The Arkhangelsk region is located in the northwest of Russia. The
Arkhangelsk region is one of the regions of the Russian North, a harsh
taiga region with deep historical traditions of Pomors. The vast
territory of the region is larger in area than France. Impenetrable
taiga, penetrated by rivers with swamps in the west of the region, to
the north turns into forest-tundra on the coasts of the seas of the
Arctic Ocean basin.
Despite the relative proximity to Central
Russia, it has an undeveloped transport infrastructure and relative
inaccessibility for tourists. Nevertheless, the region attracts
travelers with true untouched nature, wooden architecture and some
historical sites of world importance.
The region with a huge territory is divided into 19 districts. It is
advisable for a tourist to evaluate the region from a historical and
geographical point of view. An important point in determining the
regions is transport accessibility.
Arkhangelsk Pomorie
Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk, Primorsky district, part of Kholmogorsky
district (in particular, Kholmogory themselves), Onega district, north
of Plesetsky district (to Obozerskaya station)
Dvina land and
Vazhsky region
Most of the Kholmogorsky district, Vinogradovsky,
Verkhnetoemsky, Krasnoborsky, Shenkursky, Velsky and Ustyansky districts
Zavolochye
Southern part of the Plesetsk region, Kargopol,
Nyandoma and Konosh regions
Land Vychegodskaya
Kotlassky,
Vilegodsky and Lensky districts
Pinezhye and Mezen
Pinezhsky,
Mezensky and Leshukonsky districts
Arkhangelsk is the administrative
center of the region, a port city at the mouth of the Northern Dvina.
Kargopol is one of the largest cities in
Russia in the 16th-17th centuries, and now a small original city on the
Onega River. It is famous for its remarkable temple architecture and
folk crafts, including the famous Kargopol clay toy. In the vicinity of
the city, there are many churchyards and small villages with unique
wooden churches, inside which you can see the painted sky more often
than anywhere else in the country.
Solvychegodsk
- a city founded by the Stroganovs, known as Sol Vychegodskaya and
became their capital for a long time. Currently, it is a quiet
balneological resort town with interesting architectural and temple
buildings.
Shenkursk is a city with a population of only 6 thousand
inhabitants
Onega is a small port city on
the river, notable for the nearby island of Kiy.
Mezen is a city in the north-east of the region on the
river of the same name, 45 km from the coast of the Mezen Bay of the
White Sea.
Severodvinsk is a city in
which the shipbuilding industry of the north of Russia is concentrated,
and the triple churchyard of Nenoksa is also located.
Kotlas is an industrial city at the confluence
of the Vychegda with the Northern Dvina.
Koryazhma is an industrial
city on Vychegda, where the Nikolo-Koryazhemsky Monastery has been
preserved.
Belushya Guba
Golubinsky Proval
Kholmogory
Kurtyaevo tract
Mirny
Deposit them. MV Lomonosov is the largest primary diamond deposit in
the European part of the Russian Federation. It is located near the
village of Pomorye, Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Region, and is named
after Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.
Kenozersky National Park is a
national park in the Arkhangelsk region. The territory of the park is a
natural, historical and cultural complex located in the southwestern
part of the Arkhangelsk region at the junction of the Plesetsk and
Kargopol districts. There are only a few territories left in the world
where the cultural and natural heritage would be preserved in the most
complete and multifaceted way. One of these territories is the Kenozero
National Park, one of the islands of the original Russian way of life,
culture, traditions, which has preserved the richness and purity of its
inner world and turned to the origins.
Solovetsky
Monastery. The main attraction and spiritual center of the islands is
the Solovetsky Monastery. The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Monastery
is a male monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church, located on the
Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea. It arose in the 1429-1430s, rebuilt
in stone by the labors of St. Philip (Kolychev), in pre-Petrine times,
was among the largest landowners of the state. The Solovetsky Monastery
was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1920, and the Solovetsky Special
Purpose Camp was located in its buildings. In 1990 the monastery was
officially revived. In 1992, the complex of monuments of the Solovetsky
Museum-Reserve was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Plesetsk Cosmodrome. It is located about 300 kilometers south of
Arkhangelsk. It is a complex scientific and technical complex that
performs various tasks both in the interests of the Russian Armed Forces
and for peaceful space purposes. The leader in the number of space
launches among the Earth's spaceports.
Novaya Zemlya is an
archipelago in the Arctic Ocean between the Barents and Kara seas; part
of the Arkhangelsk region of Russia in the rank of the municipality
"Novaya Zemlya". On September 17, 1954, a Soviet nuclear test site was
opened on Novaya Zemlya with a center in Belushya Guba. In August 1963,
the USSR and the United States signed a treaty banning nuclear tests in
three environments: the atmosphere, space and under water. Restrictions
on the power of the charges were also adopted. In the 1990s, in
connection with the end of the Cold War, tests abruptly came to naught,
and at present they are only engaged in research in the field of nuclear
weapons systems (the Matochkin Shar facility).
Northern (Arctic)
Federal University named after M. V. Lomonosov is a federal state
autonomous educational institution of higher professional education, as
a tool for implementing the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic
Zone of the Russian Federation and Ensuring National Security. The
mission of the university is to create an innovative scientific and
personnel base for the intellectual new modern development of the
Russian North and the Arctic.
Aleksandro-Oschevensky Monastery
Church of the Epiphany
Churches of Archangel Michael and the
Presentation of the Lord in Shelokhovskaya
Cyril-Chelmogorsky monastery
Gorachy Kamen/ Hot stone
Historical and Memorial Museum of
M.V. Lomonosov
Holy Trinity
Anthony Siysky Monastery
Kiy Island and the Cross Monastery
Krasnogorsk Bogoroditsky Orthodox Monastery
Lyadinsky temple ensemble
Makaryevskaya Hergozerskaya hermitage
Novodvinskaya Fortress
Nyonok temple ensemble
Transport development of the territory is low. Motor vehicles account
for about half of the total volume of transported goods and 95% of all
transported passengers.
Railways
The total length of railways
of federal and regional importance, passing through the territory of the
Arkhangelsk region, is 1760 kilometers, all of them belong to the
Northern Railway. The main railway line of the region is the
Arkhangelsk-Moscow route. Its part from Moscow to the Obozerskaya
station is electrified, and diesel traction is used in the section from
Obozerskaya to Arkhangelsk.
There are also:
section "Konosha -
Kotlas - Mezhozh" of the federal railway "Moscow - Yaroslavl - Vologda -
Kotlas - Mikun - Ukhta - Vorkuta - Labytnangi".
section "Kotlas -
Kirov" of the regional railway "Ukhta - Syktyvkar - Kotlas - Kirov" and
"Arkhangelsk - Kotlas - Kirov".
section "Obozerskaya - Belomorsk",
providing a connection between Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.
line
"Arkhangelsk - Karpogory"
The Karpogory railway station of the
Arkhangelsk branch of the Northern Railway is the terminus of the
Arkhangelsk-Karpogory railway line. In the future, the railway line from
Karpogory station will be extended to Vendinga (Komi Republic) as part
of the planned Belkomur railroad of the Russian Federation. Belkomur is
the shortest route connecting the industrial regions of Siberia with the
seaport in Arkhangelsk. It will help relieve the existing railroads -
Gorky, Sverdlovsk, Severnaya and Oktyabrskaya. A fully electrified
railway line will be created, parallel to the Trans-Siberian Railway and
passing to the north of the current main transport routes of the
country. The planned length of the highway is 1252 km, of which 712 km
are new construction, the rest are already existing sections.
In
addition to broad-gauge long-haul railways, a number of narrow-gauge
local railways operate in the region, which are used for timber export
and passenger traffic. The Arkhangelsk region was once one of the most
saturated regions of the USSR with narrow-gauge railways. Nyubskaya,
Udimskaya, Avnyugskaya, Kudemskaya, Loiginskaya, Ivakshanskaya,
Kulikovskaya, Lipakovskaya, Konetsgorskaya, Zelennikovskaya and some
other narrow-gauge railways are currently operating.
Car roads
The length of paved roads is 6889.1 kilometers[57]. The main motorway of
the region is the federal highway M8 Kholmogory
(Moscow-Yaroslavl-Vologda-Arkhangelsk).
The second most important
highway should be the new federal highway A-215 "Lodeynoye Pole -
Vytegra - Prokshino - Plesetsk - Brin-Navolok" [58]. “The motor road
provides access to the Plesetsk cosmodrome from public roads of federal
significance M8 Kholmogory Moscow - Yaroslavl - Vologda - Arkhangelsk,
P21 "Kola" St. Petersburg - Petrozavodsk - Murmansk - Pechenga - border
with the Kingdom of Norway, A119 Vologda - Medvezhyegorsk - the P21 Kola
highway, and also connects the administrative centers of the constituent
entities of the Russian Federation - the cities of St. Petersburg and
Arkhangelsk, ”the explanatory note to the bill of the Ministry of
Transport says. It is assumed that after the reconstruction and
construction of certain sections of the road, the straight line from
Arkhangelsk to St. Petersburg will be reduced by 350 km, and the total
length of the new highway will be about 655 km.
Regional highways
R1 "Brin-Navolok - Kargopol - Vytegra - Prokshino". Highway of regional
importance, connecting the central regions of the Arkhangelsk region
with the northwestern part of the Vologda region.
R2 "M8 (Dolmatovo)
- Nyandoma - Kargopol". The motor road starts at the intersection with
the Kholmogory motorway (M8) near the village of Ekimovo, Puisky rural
settlement in the Velsk district (near Dolmatov). Then the road passes
through Nyandoma and ends in the Kargopol area.
P157 "Uren - Veliky
Ustyug - Kotlas". The highway passes through four regions (Nizhny
Novgorod, Kostroma, Vologda and Arkhangelsk) with access to the
Kholmogory highway (M8).
Sea and river transportation
The
total length of the navigable river routes of the region is 3800
kilometers, rafting routes are more than 9000 kilometers.
The
main water transport system is the Northern Dvina River with its main
tributaries (Malaya Northern Dvina and Vychegda).
Sea and river
ports: Arkhangelsk, Onega, Mezen, Kotlas (river port).
There is
currently no regular long-distance passenger traffic along the Northern
Dvina and other rivers of the region; Only crossings of local importance
work (in Arkhangelsk and in other settlements).
Air travel and
airports
The Talagi International Airport (Arkhangelsk) named after
Fyodor Abramov (IATA code - ARH, ICAO code - ULAA) and the airport in
Naryan-Mar, the airport in Kotlas operate in the region.
Airports
with a short strip operate on the Solovetsky Islands, in Leshukonsky,
Mezen, Onega. Arkhangelsk also has an airport for local airlines
Vaskovo.
The main gas pipeline Tyumen region -
Ukhta (Komi Republic) - Gryazovets (Vologda region) runs through the
south-east of the region.
The Nyuksenitsa (Vologda Oblast) –
Arkhangelsk gas pipeline supplies gas to the Arkhangelsk Oblast from
fields in the Tyumen Oblast and Ukhta (Komi Republic).
The Arkhangelsk region is one of the last Russian regions where
passenger traffic on narrow gauge railways has been preserved:
Kudemskaya UZD: st. Vodogon (in Severodvinsk) - st. White Lake
Lipakovskaya UZD: st. Onega (in the village of Lipakovo) - st. Sesa
Konetsgorskaya UZD: st. Rochegda - Art. Pystroma
Bus service is
episodic. On the main routes (micro)buses run 1-2 times a day, they may
not run from regional centers to villages every day. Most long-distance
routes are served by the carrier "Malavto"; the site has timetables and
even online ticket sales.
Paleolithic sites have been found in the Pechora River basin in the
Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Single finds of Paleolithic tools are found in
the middle reaches of the Northern Dvina in the area of the villages of
Stupino and Ichkovo. The Mesolithic in the Arkhangelsk region is
represented by the Yavronga-1 site on the Yavronga River, which dates
back to the 9th-7th millennium BC., sites on the Ustya and Kokshenga
rivers, finds in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra and in the Northern Dvina
basin, as well as the Veretye culture in the southwest of the region.
The Neolithic period is mainly represented by the Pechoro-Dvina culture.
In the south-west of the region at that time, the Kargopol culture was
represented, as well as settlements such as Modlon.
Until the
10th century, the lands in Zavolochye were mainly inhabited by
Finno-Ugric tribes. Then the development of these lands by Russian
settlers began. Wooden cylinder-locks (seals) found in Novgorod with
inscriptions point to places where tribute was collected in Zavolochye
at the end of the 10th-12th centuries, now located on the territory of
the Arkhangelsk region: Tikhmanga, Vaga, Emtsa, Pinega. The Statutory
Charter of Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich (1137) states that the settlements
and graveyards on the White Sea (Pogost-on-Sea), along the Vaga River
(Vag Mouth), the settlement of Yemtse Mouth at confluence of the Yemtsy
River with the Northern Dvina. Veliky Novgorod exacted tribute and
maintained trade relations both with the Finno-Ugric population of the
Pomeranian land and with the more distant Finno-Ugric population of the
eastern regions. The Slavic population of the Pomeranian and Podvinsk
lands increased greatly after the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russian
lands, in connection with the mass spontaneous migration of the
population to the north of Rus'. At the beginning of the XIV century,
Russian chronicles call the Dvina land the central part of Zavolochye,
which belonged to the Novgorod Republic.
In the XV century,
during the reign of the Moscow prince Ivan III Vasilyevich, the Novgorod
lands were annexed to Moscow. By 1462, the Vazhskaya land was already
Moscow. In 1471, after the battle on the Shilenga River, many
possessions on the Northern Dvina were transferred to Moscow. In 1492, a
caravan with grain was delivered from Kholmogory to European countries
(to Denmark) for sale in European markets. Since this caravan also
delivered the embassy of the Tsar of the Moscow State Ivan III
Vasilyevich to Denmark, records of this campaign were preserved in the
annals and became the first documentary evidence of the appearance in
Russia of its own merchant fleet. In 1553, the only surviving ship of
Hugh Willoughby's expedition (its goal was to open the northern route to
China and India) "Eduard Bonaventure", commanded by Richard Chancellor
and Clement Adams, rounded the Kola Peninsula and entered the White Sea,
anchoring off the Summer Coast of the Dvina Bay , opposite Nenoksa. It
was here that the British established that this area was not India, but
Muscovy. From here, the British went to the island of Yagry and the
Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery. After establishing contacts with local
residents and the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, R. Chancellor went to
Kholmogory, the then capital of the Dvina land and Pomorie, to the
governor. And from there, after freezing, he goes on a sleigh to Moscow,
for an audience with the Tsar of the Moscow State, Ivan the Terrible.
After the meeting of Captain Richard Chancellor with Tsar Ivan the
Terrible, diplomatic relations were established for the first time in
the history of both states. The Moscow Company was founded in London, an
English trading company with a monopoly on trade with the Muscovite
state, on the basis of a right granted to it by Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
The great importance of these northern regions for the Muscovite state
led to the fact that in 1584 at the mouth of the Northern Dvina, on Cape
Pur-Navolok, a new city of Novo-Kholmogory was built.
Novo-Kholmogory (Arkhangelsk) by the end of the 17th century became the
main port city of the Russian state. It accounted for approximately
60-80% of the foreign trade turnover of the state; bread, hemp, timber,
resin, furs and other goods were exported from here. The importance of
the Arkhangelsk region reached its maximum during the reign of Tsar
Peter I, who organized naval shipbuilding here. In 1693, Peter arrived
in Arkhangelsk, where he founded the first state shipyard in Russia on
Solombala Island and built two ships. However, as a result of the
founding of St. Petersburg and the redirection of trade with Europe to
the Baltic Sea, the trade turnover and importance of Arkhangelsk, as
well as the entire Pomorye, began to decrease. At the beginning of the
18th century, the current territory of the region became part of the
vast Arkhangelsk province, and then until 1784 into the Vologda
governorship, from which the Arkhangelsk governorship was separated,
which was transformed in 1796 into the Arkhangelsk province. For a long
time, only the logging and sawmilling industry, which was mainly for
export, developed in the region, as well as fishing and hunting.
In 1918-1920, during the years of the Civil War, in the north of the
European part of Russia, under the control of the Entente troops and the
White Army, the Northern Region was formed, the administrative center of
which was Arkhangelsk. On January 14, 1929, the Arkhangelsk, Vologda and
Severo-Dvinsk provinces were abolished and their territories formed the
Northern Territory. On July 15, 1929, the Nenets National Okrug (now the
Nenets Autonomous Okrug) was formed in the Northern Territory. On
December 5, 1936, the Northern Territory, after the separation of the
Komi ASSR, was transformed into the Northern Region. On September 23,
1937, by a decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the
Northern Region was divided into Arkhangelsk and Vologda Regions. On
January 15, 1938, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved the creation
of these regions. Six months later, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR
confirmed this decision.
The region is located in the north of the East European Plain. It is
washed by the White, Barents, and Kara seas. The Arkhangelsk region is
located close to the Arctic seas and far from the warm North Atlantic
Current (an offshoot of the Gulf Stream).
It borders in the west
with Karelia, in the north with the Murmansk region (the border passes
through the White Sea), in the south with the Vologda and Kirov regions,
in the northeast (Nenets Autonomous Okrug) with the Yamalo-Nenets
Autonomous Okrug, in the east and northeast with The Republic of Komi,
in the east with the Krasnoyarsk Territory (the border passes through
the Kara Sea).
Most of the territory of the Arkhangelsk region is
the regions of the Far North: these are the archipelagos of Franz Josef
Land and Novaya Zemlya, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the islands of the
White Sea (Solovki archipelago), Leshukonsky, Mezensky, Pinezhsky
districts, the urban district of Severodvinsk. The rest of the region is
the territory equivalent to the regions of the Far North.
On the
territory of the region on Rudolf Island, which is part of the Franz
Josef Land archipelago, there is the northernmost point of Russia,
Europe and Eurasia - Cape Fligeli, and on Severny Island in the Novaya
Zemlya archipelago - the easternmost point of Europe - Cape Flissingsky.
The length from north to south is 600 km, from east to west - from
700 (main territory) to 1650 km (including the Nenets Autonomous Okrug).
The territory of the region is a vast plain with a slight slope
towards the White and Barents Seas, where the flatness is broken in
places by terminal moraine hills, formed as a result of the activity of
an ancient glacier.
In the north-west of the region, moraine
heaps have been preserved with many closed depressions occupied by
lakes, with hills merging into whole chains (Summer Mountains of the
Onega Peninsula and others). In the south, the Konosha and Nyandoma
uplands stand out up to 250 m high.
In the east, the region
includes the Northern and Middle Timan, low mountains from a series of
parallel ridges with plateau-like peaks up to 400-450 m high. In the
west, along the Onega Bay, the Windy Belt ridge stretches with heights
of 200-350 meters.
On the flat watershed plateaus in the west of
the region, where Paleozoic limestones and marls come closest to the
surface, karst phenomena are widespread. The lowlands are usually filled
with strata of marine, lacustrine-glacial and alluvial sediments.
Erosion is very strong (up to 660 kg of soil per hectare is washed
away annually in the Northern Dvina basin), sea or lake surf, karst
processes that turn large areas near Kuloi and Pinega into
inconveniences, the formation of swamps, accumulating ice activity on
lakes and rivers.
The climate of the region is temperate continental, in the northwest
- maritime, in the northeast - subarctic. Characterized by cool summers
and long cold winters, frequent changes in air masses coming from the
Arctic and middle latitudes. The weather is extremely unstable. The
Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya archipelagos, which are part of the
region, have an arctic climate.
Winter is cold, with persistent
frosts. The average January temperature ranges from -12 °C in the
southwest to -18 °C in the northeast. Summer is short and cool. Average
July temperatures range from 16–17.6 °C in the south of the region to
8–10 °C in the north. The growing season is from 50-60 days in the north
to 150-155 days in the south of the region. Precipitation falls from 400
to 600 millimeters per year. There are frequent fogs on the coast of the
White Sea (up to 60 days a year). Permafrost is widespread in the
north-east of the region.
Geographical attractions of the region
On the territory of the region on Rudolf Island, which is part of the
Franz Josef Land archipelago, there is the northernmost point of Russia,
Europe and Eurasia - Cape Fligeli, and on Severny Island in the Novaya
Zemlya archipelago - the easternmost point of Europe, Cape Flissingsky.
Mineral resources in the territory of the region are mainly of
sedimentary origin.
100 km north of Arkhangelsk, on the territory
of the Primorsky and Mezensky districts, there are the largest diamond
deposits in Europe (the M.V. Lomonosov deposit, the V. Grib deposit).
In the Nenets Autonomous Okrug there are significant oil and gas
deposits (Prirazlomnoye deposit), they are especially significant in the
northern part of the region, in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra
(Khylchuyuskoye, Inzyreyskoye, Varandeyskoye, etc.), there are deposits
of coal, huge reserves of peat.
Bauxite deposits have been
explored and are being exploited (Iksinskoye in the Plesetsk region).
The most significant are deposits of gypsum (the largest in Russia,
the Zvozskoye deposit), limestone, and anhydrides.
There are
numerous salt springs in the Onega River valley, on the Onega Peninsula
and in a number of other places. In the south of the region, in
Solvychegodsk, Koryazhma, Shangalakh, there are large layers of rock
salt up to 16 m thick.
Deposits of manganese and polymetallic
ores have been explored on Novaya Zemlya.
Deposits of building
materials, refractories, coloring clays are known.
The region has a dense network of rivers and lakes. Almost all
rivers (except the Ileksa and several neighboring ones) belong to the
Arctic Ocean basin. In the extreme western part of the region there is a
continental divide between the basins of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
The largest rivers are the Northern Dvina (with tributaries of the
Vychegda, Pinega and Vaga), Onega, Mezen and Pechora. There are about
2.5 thousand lakes on the territory of the region, especially in the
Onega basin and in the extreme northeast. The largest lakes are Lacha,
Kenozero and Kozhozero.
In the waters of the White Sea, adjacent
to the shores of the Arkhangelsk region, the collection of algae is
developed, of which there are 194 species in these waters, including
kelp, a very ancient group of plants anfeltia, zoster, etc.
Commercial and recreational fishing is widely practiced in the sea,
river and lake waters of the region. Valuable species of fish are
widespread, such as salmon and pink salmon (fish of the salmon family),
sterlet (sturgeon family), a number of species of the cod families (cod,
navaga), herring (White Sea herring), flounders (halibut, flounder),
perch (pike perch, perch ), pike, rudd, sabrefish, etc.
The Arkhangelsk region is the leader in terms of the number and total
area of islands among the constituent entities of the Russian
Federation. The Arkhangelsk region includes several large archipelagos
(Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, the Solovetsky Islands), as well as
many large and small single islands in the White, Barents, Pechora and
Kara Seas.
Vaygach
Victoria
Franz Josef Land
Key Island
Kolguev
Morzhovets
Mudyugsky
New Earth
Solovetsky Islands
The Arkhangelsk region is mostly included in the taiga and tundra
zones, with the exception of the Northern Island of Novaya Zemlya, Franz
Josef Land and Victoria Island, which are part of the Arctic desert
zone. The northeastern part of the region belongs to the tundra zone, to
the moss-lichen and shrub subzones on tundra-gley and tundra-marsh
soils. To the south, the forest-tundra zone is represented by a
combination of tundra areas and woodlands on weakly podzolic soils.
About 53% of the territory of the region is occupied by taiga forests,
sometimes swampy. The forest fund is 285 thousand km², occupied by
forests is 21.8 million hectares.
The most common forest species
is Siberian spruce, followed by Scotch pine. Siberian fir forms an
insignificant admixture to spruce forests in the southeastern part of
the region, and Sukachev larch (other names are Russian larch,
Arkhangelsk larch) (a subspecies of Siberian larch) is distributed
mainly as a small admixture to pine and spruce mainly in the eastern and
central parts , less often - in the western. Warty birch, downy birch
and aspen are regularly found, often forming secondary forests. Gray
alder is somewhat less common, black alder is even rarer. In the
southern part of the region (middle taiga subzone), almost up to 64 ° N.
sh. in areas with fertile soils, mainly in the undergrowth, less often
in the second and first tiers of the forest stand, individual trees and
small groups, sometimes small-leaved linden, smooth elm, rough elm, and
occasionally Norway maple grow in the southwest. An interesting natural
landmark is a single locality of the English oak in the floodplain of
the Northern Dvina River at the latitude of the city of Shenkursk (62°
06' N), i.e. more than 2° north of the distribution of this tree species
on the watersheds[14]. On the possible presence of isolated localities
of common ash and common hazel in the southern regions of the
Arkhangelsk region (outside their main areas, the northern borders of
which are in the Vologda region), it is desirable to conduct clarifying
geobotanical studies.
In the forests and tundras of the
Arkhangelsk region, mushrooms are common, including white mushrooms.
White fungus is one of the species that penetrates the farthest into the
Arctic zone, only some boletus go north of it.
Lingonberries and
cranberries in the Arkhangelsk region grow abundantly in dry and damp
coniferous forests and deciduous forests, shrubs, and sometimes in peat
bogs. Of the other berries, blueberries, blueberries, crowberries,
raspberries, cloudberries are widespread.
Of the birds in the
Arkhangelsk region, there are black grouse, capercaillie, hazel grouse,
woodpecker, titmouse, bullfinch, pika, white and tundra partridges, as
well as the white-tailed eagle, osprey, golden eagle, gray owl, gray
crane listed in the Red Book.
Of the Arctic mammals, the polar
bear, walrus, ringed seal, harp seal, reindeer, bearded seal are common.
Of the animals of the taiga, the elk, deer, brown bear, lynx, wolverine,
wolf, fox, squirrel, marten, mink, beaver, muskrat, chipmunk, and hare
are characteristic.
Nature reserves, sanctuaries and national
parks
There are a number of protected natural areas on the territory
of the region:
Pinezhsky Reserve,
Kenozero National Park,
national park "Russian Arctic",
National Park "Onega Pomorie"
33
reserves,
partially located Vodlozersky National Park.
On the territory of the Arkhangelsk region there are:
515 clubs;
465 public (public) libraries of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian
Federation, of which 364 are in rural areas; their total fund totals 120
million items;
26 museums (two of them, the Solovetsky Museum-Reserve
and the Small Korely Museum of Wooden Architecture, are under the
jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Culture, see also the List of
Museums of the Arkhangelsk Region);
5 theatres, Pomor State
Philharmonic Society, State Academic Northern Russian Folk Choir,
Arkhangelsk State Chamber Orchestra.
In 2010-2012, the main
universities of the Arkhangelsk region were merged, according to the
order of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 7, 2010, into
the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov.
As of 2015, four local universities and several branches of
universities, including those from the capital, were operating in the
region.
Educational activities in the region are carried out by a
number of institutions of secondary vocational education.
There
are 50 institutions of additional education for children (music, art
schools and art schools), the Arkhangelsk Regional Center for Advanced
Training of Cultural Specialists, the Research and Production Center for
the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, 2 parks of culture
and recreation.
The largest in the region is the NArFU Scientific
Library. Lomonosov. It has a universal collection of documents in
various media, which currently has about 2.4 million copies. In
addition, the Arkhangelsk Regional Scientific Library named after A.I.
N. A. Dobrolyubov (2.3 million volumes) and the Arkhangelsk Regional
Children's Library. A. P. Gaidar.
The main industrial centers of the Arkhangelsk region: Severodvinsk,
Novodvinsk, Kotlas, Koryazhma, Nyandoma, Velsk.
The largest
enterprises in the region in terms of revenue for 2015 were LLC
Bashneft-Polyus, JSC Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill, the Titan group of
companies, JSC Arkhangelskgeoldobycha and JSC NNK-Pechoraneft.
As of the beginning of 2021, 10 thermal power plants with a total
capacity of 1,605 MW were operating in the Arkhangelsk Region, as well
as more than 40 diesel power plants located in the zone of decentralized
power supply with a total capacity of more than 40 MW. In 2020, they
produced 6.3 billion kWh of electricity.
Nuclear Shipbuilding
Center of Russia
On the territory of the region, in the city of
Severodvinsk, there is the Center for Nuclear Shipbuilding of Russia.
On the territory of the region, near the town of Mirny, there is the
Plesetsk cosmodrome.
Fishing, forestry, woodworking and pulp and
paper industry
The Arkhangelsk region has a developed fishing
(Arkhangelsk trawl fleet), forestry, woodworking (ULK Group of
Companies, Lesozavod 25) and pulp and paper industry (Kotlas Pulp and
Paper Plant, Kotlas Chemical Plant, Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill),
there is machine building (PO Sevmash ”, Zvezdochka CS, Kotlas
Electromechanical Plant, Solombala Machine-Building Plant), which
fulfills a defense order, as well as serving the fish and woodworking
industries.
The region has significant untapped reserves of natural resources:
forests (the operational reserve of which is estimated at 1.58 billion
m³, occupying an area of about 230 thousand km²), oil, gas, bauxite,
titanium ores, gold, copper-nickel and lead-manganese ores, polymetals,
manganese, basalt.
The only diamond-bearing province in Europe
has been discovered in the Arkhangelsk region. 20% of Russian diamond
reserves are concentrated here. There is their industrial development at
the field. M. V. Lomonosov (in terms of approved reserves, the field
ranks third in the world).
Bauxite deposits have been explored
and are being exploited (Iksinskoye in the Plesetsk region), oil and gas
deposits in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra (Varandeyskoye, etc.)
In
addition, access to the sea opens up opportunities for the use of
biological resources and the development of the shelf.
Main
disadvantages: inaccessibility and harsh climatic conditions.
The leading branch of animal husbandry is dairy and beef cattle
breeding. It was in the Arkhangelsk region that the highly productive
Kholmogory breed of cattle was bred and most common. Pigs, sheep, goats,
poultry and (in the north of the region) reindeer are also bred in the
region. Fur farming is widespread.
The area of agricultural land
is about 584 thousand hectares. Arable land makes up 46% of the land
used in agriculture. The region is located in the zone of risky
agriculture. The main crops are potatoes and vegetables. Crop production
is focused on meeting the needs of the region, the main agricultural
areas are located in the south of the region.
The alternative fixed-line operator "PeterStar" entered the structure
of "MegaFon";
OJSC North-West Telecom (telephone, long-distance
communication and broadband access) entered the North-West macro-region
of Rostelecom;
CJSC Comstar-Regions (television cable networks and
broadband access) became part of the MTS group of companies;
Arkhangelsk Television Company LLC (television cable networks and
broadband access);
SCS Sovintel LLC (telephone, long-distance,
cellular and broadband communications) became part of the Beeline group
of companies.
Regional Assembly of Deputies
On September 8, 2013, regular
elections of deputies to the legislative Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly
of Deputies were held in the region. Election results by party:
United Russia - 40.66%,
Communist Party - 12.89%,
LDPR - 12.24%.
Fair Russia - 10.50%,
Party "Motherland" - 6.18%.
The Regional
Assembly of Deputies of the sixth convocation began work on September
25, 2013.
Viktor Feodosevich Novozhilov was elected Chairman of
the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly of Deputies, elected in a single
constituency from the Arkhangelsk regional branch of the All-Russian
political party "United Russia" (regional part "Single-member
constituency No. 10").
Party factions formed:
the United
Russia faction included 45 deputies, the faction was headed by Vitaly
Fortygin,
the Communist Party faction included 6 deputies, Alexander
Novikov was elected its leader,
the LDPR faction included 4 deputies,
it is led by Olga Ositsyna,
the Just Russia faction included 3
deputies, headed by Tatyana Sedunova,
The Motherland faction included
2 deputies, Vladimir Petrov became its leader.
Members of the
Federation Council from the region
Viktor Nikolaevich Pavlenko,
representative of the executive body of the state power of the
Arkhangelsk region. Date of confirmation of authority: September 25,
2015. End of term: September 2020.
Lyudmila Pavlovna Kononova,
representative of the legislative (representative) body of state power
of the Arkhangelsk region. Date of confirmation of authority: September
25, 2013. End of term: September 2018.
Deputies of the State Duma
from the region
The deputies of the State Duma of Russia, as
representatives of the Arkhangelsk region and members of the parties of
Russia, in the present convocation are:
Spiridonov, Alexander
Yurievich (United Russia party);
Vtorigina, Elena Andreevna (United
Russia faction);
Epifanova, Olga Nikolaevna (Fair Russia Party);
Palkin, Andrey Vasilievich (United Russia party).
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Alpaidze, Galaktion Eliseevich
(1916-2006) - lieutenant general, head of the Plesetsk cosmodrome from
1962 to 1975, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Kuznetsov, Nikolai
Gerasimovich (1904-1974) - Soviet naval figure, Commander-in-Chief of
the Navy of the Red Army and Naval Minister of the USSR, Admiral of the
Fleet of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Shabalin,
Alexander Osipovich (1914-1982) - Rear Admiral, twice Hero of the Soviet
Union.
Galushin Prokopy Ivanovich (1925-1945) - reconnaissance foot
reconnaissance officer of the 332nd Guards Rifle Regiment, Hero of the
Soviet Union.
Heroes of Socialist Labor
Egorov, Evgeny
Pavlovich (1908-1982) - an outstanding shipbuilding engineer and
scientist in the field of nuclear submarine shipbuilding of the USSR,
organizer and major leader of industry, doctor of technical sciences,
professor, Hero of Socialist Labor, from 1952 to 1972 director of plant
No. 402 in Molotovsk (now Severodvinsk), who built the first nuclear
submarine in the USSR, Honorary Citizen of Severodvinsk.
Prosyankin,
Grigory Lazarevich (1920-1998) - shipbuilding engineer, head of the
largest enterprises in the shipbuilding industry of the USSR, from 1957
to 1972. - Director of the Zvyozdochka plant, from 1972 to 1986.
Director of the Production Association "Sevmashpredpriyatie", Hero of
Socialist Labor, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR, Honorary
Citizen of Severodvinsk.
Savchenko, Ivan Mikhailovich (1919-1984) -
shipbuilding engineer, in 1962-1974. - Chief Engineer of the Production
Association "Sevmashpredpriyatie", Hero of Socialist Labor, Laureate of
the Lenin Prize, Honorary Citizen of Severodvinsk.
Heroes of
Russia
Pashaev, David Guseinovich (1940-2010) - President of the
State Russian Center for Nuclear Shipbuilding (GRTSAS), General Director
of the Sevmashpredpriyatie Production Association from 1988 to 2004,
Hero of Russia.