The town of Arkhangelsk was Russia's main seaport until the early 18th century, when Saint Petersburg was established.
[1] The establishment of the Solombala yard by Peter the Great in 1693 marked the beginning of Russian shipbuilding on a sustained basis.
[2] Despite its remoteness and harsh climate, the Arkhangelsk region provided a number of advantages for the shipbuilding industry, such as cheap and abundant timber and access to the iron ore deposits of the Urals.
[1] It was closed in 1862 when most shipbuilding work was transferred to Saint Petersburg, but it was reopened in 1887 as a ship repair yard.
The yard became known as Krasnaya Kuznitsa (Russian: Красная Кузница, lit.