General Information

The city of Arkhangelsk is a port in the north of the Russian Federation, the capital of Archangelsk Oblast. Arkhangelsk (formerly Archangel in English) lies on the Northern Dvina River near the White Sea in the far north of European Russia. Archangelsk is the first Russian port. Convenient location and closeness to the White Sea made Archangelsk the center of trade with Western Europe. Although icebound much of the year, it is a leading Russian port and can generally be made usable by icebreakers. The area of the Arkhangelsk region is 590,000 sq.km. The population of the city is 355,500 people.

Time: GMT + 3 hours.

City telephone code: +7 8182.

Climate

The climate in Arkhangelsk region is subarctic, nautical, with long winters and short and cool summers. Arkhangelsk is the center of Belomorie (the White Sea region), a nature reserve in Northern Russia.

History

The city was founded in 1584, after the establishment of Anglo-Muscovite trade. In 1555 Ivan The Terrible granted trade privileges to English merchants and they began sending ships annually into the estuary of the Northern Dvina. In 1584 Ivan ordered to found Novo-Kholmogory or New Kholmogory village (Kholmogory being a smaller town at the mouth of the Dvina) which would later become Arkhangelsk. At the time access to the Baltic Sea was controlled by the Hanseatic League, so while Arkhangelsk was icebound in winter, it remained Moscow's only link to the sea. Until the reforms of Peter the Great, Arkhangelsk remained the only sea gate of Russia to Europe.

New Kholmogory was named Arkhangelsk in 1613. The name was given to the city after the old Michael-Archangel Monastery.

Russian shipbuilding originated at the end of the 17th century. Peter the Great founded the first Russian shipyard and started the construction of the first ship.

Arkhangelsk city declined in the 18th centruty as the Baltic became more important, but trade revived at the end of the 19th century when a railroad to Moscow was completed and timber became a major export.

Many well-known expeditions of Russian travellers started from the port of Arkhangelsk for the exploration of the North and discovery of new lands.

During World War I and World War II Arkhangelsk was a major port for the Allies aid. Military hardware from Britain, Canada and the U. S. came to Russia via the Arctic Ocean.

The city resisted Bolshevik rule during 1918 to 1920 and was a stronghold of the anti-Bolshevik White Army, supported by the military intervention of Entente forces.

Formerly blocked by ice for half the year, it has been kept open constantly since 1979 by icebreakers.

Economy

Situated on the Northern Dvina River, today Arkhangelsk remains a major seaport, open year-round due to improvements in icebreakers. The city is primarily a lumber and fishing center. It is Russia’s chief timber exporting port, and the centre of a rapidly growing mineral extraction industry (oil drilling and diamond mining). It is surrounded by the timber resources, which are fairly called "the green gold". The city has factories producing pulp and paper, turpentine, resin, cellulose, building materials, and prefabricated houses. Fishing and shipbuilding are also major industries.

The City Today

In Arkhangelsk there are about 40 NGOs. A maritime school, forestry institute, and a regional museum are located there. Pomor State University in Archangelsk is the largest institution of higher education in northern Russia. It was founded as a teacher training institute in 1932 and became Pomor State University in 1996. Famous Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov came from the Arkhangelsk area.

Archangelsk is also a center of tourism. Historical and architectural monuments and places, connected with life and work of outstanding persons, poetic nature and beautiful landscapes attract tourists from all over the world. Two sights deserve special attention. They are Solovetskie islands, which are unique archipelago in the White Sea, and Malie Koroli - the museum of wooden architecture under the open air. Among the other museums there are — Northern Navigation Museum, Museum of Wooden Architecture, The Lomonosov Museum, Museum of Fine Arts and Museum of Local History and Economy.

Hotels

Dvina Hotel ***. Address: Arkhangelsk, Troitsky Prosp., 52. Phone: +7 8182 288888, 657777; +7 8182 274311.

Business Centre Hotel ****. Address: Arkhangelsk, Voskresenskaya Str., 8. Phone: +7 8182 210130, 219047, 219046, 219141, 210133; +7 8182 210130, 210133.

Belomorskaya Hotel ***. Address: 3, Timme str. Phone: +7 8182 661600; +7 8182 661438.

Belomorie Resort. Address: Arkhangelsk Region, Primorsk district, Belomorye Village. Phone: +7 81852 32271.

Meridian Hotel. Address: Arkhangelsk, Sovetskaya Str., 5. Phone: +7 8182 223317, 223243, 220206; +7 8182 231795.

Pur Navolok Hotel ****. Address: Arkhangelsk, Severnaya Dwina Emb., 88. Phone: +7 8182 217200, 205126, 640935; +7 8182 217202, 653375.

Evgeniya Stroganova