From September 18 to October 8, the Russian Association of the Most Beautiful Villages and Towns had the VII expedition «Russian North». In three weeks, the expedition members traveled by cars across the territory of several regions: Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kirov and Yaroslavl.

Together with the members of the Association, journalists and bloggers from different cities of Russia joined on the expedition. The expedition program was divided into three parts.

Additionally, during the expedition, representers of the Association, examined new villages and small towns, observed objects of the restoration and took part in development of rural tourism routes.

From September 22 to October 4, 2020, the longest part of the route took place — through the territory of the Arkhangelsk region. The route of the expedition included a visit to the town of Kargopol and the villagies: Oshevenskii Pogost (Kargopolskii district), Verkola, Gorodetsk, Karpogory, Belogorskiy, Kulogory, Valdokurye (Pinezhskii district), Kimzha, Kiltsa, Pogorelets, Mezen (Mezenskii district), Pochtovoe (Kholmogorskii district), Rostovskoe (Vinogradovskii district), Cherevkovo (Krasnoborskii district), Solvychegodsk (Kotlasskii district), as well as a number of villages located in the Kenozersky National Park.

As part of the expedition took place the grand inauguration ceremony of four settlements at once: the towns Kargopol and Solvychegodsk, the village Zekhnova in the Kenozersky National Park and the 500-year-old village Cherevkovo in the Krasnoborskii district.

  

Participants of the expedition examined several objects in order to determinate the priority for the restoration work: «Oshevensky craft estate», built by a wealthy peasant Khomkin in the village Oshevensky pogost, «House of the village Lions and Roses» in the Kenozerskyi National Park — the uniquely decorated house, the house of the Forester in the village Verkola, old mills and barns.

Alexander Merzlov, the President of the Russian Association of the Most Beautiful Villages and Towns said: — the Arkhangelsk region is among the leaders regarding the number of «most beautiful» and this is not the limit.

Today the Arkhangelsk region is represented in the Association by six villages and two towns: Kimzha and Kiltsa (Mezenskii district), Oshevenskii Pogost (Kargopolskii district), Verkola (Pinezhskii district), Zekhnova (Plesetskii district), Cherevkovo (Krasnoborskii district), Kargopol and Solvychegodsk (Kotlasskii district).

Photo credits to the Kenozersky National Park, Evgenii Mazilov, Konstantin Kokoshkin, Solvychegodsk museum, Fedor Pilnikov