ARCHANGEL. (I.). A non-autonomous province of the Russian S.F.S.R., decidedly smaller than the former Archangel province. Its boundaries are, north, the White sea; east, the au tonomous Komi (Zyrian) area; south, the north Dwina and Vologda; and west, Karelian A.S.S.R. Area 450,77osq.km. Pop. (1926) 428,945; urban 67,015, rural 361,926. The province is divided into the following districts :—Archangel (229,398), Mez ensk (4o,971) (the pop. of the town of Mezen is 7o% greater in summer than in winter), Onega (37,666), Petchora (18,396), Shenkursky (98,976), the islands of the North sea (4434)• The climate is severe, the Kanin peninsula and the Timan coast area lying in the Arctic zone. Archangel gulf freezes at the end of Oc tober on the average of 140 days, and the port of Archangel is blocked for 190 days, though the Gulf Stream influence is suffi ciently felt to make the winter no more severe than that of Onega bay Zoom. south. The heaviest precipitation is in autumn. At Archangel, the average rainfall is 15.3in. ; January temperature 7.3°F., July 60.4F. In the north the land remains frozen all the year, since spring and autumn are moist, with frosty nights, and summer is foggy; therefore the north is in the tundra zone, chiefly sand and reindeer moss ; the south is pine forest. The chief occu pation on the coast is fishing (especially cod and herring) and in the forest, salmon fishing and hunting (brown bear, glutton, lynx, elk, fox, wolf), collecting cranberries and mushrooms to be dried and sent to the towns. The Kanin peninsula is inhabited by nomad Samoyedes, following the tundra limit with their reindeer, from which they get food, clothing and tent covers ; in winter they visit the Russian and Zyrian towns and exchange their reindeer products for flour and ammunition. Barley, winter rye, oats, hemp and flax are grown in the south, but birch bark has often to be used for flour. Potatoes are grown south of latitude 65°. Pitch, tar and timber are obtained from the forests, and shipbuilding is carried on on the coast. Cattle are raised in Kholmogory, west of the North Dwina river, and veal is sent to Leningrad. Naphtha and salt are produced in the Pinega area and lignite in Mezen. Mica is mined; the output in 1927 was 36,00o pounds. Shenkursk and Kholmogory have sulphur springs.
(2.) A town and port, the administrative centre of the prov ince, on the right bank of the North Dwina river at the head of the delta, 64° 33' N. and 4o° 5o' E. The shortest day is 3hr. I2min., the longest 2lhr. 48min. Pop. (1926) 71,091. Of the White sea trade, about 82% passes through Archangel. The harbour is im mense, and can accommodate hundreds of ocean-going steamers. It has six sections, the depth of water being 24-25 feet. It is ice bound from November to May. It is linked by river, canal and rail with the south, and the railway line was converted from single to double up to Vologda in 1916. Its main exports are timber, tar, flax, linseed, skins, but timber forms 8o%. Its chief industry is sawmilling. Others are fishing, sail and rope making, shipbuilding, cod curing, cod-liver oil preparation, skins and blubber. English and Norwegian vessels use the port.
It was visited by Norsemen in the loth century (Ottar or Othere 880-900 is best known), but the town dates from R. Chan cellor's expedition, 1553, when an English factory was built. It was long the only seaport of Muscovy and was opened to all na tions by Boris Godunov (1598-1605). Its bazaar and trading hall were built by Tatar prisoners (1668-84). It declined after the building of St. Petersburg (later Leningrad) in 1702, but when equal trading facilities were granted in 1762 it gradually recovered. It has a cathedral (17o9-43), a museum, the monastery of the Archangel Michael (hence the name) and a school of navigation.