Arkhangelsk Military District Arkhangelsk Military District Arkhangelsk Military District () existed from March 26, 1940 to December 15, 1944, and again from February 15, 1946 to June 29, 1951. Command of the district was established from command elements of the 15th Army (Arkhangelsk). During the reorganization on January 1, 1945, it was renamed Belomorsky Military District (White Sea Military District). Included in the Arkhangelsk Military District were territories of Arkhangelsk and Vologda Oblasts and of the Komi ASSR. Headquarters of the military district was located in the city of Arkhangelsk. On June 22, 1941, army formations in the district included the 88th and
Arkhangelsk Oblast and the non-freezing harbour of Murmansk, lost its significance as the main trading harbour of the Russian Empire. However, in the early 20th century Arkhangelsk was an important starting point for Russian Arctic expeditions. For instance, in the 1830s Pyotr Pakhtusov sailed twice from Arkhangelsk to investigate and map Novaya Zemlya. In 1932 the "Icebreaker Sibiryakov" under the command of Vladimir Voronin, sailing from Arkhangelsk, crossed the Northern Sea Route in a single navigation. In 1918 and 1919, Arkhangelsk Governorate became one of the most active battlegrounds of the Civil War in Russia. On August 2, 1918, Arkhangelsk was occupied