The Mezen (russian: Мезень) is a river in
Udorsky District of the
Komi Republic
The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of the ...
and in
Leshukonsky and
Mezensky District
Mezensky District (russian: Мезе́нский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Mezensky Municipal District.Law ...
s of
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solov ...
in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
. Its mouth is located in the
Mezen Bay
The Mezen Bay (russian: Мезенская губа) is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Northwestern Russia. It is one of four large bays and gulfs of the White Sea, the others being the Dvina Bay, the Onega Bay, an ...
of the
White Sea
The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...
. Mezen is one of the biggest rivers of European Russia. It is long, and the area of its basin . The principal
tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the Mezen are the
Bolshaya Loptyuga (left), the
Pyssa (left), the
Mezenskaya Pizhma (right), the
Sula (right), the
Kyma (right), the
Vashka
The Vashka (russian: Вашка) is a river in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic and Leshukonsky and Mezensky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of the Mezen. It is long, and the area of its ba ...
(left), the
Pyoza
The Pyoza (russian: Пёза) is a river in Mezensky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Mezen. It is long, and the area of its basin . The main tributaries of the Pyoza are the Tsema (left), Varchushka ( ...
(right), and the
Kimzha (left).
The river basin of the Mezen comprises vast areas in the east and north-east of Arkhangelsk Oblast and in the west of the Komi Republic. The town of
Mezen, the
urban type settlement
Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
s of
Usogorsk and
Kamenka, as well as the administrative center of Udorsky District, the
selo of
Koslan
Koslan (russian: Кослан, kv, Кослан) is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Udorsky District of the Komi Republic
The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республик ...
all are located on the banks of the Mezen. The administrative center of Leshukonsky District, the selo of
Leshukonskoye
Leshukonskoye (russian: Лешуконское) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Leshukonsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vashka River. It also serves as the administra ...
, is located on the Vashka River several kilometers upstream from the confluence of the Vashka and the Mezen and is connected with the right bank of the Mezen by a ferry crossing.
The source of the Mezen is in the
Timan Ridge The Timan Ridge (russian: Тиманский кряж – ''Timansky Kryazh'') is a highland in the far north of European Russia. Most of the Timan Ridge is situated in the Komi Republic, but the northernmost part is in Nenets Autonomous Okrug a ...
in the Komi Republic, west of the northern
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...
. It flows first south-west, then sharply turns roughly in the north-western direction. The upper course of the Mezen runs through the hilly landscape. The Mezen flows into the Mezen Bay of the White Sea near the town of Mezen, right below the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at wh ...
. Near its mouth, the Pyoza River enters from the east.
The Mezen is navigable below the selo of Koslan, however, there is no regular passenger navigation except for ferry crossings.
History
The area was populated by
Finnic peoples
The Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly '' Finno-Permic'') language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of ...
and then colonized by the
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mo ...
. In the 13th century the Novgorod merchants already reached the
White Sea
The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...
. The Mezen was used by Novgorod merchants as the trading route to the basin of the
Pechora
Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population:
History
Pechora ...
which was attractive because of the fur. From the Northern Dvina, they went upstream the
Pinega
Pinega (russian: Пинега) is a rural locality (a settlement), formerly a town, in Pinezhsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pinega River (hence the name). It serves as the administrative center of Pi ...
and took the boats by land to the
Kuloy. The boats then were taken from the Kuloy to the Mezen.
The river route continued east up the Pyoza, portage, and down the
Tsilma to the Pechora.
Another route went from the Northern Dvina upstream the
Pukshenga
The Pukshenga (russian: Пукшеньга) is a river in Kholmogorsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Northern Dvina. It is long, and the area of its basin . The principal tributaries of the Pukshenga ar ...
, then moved to the
Pokshenga
The Pokshenga (russian: Покшенга, Покшеньга) is a river in Vinogradovsky and Pinezhsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Pinega. It is long, and the area of its basin . The principal tribu ...
and downstream to the Pinega. From the Pinega, the merchants used the
Yozhuga
The Yozhuga (also ''Iozhuga'', russian: Ёжуга, Иожуга) is a river in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic and in Pinezhsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Pinega. It is long, and the area of ...
, the
Zyryanskaya Vashka, and the
Vashka
The Vashka (russian: Вашка) is a river in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic and Leshukonsky and Mezensky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of the Mezen. It is long, and the area of its ba ...
to get to the Mezen.
After the fall of Novgorod, the area became a part of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
. The first permanent Russian settlements on the Mezen River are mentioned during the 16th century:
Yuroma (1513) and
Koynas (1554).
The middle course of the Mezen, approximately the current area of
Leshukonsky District
Leshukonsky District (russian: Лешуко́нский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ Municipally, it is incorporated as Leshukonsky Municipal District.Law #2 ...
, was where Russian and
Komi cultures mixed the most. In the lower course of the Mezen, currently
Mezensky District
Mezensky District (russian: Мезе́нский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Mezensky Municipal District.Law ...
, Russians dominated, whereas in the upper course, currently
Udorsky District, Komi dominated.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Rivers of the Komi Republic
Rivers of Arkhangelsk Oblast