Arkhangelsk (also spelled Arhangelsk) is an administrative center and capital city of Arkhangelsk oblast of Russia. The city is located in the mouth of the Severnaya (North) Dvina River, about 40 km from the White Sea. There are two airports in Arkhangelsk (Talagi Airport and Vaskovo Airport). The city is an important seaport, one of the timber and fishing centers of Russia. The population of Arkhangelsk is about 356,000 (2012), land area - 294 sq. km. Arkhangelsk history Archangel Michael Monastery was built in the North Dvina River estuary by Novgorod state people in the 12th century. That time the most important trade center of the region was Kholmogory settlement located in the place where the Dvina and the Pinega rivers meet. The region was conquered by the Moscow state Tsar Ivan III in 1478. The Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the establishment of a new settlement called Novokholmogory (New Kholmogory) in 1584. Later the settlement was renamed after located nearby Archangel Michael Monastery. At that time it was the only Russian seaport useful for trading with Europe. State shipyard was built in Arkhangelsk town by the order of Peter the Great in 1693. The main problem was that Arkhangelsk port was under ice cover for about five months every year. That’s why Peter the Great organized a military campaign against Sweden army in the Baltic Sea area. The campaign was successful and as the result Saint Petersburg city was founded in 1704. In 1918-1920, Arkhangelsk was one of the centers of White Army (anti-Bolshevik forces) during the Russian Civil War. Arkhangelsk played an important role during both World Wars. It was the destination port of various Allied aid for the Russian Empire (the First World War) and the USSR (the Second World War). Arkhangelsk and Murmansk cities were the destinations of so called Arctic Convoys during the Second World War.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:58:14 +0000
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