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Arkhangelsk (, ) is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its river delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval and early modern Russia until 1703, when it was replaced by the newly founded Saint Petersburg.
A railway runs from Arkhangelsk to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl, and air travel is served by the Talagi Airport and the smaller Vaskovo Airport. As of the 2021 Census, the city's population was 301,199.
In 1989, an unusually impressive silver treasure was found by local farm workers by the mouth of Dvina, right next to present-day Arkhangelsk.
Most of the findings comprised a total of of silver, largely in the form of coins. Jewelry and pieces of jewelry come from Russia or neighboring areas. The majority of the coins were German, but the hoard also included a smaller number of , English, , Hungarian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian coins. It is hard to place this find historically until further research is completed. There are at least two possible interpretations. It may be a treasure belonging to the society outlined by the Norse source material. Generally such finds, whether from Scandinavia, the Baltic region area, or Russia, are closely tied to well-established agricultural societies with considerable trade activity.
Alternatively, like the Russian scientists who published the find in 1992, one may see it as evidence of a stronger case of Russian colonization than previously thought.
In 1411, Yakov Stepanovich from Novgorod went to attack northern Norway. This was the beginning of a series of clashes. In 1419, Norwegian ships with five hundred soldiers entered the White Sea. The "Murmaners", as the Norwegians were called (cf. Murmansk), plundered many Russian settlements along the coast, among them the Archangel Michael Monastery.
Novgorod managed to drive the Norwegians back. However, in 1478 the area was taken over by Ivan III and passed to the Grand Duchy of Moscow with the rest of the Novgorod Republic.
Trade privileges were granted to English merchants in 1555, leading to the founding of the Muscovy Company, which began sending ships annually into the estuary of the Northern Dvina. Dutch merchants also started bringing their ships into the White Sea from the 1560s. Scotland and English merchants also traded in the 16th century; however, by the 17th century it was mainly the Dutch that sailed to the White Sea area.
In 1693, Peter the Great ordered the creation of a state shipyard in Arkhangelsk. A year later the ships Svyatoye Prorochestvo (Holy Prophecy), Apostol Pavel (Apostle Paul), and the yacht Svyatoy Pyotr (Saint Peter) were sailing in the White Sea. However, he also realized that Arkhangelsk would always be limited as a port due to the five months of ice cover, and after a successful campaign against Swedish armies in the Baltic area, he founded Saint Petersburg in May 1703. Nonetheless, Arkhangelsk continued to be an important naval base and maritime centre in the Russian north.
In 1722, Peter the Great decreed that Arkhangelsk should no longer accept goods that amounted to more than was sufficient for the town (for so-called domestic consumption). It was due to the Tsar's will to shift all international marine trade to Saint Petersburg. This factor greatly contributed to the deterioration of Arkhangelsk that continued up to 1762 when this decree was cancelled.
Arkhangelsk declined in the 18th century as the Baltic trade became ever more important. Its economy revived at the end of the 19th century when a railway to Moscow was completed and lumber became a major export. The city resisted Bolshevik rule from 1918 to 1920 and was a stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik White movement. The White Army was supported by an Allied intervention in which British, French, Italian, and American troops helped to defend against the Bolsheviks. The Allied forces, led by British Lieutenant General Frederick Poole, suffered numerous set-backs and eventually withdrew from Russia. Without Allied support, the poorly disciplined White Army quickly collapsed and the Bolsheviks entered Arkhangelsk on February 21, 1920. Arkhangelsk was also the scene of the Mudyug concentration camp.
During both world wars, Arkhangelsk was a major port of entry for Allied aid. During World War II, the city became known in West Europe as one of the two main destinations (along with Murmansk) of the Arctic convoys bringing supplies in to assist the Soviet Union. During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Arkhangelsk was one of two cities (the other being Astrakhan) selected to mark the envisioned eastern limit of German control. This military operation was to be halted at this A-A line, but never reached it, as the German armies failed to capture either of these two cities and also failed to capture Moscow.
Arkhangelsk was also the site of Arkhangelsk ITL, or the Arkhangelsk Gulag, in the 1930s and 1940s.
Today, Arkhangelsk remains a major seaport, now open year-round due to improvements in . The city is primarily a center for the timber and fishing industries.
On March 16, 2004, 58 people were killed in an explosion at an apartment building in the city.
Arkhangelsk is home to the Northern State Medical University, Makarov state Maritime Academy, and a branch of the All-Russian Distance Institute of Finance and Economics.
Mikhail Lomonosov came from a Pomors village near Kholmogory. A monument to him was installed to a design by Ivan Martos in 1829. A monument to Peter the Great was designed by Mark Antokolsky in 1872 and installed in 1914.
After its historic churches were destroyed during Joseph Stalin's rule, the city's main extant landmarks are the fort-like Merchant Yards (1668–1684) and the New Dvina Fortress (1701–1705). The Assumption Church on the Dvina embankment (1742–1744) was rebuilt in 2004.
In 2008, it was decided that the city's cathedral, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, which had been destroyed under the Soviets, would be rebuilt. The foundation stone was laid in November 2008 by the regional Bishop Tikhon. The cathedral, situated near the city's main bus station and river port, is expected to be completed and consecrated in 2019.
Another remarkable structure is the Arkhangelsk TV Mast, a tall guyed mast for FM-/TV-broadcasting built in 1964. This tubular steel mast has six crossbars equipped with gangways, which run in two levels from the central mast structure out to each of the three guys. On these crossbars there are also several antennas installed. image
An unusual example of local "vernacular architecture" was the so-called Sutyagin House. This thirteen-story, tallAccording to other sources, twelve stories, residence of the local entrepreneur Nikolay Petrovich Sutyagin was reported to be the world's, or at least Russia's, tallest wooden house. Constructed by Sutyagin and his family over fifteen years (starting in 1992), without plans or a building permit, the structure deteriorated while Sutyagin spent a few years in prison on racketeering charges. In 2008, it was condemned by local authorities as a fire hazard, and the courts ordered it to be demolished by February 1, 2009. Sutyagin House, Arkhangelsk, Russia: Standing tall . WorldArchitectureNews.com, Wednesday March 7, 2007. (Includes photo) On December 26, 2008, the tower was pulled down, and the remainder of the building was dismantled manually by early February 2009.
The cultural life of Arkhangelsk includes:
An airstrip in Arkhangelsk was the fictional setting for a level in the 1997 hit videogame Goldeneye 007.
In the 1920s, mostly due to the efforts of Anna Astakhova, these expeditions became systematic. By the 1960s, the performing art was basically extinct. These folkloric motives and fairy tales inspired the literary works of Stepan Pisakhov and Boris Shergin, who were both natives of Arkhangelsk.
Snowfall during winter is heavy, while summers are very rainy. Precipitation is very reliable year round.
In the 2010 Census, the following ethnic groups were listed:
Former twin towns:
Literature
The Russian North, and, in particular, the area of Arkhangelsk, is notable for its folklore. Until the mid-20th century, fairy tales and were still performed on the daily basis by performers who became professionals. Starting from the 1890s, folkloric expeditions have been organized to the White Sea area and later to other areas of the Arkhangelsk Governorate in order to write down the tales and the bylinas, especially in Pomor dialects.
Geography
Climate
Arkhangelsk experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc), with long (November–March), very cold winters and short (June–August), mildly warm summers. More extreme climates at this high latitude - such as Fairbanks, Alaska or Oymyakon, Sakha Republic - have much colder winters than Arkhangelsk, indicating that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean.
Demographics
According to the 2021 Census, Arkhangelsk has a population of 301,199 people, which makes it the 68th largest city in Russia.
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!Ethnicity
!Population
!Percentage Russians 330,656 94.19% Ukrainians 4,404 1.25% Belarusians 1,581 0.45% Others 5,312 1.52%
Sports
Bandy is the biggest sport in the city and is considered a national sport in Russia. Vodnik, the local team, nine times became the Russian champion (1996–2000 and 2002–2005). Their home arena has the capacity of 10000. Arkhangelsk hosted the Bandy World Championship in 1999 and 2003.Video from a home game against Baykal-Energiya from
/ref> The 2011–2012 season Russian Bandy League final was played here on March 25, 2012. Video from the final of the Russian Championships in 2012 The 2016 Youth-17 Bandy World Championship was played in Arkhangelsk between January 28 and 31.
Notable people
Twin towns – sister cities
Arkhangelsk is Sister city with:
Notes
Citations
Sources
Further reading
External links
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