Arkhangelsk is the oldest city in the Russian North, an important port and cultural center. There were times when it was rightfully considered one of the most important points of the country. But even now the Northern Sea Route has not been canceled, and the city continues to play a significant role in its development. The history of the creation of Arkhangelsk will be told in the article.
Monastery and Kholmogory
The history of the emergence of Arkhangelsk tells that the monastery of Archangel Michael, located on Cape Pur-Navolok, is officially considered the birthplace of the city. The first mention of it dates back to 1419 (not a happy occasion - the message tells about the destruction of the monastery by the Swedes). Near the walls, as was customary in those days, there were several villages - the peasants kept the monks, and in which case they used the protection of the monastery fortifications. But more noticeable and significant in those days was the village of Kholmogory (known as the birthplace of M. V. Lomonosov), located nearby. Until the middle of the 16th century, it was a local trading center.
The British, Ivan the Terrible, hemp,forest…
The history of Arkhangelsk (you can see the photo of this glorious city in the article) says that in 1553 English sailors first arrived in the vicinity of Kholmogor. The British were primarily interested in the possibility of purchasing Russian timber, as well as canvas for sails and hemp for ropes - this was the era of the rapid development of the British fleet. But Kholmogory was not well suited for this purpose - the shallow Northern Dvina did not let large sea vessels through.
Therefore, the British chose the area near the monastery - it was possible to approach there by sea. Demand gave rise to supply - Russian merchants reached out to the place of profitable sale of goods. The settlement began to grow, foreign trading posts and merchant warehouses appeared. The city was nicknamed New Kholmogory, at that time it was the only full-fledged Russian seaport.
In view of this, Ivan the Terrible, whose relations with Sweden were not the best, took care to strengthen the new center of trade. Two governors were ordered to urgently “make a city”, that is, to build fortifications in Novye Kholmogory that could provide protection against possible attacks by the Swedes. It was not recommended to argue with this king - the governors managed in a year, and in 1584 a full-fledged fortress with a rampart, a moat, towers, and gates appeared on Cape Pur-Navolok. Under her protection, foreign trading posts were transferred, and the local Russian population also increased (sometimes voluntarily-compulsorily). A streltsy garrison appeared, a full-fledged settlement.
Active city life was only during the navigation period, whenbuyers came from England and Holland and sellers from Vologda, Moscow, Kholmogor. Trade was brisk - even the legendary Francis Drake, a pirate and admiral, expressed gratitude to Russian merchants for supplying wonderful equipment for British ships. In 1596, the history of the city of Arkhangelsk began, since for the first time its name was mentioned in the documents (after the name of the monastery that gave the city its foundation). In 1613 this name became official.
Window to Europe
Yes, it existed even before Peter I (who, rather, made not a window, but a double-leaf gate into this very Europe), and it was Arkhangelsk that served them. In the 17th century, the city provided up to 60% of Russia's external trade turnover. Since the country pursued a policy of isolationism, in 1667 the city was declared the only point where foreign merchant ships are allowed to enter. So it was before the Petrine era.
The active king visited the city twice and stayed for a long time. In Arkhangelsk, Peter first went to sea, here he initiated the creation of the first Russian trading "kumpanstvo". The tsar is also the "father" of Arkhangelsk shipbuilding - he was annoyed that all Russian exports go abroad on foreign ships. Through his efforts, first a state-owned, and then the first private shipyard in the country appeared in the city. Ships also became an export item - they were willingly and in significant quantities acquired by foreigners. They also went to the needs of the young B altic Fleet.
Climbed through the newly opened "doors to Europe"and those who were not invited to Russia, in particular, the Swedes. Starting the Northern War, Peter took care of the protection of the northern trading port. Thus, the first stone regular Novodvinsk fortress appeared in these places. In 1708, Peter gave Arkhangelsk the status of a provincial center (and at that time there were 8 provinces in the whole country). However, in 1722, the tsar sacrificed the Arkhangelsk trade for the sake of St. Petersburg - the export of a number of goods through Arkhangelsk was prohibited.
North way
But this decision was not the end. The history of the city of Arkhangelsk continued. Some goods could still be imported and exported. Peter's Solombala shipyard was actively working, building ships both for the needs of the country and for sale. In 1762, Catherine II lifted restrictions on trade. Along the way, the timber industry and timber processing developed (without this, at that time there was nothing to think about shipbuilding). It was worth thanking Napoleon Bonaparte as well - the “continental blockade” of England started by him also contributed to the development of trade. Arkhangelsk was an important administrative center; a gymnasium, a theater and the first local history museum in the country appeared in it.
It was also a research center - sailors went on expeditions from here, looking for opportunities to navigate along the Arctic coast of Russia. Chichagov, Rusanov, Pakhtusov, Sedov - more than 200 expeditions set off from Arkhangelsk to study the Russian North. Although the importance of the port of Arkhangelsk has fallen since 1916 (a new, more convenient ice-free port, Murmansk, has appeared), it was from here that the icebreaker A. Sibiryakov,who managed to prove that the Northern Sea Route is passable during one navigational season.
Arkhangelsk, whose history is interesting to its inhabitants, was appreciated by the allies of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. For quite a long time, the city was actually the only (due to the difficult situation of Murmansk) port capable of receiving "Arctic convoys" - squadrons of cargo and warships that delivered equipment and other military goods to the USSR under Lend-Lease. One of the leaders in preparing the port for the reception of convoys was the famous polar explorer I. D. Papanin.
Arkhangelsk, whose history has become the subject of our review, remains one of the most important centers of the Northern Sea Route to this day. In Soviet times, the city actively expanded, replenished with modern buildings adapted to the conditions of the North.
Defeating Evil
Unfortunately, very little remains of the ancient buildings of the city. The reason is that they built here mainly from wood. The subject of trade in the first place was also wood, as well as linen and hemp - things are very combustible. Therefore, devastating fires in Arkhangelsk were commonplace. In particular, in 1667 the monastery, which gave the city its name, burned down completely. As an institution, it was later restored, but in a new place, far from the historical city center (now there is only a memorial stele on the cape, reminding of the city's birthplace).
Nevertheless, the monastery gave the city not only a name, this was the beginning of the history of the coat of armsArkhangelsk. The monastery was dedicated to Michael the Archangel, famous for his victory over the devil. This plot is depicted on the coat of arms. For the first time, such a picture is found in Peter's personal notes - for him it was a sketch of the standard of the Arkhangelsk regiment. Since 1722, such a coat of arms was used by the city, but without official approval (at first, Mikhail was depicted on horseback, but later he was “in a hurry”). The official approval took place within the framework of Catherine's provincial reform in 1780.
In Soviet times, Arkhangelsk had a coat of arms depicting a ship - saints were no good here. But in 1989 the original coat of arms was restored. Michael in blue clothes and a black defeated devil are depicted on a yellow field. The emblem symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.
Scientist and carpenter
The most famous monuments of Arkhangelsk are the images of M. V. Lomonosov and Tsar Peter. Both are the works of famous authors (I. Martos and M. Antokolsky, respectively). They were installed before the revolution (in 1832 and 1914). Mikhail Vasilyevich is depicted in a classical spirit, almost like a Roman poet. But the Arkhangelsk Peter is strikingly different from his "brothers". This is not an autocrat, not a winner, not an emperor who “raised Russia on its hind legs”, but “Peter, the carpenter of Zaandam”, personally knocking out the supports from under the finished brand new ship.
Guests from the past
The history of the buildings of Arkhangelsk also goes back to the Petrine era. The oldest of them is the wooden church in Zaostrovye (late 17thcentury) of an unusual cubic design. Now this object is under restoration; work should be completed by summer. You can also see the remains of the Novodvinsk fortress, where in 1701 the garrison under the command of the young steward Sylvester Ievlev withstood the attack of the Swedes. This event in Soviet times was dedicated to the TV series "Young Russia".
Several interesting buildings of a later time have been preserved - the Trinity Church (mid-18th century), the Admir alty building (1820), the Church of Martin the Confessor on the island of Solombala (1803). There are also several old wooden houses in the city in which people continue to live. Among the monuments of the history of Arkhangelsk are the Sursk courtyard, the building of the Lutheran church and the wooden house of the merchant Shavrin, where the Youth Theater is now located. The cultural elite of Arkhangelsk consider these buildings to be the decoration of their city.
Guests from the future
Modern buildings rarely receive compliments, but in vain. Yes, many citizens are dissatisfied with the dominance of flashy-looking shopping centers. But the wide streets with residential ensembles of the Soviet era have already become as much a symbol of the city as the old buildings. In particular, we are talking about the ensemble of Voskresenskaya Street. Locals say that instead of criticizing Soviet architecture (the white “candle” houses have already been nicknamed “city angels”), they should rebuild sidewalks, renovate public gardens, clean facades, and throw away unaesthetic advertising banners in the trash. Then the Soviet building will again turn into a source of pridetownspeople.
The building of the sea station also attracts attention - a modern white building in blue and white colors traditional for such a purpose. But the most famous modern building in Arkhangelsk is a "skyscraper" with 24 floors. For New York or Chicago, this is ridiculously small, but they were not built on difficult northern soils. The "skyscraper" was built in 1984 more for advertising than for practical purposes. Nevertheless, it housed several design organizations, and now the building is used as an office center and the headquarters of Arkhangelsk radio stations.
Three names each
Interesting history of the streets of Arkhangelsk. Some of them (or rather, their names) had a difficult fate. Historical names reflected either the state imperial and religious ideology, or the peculiarities of local life. Accordingly, the city had Voskresenskaya, Troitskaya, Police, Khlebnaya streets. There were also French, Scottish, Lutheran, Norwegian, Kirochnaya (from the word "church") - these names recorded the existence of foreign merchant quarters in the city.
Many city streets can boast a whole list of 4-5 names. They changed not only for ideological reasons (Voskresenskaya in Soviet times was named after Engels, and Troitskaya - for P. Vinogradov, a participant in the assault on the Zimny, commander of the Severodvinsk river flotilla), but also in connection with restructuring and reconstruction (it is clear that the appearance of the Kuznechevskaya - Permskaya chain - Suvorov cannot be explained by communistconsiderations).
After the collapse of the USSR, some streets got their historical names back. The voices of those who demand the complete “decommunization” of the city, the removal of Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Chelyuskintsev and Uritsky from the map are often heard even now in Arkhangelsk. But the majority of citizens are against it. For a long time there are no those for whom the old names are native, and modern Arkhangelsk residents, accustomed to Chumbarova-Luchinsky Avenue (by the way, this is a walking, pedestrian street) no longer understand why it should turn into Bolshaya Meshchanskaya or Middle Avenue. And that's not to mention the fact that the renaming confuses transport routes and the system of paperwork (in particular, rights to housing and registration documents of enterprises and organizations).
Smart initiative
Under these conditions, local historians from Arkhangelsk have shown an initiative worthy of respect and imitation. On some of the buildings standing on the historic streets, they attached additional plaques with the names that these streets wore at different times. These plates do not require any administrative response, but they help to preserve and bring to the attention of the townspeople the memory of the old Arkhangelsk toponymy.
And the bronze Peacock Vinogradov is still standing on Troitskaya Street… Well, this is an elegant modern street, and a revolutionary sailor would definitely like it…
So you have learned the history of the city of Arkhangelsk (briefly). And now you know that in all epochs this glorious city has known both troubles and great successes…
