Valday or Valdai is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Valdaysky District. It lies on the federal highway M10 connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg, 386 km from Moscow and 140 km from Velikiy Novgorod. Population: 18,703 (2002 Census); 19,173 (1989 Census). History The settlement was first documentally mentioned in 1495 and received the status of a town from the empress Catherine II in 1770, when its population was at about 2,000 inhabitants. The town became the lead… (More on Valday)