Pudozh () is a town and the administrative center of Pudozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Vodla River east of Petrozavodsk, but traveling by the road around Lake Onega. Population: 8,000 (1970).
An international tourist route Blue Highway ends in Pudozh. The route leads from Norway via Sweden and Finland to Republic of Karelia.
Etymology According to Yevgeny Pospelov, the name of Pudozh is derived from the Karelian word (genitive ) meaning 'anabranch, distributary', referring to its location by an anabranch of the river Vodla. In the Karelian language, the town is known as , while in Finnish it is called or .
History It was first mentioned in a birch bark manuscript from the late 14th century as Pudoga. The settlement was later called Pudozhsky Pogost. It was granted town status in 1785, also becoming the center of the Pudozhsky uezd. Pudozh was demoted to a selo in 1926, but its town status was restored in 1943.
A commemorative monument was erected in 1989 for those executed in the 1930s and 1940s -- local residents, Belbaltlag prisoners and people of Finnish nationality.https://en.mapofmemory.org/10-15
Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Pudozh serves as the administrative center of Pudozhsky District, to which it is directly subordinated.Law #871-RZK As a municipal division, the town of Pudozh, together with eleven rural localities, is incorporated within Pudozhsky Municipal District as Pudozhskoye Urban Settlement.Law #813-RZK
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