The viceroyalty was established by a decree (ukase) of Catherine II on September 5 [O.S.
Tver Province which belonged to Novgorod Governorate, was transformed into Tver Viceroyalty, and the rest of the governorate became Novgorod Viceroyalty.
Olonets Oblast included five uyezds, and Petrozavodsk was chartered in 1777.
[1] As with most of other governorates and viceroyalties established in the 1770s–1780s, the establishment of Vologda Viceroyalty was a part of the reform attempting to have a tighter control of local matters by the Russian autocracy.
[1] The administration of the viceroyalty was performed by a namestnik (vice-roy) and controlled by a governor general.