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Early history[edit]
Vikings knew the area around Arkhangelsk as Bjarmaland. Ohthere of Hålogaland told circa 890 of his travels in 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, Vikings led by Thorir Hund raided this area in 1027.[citation needed]
In 1989, an unusually impressive silver treasure was found by local farm workers by the mouth of Dvina, right next to present-day Arkhangelsk.
Most of the findings comprised a total of 1.6 kilograms (3.5 lb) of silver, largely in the form of coins. Jewelry and pieces of jewelry come from Russia or neighboring areas. The majority of the coins were German, but the hoard also included 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.[citation needed]
Alternatively, like the Russian scientists who published the find in 1992, one may see it as evidence of a stronger case of Russian colonization than previously thought.
Novgorodian arrival[edit]
In the 12th century, the Novgorodians established a monastery dedicated to Archangel Michael in the estuary of the Northern Dvina. The main trade center of the area at that time was Kholmogory, located 75 kilometers (47 mi) southeast of Arkhangelsk, up the Dvina River, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) downstream from where the Pinega River flows into the Dvina. Written sources indicate that Kholmogory existed early in the 12th century, but there is no archeological material of this period. It is not known whether the origin of this settlement was Russian, or if it goes back to pre-Russian times. In the center of the small town (or Gorodok) that is there today is a large mound of building remains and river sand, but it has not been archeologically excavated.
Norwegian–Russian conflict[edit]
Location of Arkhangelsk in northwestern Russia
The area of Arkhangelsk came to be important in the rivalry between Norwegian and Russian interests in the northern areas. From Novgorod, the spectrum of Russian interest 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 which was soon broken.[citation needed]
In 1411, Yakov Stepanovich from Novgorod went to attack northern Norway. This was the beginning of a series of clashes. In 1419, Norwegian ships with five hundred 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 the Grand Duchy of Moscow with the rest of the Novgorod Republic.
Trade with England, Scotland, and the Netherlands[edit]
Three English ships, Bona Esperanza, Edward Bonaventure, and Bona Confidentia, set out to find the Northeast Passage to China in 1553; two disappeared, and one, the Edward Bonaventure, ended up in the White Sea at Nyonoksa, eventually coming across the area of Arkhangelsk at the mouth of the Dvina River where the St. Nicolas Monastery stood. Subsequently, the English gave the name "St. Nicolas Bay" to the sea now known as the White Sea. Ivan the Terrible found out about this, and brokered a trade agreement with the ship's captain, Richard Chancellor.
Trade privileges were granted to English merchants in 1555, leading to the founding of the Company of Merchant Adventurers, which began sending ships annually into the estuary of the Northern Dvina. Dutch merchants also started bringing their ships into the White Sea from the 1560s.
Scottish and English merchants also traded in the 16th century; however, by the 17th century it was mainly the Dutch that sailed to the White Sea area.[citation needed]
Founding and further development[edit]
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-Urals city of Mangazeya and beyond. In December 1613, during the Time of Troubles, Arkhangelsk was besieged by Polish-Lithuanian marauders commanded by Stanislaw Jasinski (Lisowczyks), who failed to capture the fortified town. In 1619, and again in 1637, fires broke out, and the entire city burned down.[citation needed]
In 1693, Peter the Great 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 May 1703. Nonetheless, Arkhangelsk continued to be an important naval base and maritime centre in the Russian north.
Icon of Archangel Michael, shown as protector of Arkhangelsk
In 1722, Peter the Great decreed that Arkhangelsk should no longer accept goods that amounted to more than was sufficient for the town (for so-called domestic consumption). It was due to the Tsar's will to shift all international marine trade to Saint Petersburg. This factor greatly contributed to the deterioration of Arkhangelsk that continued up to 1762 when this decree was cancelled.[citation needed]
Arkhangelsk declined in the 18th century as the Baltic trade became ever more important. Its economy revived at the end of the 19th century when a railway 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. The White Army was supported by an Allied intervention in which British, French, Italian, and American troops helped to defend against the Bolsheviks. The Allied forces, led by British Lieutenant General Frederick Poole, suffered numerous set-backs and eventually withdrew from Russia. Without Allied support, the poorly disciplined White Army quickly collapsed and the Bolsheviks entered Arkhangelsk on February 21, 1920. Arkhangelsk was also the scene of the Mudyug concentration camp.
During both world wars, Arkhangelsk was a major port of entry for Allied aid. During World War II, the city became known in West Europe as one of the two main destinations (along with Murmansk) of the Arctic convoys bringing supplies in to assist the Soviet Union. During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Arkhangelsk was one of two cities (the other being Astrakhan) selected to mark the envisioned eastern limit of German control. This military operation was to be halted at this A–A line, but never reached it, as the German armies failed to capture either of these two cities and also failed to capture Moscow.
Arkhangelsk was also the site of Arkhangelsk ITL, or the Arkhangelsk Labour Camp, in the 1930s and 1940s.
Today, Arkhangelsk remains a major seaport, now open year-round due to improvements in icebreakers. The city is primarily a center for the timber and fishing industries.
On March 16, 2004, 58 people were killed in an explosion at a nine-storey apartment building in the city.
