Onega () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the northwest 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 ...

, Russia, situated at the mouth of the Onega River, a few kilometers from the shore of the

Onega Bay The Onega Bay () is located in the Republic of Karelia and Arkhangelsk Oblast in Northwestern Russia, west of the city of Arkhangelsk. It is the southernmost of four large bays and gulfs of the White Sea, the others being the Dvina Bay, the Mez ...

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 ...

. Population:

History

The Pomor village of Ust-Onega () was first mentioned in Novgorodian documents in the 14th century. In 1699, it was designated as one of the 4 ports in Russia whose exports to Britain were subject to the monopoly enjoyed by the Russia Company. It was chartered on August 19, 1780, after Pyotr Shuvalov had sold his rights to fell timber to English industrialists who built several sawmills there. Since 1784, Onega was the administrative center of Onezhsky Uyezd.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Onega serves as the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

Onezhsky District Onezhsky District () is an administrative district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions, municipal division, it is ...

, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with three rural localities, incorporated separately as the town of oblast significance of Onega—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Onega is incorporated within Onezhsky Municipal District as Onezhskoye Urban Settlement.Law #258-vneoch.-OZ

Economy

Industry

The economy of the town is based on timber industry. There is also production of construction materials.

Transportation

Onega is a minor port on a bay on the

, which routinely freezes in winter. The town is also served by the

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 ...

–

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

rail line, which branches off in Obozerskaya railway station from the railroad between Moscow and Arkhangelsk and runs west to Onega and

Belomorsk Belomorsk (; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Belomorsky District in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Onega Bay on the shore of the White Sea. Population: History In the beginning it was a small village named ...

where it joins the railroad between

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

and

. The railroad was built during World War II to secure the transport of goods from the harbor of Murmansk to central Russia. Onega is connected to

Severodvinsk Severodvinsk (; ) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 Census, the population was 157,213. Due to the p ...

by a road. There are no all-seasonal roads on the left bank of the Onega River. The Onega is navigable downstream from the '' selo'' of Porog; there is regular passenger navigation. There is also limited passenger service on the

. The Onega is served by the Onega Airport which does not have regular flights. Close to the town, there is also an uncompleted military air base, Onega Andozero.

Oil transport

In 2003, the Russian inland oil shipping company Volgotanker started using the

White Sea–Baltic Canal The White Sea–Baltic Canal (), often abbreviated to White Sea Canal (), is a man-made ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea, in the Arctic Ocean, with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. U ...

for exporting

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

. The scheme involved delivering oil by river tanker, over the canal and into a floating transfer terminal near the Osinki Island in the

, 36 km north-west of the port of Onega, for transfer to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n seagoing tankers. On September 1, 2003, a collision between Volgotanker's ''Nefterudovoz-57M'' and the Latvian ''Zoja-I'' during such a transfer caused an

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

. As a result, fines were paid, and the company did not get a permit for similar operations in the following year.Alexei Bambulyak, Bjorn Franzen
Transportation of oil from the Russian part of the Barents Sea region, as of January 2005
As of 2005, plans were in the works, by a different operator (ARM-Nefteservis), to set up oil transfer operations at a floating terminal off Osinki Island again. This time, oil would be delivered by the railway to the Shendunets station nearby, and pumped to the floating terminal by an underwater pipeline.

Culture and recreation

The only state museum in the town is the Onega Historical Museum. Kiy Island, offshore from Onega, and the surrounding ice fields were used as the location for filming '' A Captive in the Land'' in the winter of 1989–1990. The island is the site of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, the Holy Cross Monastery, which was closed during the era of

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...

by the Soviets.

Climate

Onega has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfc'') with mild to warm summers with cool nights and long, but not severely cold winters. Precipitation is very reliable year round.

Notable people

Ill-fated young captain, oceanographer and linguist Alexander Kuchin (1888–1913?), was born in Onega. Bolshevik writer

Nikolai Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (; rus, Николай Иванович Бухарин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ bʊˈxarʲɪn; – 15 March 1938) was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and Marxist theorist. A prominent Bolshevik ...

was exiled to Onega in 1911 and left for Germany in 1912.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Arkhangelsk Oblast White Sea Populated places established in 1780 Monotowns in Russia Onezhsky Uyezd