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The settlement in the mouth of the Onega River was first mentioned in the ‘Regulations’ of Prince Svyatoslav Olegovich in 1137 Before the Novgorod people came here the land was inhabited by the ancient Finno-Ugric tribes known as «chud beloglazaya» (white-eyed folk). The Novgorodians were mostly attracted by fur animals. Dense primordial forests were abundant in animals, supplied people with furs, honey, wax, best timber.
Thousands of people rushed to this land in search of areas for arable farming and industries. Novgorod geographical maps of the 12th - 13th centuries marked modern Onega as «pogost on the sea shore» (‘village church with a cemetery’ near the sea). When the Novgorodians came here in the 14th century the place was called Ust-Onega (‘The mouth of the Onega’) and became the property of Marfa Boretskaya, a famous Novgorod ‘posadnitsa’ (wife of a governor). In the 17th century Ust-Onega was bestowed on the Kiysky Krestny (Cross) Monastery.
In 1780 the settlement of Ust-Onega received the status of the ‘uyezd’ (district) centre, its first general plan was imperially signed by Catherine II in 1784. The main industry where the majority of the inhabitants were working was timber and timber trade. Since 1896 regular railway service was introduced.
In the mouth of the Anda and the Ponga rivers there appeared the first sawmills in Russia driven by falling water; they produced mostly goods for export. Since times immemorial the Onega pastures were used to build boats for merchants of Arkhangelsk, Kargopol, Kholmogory, for the Solovetsky, Nikolo-Karelsky, Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky, Pertominsky Monasteries.
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