VOLOGDA  , a

town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name, situated in its south-western corner on the river Vologda, above its confluence with the navigable Sukhona, 127 M. by rail N. of Yaroslavl . Pop . (1881) 17,025; (1897) 27,822 . It is an old town, having many ancient churches, including one which dates from the 12th century, and the cathedral, founded in 1568 . Vologda is a considerable commercial centre—flax, linseed, oats, hemp, butter and eggsbeing exported to both St Petersburg and Archangel . It has distilleries, tanneries, and oil, soap, tobacco, candle and fur-dressing works . Vologda existed as a trading town as early as the z 2th century . It was a colony of Novgorod, and was founded in 1147, and carried on a brisk trade in flax, tallow, furs, corn, leather and manufactured goods . In 1273 it was plundered by the prince of Tver in alliance with the Tatars, but soon recovered . Moscow disputed its possession with Novgorod until the 15th century; the Moscow princes intrigued to find support amidst the poorer inhabitants against the richer Novgorod merchants, and four successive times Vologda had to fight against its metropolis . It was definitely annexed to Moscow in 1447 . When Archangel was founded, and opened for foreign trade in 1553, Vologda became the chief depot for goods exported through that channel .

Polish bands plundered it in 1613, and the plague of 1648 devastated it; but it maintained its commercial importance until the foundation of St Petersburg, when Russian foreign trade took another channel .