[9] In the beginning it was a small village named Soroka (Соро́ка), or Sorotskaya (Сороцкая) in the official Russian Imperial statistics.

[citation needed] On September 11, 1938, Soroka and several nearby localities were merged to form the town of Belomorsk.

[citation needed] In 1941–1944, during World War II, it served as the temporary capital of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic.

Historical places nearby include Zalavruga and Besovy Sledki with ancient petroglyphs.

The town can be said to be situated at the entrance to the canal, the end point of the waterway system being in St. Petersburg.