Arkhangelsk

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Arkhangelsk (English) Архангельск (Russian)
Location of Arkhangelsk Oblast on the map of Russia
Location of Arkhangelsk on the map of Arkhangelsk Oblast
Coordinates 64°32′N 40°32′E / 64.533°N 40.533°E / 64.533; 40.533Coordinates: 64°32′N 40°32′E / 64.533°N 40.533°E / 64.533; 40.533
Coat of Arms
City Day: Last Sunday of June
Administrative status
Federal subject In jurisdiction of Administrative center of	Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast, Primorsky District
Local self-government
Charter	Charter of Arkhangelsk
Municipal status	Urban okrug
Mayor	Viktor Pavlenko
Representative Body	City Council of Deputies
Area
Area	294.42 km² (113.7 sq mi)
Population
2002 Census - Rank - Density	356,051 inhabitants 48th 1,209.3/km² (3,132.1/sq mi)
Events
Founded	1584
Other information
Postal code	163000 - 163071
Dialing code	+7 8182
Official website
http://www.arhcity.ru/

Arkhangelsk (Russian: Арха́нгельск), formerly called 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 far north of European Russia. City districts spread for over 40 kilometers (25 mi) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval Russia. It is served by Talagi Airport and the smaller Vaskovo Airport. The city is located at the very end of the 1,133 km (704 mi) long railroad, connecting it to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl. Population: 356,051 (2002 Census);^[1] 415,921 (1989 Census).^[2]

History

Early history

The area where Arkhangelsk is situated was known to the Vikings 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 Kufan, English, Bohemian, 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.

Novgorod Russians arrive

In the 12th century, the Novgorodians established the Archangel Michael Monastery in the estuary of the Northern Dvina.

The main trade centre of the area at that time was Kholmogory, located slightly upstream where the rivers Dvina and Pinega meet. 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. Centrally in the small town it is today, the so called Gorodok can be found, a large mound of building remains and river sand. However this has not been archeologically excavated.

Norwegian-Russian conflict

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.

Trade with England, Scotland and the Netherlands

In 1555, Ivan the Terrible granted trade privileges to English merchants who founded the Company of Merchant Adventurers and began sending ships annually into the estuary of the Northern Dvina.

The meeting between Ivan and the Englishmen happened by chance; one of three English ships on their way to find the Northeast passage to China in 1553 ended up in the White Sea. The other two ships disappeared. Dutch merchants also started bringing their ships into the White Sea from the 1560s. Scottish and English merchants dominated 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

Plan of New Dvina Fort in Arkhangelsk

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-Ural 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 Saint Petersburg in 1704.

Icon of Archangel Michael, shown as protector of Arkhangelsk

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 assasinating British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.

Arkhangelsk's economy revived at the end of the 19th century when a railroad 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 Entente forces along an Allied expedition including Canadian and American soldiers, known as the Polar Bear Expedition.^[3]

During both World Wars, 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.

Today, Arkhangelsk remains a major seaport, now open year-round due to improvements in icebreakers. 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.

Architecture and monuments

"Sutyagin House", claimed to be the world's tallest wooden single-family house

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 Stalin's rule, the city's main extant landmarks are the fort-like Merchant Yards (1668–84) and the^[4] (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 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" is the so-called Sutyaguin House (Небоскрёб Сутягина, 'Sutyaguin's skyscraper'). This 13-story, 144-ft tall^[5][6] residence of the local entrepreneur Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin is 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 is currently awaiting demolition, which, according to a court decision, has to take place by February 1, 2009.^[5][7]

Climate

Weather averages for Arkhangelsk
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	5.0 (41)	6.2 (43)	12.1 (54)	25.3 (78)	30.2 (86)	32.1 (90)	34.4 (94)	33.4 (92)	27.7 (82)	18.3 (65)	9.7 (49)	9.1 (48)	34.4 (94)
Average high °C (°F)	-9.6 (15)	-8.3 (17)	-2.9 (27)	4.1 (39)	10.8 (51)	17.6 (64)	20.9 (70)	18.3 (65)	11.5 (53)	3.9 (39)	-2.2 (28)	-6.6 (20)	4.8 (41)
Average low °C (°F)	-16.6 (2)	-15.6 (4)	-11.7 (11)	-4.6 (24)	1.9 (35)	7.9 (46)	11.2 (52)	9.8 (50)	5.2 (41)	-0.6 (31)	-7.2 (19)	-13.2 (8)	-2.7 (27)
Record low °C (°F)	-45.2 (-49)	-41.2 (-42)	-37.1 (-35)	-27.3 (-17)	-13.7 (7)	-3.9 (25)	-0.5 (31)	-4.1 (25)	-7.5 (19)	-21.1 (-6)	-36.5 (-34)	-43.2 (-46)	-45.2 (-49)
Precipitation mm (inches)	33 (1.3)	27 (1.06)	26 (1.02)	31 (1.22)	42 (1.65)	54 (2.13)	61 (2.4)	68 (2.68)	60 (2.36)	61 (2.4)	53 (2.09)	44 (1.73)	560 (22.05)
Source: Pogoda.ru.net[8] 8.09.2007

Notable people

• Alex Kravchenko, who in 2007 became the first Russian citizen to ever win a World Series of Poker 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 Lomonosov, polymath, discoverer of the atmosphere of Venus.
• Mikhail Pletnev, pianist and conductor, Gold Medallist of the 1978 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
• Rosalea Krakovski-Jughashvili, who studied astronomy at an observatory in Arkhangelsk and later had this work published with NASA.

Sister cities

• Portland, Maine, United States.
• Mulhouse, France.
• Vardø, Norway.
• Kiruna, Sweden.
• Słupsk, Poland.
• Oulu, Finland.
• Ljusdal, Sweden.
• Emden, Germany.

Popular Culture

• Arkhangelsk figures prominently in the prelude of the film Goldeneye and the game Goldeneye 007, as the site of a chemical weapons factory.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arkhangelsk

• Satellite image of Arkhangelsk at Google Maps
• Satellite image of Arkhangelsk at Google Earth
• (Russian) Official web site of Arkhangelsk City Administration
• (English) (German) (Russian) Arkhangelsk Tourist Site VISITARKHANGELSK.RU - Time to visit Arkhangelsk!
• (English) Arkhangelsk Tourist Site - run personally by Violetta Moreva
• (English) (Russian) Discussion forum for information about Arkhangelsk.
• (Russian) Pomor State University
• (Russian) Arkhangelsk State Technical University
• (Russian) Northern State Medical University
• (English) (Russian) Arkhangelsk regional museum of local lore, history and economy
• (Russian) Arkhangelsk Oblast Museum of Fine Arts
• Arkhangelsk community at LiveJournal
• (English) (Russian) Timme St. - Information about Arkhangelsk for tourists

24-story building in Arkhangelsk	View of the city at night	Bridge across the Dvina River	Assumption Church (1742–44)
Naval Cathedral (1760–76)	The Archangel Monastery (1685–99)	The Trinity Cathedral (1709–65)	View of Arkhangelsk Quay in 1826
19th-century view of Arkhangelsk	Northern Dvina Quay	Arkhangelsk's monument to Peter the Great is represented on the 500-rouble banknote	Mark V tank in Arkhangelsk, captured by the RKKA during the British intervention in Russia.
A traditional city manor in a preserved district of Arkhangelsk	A view on a Russian Navy boat from the embankment of the Northern Dvina river

Links to related articles v • d • e Russian North Historical locations Arkhangelsk · Belozersk · Berezovo · Kargopol · Kem' · Kholmogory · Kizhi · Kola · Kondopoga · Mangazeya · Pustozyorsk · Shenkursk · Solvychegodsk · Totma · Veliky Ustyug Monasteries Antonievo-Siysky Monastery · Ferapontov Monastery · Kamenny Monastery · Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery · Kiy Island Monastery · Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery · Pechenga Monastery · Solovetsky Monastery v • d • e Arkhangelsk Oblast Administrative center: Arkhangelsk Districts (raions) Kargopolsky · Kholmogorsky · Konoshsky · Kotlassky · Krasnoborsky · Lensky · Leshukonsky · Mezensky · Nyandomsky · Onezhsky · Pinezhsky · Plesetsky · Primorsky · Shenkursky · Solovetsky · Ustyanovsky · Velsky · Verkhnetoyemsky · Vilegodsky · Vinogradovsky Cities and towns Arkhangelsk · Kargopol · Koryazhma · Kotlas · Mezen · Mirny · Naryan-Mar · Novodvinsk · Nyandoma · Onega · Severodvinsk · Shenkursk · Solvychegodsk · Velsk