Onega, Russia

For other places with the same name, see Onega.

Onega (Оне́га) is a town in the northwest of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, situated at the mouth of the Onega River, a few kilometers from the shore of the Onega Bay of the White Sea. Population: 21,359 (2010 Census);^[3] 23,430 (2002 Census);^[8] 26,070 (1989 Soviet census).^[9]

Onega Онега
Town[1]
Holy Trinity Church
Coat of arms
Location of Onega
Onega Location of Onega Show map of Russia Onega Onega (Arkhangelsk Oblast) Show map of Arkhangelsk Oblast
Coordinates: 63°55′N 38°05′E
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Arkhangelsk Oblast[1]
First mentioned	14th century[2]
Town status since	August 19, 1780[2]
Elevation	20 m (70 ft)
Population  (2010 Census)[3]
• Total	21,359
Administrative status
• Subordinated to	town of oblast significance of Onega[4]
• Capital of	town of oblast significance of Onega,[4] Onezhsky District[1]
Municipal status
• Municipal district	Onezhsky Municipal District[5]
• Urban settlement	Onezhskoye Urban Settlement[5]
• Capital of	Onezhsky Municipal District,[5] Onezhskoye Urban Settlement[5]
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK [6])
Postal code(s)[7]	164840
OKTMO ID	11646101001

History

The Pomor village of Ust-Onega (Усть-Оне́га) was first mentioned in Novgorodian documents in the 14th century.^[2] 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.^[10] It was chartered on August 19,^{[citation needed]} 1780,^[2] 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 of Onezhsky District, even though it is not a part of it.^[1] 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.^[4] As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Onega is incorporated within Onezhsky Municipal District as Onezhskoye Urban Settlement.^[5]

Economy

Industry

The economy of the town is based on timber industry. There is also production of construction materials.^[11]

Transportation

Onega is a minor port on a bay on the White Sea, which routinely freezes in winter. The town is also served by the Arkhangelsk–Murmansk rail line, which branches off in Obozerskaya railway station from the railroad between Moscow and Arkhangelsk and runs west to Onega and Belomorsk where it joins the railroad between Petrozavodsk and Murmansk. 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 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 Onega Bay.

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 for exporting fuel oil. The scheme involved delivering oil by river tanker, over the canal and into a floating transfer terminal near the Osinki Island in the Onega Bay, 36 km north-west of the port of Onega, for transfer to Latvian 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. As a result, fines were paid, and the company did not get a permit for similar operations in the following year.^[12]

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.^[13]

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, the Holy Cross Monastery, which was closed during the era of religious persecution by the Soviets.

Climate

Onega has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc) with mild to warm summers with cool nights and long, but not severely cold winters. Precipitation is very reliable year round.

Climate data for Onega
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	6.1 (43.0)	5.3 (41.5)	13.4 (56.1)	25.9 (78.6)	32.5 (90.5)	33.2 (91.8)	35.8 (96.4)	34.4 (93.9)	27.4 (81.3)	19.8 (67.6)	11.1 (52.0)	7.7 (45.9)	35.8 (96.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−7.2 (19.0)	−6.3 (20.7)	−0.8 (30.6)	6.0 (42.8)	13.4 (56.1)	18.9 (66.0)	22.2 (72.0)	19.2 (66.6)	13.4 (56.1)	5.6 (42.1)	−0.9 (30.4)	−4.4 (24.1)	6.6 (43.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−10.2 (13.6)	−9.6 (14.7)	−4.8 (23.4)	1.4 (34.5)	8.0 (46.4)	13.7 (56.7)	17.1 (62.8)	14.4 (57.9)	9.5 (49.1)	3.2 (37.8)	−3.1 (26.4)	−6.9 (19.6)	2.7 (36.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−13.4 (7.9)	−13.0 (8.6)	−8.6 (16.5)	−2.5 (27.5)	3.6 (38.5)	9.0 (48.2)	12.5 (54.5)	10.4 (50.7)	6.4 (43.5)	1.1 (34.0)	−5.3 (22.5)	−9.8 (14.4)	−0.8 (30.6)
Record low °C (°F)	−42.1 (−43.8)	−42.5 (−44.5)	−38.5 (−37.3)	−26.0 (−14.8)	−14.6 (5.7)	−3.4 (25.9)	−0.4 (31.3)	−3.0 (26.6)	−4.9 (23.2)	−19.3 (−2.7)	−32.2 (−26.0)	−41.2 (−42.2)	−42.5 (−44.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	44 (1.7)	32 (1.3)	30 (1.2)	28 (1.1)	45 (1.8)	63 (2.5)	74 (2.9)	77 (3.0)	68 (2.7)	69 (2.7)	55 (2.2)	51 (2.0)	636 (25.1)
Average rainy days	3	2	5	10	17	17	17	18	22	19	9	5	144
Average snowy days	26	25	21	13	6	1	0	0.03	1	11	23	27	154
Average relative humidity (%)	84	83	79	72	69	68	72	78	83	87	88	86	79
Mean monthly sunshine hours	21	57	118	188	275	304	308	215	124	58	19	8	1,695
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[14]
Source 2: NOAA (sun 1961–1990)[15]

Notable people

Ill-fated young captain, oceanographer and linguist Alexander Kuchin (1888–1913?), was born in Onega. Bolshevik writer Nikolai Bukharin was exiled to Onega in 1911 and left for Germany in 1912.

References

Notes

1. Государственный комитет Российской Федерации по статистике. Комитет Российской Федерации по стандартизации, метрологии и сертификации. №ОК 019-95 1 января 1997 г. «Общероссийский классификатор объектов административно-территориального деления. Код 11 246», в ред. изменения №278/2015 от 1 января 2016 г.. (State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation. Committee of the Russian Federation on Standardization, Metrology, and Certification. #OK 019-95 January 1, 1997 Russian Classification of Objects of Administrative Division (OKATO). Code 11 246, as amended by the Amendment #278/2015 of January 1, 2016. ).
2. Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 329. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
3. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
4. Law #65-5-OZ
5. Law #258-vneoch.-OZ
6. "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
7. Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
8. Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
9. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
10. Oddy, J.J. 1807. European Commerce, Shewing New and Secure Channels of Trade with the Continent of Europe: detailing the produce, manufactures, and commerce, of Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany; as well as the trade of the rivers Elbe, Weser, and Ems; with a general view of the trade, navigation, produce, and manufactures, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland. Philadelphia, USA: James Humphreys. 2 volumes.
11. Общие сведения (in Russian). МО "Онежский район". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
12. Alexei Bambulyak, Bjorn Franzen. Transportation of oil from the Russian part of the Barents Sea region, as of January 2005 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
13. Онежский историко-мемориальный музей (in Russian). Музеи России. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
14. "Weather and Climate-The Climate of Onega" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Retrieved December 5, 2019.
15. "Onega Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

Sources

• Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Областной закон №65-5-ОЗ от 23 сентября 2009 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №232-13-ОЗ от 16 декабря 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в отдельные Областные Законы в сфере осуществления местного самоуправления и взаимодействия с некоммерческими организациями». Вступил в силу через десять дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волна", №43, 6 октября 2009 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Council of Deputies. Oblast Law #65-5-OZ of September 23, 2009 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #232-13-OZ of December 16, 2014 On Amending Various Oblast Laws Dealing with the Process of Municipal Self-Government and Relations with Non-Profit Organizations. Effective as of the day which is ten days after the official publication.).
• Архангельское областное Собрание депутатов. Областной закон №258-внеоч.-ОЗ от 23 сентября 2004 г. «О статусе и границах территорий муниципальных образований в Архангельской области», в ред. Областного закона №224-13-ОЗ от 16 декабря 2014 г. «Об упразднении отдельных населённых пунктов Соловецкого района Архангельской области и о внесении изменения в статью 46 Областного закона "О статусе и границах территорий муниципальных образований в Архангельской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волна", №38, 8 октября 2004 г. (Arkhangelsk Oblast Council of Deputies. Oblast Law #258-vneoch.-OZ of September 23, 2004 On the Status and Borders of the Territories of the Municipal Formations in Arkhangelsk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #224-13-OZ of December 16, 2014 On Abolishing Several Inhabited Localities in Solovetsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast and on Amending Article 46 of the Oblast Law "On the Status and Borders of the Territories of the Municipal Formations in Arkhangelsk Oblast". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).