The Russian North () is an ethnocultural region situated in the northwestern part 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 ...

. It spans the regions of

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...

(including

Nenets Autonomous Okrug The Nenets Autonomous Okrug (; ) also known as Nenetsia ( ) is a federal subject of Russia and an autonomous okrug of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Its administrative center is the town of Naryan-Mar. It has an area of and a population of 42,090 ...

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...

, the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

Komi Republic The Komi Republic (; ), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the northeast of European Russia. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Syktyvka ...

and

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...

. It is known for its traditions of folk art - in particular, wooden architecture, wood and bone carving and painting. Due to its remoteness, the rural parts of Russian North preserve much of the archaic aspects of Russian culture during the 19th and 20th centuries, making it of particular interest to historians, culturologists and ethnographers.

History

The initial Russian colonization of the Russian North started independently from

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

and Rostov. Genetic studies show that the populations of Russian North have a significant Finnic admixture, which is not typical for more southern Russian populations. The pre-Russian (most likely

Finno-Ugric Finno-Ugric () is a traditional linguistic grouping of all languages in the Uralic languages, Uralic language family except for the Samoyedic languages. Its once commonly accepted status as a subfamily of Uralic is based on criteria formulated in ...

) populations of Russian North were recorded as "Zavoloshka Chudes" in chronicles. Russian North is rich in

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s and

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

s of possibly Finno-Ugric

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

origin, which were extensively studied by many linguists, most notably A. K. Matveyev. The Russian North was gradually colonized by

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

since at least the XI-XII centuries. Initially the area was incorporated into the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic () was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The ...

which, in its turn, in the XV century was incorporated into

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...

. The climate of the Russian North is harsh, with minimum possibilities for agriculture, therefore fishing, hunting for marine mammals, as well as the salt-cooking industry, became alternatives for the people living in the area. By the late XVI century 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 ...

port of

Archangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a 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 banks of the river and numerous islands o ...

became the major gateway for the Russian commerce with Europe. Since the Russian North seemed the perfect place for a religious escape from the world, orthodox monasteries, with their ambitions and possibilities (through religion and economic power), were critical for the Russian North economy. Northern Thebaid is the poetic name of the northern Russian lands surrounding

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

and Belozersk, appeared as a comparison with the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian area

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais (, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nome (Egypt), nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos, Egypt, Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximit ...

- well-known settling place of

early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...

monks and hermits. Most of the Russian North territories never had

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

, at least the way it existed in central Russian agricultural regions.

Demographics

The

coastal part of the Russian North is home to Pomors, a unique subethnic group of Russians with a maritime culture not typical of other Russian subethnic groups. Moreover, the Russian North is home to numerous Old Believer communities.

Tourism

Russian North is a major tourist destination due to the large amount of both natural and cultural places of interest (

Kizhi Pogost Kizhi Pogost () is a historical site dating from the 17th century on Kizhi island. The island is located on Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia (Medvezhyegorsky District), Russia. The pogost is the area inside a fence which includes two large wo ...

, Valaam,

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (), known in English as White Lake St. Cyril's Monastery, is a Russian Orthodox monastery in Kirillov, Russia. It used to be the largest monastery and the strongest fortress in Northern Russia. The monastery was co ...

, etc.)

Gallery

File:Церковь в деревне Матигоры у Холмогор.jpg, A church in Matigory (built 1686-1694) File:Сольвычегодск. Собор Благовещения.jpg, Church of the Annunciation (

Solvychegodsk Solvychegodsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Kotlassky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right-hand bank of the Vychegda, Vychegda River, about northeast of Kotlas, the administrative center of the ...

) File:Великий Устюг.Дымково. Фреска на церкви.jpg, A fresco on a church in Dymkovo ( Veliky Ustyug) File:Wooden church and house 01.jpg, An open-air wooden architecture museum in Malye Korely File:Prokudin-Gorskii-08.jpg, Young peasant women in Vologda Governorate, early 20th century File:Maura hill.jpg, Nature in the national park near the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery File:Archangelsk taiga.JPG, A taiga forest near Pinega File:Spinning wheel board from Nizhnaya Toyma 19th century whole.jpg, Spinning wheel board from Arkhangelsk Oblast (19th century)

References

External links