Arkhangelsk.

History

The city was founded in 1584 as Novo-Kholmogory and took its name from the nearby Archangel Michael Monastery. Even earlier, in 1555, English merchants won trading privileges and formed the Muscovy Company, and sea trade with Europe began to flow through the Dvina estuary. In 1693 Peter the Great ordered a state shipyard here, and by 1694 ships were sailing the White Sea. After Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703, the port lost some of its importance. During the Second World War Arkhangelsk received the Arctic convoys.

Culture & traditions

The trading past survives in the Merchant Yards of 1668–1684, and the New Dvina Fortress was built near the city in the early 18th century. Mikhail Lomonosov came from a Pomor village near Kholmogory, and the Arkhangelsk Drama Theatre bears his name. The storytellers Stepan Pisakhov and Boris Shergin lived here, and the Pisakhov museum tells of Pomor folklore. The pianist Mikhail Pletnev is from Arkhangelsk.

Sport

Bandy is the leading sport in Arkhangelsk. The local club Vodnik has been Russian champion nine times, and the city hosted the Bandy World Championships in 1999 and 2003. Arkhangelsk is also known for the chess-playing Kosintseva sisters.

Food & drink

Pomor cooking is built around fish and seafood, the legacy of people who lived for centuries by fishing on the White Sea. In Arkhangelsk, northern fish is the thing to try.

Practical information

The city is served by Talagi Airport. The Northern Railway links Arkhangelsk with Moscow via Vologda, and there is a river port on the Northern Dvina. The city is on Moscow time. The climate is subarctic: winters from November to March are very cold, while summers from June to August are mildly warm with white nights, which makes them the best time to visit.

What to see

• Merchant Yards — 17th-century stone trading halls
• New Dvina Fortress — an early-18th-century fortress at the Dvina mouth
• Northern Dvina embankment — a walk along the broad northern river
• Stepan Pisakhov Museum — Pomor tales and folklore
• Lomonosov Drama Theatre — the city's main stage