Russian and Soviet Naval Power and the Arctic from the XVI Century to the Beginning of the Great Patriotic War

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After having been Russia's sole outlet for maritime trade with Western Europe in the 17th century, the founding of St Petersburg on the Baltic in 1703 led to a rapid decline in the importance of northern waters and the port and shipbuilding center of Arkhangel'sk in particular. Only after the outbreak of the First World War did the north once more see significant investment in maritime infrastructure and the presence of substantial naval forces associated with the delivery of supplies for Russia's war effort from her allies. After the Civil War the fledgling Soviet regime all but removed Soviet naval power from the region on economic grounds, returning to the issue following the construction of the Baltic-White Sea Canal in 1933, after which the exploitation of Northern Sea Route to the Far East also received increased attention. Soviet naval power in the north saw significant investment as the Great Patriotic War loomed on the horizon, even if by June 1941 ambitious plans had been far from fulfilled.