Arkhangelsk - Russia's First "Window on Europe"

Many people, even in Russia, believe that the city of St. Petersburg was the first window to Europe for the Russian state. But this is not entirely true. In reality, the first window to Europe was the city of Arkhangelsk (1584), which was founded almost 200 years before St. Petersburg. This city was one of the leading financial centers of the country.

After the founding of St. Petersburg, the city became a typical provincial northern Russian city. The collapse of the Soviet Union also had a devastating effect on the city. Many people simply left it in search of work and self-fulfillment.

We strolled through the streets of the city and admired the architecture of the city, which absorbed evidence of different historical periods in the life of Russia, which radically reshaped society, which was invariably reflected in the architecture.