Arkhangelsk of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 348,783, down from 356,051 recorded in the 2002 Census, and further down from 415,921 recorded in the 1989 Census. The arms of the city display the Archangel Michael in the act of defeating the Devil. Legend states that this victory took place near where the city stands, hence its name, and that Michael still stands watch over the city to prevent the Devil's return. Vikings knew the area around Arkhangelsk as Bjarmaland. Ohthere of Hålogaland told circa 890 of his travels in an area by a river and the White Sea with
Onega River mid-April - May. It was used for timber rafting. The Onega flows among the coniferous forests (taiga of spruce, pine, and larch), mostly among the swamps. There are only four bridges across the Onega: one in Kargopol on the road connecting Kargopol to Nyandoma, one in the village of Sorokinskaya, on "Onezhsky Trakt", the road connecting Kargopol to Plesetsk and Yemetsk, one combined road and railway bridge connecting Oksovsky and Severoonezhsk, and one railway bridge in Porog on the railway from Arkhangelsk to Belomorsk (no road traffic). Elsewhere, including the former district center of Konyovo, the Onega can only be