A landscape with 18th century churches in rural Kargopolsky District

Kizhi Pogost

Russian North (Russian: Русский Север) is an ethnocultural region situated in the northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republic, Vologda Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug).^[1] It is known for its traditions of folk art - in particular, wooden architecture, wood and bone carving and painting.^[2] Due to its remoteness, the rural parts of Russian North preserve much of the archaic aspects of Russian culture during the 19th and 20th centuries, making it of particular interest to historians, culturologists and ethnographers.^[3]

History

The initial Russian colonization of the Russian North started independently from Novgorod and Rostov. Genetic studies show that the populations of Russian North have a significant Finnic admixture, which is not typical for more southern Russian populations.^[4] The pre-Russian (most likely Finno-Ugric) populations of Russian North were recorded as "Zavoloshka Chudes" in chronicles. Russian North is rich in toponyms and hydronyms of possibly Finno-Ugric substrate origin, which were extensively studied by many linguists, most notably A. K. Matveyev.^[5]

Most of the Russian North territories never had serfdom, at least the way it existed in central Russian agricultural regions.

Demographics

The White Sea coastal part of the Russian North is home to Pomors, a unique subethnic group of Russians with a maritime culture not typical of other Russian subethnic groups. Moreover, Russian north is home to numerous Old Believer communities.^[6]

Tourism

Russian North is a major tourist destination due to the large amount of both natural and cultural places of interest (Kizhi Pogost, Valaam, Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, etc.)

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