The Northern Dvina is a river in northern Russia flowing through Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River to the east, it drains most of Northwest Russia into the Arctic Ocean. It should not be confused with the Western Dvina (Daugava), to which it is not connected.
The principal tributaries of the Northern Dvina are the Vychegda (right), the Vaga (left), and the Pinega (right).
Arkhangelsk (Russian: Архангельск, pronounced [ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk]) 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 40 kilometres (25 mi) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval and early modern Russia until 1703, when it was replaced by the newly founded Saint Petersburg.
A 1,133-kilometer-long (704 mi) railway runs from Arkhangelsk to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl, and air travel is served by the Talagi Airport and the smaller Vaskovo Airport. As of the 2021 Census, the city's population was 301,199.
Russia can be divided into an European and an Asian part. The dividing line is generally considered to be the Ural Mountains. The European part is drained into the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea. The Asian part is drained into the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
Notable rivers of Russia in Europe are the Volga (which is the longest river in Europe), Pechora, Don, Kama, Oka and the Northern Dvina, while several other rivers originate in Russia but flow into other countries, such as the Dnieper (flowing through Russia, then Belarus and Ukraine and into the Black Sea) and the Western Dvina (flowing through Russia, then Belarus and Latvia into the Baltic Sea).
Severodvinsk (Russian: Северодви́нск; IPA: [sʲɪvʲɪrɐdˈvʲinsk]) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, 35 kilometers (22 mi) west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 Census, the population was 157,213. Due to the presence of important military shipyards (specialising in submarines since the Soviet period), Severodvinsk is an access-restricted town for foreign citizens. A special permit is required.
It was previously known as Sudostroy (until 1938), and Molotovsk (until 1957).
Kholmogory (Russian: Холмого́ры) is a historic rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Kholmogorsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on the left bank of the Northern Dvina, along the Kholmogory Highway, 75 kilometers (47 mi) southeast of Arkhangelsk and 90 kilometers (56 mi) north of the Antonievo-Siysky Monastery. The name is derived from the Finnish Kalmomäki for "corpse hill" ("cemetery"). Population: 4,150 (2010 census); 4,592 (2002 census); 5,205 (1989 Soviet census).
The Kholmogory area was at first in historical times inhabited by the Finno-Ugrians "Zavolochskaya Chud", (i.e. "the Chud [who live] beyond the portage"), known also as Yems in old Novgorod chronicles, and Karelians. The first Slavonic population to enter Kalmamäki were Pomors from Vologda area after 1220. As early as the 14th century, the village (the name of which was then spelled Kolmogory) was an important trading post of the Novgorod Republic in the Far North of Russia. Its commercial importance further increased in 1554 when the English Muscovy Company made it a center of its operations in furs. The Polish-Lithuanian irregular forces known as Lisowczycy besieged the wooden fort during the Time of Troubles (1613), but had to retreat in failure.
Vologda (Russian: Во́логда, IPA: [ˈvoləɡdə]) is a city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: 313,944 (2021 census); 301,755 (2010 census); 293,046 (2002 census); 282,802 (1989 Soviet census).
The city serves as a major transport hub of the Northwest of Russia. The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation has classified Vologda as a historic city, one of 41 in Russia and one of only three in Vologda Oblast. The Russian Cultinfo website wrote that there were 224 monuments of historical, artistic and cultural importance in Vologda.