This article is about the modern federal subject of Russia. For the administrative division of the Russian Empire, seeArkhangelsk Oblast, Russian Empire.
The reverse side of the commemorative 10 ruble coin issued by the Bank of Russia, honoring the federal subjects of the Russian Federation; shown is the 10 ruble coin honoring Arkhangelsk Oblast (2007). Coat of arms of the region on the 10 ruble coin of the Bank of Russia.Archangel Michael in a painting by Raphael. The devil being trampled by the archangel is a common attribute of the archangel in both Catholic and Orthodox depictions.
Arkhangelsk Oblast is located on theEast European Plain, and most of it is forested, hilly landscape. The north-eastern part belongs to theTiman Ridge, a highland mostly situated east from the oblast. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is essentially a flattundra (Bolshezemelskaya Tundra) with several hill chains likePay-Khoy Ridge.[17] The Arctic islands including Novaya Zemlya and Franz Joseph Land are mountainous with glaciers and eternally snow-covered. This region has a genetically distinct population ofpolar bears associated with theBarents Sea area.[18]
The White Sea coast within the Oblast is split into theOnega Bay (where the Onega is the major tributary), theDvina Bay (the Northern Dvina), and theMezen Bay (comprising the Mezen and the Kuloy). TheSolovetsky Islands, as well as a number of smaller islands, are located in Onega Bay. Onega Bay and the Dvina Bay are separated by theOnega Peninsula. The Mezen Bay is separated from the main body of the White Sea byMorzhovets Island. Other major islands in the oblast include Shogly, Zhizgin, Yagry, Lyasomin, Layda, Nikolskiy, and Mudyugskiy islands.[citation needed]
Almost all of the oblast is covered bytaiga, the coniferous forest dominated bypine,spruce, andlarch. Large areas in the middle of taiga are devoid of trees and covered byswamps. In thefloodplains of the rivers, there are meadows.[citation needed]
A number of areas in Arkhangelsk Oblast have been designated as protected natural areas.[19] These are subdivided intonational parks, nature reserves (zapovedniks), andzakazniks of the federal level. The following protected areas have been designated,
The area of Arkhangelsk Oblast has been settled byFinno-Ugric peoples since prehistoric times, and most of thetoponyms in the region are Finno-Ugric. It was subsequently colonized by theNovgorod Republic.Kargopol was first mentioned in the chronicles in 1146,Shenkursk was mentioned in 1315, andSolvychegodsk was founded in the 14th century.
By the 13th century the Novgorodian merchants had already reached theWhite Sea, attracted to the area forfur trading. The Novgorodians penetrated the area using the waterways, and this is why most of the ancient (as well as the modern) settlements were located into the main river valleys. The main historical areas of the Arkhangelsk region werePoonezhye (Поонежье) along theOnega, theDvina Land along theNorthern Dvina,Pinezhye (Пинежье) along thePinega, Mezen Lands along theMezen, andPomorye (Поморье) on the White Sea coast.
The main waterway was the Northern Dvina, and Novgorod merchants used theVolga and its tributary, theSheksna, along the Slavyanka River into Lake Nikolskoye, then the boats were taken by land to Lake Blagoveshchenskoye, from there downstream along the Porozovitsa River intoLake Kubenskoye and further to theSukhona and the Northern Dvina.[20]Portages from the Northern Dvina Basin led further to the Mezen and thePechora.
After the fall of Novgorod in 1478, all these lands became a part of theGreat Duchy of Moscow. Until 1703, the Northern Dvina served as the main export trading route ofMuscovy. The local centers wereVeliky Ustyug andKholmogory; however, during the 17th century, Kholmogory lost its significance, and its role was gradually replaced byArkhangelsk.
In 1708, when the governorates were established by TsarPeter the Great, Arkhangelsk became the seat of one of the seven governorates of the Russian Empire.
At the same time, Arkhangelsk lands were one of the most remote areas in Russia. This fact was attractive for monks fleeing the crowds. In 1436,Solovetsky Monastery was founded, and it quickly became one of the richest and most influential Russian monasteries. Other monasteries followed. For instance,Kozheozersky Monastery, founded in 1552, still remains one of the most remoteRussian Orthodox monasteries. After thegreat schism in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1653, the area attracted manyOld Believers, who were persecuted by the state. Most would later flee to even more remote locations such asSiberia.
In 1703, with the construction of St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, which lacked St. Petersburg's geographical proximity to Europe and the non-freezing harbour ofMurmansk, lost its significance as the main trading harbour of the Russian Empire. However, in the early 20th century Arkhangelsk was an important starting point forRussian Arctic expeditions. For instance, in the 1830sPyotr Pakhtusov sailed twice from Arkhangelsk to investigate and mapNovaya Zemlya.
ColonelGeorge E. Stewart, commanding American forces in Northern Russia, passing by convoy through village ofChamovo
In 1918 and 1919, Arkhangelsk Governorate became one of the most active battlegrounds of theCivil War in Russia. On 2 August 1918 Arkhangelsk was occupied by British and American troops, allied with theWhite movement. Administratively, they established theNorthern Oblast with the center in Arkhangelsk. This episode of the Civil War is known as theNorth Russia Intervention. The troops advanced to the south, occupied the station ofObozerskaya in September 1918, and moving along the Northern Dvina and theVaga Rivers. The southernmost points occupied by the allies wereShenkursk andVerkhnyaya Toyma. The allies were hoping that theAleksandr Kolchak's forces would move in the direction ofKotlas, however, the White Army was unable to advance in this direction. In January 1919, after theBattle of Shenkursk, the allied forces were driven out of the Shenkursk area. Battles around the station ofPlesetskaya followed. On 20 February 1920 theRed Army entered Arkhangelsk, by which time all allied troops had already been evacuated.
In the 1930s, the Soviets carried out the same experiments in economics as elsewhere in Soviet Union. The peasants and fishermen were forcibly organized intocollective farms. These were heavily subsidized, which eventually brought the agriculture to the collapse in the 1990s, when the subsidies stopped. Arkhangelsk Oblast was and remains attractive as an area for exile, forcible resettlement, and prison camps. Actually, the first prison camp,Solovki prison camp, was created in 1920 on the premises of the former Solovetsky Monastery.Novaya Zemlya from the 1950s, when its population (mostly theNenets) was strongly recommended to leave, became the military ground for nuclear bomb testing.
Arkhangelsk Oblast proper was established in 1937. Before 1991, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: the first secretary of the Arkhangelsk OblastCPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblastSoviet (legislative power), and the chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). In 1991 theCPSU lost all power. The head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor, came to be elected or appointed.
Theeconomic crisis of 1990s, after thefall of the Soviet Union, struck Arkhangelsk Oblast very badly. Although there remains a strong demand for timber, the basis of the oblast's economy, the population of Arkhangelsk Oblast has steadily declined, especially in rural areas. Many villages either have been deserted, or are on the verge of disappearing.
During theSoviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Arkhangelsk CPSU Committee (who in reality had the highest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside electedregional parliament.
The Charter of Arkhangelsk Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Arkhangelsk Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with theConstitution of Russia.
First secretaries of the Arkhangelsk Oblast CPSU Committee
On 8 September 2013, regular elections of deputies to the legislative Arkhangelsk Oblast Assembly of Deputies were held in the region. Election results by party:
The deputies of theState Duma of Russia, as representatives of the Arkhangelsk Oblast and members of the parties of Russia, in the present convocation are:
Huge areas within the limits of the oblast are included in theborder security zone, intended to protect theborders of the Russian Federation from unwanted activity. These restricted areas include all islands in theArctic Ocean and inBarents Sea,Morzhovets Island, and most of the White Sea coast in Mezensky District. In particular, the area includes the town ofMezen and the urban type settlement ofKamenka. In order to visit the zone, a permit issued by the localFSB department is required.[24]
Arkhangelsk Oblast is one of the industrial regions of Russia. The region has a developedfishery, forestry, woodworking,cellulose, and paper industry. There are large reserves of natural resources:Lumber,oil,bauxite,titanium,gold,manganese, andbasalt. In 2011, the paper production and related industries were responsible for 55% of all industrial production of the Oblast, food production – 11%, timber processing (excluding paper production) and furniture production – 12%.[25]
The principal industrial enterprises in Arkhangelsk Oblast are shipyards in Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk (includingSevmash), pulp and paper mills in Koryazhma and Novodvinsk, and bauxite extraction plant inSeveroonezhsk. Almost any town has some timber works.
Fishery traditionally was the main means of subsistence in thePomor villages at the White Sea coast. During theSoviet times, the fishermen were organized intocollective and state farms (Sovkhoz's) and the fishery was heavily subsidized. In the 1990s the subsidies were stopped, and the fishery went into a serious crisis, some of the villages were deserted.
In the valleys of the main rivers, there is somecattle breeding and crop and potato growing, which is, however, difficult due to the cold climate.Ustyansky District is notable for bee-keeping. Two notable breeds originate from Arkhangelsk Oblast. TheKholmogory cattle, from Kholmogory and Arkhangelsk countryside, mostly black and white, was particularly stable against cold climate in Northern Russia and eventually spread well beyond the Arkhangelsk Region.[26] TheMezen horses, bred in the Mezen River valley, are rather small but suitable for difficult work and easily survive cold winters.[27]
Plesetskaya railway station in the settlement ofPlesetsk
The area of current Arkhangelsk Oblast has always been located on the trading routes connecting central Russia to the White Sea, and, in fact, in the 17th century the White Sea was the main sea export route for Russia. The whole course of the Northern Dvina is navigable, as well as the lower course of some of its tributaries, most notably the Vychegda, the Vaga, and the Pinega. The Mezen is also navigable in the lower course. The Onega is not navigable except for the two relatively short stretches because of therapids. However, except for the lower course of the Vychegda and some parts of the Northern Dvina, there is currently very little or no regular passenger navigation on these rivers. They are used for cargo traffic though.
In 1765, a road was built between Saint-Petersburg and Arkhangelsk, mainly for postal service.[28] The road still exists and passesKargopol andPlesetsk, and it was paved in 2011.[29] One of the principal highways in Russia,M8, connects Moscow and Arkhangelsk, and passesVelsk. This highway is paved and heavily used. In general, the road network is grossly underdeveloped. Only several all-season highways, in addition to M8, cross the oblast boundaries: the one (partially unpaved) connecting Kotlas withSyktyvkar; the one (paved) connecting Kotlas toVeliky Ustyug and eventually withVologda andNikolsk, the one (paved) from Konosha southwards, and two (unpaved) from Kargopol toPudozh and toSolza andBelozersk. Most of the local roads are unpaved. Until 2008, there were no all-season roads connecting the main road network with the north-east of the oblast, including the town of Mezen and the selo of Leshukonskoye, and there are still no roads into the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, on the left bank of the Onega downstream from Severoonezhsk, and very few roads on the right bank of the Northern Dvina. Many rivers can be crossed only by ferry boats, which means they cannot be crossed during the ice melting period. There is regular bus service on the main roads.
The principal railway line in the oblast is the railroad connecting Moscow and Arkhangelsk. The piece betweenVologda and Arkhangelsk was constructed in 1890s and passed through previously uninhabited areas between the valleys of the Northern Dvina and the Onega. The railroad construction gave the momentum to the population and exploitation of these areas. A branch fromKonosha eastwards toKotlas and further toVorkuta was constructed in the 1940s to facilitate the transport of coal from theKomi Republic. From Kotlas, another branch continues south toKirov. A branch fromObozersky to the west, toOnega and further toBelomorsk, was built duringWorld War II to secure the transport of goods from the harbour ofMurmansk to central Russia. A piece of railroad between Arkhangelsk andKarpogory was also built in the 1970s and is expected to become part of theBelkomur project[30] — a railway line connecting Arkhangelsk via theKomi Republic with thePerm Krai and theUral Mountains. Almost the entire rail network belongs to theNorthern Railway, which west ofOnega connects to theOktyabrskaya Railway. There is also a railway line fromSeveroonezhsk west toYangory (an extension of the line from Puksa to Navolok), which belongs to the Department of Corrections. A large number ofnarrow-gauge railways were built in the 1950s and 1960s to facilitate the transport of timber, but since then most of these became unprofitable and have been destroyed.
In the 1970s and 1980s the aviation was active, with all district centers connected to Arkhangelsk with regular flights,Kotlas being the second important hub. Currently, it has almost disappeared. There are two airports in Arkhangelsk, but regular local flights are only carried out to the destinations which do not have rail or road connections, such asNovaya Zemlya, Solovetsky Islands, theNenets Autonomous Okrug, theOnega Peninsula, and the north of the oblast. The exceptions with functioning airports areMezen,Leshukonskoye, andOnega.
Ethnic groups: Arkhangelsk Oblast is very homogenous, with only two recognized ethnic groups of more than two thousand persons each at the time of the 2021 Census. Of those who reported their ethnicity, 97.4% identified as Russian—including 1,297Pomors—the highest percentage recorded in any federal subject of Russia.
A notable subgroup of Russian population are thePomors, who reside along the White Sea coast and in the valleys of major rivers, speakPomor dialects and are in fact the descendants of theNovgorod population who colonized the Russian North in 12th–13th centuries. In 2002 Census, approximately 6,500 residents of Arkhangelsk Oblast indicated their ethnicity as Pomors.
According to a 2012 survey[40] 29.1% of the population of Arkhangelsk Oblast adheres to theRussian Orthodox Church, 6% areunaffiliated genericChristians, 1% are Orthodox Christian believers without belonging to any church or members of otherOrthodox churches, 1% adheres to theSlavic native faith (Rodnovery). In addition, 32% of the population declared to be "spiritual but not religious", 16% isatheist, and 17.9% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[40]
The triple church ensemble in theselo ofLyadiny,Kargopolsky District. In 2013, the bell tower and the Intercession Church (right) burned to the ground.
Arkhangelsk Oblast is famous for its wooden buildings which include churches, chapels, peasant houses and farms, and city houses. The choice of wood as the construction material is natural for a region almost exclusively covered bytaiga and still being one of the biggest timber producers. Some of these buildings date from the 17th century. Churches and chapels are considered particularly fine, and almost all of these constructed prior to 1920s have been declared the cultural heritage at the federal or local levels. More than 600 buildings (both of timber and stone) are protected on the federal level.[42] An open-air ethnographic museum was open in the village ofMalye Korely close to Arkhangelsk, with the purpose of preserving this heritage.
The most notable wooden churches are triple church ensembles, which consist of two churches (a bigger, not heated, church used in the summer, and a smaller, heated church used in the winter) and a bell-tower. Not more than a dozen of these triple wooden ensembles survived, the best known being the one located in theKizhi Pogost in theRepublic of Karelia and is classified asWorld Heritage. Most of these ensembles are located in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, in particular, in the villages ofVarzogory andAbramovskaya (Onezhsky District). Other notable wooden churches are located in Kargopolsky (Oshevenskoye,Krasnaya Lyaga,Saunino and others),Verkhnetoyemsky (Soyezerskaya Pustyn), Onezhsky,Primorsky, andPlesetsky (Porzhensky Pogost) districts.Despite being listed as cultural heritage, most of these buildings are neglected and regularly burn down. As a matter of fact, the majority of the churches considered as masterpieces has been lost.[43] For instance,Verkhnemudyugsky Pogost in Onezhsky District, a triple church ensemble, burned down in 1997.[44] A church and the bell-tower of the triple ensemble inLyadiny (Kargopolsky District) burned down on 6 May 2013.[45]
The oblast preserves some of the best stone architectural ensembles in Russia. The ensemble of theSolovetsky Monastery (founded 1436, the earliest surviving buildings stem from the 16th century) has been designated as the World Heritage. The town ofKargopol contains a number of white-stone churches, the earliest of which, theCathedral of the Nativity of Christ, originates from 1552. ThePresentation Church (1688–1712) inSolvychegodsk is an acclaimed baroque masterpiece and one of the five survivingStroganov baroque churches.
Two of the towns in the oblast – Kargopol and Solvychegodsk – are classified as historical towns by the Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation, which implies certain restrictions on construction in their historical centers.[46]
A spinning distaff board from the Nizhnyaya Toyma area featuring traditional tripartite layout
The monasteries facilitated the development oficon painting which existed in the area well until the 19th century. No single unified icon style arose, and icons produced in current Arkhangelsk and Vologda Oblasts are commonly known as Northern icon painting (Северные письма). Icons were produced inSolovetsky,Antoniev Siysky,Kozheozersky and other monasteries, as well as in the towns of Kholmogory and Solvychegodsk. Solvychegodsk icon painting was sponsored byStroganovs and generated the Stroganov icon painting school, which in the end of the 17th century was principally active in Moscow.[47]
The icon-painting techniques were transferred to the traditional wood painting known since the 17th century in the valleys of the Northern Dvina (Nizhnyaya Toyma,Borok,Puchuga,Permogorye), the Pinega, and the Mezen. It was used to decorate various wooden surfaces such as, for example, spinning distaffs orchests, and employed geometrical figures as well as images of plants, animals, and humans. The Arkhangelsk traditional wooden painting is special since the surface was prepared in a particular way before the painting started, similar to icons.[48]
Despite the fact that several notable Russian artists includingVasily Vereshchagin traveled into the region in the 19th century, professional (non-icon) painting did not develop in Arkhangelsk until the 1890s.Aleksandr Borisov,Stepan Pisakhov, andTyko Vylka, all of them landscape painters interested in Northern and Arctic landscapes, are considered as the founders of Arkhangelsk painting.[49]
Like other areas ofNorthern Russia, Arkhangelsk Oblast is notable for itsfolklore. Until the mid-20th century, fairy tales andbylinas were still performed on a daily basis by professional performers, some of whom, likeMariya Krivopolenova, achieved prominence in Moscow and St. Petersburg. One of the first Arkhangelsk folklore collectors wasAlexander Hilferding, who actually died inKargopol during his journey. Starting from the 1890s, folkloric expeditions were 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 the 1920s, mostly due to the efforts ofAnna Astakhova, these expeditions became systematic. The results have been published. By the 1960s, the performing art was basically extinct. However, these folkloric motives and fairy tales inspired the literary works ofStepan Pisakhov andBoris Shergin, who were both natives of Arkhangelsk.
ProtopopeAvvakum, a 17th-century monk, who led the opposition (raskol) against the reforms of the Russian Orthodox Church, was exiled toMezen for two years in 1664, and in 1667 was imprisoned inPustozyorsk, currently in Nenets Autonomous Okrug, for 14 years before being burned alive. Avvakum is an author of about sixty literary works, including theLife of Avvakum, most of which were written in Pustozyorsk and are considered among the most notable Russian literary pieces of the 17th century.[51]
Mikhail Lomonosov, apolymath and poet who created the basis of the modernRussian literary language, was born in 1711 in the village of Denisovka, close toKholmogory, though he left the area to pursue his studies at the age of 18 and spent most of his career in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. Denisovka was later renamed into Lomonosovo in his honour.
Aleksey Chapygin, a historical novelist, was born in what is now Kargopol District. His first novels describe the peasant life of the Arkhangelsk Governorate.
In the 20th century, two of the authors of theVillage prose movement in Soviet literature, which predominantly described rural life, were tightly connected with Arkhangelsk Region:Fyodor Abramov was born in the peasant family in the village of Verkola inPinezhsky Uyezd, andAleksander Yashin lived in Arkhangelsk for some time. In their literary works, as well as in the works ofYury Kazakov, a short story writer who traveled extensively in the Russian North, the life of Arkhangelsk peasants features prominently. The name of one of the Kazakov's books of short stories isPoedemte v Lopshengu — Let us go to Lopshenga;Lopshenga is a selo on the White Sea coast.
In 1998, theArkhangelsk Regional Rescue Service was established by the governor. The responsibility of the Rescue Service is to handle emergency situations, such as forest fires.
Polar bears are entering into human-occupied areas more frequently than in the past due to climate change effects.Global warming reduces sea-ice, forcing bears to come in to land to find food. Aninvasion of polar bears took place in February 2019 in northeasternNovaya Zemlya, with dozens ofpolar bears seen entering homes, public buildings, and inhabited areas.Arkhangelsk regional authorities declared a state of emergency.[54][55]
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
^Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
^Плечко, Л.А. (1985).Старинные водные пути (in Russian). Moscow: Физкультура и спорт. Archived fromthe original on September 25, 2011. RetrievedAugust 29, 2011.
Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Областной закон №413-21-ОЗ от 31 октября 2007 г. «О гимне Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №567-38-ОЗ от 7 ноября 2017 г «О внесении изменений в отдельные областные законы в сфере использования официальных символов Архангельской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования (16 ноября 2007 г.). Опубликован: "Волна", No.89, 16 ноября 2007 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Assembly of Deputies. Oblast Law #413-21-OZ of October 31, 2007On the Anthem of Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #567-38-OZ of November 7, 2017On Amending Several Oblast Laws Dealing with the Usage of the Official Symbols of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Effective as of the day of official publication (November 16, 2007).).
Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Решение №36 от 23 мая 1995 г. «Устав Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №500-31-ОЗ от 23 декабря 2016 г. «О поправке к уставу Архангельской области». Вступил в силу со дня принятия (23 мая 1995 г.). Опубликован: "Волна", №21, 2 июня 1995 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Assembly of Deputies. Decision #36 of May 23, 1995Charter of Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #500-31-OZ of December 23, 2016On Amending the Charter of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Effective as of the day of adoption (May 23, 1995).).
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