The district is located on the left bank of the Northern Dvina River. Most of the district's territory belongs to the basin of the Ustya River and its tributaries. The main tributaries of the Ustya are the Kizema (left), the Obil (right), and the Kokshenga (left).
Minor parts of the district in the east and in the north belong to the basins of some of the tributaries of the Northern Dvina, such as the Yumizh and the Ludonga, and drain to the northeast.
Most of the district is covered by coniferous forests (taiga).
The area was populated by speakers of Uralic languages and then colonized by the Novgorod Republic. After the fall of Novgorod, the area became a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Historically, it was a part of Vazhsky Uyezd, a vast area including almost all of the basin of the Vaga River. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Archangelgorod Governorate. In 1780, the governorate was abolished and transformed into Vologda Viceroyalty. Vazhsky Uyezd was split, and the area of the current Ustyansky District became a part of the newly established Velsky Uyezd. In 1796, Velsky Uyezd was transferred to Vologda Governorate and remained there until 1929, when several governorates were merged into Northern Krai. On July 15, 1929, the uyezds were abolished, and Velsky Uyezd was split into Velsky, Verkhovazhsky, and Ustyansky Districts. The administrative center of Ustyansky district became the seloofShangaly. Ustyansky District became a part of Nyandoma Okrug of Northern Krai.
In the following years, the first-level administrative division of Russia kept changing. In 1930, the okrug was abolished, and the district was subordinated to the central administration of Northern Krai. In 1936, the krai itself was transformed into Northern Oblast. In 1937, Northern Oblast was split into Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast. Ustyansky District remained in Arkhangelsk Oblast ever since.
On September 26, 1975, the administrative center of the district was transferred from Shangaly to Oktyabrsky, but it took some time before all of the district services were moved.[11]
From 1924 to 1959, Cherevkovsky District existed, with the administrative center in the seloofCherevkovo, initially in Northern Dvina Governorate. On September 11, 1959, the district was abolished and split between Krasnoborsky, Verkhnetoyemsky, and Ustyansky Districts; the administrative center Cherevkovo became a part of Krasnoborsky District.
As a municipal division, the district is divided into one urban settlement and fifteen rural settlements (the administrative centers are given in parentheses):[7]
Paved roads connect Oktyabrsky with Velsk in the west and with Totma and Veliky Ustyug via Tarnogsky Gorodok in the south. There are also local roads in the district; one of which connects Oktyabrsky with the seloofBestuzhevo in the north of the district.
A section of the railroad connecting Konosha and Kotlas, which eventually continues to Vorkuta, lies in the district. The principal station in the limits of the district is Kostylevo, several kilometers from Oktyabrsky.
The district previously had one object classified as cultural and historical heritage by Russian Federal law.[13] This is the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos (18th century) in the seloofBestuzhevo, which was neglected and eventually burned down in 1994.[14] Additionally, eleven architectural monuments and ten archaeological monuments have been designated as cultural heritage monuments of local importance.[15]
The only museum in the district is the Ustyansky District Museum, which was opened in 1984 in Shangaly and moved to Oktyabrsky in 1987.[16]
^The count of urban-type settlements may include the work settlements, the resort settlements, the suburban (dacha) settlements, as well as urban-type settlements proper.
Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Областной закон №65-5-ОЗ от 23 сентября 2009 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №232-13-ОЗ от 16 декабря 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в отдельные Областные Законы в сфере осуществления местного самоуправления и взаимодействия с некоммерческими организациями». Вступил в силу через десять дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волна", №43, 6 октября 2009 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Council of Deputies. Oblast Law #65-5-OZ of September 23, 2009 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #232-13-OZ of December 16, 2014 On Amending Various Oblast Laws Dealing with the Process of Municipal Self-Government and Relations with Non-Profit Organizations. Effective as of the day which is ten days after the official publication.).
Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Областной закон №258-внеоч.-ОЗ от 23 сентября 2004 г. «О статусе и границах территорий муниципальных образований в Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №224-13-ОЗ от 16 декабря 2014 г. «Об упразднении отдельных населённых пунктов Соловецкого района Архангельской области и о внесении изменения в статью 46 Областного закона "О статусе и границах территорий муниципальных образований в Архангельской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волна", №38, 8 октября 2004 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Council of Deputies. Oblast Law #258-vneoch.-OZ of September 23, 2004 On the Status and Borders of the Territories of the Municipal Formations in Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #224-13-OZ of December 16, 2014 On Abolishing Several Inhabited Localities in Solovetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast and on Amending Article 46 of the Oblast Law "On the Status and Borders of the Territories of the Municipal Formations in Arkhangelsk Oblast". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
[8])
