Pomor trade
With time it developed into a regular cash trade; in fact the ruble was used as currency in several places in northern Norway.
It was carried out by Russian Pomors from the White Sea area and the Kola Peninsula who sailed to settlements and places of trade along the coast of northern Norway.
In early summer, the catch from the winter and spring fisheries in northern Norway, mainly stockfish and unsalted dried cod, was bought and shipped south to Trondheim and Bergen by traders.
The six weeks from 10 July to 20 August were referred to as the "maggot time", because the fish was difficult to conserve in summer, and there was no market southwards for it.
In addition to the vessels from Arkangelsk, Pomor trade was carried out from other harbors along the White Sea, such as Kem and Onega, and also from smaller places such as Suma, Kolisma, Solotiza, Mudjunga, Saroka and Sjuja.
Fishermen could buy cheap grains and flour, and could sell the catch from the summer fisheries for a good price.
It was possible to haggle with the Pomors, the trade had no middlemen to drive up prices, and no taxes or customs fees were paid to the government for the merchandise.
In addition to rye and wheat flour, the Pomors carried other food, such as oatmeal, salt, peas, meat and dairy products.
Other useful merchandise included iron, timber, pine tar, birch bark, candles, cooking pots, hemp, rope and canvas.
Until the Protestant Reformation the trade between northern Norway and the Hanseatic League in Bergen was controlled by the Archbishop of Trondheim.
In 1809, during the Anglo-Russian War, the British government established a blockade along Norway's coast to stop the pomor trade and cut the supply lines from Arkangelsk.
[Note 1] Later in the 19th century, northern Norway experienced an economic recovery, with better communications south, especially thanks to a coastal steamship route.
The monastery possessed large properties around the White Sea, and its commercial interests included boat-building, a saltworks, and fisheries.
During World War I, Russian export regulations were changed, and fear of German submarine attacks limited the Pomor trade.
The occasional Pomor vessel still came to Norway after the trade was officially terminated, the last one arriving in 1929, when Joseph Stalin's collectivisation came into full effect, ending private property rights and persecuting merchants.
The trade led to other relations; for instance the Russians started a regular steamship service from Arkhangelsk to Vardø in 1875.
The people of northern Norway got an insight into a different culture: ddinking tea brewed on a samovar, part-singing, the colourful clothes of Russian women and the hospitality of the Pomor skipper's cabin.
