Arkhangelsk Oblast eventually spread well beyond the Arkhangelsk Region. The Mezen horses, bred in the Mezen River valley, are rather small but suitable for difficult work and easily survive cold winters. The area of current Arkhangelsk Oblast has always been located on the trading routes connecting central Russia to the White Sea, and, in fact, in the 17th century the White Sea was the main sea export route for Russia. The whole course of the Northern Dvina is navigable, as well as the lower course of some of its tributaries, most notably the Vychegda, the Vaga, and the Pinega. The Mezen is
Trams in Arkhangelsk Trams in Arkhangelsk A tramway system operated in the Russian city of Arkhangelsk from 1916 to 2004, when the last line closed down. During that period it was the most northerly such system in the world: before 1916 that distinction had been held by the city trams in Kiruna, Sweden; since 2004 the honour has belonged to the Trondheim Tramway in Norway. Work on the first tramway line started in 1914 and it was opened on 26 June 1916. Until 1956 Arkhangelsk had two separate tramway networks – one running on the mainland and the other on the island of