The name is derived from the word "плёс" which means "river reach". Plestsy is the name for a small lake which Plesetsk adjoins.
History
The area was originally populated by the Finno-Ugric peoplesand then colonized by the Novgorod Republic. It belonged at the trading routes connecting central and northern Russia: first, from Moscow to the White Sea along the Onega River, and then, after 1765, along the newly built road between Saint-Petersburg and Arkhangelsk, which still exists and passes Kargopol and Plesetsk. However, the Plesetsk area until the 1890s was underpopulated since it was located at some distance from the main rivers of the region. From 1796, it belonged to Arkhangelsky Uyezd of Arkhangelsk Governorate. In 1894–1897, Plesetskaya railway station was built during the construction of the railroad between Vologda and Arkhangelsk. Eventually, the volost center was moved from the selo of Navolok to Plesetskaya. During the Russian Civil War in 1918, battles were fought between the Red Army and the British troops in and around Plesetsk. On July 15, 1929, the uyezds were abolished, the governorates merged into Northern Krai, and Plesetsky District was established among others. It became a part of Arkhangelsk Okrug of Northern Krai. In 1930, the okrug was abolished, and the district became subordinate 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, and Plesetsk remains the center of Plesetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Plesetsk is located on the road connecting Kargopol with one of the principal highways in Russia, M8 between Moscow and Arkhangelsk. This is the historic trading route which connected Kargopol with Arkhangelsk before the railroad was built, and long stretches of this road are still unpaved. The stretch between Kargopol and Plesetsk was paved in 2011. Plesetsk is located on the Northern Railway connecting Moscow and Arkhangelsk. From Plesetsk, a railway line to the west, connecting to Severoonezhsk, Undozero and Yangory is one of the biggest railways in Russia which does not belong to the Russian Railways. The owner of the railway is the State Department of Corrections. Plans to extend this line to Medvezhyegorsk have not been realized. Plesetsk also serves as a transport hub to Plesetsk cosmodrome, located in the nearby town of Mirny. Plesetskaya railway station is a terminus to cosmodrome's railway system.
