Mangazeya () was a Northwest

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n trans- Ural trade colony and later city in the 17th century. Founded in 1600 by Cossacks from Tobolsk, it was situated on the Taz River, between the lower courses of the Ob and Yenisei Rivers flowing into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

. The name derives from a Nenets ethnonym ''Monkansi'' or ''Mongandi''. Russian settlers of the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

coasts of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

('' pomors'') founded a route along the Arctic coast to

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

to trade with Norwegian, English and Dutch merchants. Mangazeya accumulated furs and ivory (walrus tusks) around the year to be shipped out during the short Northern summer. Trade also occurred along the Siberian River Routes' Northern Route. It became "a virtual

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

of Siberia, a

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

, all but independent of the Russian Empire in its wealth and utter isolation." The Northern Sea Route was forbidden in 1619 under the penalty of death and the city closed to outsiders: navigational markings were torn up, posts established to intercept anyone who might attempt to get through, and maps were falsified. The state was unable to collect taxes, and there was a fear of English trading penetration into Siberia; furthermore, "Mangazeya had aroused the envy of inland merchants working out of the Urals,

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...

, and Tobolsk, who saw it siphoning off commerce that would otherwise have come their way." The city was finally abandoned following the catastrophic fire of 1678, after which the remaining population was evacuated to Turukhansk (now ) at the junction of the Yenisei with the Lower Tunguska, which was known as New Mangazeya until the 1780s. The location of original Mangazeya and the Pomors' Northern Sea Route were forgotten until the 20th century, when archaeologists discovered remains of a wooden Kremlin and a Gostiny dvor (trading centre) on the site of Mangazeya. There is a 220 kV electrical substation owned by

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...

with the same name nearby.

References

External links

Mangazeya: A 16th Century Arctic Trading City in Siberia
{{coord, 66.6938292, N, 82.2546387, E, type:city_scale:10000000, display=title, format=dms Defunct towns in Russia Geography of Krasnoyarsk Krai History of Siberia Pomors Populated places of Arctic Russia 1600 establishments in Russia Populated places established in 1600 Archaeological sites in Russia Taz basin Cultural heritage monuments in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance