Arkhangelsk

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Coat of Arms
Image:Coat of Arms of Arkhangelsk (Arkhangelsk oblast) (1998).png

Arkhangelsk (Russian: Арха́нгельск), formerly called Archangel in English, is a city in and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the far north of European Russia. Arkhangelsk was the chief sea port of medieval Russia. Population: 356,051 (2002 Census), 45.0% men and 55.0% women; down from 415,921 recorded in the 1989 Census.

1 History
2 Architecture and Monuments
3 Miscellaneous
4 External links

[edit] History

The area where Arkhangelsk is situated was known to the Vikings as Bjarmaland. In the 12th century, the Novgorodians established the Archangel Michael Monastery in the estuary of the Northern Dvina. In 1478 the area passed to Muscovy with the rest of Novgorod Republic. The main trade centre of the area at that time was Kholmogory, located slightly upstream.

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. Dutch merchants also began bringing their ships into the White Sea. In 1584 Ivan ordered the founding of New Kholmogory (which would later be renamed after the nearby Archangel Monastery).

At the time access to the Baltic Sea was still controlled by Sweden, so while Arkhangelsk was icebound in winter, it remained Moscow's only link to the sea. Local inhabitants, called Pomors, were the first to explore trade routes to Northern Siberia as far as 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.

Arkhangelsk declined in the 18th century as the Baltic trade became ever more important, but its 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, known as the Polar Bear Expedition.

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 the destination of the Arctic Convoys bringing supplies to assist the Russians who were cut off from their normal supply lines.Image:Galyamin riverside.jpg

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 16 March 2004, 58 people were killed in an explosion at an apartment block in the city.

[edit] Architecture and Monuments

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 New Dvina Fortress (1701–05). The Assumption Church on the Dvina embankment (1742–44) was rebuilt in 2004.

Assumption Church (1742–44)

Naval Cathedral (1760–76)

The Archangel Monastery (1685–99)

The Trinity Cathedral (1709–65)

[edit] Miscellaneous

The novel Predator's Gold featured a version of Arkhangelsk called Arkangel that was a dangerous Traction City.

The James Bond movie GoldenEye begins at a dam by a chemical facility near Arkhangelsk, although the scenes themselves were actually shot at the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland—tall mountains as seen in the background cannot be found anywhere near Arkhangelsk.

British author Robert Harris's novel Archangel centres on a plot to restore Communism in Russia through a son of Stalin, who is taken to the wilderness and hidden near the town as a young boy by the KGB. In 2005 it was made into a two-part television drama by the BBC starring Daniel Craig.

Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's 1990 surrealist film Archangel is set in Arkhangelsk, just after the end of World War I (the fight goes on, as the characters are unaware the war has ended).

[edit] External links

Satellite image of Arkhangelsk on Google Maps
Satellite image of Arkhangelsk on Google Earth
(Russian) Official web site of Arkhangelsk City Administration
(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

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Arkhangelsk

(Russian) Arkhangelsk Oblast Museum of Fine Arts
Arkhangelsk community at LiveJournal
(English) (Russian) Timme St. - Information about Arkhangelsk (with forum) for tourists
(English) (German) (Russian)Tourist information about Arkhangelsk and Arkhangelsk region for travelers, with a forum for city information and travel advice

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

Image:Coat of Arms of Arkhangelsk Oblast.gif	Cities and towns in Arkhangelsk Oblast	Image:Flag of Russia.svg
Image:Coat of Arms of Arkhangelsk Oblast.gif	Administrative center: Arkhangelsk Kargopol \| Koryazhma \| Kotlas \| Mezen \| Mirny \| Naryan-Mar \| Novodvinsk \| Nyandoma \| Onega \| Severodvinsk \| Shenkursk \| Solvychegodsk \| Velsk

Image:Coat of Arms of Arkhangelsk Oblast.gif	Administrative divisions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia	Image:Flag of Russia.svg

	Districts: Kargopolsky \| Kholmogorsky \| Konoshsky \| Kotlassky \| Krasnoborsky \| Lensky \| Leshukonsky \| Mezensky \| Novaya Zemlya \| Nyandomsky \| Onezhsky \| Pinezhsky \| Plesetsky \| Primorsky \| Shenkursky \| Solovetsky \| Ustyanovsky \| Velsky \| Verkhnetoyemsky \| Vilegodsky \| Vinogradovsky
	<p style='margin-left:.4in;text-indent:-.4in'> Cities and towns: Arkhangelsk \| Kargopol \| Koryazhma \| Kotlas \| Mezen \| Mirny \| Naryan-Mar \| Novodvinsk \| Nyandoma \| Onega \| Severodvinsk \| Shenkursk \| Solvychegodsk \| Velsk