Arkhangelsk
Encyclopedia
Arkhangelsk formerly known as Archangel in English
, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast
, Russia
. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea
in the north of European Russia
. The city spreads for over 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta
. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval Russia, until 1703. It is served by Talagi Airport
and the smaller Vaskovo Airport
. The city is located at the northern end of a 1133 km (704 mi) long railroad
, connecting it to Moscow
via Vologda
and Yaroslavl
. Population:
s as Bjarmaland
. Ohthere from Hålogaland told from his travels circa 800 of an area by a river and the White Sea with many buildings. This was probably the place later known as Arkhangelsk. According to Snorri Sturluson
there was a Viking raid on this area in 1027, led by Tore Hund
.
In 1989, an unusually rich silver treasure was found by the mouth of Dvina, right next to present day Arkhangelsk. It was probably buried in the beginning of the 12th century, and contained articles that may have been up to 200 years old at that time.
Most of the findings are made up by a total of 1.6 kg (3.53 lb) of silver, mostly coins. Jewelry and pieces of jewelry hail from Russia or neighbouring areas. Most coins were German, but there was also a smaller number of Kufa
n, English
, Bohemia
n, 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
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 an evidence of a stronger force of Russian colonisation than previously thought.
.
The main trade center of the area at that time was Kholmogory
, located 75 km (46.6 mi) southeast of Arkhangelsk, up the Dvina River, about 10 km (6.21 mi) downstream from where the Pinega River flows into the Dvina. Written sources indicate that Kholmogory existed early in the 12th century, but there is no archeological material to illuminate the early history of the town. It is not known whether this settlement was originally Russian, or if it goes back to pre-Russian times. In the center of the small town (or Gorodok) that is there today is a large mound of building remains and river sand, but it has not been archeologically excavated.
Arkhangelsk came to be important in the rivalry between Norwegian and Russian interests in the northern areas. From Novgorod, the Russian interest sphere was extended far north to the Kola Peninsula
in the 12th century. However, here Norway enforced taxes and rights to the fur trade. A compromise agreement entered in 1251 was soon broken.
In 1411, Yakov Stepanovitch from Novogorod went to attack Northern Norway. This was the beginning of a series of clashes, and in 1419 Norwegian ships with 500 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 Muscovy with the rest of Novgorod Republic
.
found out about this, and brokered a trade agreement with the ship's captain. Trade privileges were officially granted to English
merchants in 1555, leading to the founding of the Company of Merchant Adventurers
, 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. Scottish
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 1584, Ivan ordered the founding of New Kholmogory (which would later be renamed after the nearby Archangel Michael Monastery).
At the time access to the Baltic Sea
was still mostly controlled by Sweden
, so while Arkhangelsk was icebound in winter, it remained Moscow
's almost sole link to the sea-trade. Local inhabitants, called Pomors, were the first to explore trade routes to Northern Siberia
as far as the trans-Urals
city of Mangazeya
and beyond.
In 1693, Peter I
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 St. Petersburg in 1704.
In 1722 Peter I decreed that Arkhangelsk should no longer accept goods more than it was sufficient for the town itself (for the so-called domestic consumption). It was due to the tsar's will to shift all international marine trade to St. Petersburg. This factor contributed a lot to the deterioration of Arkhangelsk that continued up to 1762 when this decree was canceled.
Arkhangelsk declined in the 18th century as the Baltic trade became ever more important.
In the early years of the 19th century, the arrest and prolonged detention by the Russian authorities of John Bellingham
, an English export representative based at Arkhangelsk, was the indirect cause of Bellingham later assassinating British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval
.
Arkhangelsk's economy revived at the end of the 19th century when a railway to Moscow
was completed and timber
became a major export. The city resisted Bolshevik
rule from 1918 to 1920 and was a stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik White Army
supported by the military intervention of British-led Entente
forces along an Allied expedition
, including a North America
n contingent known as the Polar Bear Expedition
.
During both world war
s, Arkhangelsk was a major port of entry for Allied aid. During World War II
, the city became known in the West as one of the two main destinations (along with Murmansk
) of the Arctic Convoys bringing supplies to assist the Russians who were cut off from their normal supply lines. During Operation Barbarossa
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Archangelsk was one of two cities (the other being Astrakhan
) selected to mark the envisaged eastern limit of Nazi control. The military operation was to be halted at this A-A line
, but never reached it in reality as the German forces failed to capture either of the two cities as well as Moscow
.
Today, Arkhangelsk remains a major seaport, now open year-round due to improvements in icebreaker
s. The city is primarily a timber and fishing
center.
On March 16, 2004, 58 people were killed in an explosion
at an apartment block in the city.
Mikhail Lomonosov
came from a Pomor
village near Kholmogory. A monument to him was installed to a design by Ivan Martos
in 1829. A monument to Peter I was designed by Mark Antokolsky in 1872 and installed in 1914.
A maritime school, technical university and a regional museum are located in the city. After its historical churches were destroyed during Joseph Stalin
's rule, the city's main extant landmarks are the fort-like Merchant Yards (1668–84) and the New Dvina Fortress (1701–05). The Assumption Church on the Dvina embankment (1742–44) was rebuilt in 2004.
A remarkable structure is also Arkhangelsk TV Mast, a 151 metres (495.4 ft) 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 mast structure to the crossbars. On these crossbars there are also several antennas installed (image).
An unusual example of local "vernacular architecture
" was the so-called Sutyagin house
(Небоскрёб Сутягина, 'Sutyaguin's skyscraper'). This 13-story, 44 metres (144.4 ft) tall residence of the local entrepreneur Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin was reported to be the world's, or at least Russia's, tallest wooden house. Constructed by Mr. Sutyagin and his family over 15 years (starting in 1992), without formal plans or a building permit, the structure deteriorated while Mr. Sutyagin spent a few years in prison on racketeering charges. In 2008 it was condemned by the city as a fire hazard, and the courts ordered it to be demolished by February 1, 2009. On December 26, 2008, the tower was pulled down,
and the remainder of the building was dismantled manually by early February 2009.
(Köppen climate classification
Dfc).
(one of the six in Arkhangelsk Oblast). It also serves as the administrative center of Primorsky District
, by which it is completely surrounded but is not administratively a part of. Municipally, it is incorporated as Arkhangelsk Urban Okrug.
Administratively, Arkhangelsk is divided into nine city territorial okrugs,
in Arkhangelsk.
The cultural life of Archangelsk includes:
. Until the middle of 20th century, fairy tales and bylina
s were still performed on the daily basis by performers who became professionals. Starting from 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, in particular, in Pomor dialects. In 1920s, mostly due to the efforts of Anna Astakhova
, these expeditions became systematic. By 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.
is the biggest sport in the city. Vodnik
was the best team in the Russian Bandy League for almost a decade. Arkhangelsk hosted the Bandy World Championships
in 1999 and 2003.
with:
and PDF formats
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
in the north of European Russia
European Russia
European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 square kilometres , larger in area than India, and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural Mountains and in the south it is defined by the border with...
. The city spreads for over 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval Russia, until 1703. It is served by Talagi Airport
Talagi Airport
Talagi Airport is an international airport serving Arkhangelsk, Russia, located 11 kilometers outside the city. In 2001 it had 105,797 passengers and 921 tonnes of cargo. The airport was founded on February 5, 1963...
and the smaller Vaskovo Airport
Vaskovo Airport
Vaskovo Airport is an airport in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia located 13 km southwest of central Arkhangelsk as the crow flies but 19km by road. It is 10 km west of Isakogorka station.It is a general aviation airfield...
. The city is located at the northern end of a 1133 km (704 mi) long railroad
Northern Railway (Russia)
The Severnaya Railway is a railway network linking Moscow with Arkhangelsk on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. It runs through Arkhangelsk, Komi, Vologda, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, and Vladimir regions of the Russian Federation.The Yaroslavl Railway, owned by Savva Mamontov, was one of the first...
, connecting it to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
via Vologda
Vologda
Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...
and Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
. Population:
Early history
The area where Arkhangelsk is situated was known to the VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s as Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas up to the Viking Age and - beyond - in geographical accounts until the 16th century. The term is usually seen to have referred to the southern shores of the White Sea and the basin of the Northern Dvina River and - presumably - some of the...
. Ohthere from Hålogaland told from his travels circa 800 of an area by a river and the White Sea with many buildings. This was probably the place later known as Arkhangelsk. According to Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
there was a Viking raid on this area in 1027, led by Tore Hund
Tore Hund
right|thumb|Tore HundTore Hund was one of the greatest chiefs in Hålogaland. Tore Hund was one of the leaders of the Stiklestad peasant faction opposing Norwegian King Olaf II of Norway. Tore was reported to have been among the chieftains who killed Norway's Patron Saint in the Battle of...
.
In 1989, an unusually rich silver treasure was found by the mouth of Dvina, right next to present day Arkhangelsk. It was probably buried in the beginning of the 12th century, and contained articles that may have been up to 200 years old at that time.
Most of the findings are made up by a total of 1.6 kg (3.53 lb) of silver, mostly coins. Jewelry and pieces of jewelry hail from Russia or neighbouring areas. Most coins were German, but there was also a smaller number of Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
n, English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n, Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
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
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, the Baltic
Baltic region
The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
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 an evidence of a stronger force of Russian colonisation than previously thought.
Novgorod Russians arrive
In the 12th century, the Novgorodians established the Archangel Michael Monastery in the estuary of the Northern DvinaNorthern Dvina
The Northern Dvina is a river in Northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River to the east, it drains most of Northwest Russia into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The main trade center of the area at that time was Kholmogory
Kholmogory
Kholmogory is a historic village and the administrative center of Kholmogorsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on the left bank of the Northern Dvina, along the Kholmogory Highway, 75 km southeast of Arkhangelsk and 90 km north of the Antonievo-Siysky Monastery. The name...
, located 75 km (46.6 mi) southeast of Arkhangelsk, up the Dvina River, about 10 km (6.21 mi) downstream from where the Pinega River flows into the Dvina. Written sources indicate that Kholmogory existed early in the 12th century, but there is no archeological material to illuminate the early history of the town. It is not known whether this settlement was originally Russian, or if it goes back to pre-Russian times. In the center of the small town (or Gorodok) that is there today is a large mound of building remains and river sand, but it has not been archeologically excavated.
Norwegian-Russian conflict
Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...
in the 12th century. However, here Norway enforced taxes and rights to the fur trade. A compromise agreement entered in 1251 was soon broken.
In 1411, Yakov Stepanovitch from Novogorod went to attack Northern Norway. This was the beginning of a series of clashes, and in 1419 Norwegian ships with 500 soldiers entered the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
. The "Murmaners", as the Norwegians were called (cf. Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
), 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 Muscovy with the rest of Novgorod Republic
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...
.
Trade with England, Scotland and the Netherlands
Three English ships set out to find the Northeast passage to China in 1553; two disappeared, and one ended up in the White Sea, eventually coming across Arkhangelsk. Ivan the TerribleIvan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
found out about this, and brokered a trade agreement with the ship's captain. Trade privileges were officially granted to English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
merchants in 1555, leading to the founding of the Company of Merchant Adventurers
Muscovy Company
The Muscovy Company , was a trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon flourish in England, and became closely associated with such famous names as Henry Hudson and William Baffin...
, which began sending ships annually into the estuary of the Northern Dvina. Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
merchants also started bringing their ships into the White Sea from the 1560s. Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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.
Founding and further development
At the time access to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
was still mostly controlled by Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, so while Arkhangelsk was icebound in winter, it remained Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's almost sole link to the sea-trade. Local inhabitants, called Pomors, were the first to explore trade routes to Northern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
as far as the trans-Urals
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
city of Mangazeya
Mangazeya
Mangazeya was a Northwest Siberian trans-Ural trade colony and later city in the 16-17th centuries. Founded in 1600, it was situated on the Taz River, between the lower courses of the Ob and Yenisei Rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean....
and beyond.
In 1693, Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
ordered the creation of a state shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
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
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
against Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
armies in the Baltic area, he founded St. Petersburg in 1704.
Arkhangelsk declined in the 18th century as the Baltic trade became ever more important.
In the early years of the 19th century, the arrest and prolonged detention by the Russian authorities of John Bellingham
John Bellingham
John Bellingham was the assassin of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. This murder was the only successful attempt on the life of a British Prime Minister...
, an English export representative based at Arkhangelsk, was the indirect cause of Bellingham later assassinating British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval, KC was a British statesman and First Lord of the Treasury, making him de facto Prime Minister. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated...
.
Arkhangelsk's economy revived at the end of the 19th century when a railway to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
was completed and timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
became a major export. The city resisted Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
rule from 1918 to 1920 and was a stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik White Army
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
supported by the military intervention of British-led Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
forces along an Allied expedition
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
, including a North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n contingent known as the Polar Bear Expedition
Polar Bear Expedition
The Polar Bear Expedition was a contingent of about 5,000 U.S...
.
During both world war
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s, Arkhangelsk was a major port of entry for Allied aid. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the city became known in the West as one of the two main destinations (along with Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
) of the Arctic Convoys bringing supplies to assist the Russians who were cut off from their normal supply lines. During Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Archangelsk was one of two cities (the other being Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
) selected to mark the envisaged eastern limit of Nazi control. The military operation was to be halted at this A-A line
A-A line
The Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line, or A-A line for short, was the military goal of Operation Barbarossa. It is also known as the Volga-Arkhangelsk line, as well as the Volga-Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line...
, but never reached it in reality as the German forces failed to capture either of the two cities as well as Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Today, Arkhangelsk remains a major seaport, now open year-round due to improvements in icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s. The city is primarily a timber and fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
center.
On March 16, 2004, 58 people were killed in an explosion
Arkhangelsk Explosion of 2004
On March 16, 2004, an explosion destroyed a corner section of a nine-story Soviet-era apartment building in Arkhangelsk, Russia. It happened at 3:25 a.m. local time . The explosion occurred in 120 Avenue of the Soviet Cosmonauts in the October district of Arkhangelsk.The death toll from the...
at an apartment block in the city.
Architecture and monuments
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art,...
came from a Pomor
Pomors
Pomors or Pomory are Russian settlers and their descendants on the White Sea coast. It is also term of self-identification for the descendants of Russian, primarily Novgorod, settlers of Pomorye , living on the White Sea coasts and the territory whose southern border lies on a watershed which...
village near Kholmogory. A monument to him was installed to a design by Ivan Martos
Ivan Martos
Ivan Petrovich Martos was a Russian sculptor and art teacher of Ukrainian origin who helped awaken Russian interest in Neoclassical sculpture....
in 1829. A monument to Peter I was designed by Mark Antokolsky in 1872 and installed in 1914.
A maritime school, technical university and a regional museum are located in the city. After its historical churches were destroyed during Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's rule, the city's main extant landmarks are the fort-like Merchant Yards (1668–84) and the New Dvina Fortress (1701–05). The Assumption Church on the Dvina embankment (1742–44) was rebuilt in 2004.
A remarkable structure is also Arkhangelsk TV Mast, a 151 metres (495.4 ft) 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 mast structure to the crossbars. On these crossbars there are also several antennas installed (image).
An unusual example of local "vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
" was the so-called Sutyagin house
Sutyagin house
The Sutyagin House was a wooden house in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The 13-story, of the local entrepreneur Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin was reported to be the world's, or at least Russia's, tallest wooden house. Constructed by Mr. Sutyagin and his family over 15 years , without formal plans or a building...
(Небоскрёб Сутягина, 'Sutyaguin's skyscraper'). This 13-story, 44 metres (144.4 ft) tall residence of the local entrepreneur Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin was reported to be the world's, or at least Russia's, tallest wooden house. Constructed by Mr. Sutyagin and his family over 15 years (starting in 1992), without formal plans or a building permit, the structure deteriorated while Mr. Sutyagin spent a few years in prison on racketeering charges. In 2008 it was condemned by the city as a fire hazard, and the courts ordered it to be demolished by February 1, 2009. On December 26, 2008, the tower was pulled down,
and the remainder of the building was dismantled manually by early February 2009.
Climate
Arkhangelsk experiences a subarctic climateSubarctic climate
The subarctic climate is a climate characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfc).
Administrative divisions
Administratively, Arkhangelsk is incorporated as a town of oblast significanceCity of federal subject significance
City of federal subject significance is an umbrella term used to refer to a type of an administrative division of a federal subject of Russia which is equal in status to a district but is organized around a large city; occasionally with surrounding rural territories.According to the 1993...
(one of the six in Arkhangelsk Oblast). It also serves as the administrative center of Primorsky District
Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast
Primorsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Primorsky Municipal District...
, by which it is completely surrounded but is not administratively a part of. Municipally, it is incorporated as Arkhangelsk Urban Okrug.
Administratively, Arkhangelsk is divided into nine city territorial okrugs,
- Isakogorsky (Исакогорский);
- Lomonosovsky (Ломоносовский);
- Maymaksansky (Маймаксанский);
- Mayskaya Gorka (Майская Горка);
- Oktyabrsky (Октябрьский);
- Severny (Северный);
- Solombalsky (Соломбальский);
- Tsiglomensky (Цигломенский);
- Varavino-Faktoriya (Варавино-Фактория).
Economy
Nordavia (formerly Aeroflot Nord), an airline, has its head office on the grounds of Talagi AirportTalagi Airport
Talagi Airport is an international airport serving Arkhangelsk, Russia, located 11 kilometers outside the city. In 2001 it had 105,797 passengers and 921 tonnes of cargo. The airport was founded on February 5, 1963...
in Arkhangelsk.
Education and culture
Archangelsk is home to the following education institutes:- Pomorskiy State University
- Northern State Medical University
- Arkhangelsk State Technical UniversityArkhangelsk State Technical UniversityArkhangelsk State Technical University is a university founded in 1929. This university is composed of at least fifteen faculties, four institutes and three colleges. The rector is Alexandr Nevzorov and the vice rector for foreign affairs is Galina Kamarova....
- Makarov state Maritime Academy
- A branch of the All-Russian Distance Institute of Finance and Economics
The cultural life of Archangelsk includes:
- The Archangelsk Lomonosov Drama Theatre
- Arkhangelsk Philarmonia
- Arkhangelsk Youth Theatre
- Arkhangelsk Oblast Museum
- Arkhangelsk Art Museum
- Stepan PisakhovStepan PisakhovStepan Grigorievich Pisakhov - Russian artist, writer, ethnographer, and fairy tale author.-Biography:Stepan Pisakhov was born into a family of a merchant; at the same time his father was a craftsman – a jeweler and engraver. After finishing a municipal school in Arkhangelsk Stepan studied in...
Museum
Literature
Russian North, and, in particular, Arkhangelsk area is an area notable for its folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. Until the middle of 20th century, fairy tales and bylina
Bylina
Bylina or Bylyna is a traditional Russian oral epic narrative poem. Byliny singers loosely utilize historical fact greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole to create their songs...
s were still performed on the daily basis by performers who became professionals. Starting from 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, in particular, in Pomor dialects. In 1920s, mostly due to the efforts of Anna Astakhova
Anna Astakhova
Anna Mikhaylovna Astakhova was a Russian scholar notable for her studies of the folklore of the Russian North.Astakhova was born in Kronstadt, close to Saint-Petersburg, in 1886, and graduated from the Women Pedagogical Institute in 1908. Until 1931, she worked as a schoolteacher, from 1931 as a...
, these expeditions became systematic. By 1960s, the performing art was basically extinct. These folkloric motives and fairy tales inspired the literary works of Stepan Pisakhov
Stepan Pisakhov
Stepan Grigorievich Pisakhov - Russian artist, writer, ethnographer, and fairy tale author.-Biography:Stepan Pisakhov was born into a family of a merchant; at the same time his father was a craftsman – a jeweler and engraver. After finishing a municipal school in Arkhangelsk Stepan studied in...
and Boris Shergin
Boris Shergin
Boris Viktorovich Shergin was a Pomor-Soviet writer and folklorist. He was born on July 28, 1896 in Arkhangelsk and died on October 31, 1973 in Moscow.-Biography:...
, who were both natives of Arkhangelsk.
Sports
BandyBandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
is the biggest sport in the city. Vodnik
Vodnik
Vodnik is a bandy club from Arkhangelsk in Russia. Vodnik was founded in 1925 and in the mid-1990s it became a major team in both Russian and international bandy...
was the best team in the Russian Bandy League for almost a decade. Arkhangelsk hosted the Bandy World Championships
Bandy World Championships
The Bandy World Championships are a competition between bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy....
in 1999 and 2003.
Notable people from Archangelsk
- Yuliya Fomenko, Athlete (middle distance runner)
- Timur GaidarTimur GaidarTimur Gaidar was Soviet/Russian rear admiral, writer and journalist. He was supposed to be the prototype for Timur from Arkady Gaidar's book Timur and His Squad that was the inspiration for the Timurite movement....
, Admiral - Ilya Halyuza, Footballer
- Nadezhda KosintsevaNadezhda KosintsevaNadezhda Anatolyevna Kosintseva is a Russian chess player. She holds the title of Grandmaster....
, Woman chess player (IM) - Tatiana KosintsevaTatiana KosintsevaTatiana Anatolyevna Kosintseva is a Russian chess player who has achieved the FIDE title of Grandmaster...
, Woman chess player (GM), younger sister of Nadezhda (above mentioned) - Alex KravchenkoAlex KravchenkoAlexander Kravchenko is a professional poker player based in Moscow, Russia. He started playing poker in 1997. In the 2007 World Series of Poker, he cashed six times, including finishing fourth at the Main Event and the $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event where he won a WSOP bracelet...
, who in 2007 became the first Russian citizen to ever win a World Series of PokerWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
bracelet, and went on to come in 4th place at the WSOP main event to become the all-time leading money winner among Russian players. - Mikhail LomonosovMikhail LomonosovMikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art,...
, Polymath, discoverer of the atmosphere of VenusAtmosphere of VenusThe atmosphere of Venus is much denser and hotter than that of Earth. The temperature at the surface is 740 K , while the pressure is 93 bar. The Venusian atmosphere supports opaque clouds made of sulfuric acid, making optical Earth-based and orbital observation of the surface impossible...
. - Vladimir MalaniukVladimir MalaniukVladimir Pavlovich Malaniuk is a Ukrainian chess Grandmaster....
, Chess player (GM) - Mikhail PletnevMikhail PletnevMikhail Vasilievich Pletnev is a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer.-Life and career:Pletnev was born into a very musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union; his father played and taught the bayan, and his mother the piano...
, Pianist and conductor, Gold Medallist of the 1978 International Tchaikovsky CompetitionInternational Tchaikovsky CompetitionThe International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
in Moscow - Stepan PisakhovStepan PisakhovStepan Grigorievich Pisakhov - Russian artist, writer, ethnographer, and fairy tale author.-Biography:Stepan Pisakhov was born into a family of a merchant; at the same time his father was a craftsman – a jeweler and engraver. After finishing a municipal school in Arkhangelsk Stepan studied in...
, Writer - Boris SherginBoris SherginBoris Viktorovich Shergin was a Pomor-Soviet writer and folklorist. He was born on July 28, 1896 in Arkhangelsk and died on October 31, 1973 in Moscow.-Biography:...
, Writer - Anatoli TebloyevAnatoli TebloyevAnatoli Grigoryevich Tebloyev is a Russian professional footballer. As of 2009, he plays for FK Qäbälä.-External links:*...
, Footballer
Twin towns - Sister cities
Arkhangelsk is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
| Portland Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000... , Maine Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost... , United States. Mulhouse Mulhouse Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after... , France. Vardø Vardø is a town and a municipality in Finnmark county in the extreme northeast part of Norway.Vardø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of a low population and very few voters, this was... , Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... . Naryan-Mar Naryan-Mar Naryan-Mar is a sea and river port town and the administrative center of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. The town is situated on the right bank of the Pechora River, upstream from the river's mouth, on the Barents Sea. Naryan-Mar lies north of the Arctic Circle, south of Andeg and east of... , Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... . |
Kiruna Kiruna Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... . Słupsk, Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... . Oulu Oulu Oulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world.... , Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... . (since 1993) |
Ljusdal Ljusdal Ljusdal is a locality and the seat of Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 6,100 inhabitants in 2005.Ljusdal is located beside the river Ljusnan which goes from Bruksvallarna to Ljusne.... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... . Emden Emden Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:... , Germany. Piraeus Piraeus Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... . |
Further reading
Ogorodnikov Stepan. (1890) Очерк истории города Архангельска в торгово-промышленном отношении (Очерк истории города Архангельска в торгово-промышленном отношении) at Runivers.ru in DjVuDjVu
DjVu is a computer file format designed primarily to store scanned documents, especially those containing a combination of text, line drawings, and photographs. It uses technologies such as image layer separation of text and background/images, progressive loading, arithmetic coding, and lossy...
and PDF formats