The Onega Peninsula is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It protrudes into the White Sea

White Sea

The White Sea 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 northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...

, with Onega Bay

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 Mezen Bay, and the Kandalaksha Gulf. The area of the bay is...

 to the south-west, and Dvina Bay

Dvina Bay

The Dvina Bay is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast in Northwestern Russia. It is one of four large bays and gulfs of the White Sea, the others being the Mezen Bay, the Onega Bay, and the Kandalaksha Gulf. The two main river emptying into the Dvina Bay is the Northern Dvina River, while the two cities...

 to the north-east. The length of the peninsula is about 150 kilometres (93.2 mi), and the width varies between 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) and 75 kilometres (46.6 mi).

Geography

The coastal area of the peninsula is populated. The villages (counterclockwise) of Nyonoksa, Syuzma, Krasnaya Gora, Pertominsk, Unsky, Yarenga, Lopshenga, Letny Navolok, Letnyaya Zolotitsa, Pushlakhta, Lyamtsa, Purnema, and Nizhmozero are all located at or near the coast. The north-eastern coast of the peninsula is crossed by the Una Bay, a gulf in the Dvina Bay, which is about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) long. The villages of Una and Luda are located at the inner coast of the Una Bay. The interior of the peninsula (north-west of the line connecting Luda and Purnema) is a wilderness without any permanent population. There is some logging at Verkhneozersk, south-east of Luda. The interior of the peninsula is hilly, and there are many lakes, the biggest of which are Lake Myandozero, Lake Vezhmozero (both lakes drain to the Vezhma River - a tributary of the Una Bay), Lake Lyamitskoye (which drains to the Lyamtsa River, flowing west), and Lake Bolshoye Vygozero (which drains into the Zolotitsa River, also flowing west).

Administration

Administratively, the peninsula is shared between Onezhsky

Onezhsky District

Onezhsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Onezhsky Municipal District...

 and Primorsky

Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast

Primorsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Primorsky Municipal District...

 Districts and the city of Severodvinsk

Severodvinsk

Severodvinsk is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . Municipally, it is incorporated as Severodvinsk Urban Okrug. The city was founded as...

 of Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast

Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....

. On 17 December 1940 Belomorsky District was established on the peninsula, on the areas which previously were parts of Primorsky

Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast

Primorsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Primorsky Municipal District...

 and Onezhsky Districts. The administrative center of the district became the selo of Pertominsk. On 30 September 1958 Belomorsky District was abolished, and the area of the district was shared between Primorsky and Onezhsky Districts.

History and religion

The peninsula was settled by Novgorodians

Novgorod Republic

The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...

 not later than the 13th century. The Pomors, living at the coast, are the descendants of the Novgorodians. Most of the villages on the coast of the peninsula have a historical significance. The ensemble of the Purnema Pogost, consisting of St. Nicholas' Church (1618) and the Nativity Church (1860), and the Zaostrovsky Pogost in the village of Nyonoksa, consisting of the Church of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (1683-1688) and the St. Michael Church (1776-1785), are protected at the federal level as a monument of architecture.

The village of Lopshenga was featured in the works of Yury Kazakov, a Russian short story writer who traveled extensively in the Russian North. The name of one of the Kazakov's books of short stories is Poedemte v Lopshengu — Let us go to Lopshenga.

Economy and transportation

The economy of the peninsula is based on the timber production and fishery. The village of Luda is connected by an all-season road to Severodvinsk

Severodvinsk

Severodvinsk is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . Municipally, it is incorporated as Severodvinsk Urban Okrug. The city was founded as...

 and Onega. There is a boat ferry across the Una Bay. Other villages at the coast have infrequent air and sea connections to Onega and Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...

.

It was planned that a national park, Onezhskoye Pomorye National Park, would be opened on the coast of the Onega Peninsula to protect pristine forests, however, the creation of the park was delayed and is not currently on the agenda. Apparently, it conflicted with the other plan of the government, construction of the road to the village of Letnyaya Zolotitsa and launching of the ferry crossing to Solovetsky Islands

Solovetsky Islands

The Solovetsky Islands , or Solovki , are an archipelago located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Russia. The islands are served by the Solovki Airport. Area: ....

 (the islands are on the World Heritage list and are one of the primary Russian tourist attractions, and Letnyaya Zolotitsa is the closest point to the islands, separated from them by a strait). However, this project never took off either.