Onezhsky District are the Pomors who inhabit the White Sea coast and traditionally are engaged in fishery. Many localities in the district along the coast, such as Unezhma (now abandoned), have historical significance as old Pomor villages. The western coast of the Onega Bay is known as the Pomor Coast ("Pomorsky Bereg"). In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Archangelgorod Governorate. In 1780, the governorate was abolished and transformed into Vologda Viceroyalty, and Onega was granted town rights. In 1796, the area was transferred to Arkhangelsk Governorate. The current
Port of Murmansk Arkhangelsk and St. Petersburg (later renamed Petrograd). However, after the blocking of the Ottoman Empire's straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to outside shipping and blockading of the Baltic Sea port of St. Petersburg, the Russian Empire could only use the northern port of Arkhangelsk. This port had limitations: when winter presented itself, navigation and shipping of any sort came to a halt. Therefore, it was decided to build a new port. The chosen location was in Murmansk due to its ability to accommodate sea traffic year-round, proximity to existing communities and relative ease to connect it to the empire's