Archangel
Northern Arkhangelskaya Oblast, or Archangel Province as it is known in English, has a remarkable variety of attractions in a relatively small area. It has also boasts well-preserved nomadic Nenets culture, the spectacular traditional wooden architecture of the Pomor people and cheap flights from Moscow. This makes it a very interesting and accessible Arctic destination for those who do not have the time or budget to go further east.
Russia was once a small European country, before it expanded east to conquer the lands of indigenous Siberians. The northeastern districts of Archangel province were the traditional border between medieval Arctic Russia and the territory of the nomadic Nenets reindeer herders. This makes it the only place in Russia where it is possible to experience both ancient northern Russian culture and the nomadic way of life of the Nenets.
The Nenets territory stretches for 2000km across the Arctic from the Taymyr Peninsula in the East to the Kanin Peninsula in the West. The Nenets on the Yamal Peninsula, roughly in the centre of their territory, are the most famous. Much as the Yamal Peninsula Nenets migrate off the peninsula and into the forest tundra of Nadym District in winter, so the Kanin Peninsula Nenets leave their peninsula to winter in the forest tundra of Mezen and Pinega districts in the far northeast of Archangel Province.
Arctic Russia has long been inhabited by people called Pomors, essentially Russians who fled serfdom in central Russia. Their dialect, clothing, way of life
and religious beliefs differ from more southern Russians. Often, they have been affected by the dress and beliefs of their indigenous Arctic neighbours. Many Pomors in Archangel Province, for example, wore traditional Nenets reindeer-fur clothing in cold weather right up until the 1970s.
For over a thousand years, the Pomors traded with the Nenets at annual winter fairs in villages such as Lampozhnya. To this day, many villages have preserved spectacular examples of traditional Pomor architecture in the form of wooden churches, houses, windmills and wells. The traditional Pomor means of transport, the wooden horse sledge, is also still in use in many villages. This is impossible to find in Nenets areas further east, as there were no Russian settlements there until relatively recently.
As well as the cultural and architectural interest, northern Archangel Province has some stunning karst scenery. Much of it is built on a network of hundreds of caves and tunnels filled with ice stalagmites and stalactites, which we explore on our tours. Guests also get to try reindeer sledding with the Nenets, horse sledding with the Pomors and dog sledding at a husky breeding farm near Archangel city, where our tours usually start.
Please have a look at our main Archangel Province itinerary below. Alternatively, get in contact if you would like us a tailor a completely new itinerary just for you.
Northern Arkhangelskaya Oblast, or Archangel Province as it is known in English, has a remarkable variety of attractions in a relatively small area. It has also boasts well-preserved nomadic Nenets culture, the spectacular traditional wooden architecture of the Pomor people and cheap flights from Moscow. This makes it a very interesting and accessible Arctic destination for those who do not have the time or budget to go further east.
Russia was once a small European country, before it expanded east to conquer the lands of indigenous Siberians. The northeastern districts of Archangel province were the traditional border between medieval Arctic Russia and the territory of the nomadic Nenets reindeer herders. This makes it the only place in Russia where it is possible to experience both ancient northern Russian culture and the nomadic way of life of the Nenets.
The Nenets territory stretches for 2000km across the Arctic from the Taymyr Peninsula in the East to the Kanin Peninsula in the West. The Nenets on the Yamal Peninsula, roughly in the centre of their territory, are the most famous. Much as the Yamal Peninsula Nenets migrate off the peninsula and into the forest tundra of Nadym District in winter, so the Kanin Peninsula Nenets leave their peninsula to winter in the forest tundra of Mezen and Pinega districts in the far northeast of Archangel Province.
Arctic Russia has long been inhabited by people called Pomors, essentially Russians who fled serfdom in central Russia. Their dialect, clothing, way of life and religious beliefs differ from more southern Russians. Often, they have been affected by the dress and beliefs of their indigenous Arctic neighbours. Many Pomors in Archangel Province, for example, wore traditional Nenets reindeer-fur clothing in cold weather right up until the 1970s.
For over a thousand years, the Pomors traded with the Nenets at annual winter fairs in villages such as Lampozhnya. To this day, many villages have preserved spectacular examples of traditional Pomor architecture in the form of wooden churches, houses, windmills and wells. The traditional Pomor means of transport, the wooden horse sledge, is also still in use in many villages. This is impossible to find in Nenets areas further east, as there were no Russian settlements there until relatively recently.
As well as the cultural and architectural interest, northern Archangel Province has some stunning karst scenery. Much of it is built on a network of hundreds of caves and tunnels filled with ice stalagmites and stalactites, which we explore on our tours. Guests also get to try reindeer sledding with the Nenets, horse sledding with the Pomors and dog sledding at a husky breeding farm near Archangel city, where our tours usually start.
Please have a look at our main Archangel Province itinerary below. Alternatively, get in contact if you would like us a tailor a completely new itinerary just for you.
