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally twenty-four objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The federal monuments include the complex of the Ascencion Church (1749) in the selo of
Mikhaylovskoye, the tomb of Lieutenant
Dmitry Ilyin, a participant of the
Battle of Chesma, in the village of
Zastizhye, as well as a number of archeological sites.[14]
^
abcОбщие сведения (in Russian). Администрация муниципального образования Тверской области «Лесной район». Archived from
the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
^Промышленность (in Russian). Администрация муниципального образования Тверской области «Лесной район». Archived from
the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
^Сельское хозяйство (in Russian). Администрация муниципального образования Тверской области «Лесной район». Archived from
the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
Законодательное Собрание Тверской области. Закон №4-ЗО от 18 января 2005 г. «Об установлении границ муниципальных образований Тверской области и наделении их статусом городских округов, муниципальных районов», в ред. Закона №65-ЗО от 24 июля 2012 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 2 Закона Тверской области "Об установлении границ муниципальных образований Тверской области и наделении их статусом городских округов, муниципальных районов"». Вступил в силу через десять дней после официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Тверские ведомости", №3, 21–27 января 2005 г. (Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast. Law #4-ZO of January 18, 2005 On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Tver Oblast and on Granting Them the Status of Urban Okrugs, Municipal Districts, as amended by the Law #65-ZO of July 24, 2012 On Amending Article 2 of the Law of Tver Oblast "On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Tver Oblast and on Granting Them the Status of Urban Okrugs, Municipal Districts". Effective as of the day which is ten days after the official publication.).
Законодательное Собрание Тверской области. Закон №34-ЗО от 28 февраля 2005 г. «Об установлении границ муниципальных образований, входящих в состав территории муниципального образования Тверской области "Лесной район", и наделении их статусом сельского поселения», в ред. Закона №11-ЗО от 3 февраля 2010 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Тверской области "Об установлении границ муниципальных образований, входящих в состав территории муниципального образования Тверской области "Лесной район", и наделении их статусом сельского поселения"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Тверские ведомости", №10, 11–17 марта 2005 г. (Legislative Assembly of Tver Oblast. Law #34-ZO of February 28, 2005 On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations Comprised by the Territory of the Municipal Formation of "Lesnoy District" and on Granting Them the Status of Rural Settlements, as amended by the Law #11-ZO of February 3, 2010 On Amending the Law of Tver Oblast "On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations Comprised by the Territory of the Municipal Formation of "Lesnoy District" and on Granting Them the Status of Rural Settlements". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).