Russian North in the context of "Northwestern Russia"

The Novgorod Republic (Russian: Новгородская республика, romanized: Novgorodskaya respublika), formally known as Lord Novgorod the Great, was a city-state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northwestern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The republic prospered as the easternmost trading post of the Hanseatic League, and its people were much influenced by the culture of the Byzantines, with the Novgorod school of icon painting producing many fine works. For much of its history, Novgorod was the center of Russian art and culture.

Novgorod formally won its independence in 1136 after the Novgorodians deposed their prince and the Novgorod veche began to elect and dismiss princes at its own will. By the 13th century, the prince's power had greatly diminished. The veche also elected the posadnik, the chief executive of the city, as well as the archbishop of Novgorod, subject to approval by the Russian metropolitan. In addition, the tysyatsky, originally the military commander, was elected by the veche to serve the interests of the common people, eventually taking on judicial and commercial functions. Novgorodian nobles known as boyars dominated the veche, and the offices of posadnik and tysyatsky remained in the hands of boyar families. The boyars also gave funding to the ushkuyniki, who contributed to the expansion of Novgorod's trade and colonies in the Russian North.

Novgorodian Land (Russian: Новгородская земля, Polish: Ruś Nowogrodzka, Górna Ruś, Ziemia Nowogrodzka) was one of the largest historical territorial–state formations in Russia, covering its northwest and north. Novgorod Land, centered in Veliky Novgorod, was in the cradle of Kievan Rus' under the rule of the Rurikid dynasty and one of the most important princely thrones of the era. During the collapse of Kievan Rus' and in subsequent centuries, Novgorod Land developed as the Novgorod Republic: an autonomous state with republican forms of government under the suzerainty of the great princes of Vladimir-Suzdal (later – Moscow/Muscovy). During the period of greatest development, it reached north to the White Sea, and in the east it has been claimed that it did spread beyond the Ural Mountains. It had extensive trade relations within the framework of the Hanseatic League and with the rest of Rus'. The Principality of Moscow conquered the Novgorod Republic in 1478, and annexed it in 1578, although Novgorod Land continued to exist as an administrative unit until 1708.

Kenozero National Park (Kenozersky National Park; Russian: Кенозерский национальный парк) is a national park in the Russian North. It is centered on Lake Kenozero and is located in Kargopolsky and Plesetsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast.

The park was established at the behest of Yelena Shatkovskaya (its first and so far only director) on December 28, 1991. Since 2004, the national park has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Since 2024, its cultural landscape has been listed as a World Heritage Site. According to the World Heritage website:

The Russian wooden architecture (in Russian ру́сское деревя́нное зо́дчество, russkoe derevyannoye zodchestvo) is a traditional architectural movement in Russia, that has stable and pronounced structural, technical, architectural and artistic features determined by wood as the main material. Sometimes this concept includes wooden buildings of professional architecture, eclectic buildings combining elements of folk architecture and professional architecture, as well as modern attempts to revive Old Russian carpentry traditions. It is one of the most original phenomena of Russian culture. It is widespread from the Kola Peninsula to the Central Zone, in the Urals and Siberia; a large number of monuments are located in the Russian North.

The structural basis of traditional Russian wooden architecture was a log house made of untrimmed wood. Wood carvings placed on structurally significant elements served as decoration. Among the traditional buildings are wooden cage, tent, step, cuboid and multi-domed churches, which together with peasant dwellings, household, fortress and engineering buildings defined the image of a traditional Russian settlement.