Vologodsky District  Vologodsky District () is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. It is located in the center of the oblast and borders with Ust-Kubinsky and Sokolsky Districts in the northeast, Mezhdurechensky District in the east, Gryazovetsky District in the southeast, Poshekhonsky District of Yaroslavl Oblast in the southwest, Sheksninsky District in the west, and with Kirillovsky District in the northwest. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the city of Vologda (which is not administratively a part of the district). Population: 50,956 (2002 Census); As of 2010, Vologodsky District was the most populous among all the districts of Vologda Oblast. The district is elongated from northwest to southeast with Lake Kubenskoye, one of the biggest lakes in Vologda Oblast, forming its northeastern border. The lake is shared between Vologodsky and Ust-Kubensky Districts. Almost all of the district's territory lies in the basin of the Sukhona River. In particular, the rivers in the north lie in the basin of Lake Kubenskoye, the source of the Sukhona, and the southern part is in the basin of the Vologda River, one of the major tributaries of the Sukhona. The Lezha River, another major tributary of the Sukhona, forms the southeastern border of the district, and the Sukhona itself forms the eastern border, upstream from the mouth of the Lezha. Minor areas in the northwest of the district are in the Sheksna River's basin and some areas in the south of the district are in the basin of the Sogozha River. Both rivers are left tributaries of the Volga, and thus the divide between the basins of the White and the Caspian Seas crosses the district. Vologda was first mentioned in reliable sources in 1264 as a remote settlement controlled by the Novgorod Republic. Subsequently, it became an important settlement on the trade route connecting Central Russia to the White Sea via the Northern Dvina River, and therefore it was a subject of frequent disputes between Novgorod and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In the 15th century, it became the seat of the quasi-independent Principality of Vologda, which was most of the time controlled by Moscow and which included the current area of Vologodsky District.