Severodvinsk (Russian: Северодвинск; IPA: [sʲɪvʲɪrɐdˈvʲinsk]) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, 35 kilometers (22 mi) west of Arkhangelsk. The city was founded as Sudostroy (Судостро́й). The population is on the decline in recent years: 192,353 (2010 Census);[10] 201,551 (2002 Census);[15] 248,670 (1989 Census).[16].

The territories around the North Dvina were discovered at the start of the first millennium by Vikings. British and Norman[12] ships came to these places for mining, fur and fishing before the 13th century, but later the climate became colder and access to the northern seas became closed.

The settlement on the site of modern Severodvinsk was first mentioned in 1419, when the Swedes sailed into the bay and burnt down the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery that stood by the shore. This monastery is believed to have been founded by St. Euphemius, an Orthodox missionary in Karelia. The abbey stood in ruins until 1471, when two sons of Marfa Boretskaya died in a vicious storm; their bodies were recovered on the beach near the monastery twelve days later. At the urging of Boretskaya, the monastery was restored and her sons were buried there.

On August 24, 1553, a ship of Richard Chancellor reached the salt-mining settlement of Nyonoksa, which is still famous for its traditional wooden architecture. The British sailors visited the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, where they were surprised to find a community of "sailors in soutanes (cassocks)" and a pier large enough to accommodate several ships. The main church of this extraordinary establishment was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the holy patron of sailors; hence, the whole White Sea became known in 16th-century English maps as "St. Nicholas Bay".

The Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery flourished after the establishment of the Muscovy Company, as the bulk of their trade passed through the local harbor. In August 1618, the harbour was visited by John Tradescant the elder, who conducted a survey of an island situated opposite the monastery. This island became known to the British as "Rose Island", because it was there that Tradescant found an exceedingly rare plant which he named "Rosa moscovita" and brought back to London.[17]

The surviving buildings of the monastery were constructed at the close of the Muscovite period. The five-domed cathedral of St. Nicholas was built in 1670-74, preceded by the Assumption church (1664–1667), to which it is joined by a gallery. Several decades later, the walls and towers were built of timber; the best preserved of these towers was transported by the Soviets to Kolomenskoye, Moscow, where it still remains.

Severodvinsk is the second largest city in Arkhangelsk Oblast. Its main industry remains defense related — the construction and repair of submarines at the huge Northern Machinebuilding Enterprise-SEVMASH (Северное Машиностроительное Предприятие-СЕВМАШ). The Soviet Union's first nuclear submarine Leninsky Komsomol was built here in 1957 and at the beginning of the 1980s, the world's largest submarine, Typhoon class submarine, was also built here, later recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Modern city [edit]

The modern city of Severodvinsk was developed in the Soviet period. As it began to be built it was called Sudostroy (Судострой).[12] It received town status in 1938 and until 1957 was named Molotovsk (Молотовск), after Vyacheslav Molotov.[12] On September 12, 1957 it was renamed Severodvinsk.

During World War II, a significant portion of the materials delivered to Russia by the Arctic Convoys to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk were unloaded in Severodvinsk. For example, the Empire Elgar, a British heavy lift ship that arrived in Arkhangelsk with convoy PQ16 and subsequently spent eight weeks unloading ships from the ill-fated convoy PQ17.

A Russian naval base supports the sea trials of nuclear submarines from the major submarine construction (64.5817 N, 39.8307 E) and repair facilities located in the area. The 17th-century buildings of the Nikolo-Korelsky monastery were adapted and are still used for shipbuilding purposes.[18]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA

http://www.sevmash.ru/eng/

JSCo «PO «Sevmash» is the largest ship-building complex in Russia, the only shipyard of the country, the main task of which is atomic submarines building for Navy. The enterprise, occupying the area of more than 300 hectares, includes in its structure more than 100 subdivisions. More than 25,000 people work on the basic enterprise of Severodvinsk.

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