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Severodvinsk (; ) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the river delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 Census, the population was 157,213. Due to the presence of important military shipyards (specialising in submarines since the Soviet period), Severodvinsk is an access-restricted town for foreign citizens. A special permit is required.
It was previously known as Sudostroy (until 1938), and Molotovsk (until 1957).
The historical records first mention the settlement on the site of modern Severodvinsk in 1419, when the Swedes sailed into the bay and burnt down the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery that stood by the shore during the Swedish–Novgorodian Wars. Tradition has it that Saint Euphemius, an Orthodox missionary in Karelia, founded this monastery. The abbey stood in ruins until 1471, when two sons of Marfa Boretskaya died in a vicious storm; their bodies were recovered on the beach near the monastery twelve days later. At the urging of Boretskaya, the monastery was restored and her sons were buried there.
On August 24, 1553, a ship of Richard Chancellor reached the salt-mining settlement of Nyonoksa, which is still famous for its traditional wooden architecture. The British sailors visited the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, where they were surprised to find a community of "sailors in (cassocks)" and a pier large enough to accommodate several ships. The main church of this extraordinary establishment was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the holy patron of sailors; hence, the whole White Sea became known in 16th-century English maps as "St. Nicholas Bay". In late 1613, during the Time of Troubles in Russia, Polish-Lithuanian vagabonds, the Lisowczycy, captured and looted Severodvinsk with the monastery.
The Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery flourished after the establishment of the Muscovy Company, as the bulk of their trade passed through the local harbor. In August 1618 the harbour was visited by John Tradescant the elder, who conducted a survey of an island situated opposite the monastery. This island became known to the British as "Rose Island", because it was there that Tradescant found an exceedingly rare plant which he named "Rosa moscovita" (which is now known as Rosa acicularis) and brought back to London.
The surviving buildings of the monastery were constructed at the close of the Muscovite period. The five-domed cathedral of St. Nicholas was built between 1670 and 1674, preceded by the Assumption church (1664–1667), to which it is joined by a gallery. Several decades later, the walls and towers were built of timber; the Soviets transported the best-preserved of these towers to Kolomenskoye, Moscow, where it still remains.
The modern city of Severodvinsk developed in the Soviet period. As it began to be built it was called Sudostroy (Судострой - "Boat-build"). It received town status in 1938; until 1957, it was named Molotovsk (Молотовск), after Vyacheslav Molotov. On September 12, 1957, it was renamed Severodvinsk (meaning "Northern Dvina town").
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During World War II, a significant portion of the materials delivered by the Arctic Convoys to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk for the Soviet Union were unloaded in Severodvinsk. For example, the Empire Elgar, a British heavy lift ship that arrived in Arkhangelsk with convoy PQ 16 and subsequently spent eight weeks unloading ships from the ill-fated convoy PQ 17.
A Russian naval-base supports the sea trials of nuclear submarines from the major submarine construction- (64.5817 N, 39.8307 E) and repair-facilities located in the area. In Soviet times, the 17th-century buildings of the Nikolo-Korelsky monastery, located on the territory of the shipyard, were adapted and used for shipbuilding purposes. In recent years, the monastery buildings, specifically the main church, have been restored and re-consecrated. Church-goers attending services have to be shipyard workers or able to obtain a pass to enter the church portion of the shipyard.
Severodvinsk is an access-restricted town for foreign citizens. A special pass is required.
On 8 August 2019, a nuclear accident took place on Russian Navy's Central Missile Range in Nyonoksa, 30 km to the west from Severodvinsk.
| +Population of Severodvinsk from 1939 to the present !1939 !1944 !1959 !1962 !1967 !1970 !1973 | ||||||
| 21,000 | 28,900 | 78,657 | 97,000 | 121,000 | 144,672 | 160,000 |
| 177,000 | 177,000 | 197,232 | 214,000 | 238,000 | 233,000 | 239,000 |
| 248,670 | 255,000 | 252,000 | 250,000 | 245,000 | 243,000 | 246,000 |
| 244,000 | 237,000 | 239,000 | 231,800 | 229,300 | 232,800 | 201,551 |
| 201,600 | 199,300 | 197,400 | 195,200 | 193,200 | 191,400 | 188,855 |
| 192,353 | 191,794 | 190,083 | 188,539 | 187,284 | 186,172 | 185,075 |
| 183,996 | 183,255 | 182,291 | 181,990 | 180,806 |
| +Ethnic groups population according to the All-Russian population census of 2010 !Ethnic group !Population !Percentage of those who indicated their ethnicity, % | ||
| Russians | 176,397 | 95.50 |
| Ukrainians | 3,135 | 1.70 |
| Belarusians | 1,149 | 0.62 |
| Tatars | 406 | 0.22 |
| Azerbaijanis | 255 | 0.14 |
| Chuvashs | 237 | 0.13 |
| Indian people | 181 | 0.10 |
| Armenians | 140 | 0.08 |
| Mordvins | 134 | 0.07 |
| Komi peoples | 109 | 0.06 |
| Moldovans | 108 | 0.06 |
| Jews | 107 | 0.06 |
| Udmurt people | 104 | 0.05 |
| Mari people | 91 | 0.05 |
| Germans | 62 | 0.03 |
| Bashkirs | 58 | 0.03 |
| Lezgins | 54 | 0.03 |
| Lithuanians | 52 | 0.03 |
| Others | 1,930 | 1.04 |
| Total of those
who indicated
their ethnicity | 184,709 | 100,00 |
| Citizens who
did not specify
their ethnicity | 8898 |
The area of Severodvinsk Urban Okrug, which includes the city of Severodvinsk and nearby rural settlements, is , which is more than the area of Moscow within the MKAD. It is due to the fact that in addition to the city of Severodvinsk a large forest area with its settlements (villages and dachas) to the south and west of the city is included in the boundaries of Severodvinsk Urban Okrug itself. The area of the city within the city limits is .
The city is located at a latitude of 64°34′N, which means that it is possible to observe the Aurora.
The Kudemskaya narrow-gauge railway in 2010 has appeared in Forbes ranking, of 10 most beautiful railway routes of the world.
In addition, the wooden Church Resurrection of Christ, currently located on Yagry Island in the northern part of Severodvinsk, was relocated there in 1990s and was the first religious building open in the city. The church was built in the end of 19th century in the village of Solza about from Severodvinsk.
The stone church of St. Nicholas is located in the eastern portion of the SEVMASH Shipyard. The church building is the last remnant of the Svyato-Nikolskoye Monastery which served as the gateway to the pilgrimage monastery on the Solovetskiy Islands from the 15th century.
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