Lighthouses of Russia: Arkhangelsk Region

The northwestern corner of Russia lies on the Barents Sea, an arm of the Arctic Ocean. The broad, eastward-pointing Kola Peninsula (Kolskiy Poluostrov) separates the Barents Sea from the nearly-enclosed White Sea, which extends southward more than 500 km (300 mi). Arkhangelsk, located at the southeasternmost point of the White Sea, became Russia's chief port under Ivan the Terrible in the mid 1500s, and there has been a lively trade between Western Europe and Arkhangelsk through these northern waters for almost 500 years.

It may come as a surprise to lighthouse fans to learn that there are many lighthouses along these Arctic waterways, including more than a few nineteenth century towers built under the tsars. These lighthouses are surely among the most poorly known in the world. Under the Soviets, almost none of them were accessible to Westerners, and even today many areas in the Russian North are restricted. But cruise ships are beginning to visit these waters, so conditions for visiting the lighthouses may be improving.

This lists includes lighthouses on the west side of the White Sea in the autonomous Republic of Karelia and in the vast Arkhangelsk Oblast, which stretches northeastward to include the Arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya. Except for the last entry, this list reaches only a little to the east of the White Sea. That last entry suggests that there may be an unknown number of substantial lighthouses farther east on Russia's Arctic coast, which is still terra incognita for lighthouse fans. The lighthouse descriptions given are from the U.S. NGA List unless photos are available. Special thanks to Klaus Huelse and Michel Forand for locating nearly all of the photo links on this page. However, we still need photos of many sites. If you have any photos of lighthouses in this area, or spot any such photos on the Internet, please let me know.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume L of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 115.

General Sources
Europäische Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten

Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.

Lighthouse photos

This Ukrainian site is a rich source of photos for Russian and Ukrainian lighthouses.

Reconstruction of Beacons in Russia

This page of before-and-after photos was posted by EDM, a Russian engineering company that has completed reconstruction and restoration of many historic lighthouses in the Russian North.

Zhuzhmuysky Light
Zhuzhmuysky (Ostrov Bolshoy) Light
photo courtesy of Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society;
all rights reserved

Onega Bay Lighthouses of Karelia

West Side Onega Bay Lighthouses
Note: Onega Bay is the southwestern arm of the White Sea. Kem and Belomorsk are ports on the west side of the bay. The White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal (Belomorsko-Baltiyskiy Kanal or BBK) leads from Belomorsk through Lakes Onega and Ladoga to St. Petersburg, thus joining the White Sea and the Baltic Sea. The lighthouses in this group are in the autonomous Republic of Karelia, one of the units of the Russian Federation.
Nakhkonitsa: Date unknown (station established 1916). Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); white flash every 5 s. 14 m (46 ft) gray concrete tower with a red lantern. No photo available. Located on a rock near the junction of Kandalaksha and Onega Bays on the west side of the White Sea. Admiralty L6706; NGA 15748.
Rombakskiy (Ostrov Yuzhniy Rombak): 1910. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); flash every 3 s, white or red depending on direction. 9 m (30 ft) square cylindrical wood tower with lantern and gallery, rising from the front of a 1-story wood keeper's house. House painted bright yellow with a red roof and red trim; the lantern dome is painted white. Fog horn (one blast every 60 s). A 2008 view from the sea and an older closeup photo are available, and amateur radio operator RX3AJL has also posted photos (see lower half of the page). The lighthouse was restored in 2007 or 2008. Located on an island about 20 km (13 mi) east of Kem; the lighthouse should be visible from ferries between Kem and Solovetskiy Island (next entry). Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-149; Admiralty L6730; NGA 15760.
Topy: Date unknown (station established 1916). Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); flash every 3 s, white or red depending on direction. 20 m (66 ft) concrete (?) tower with lantern and gallery. The lighthouse was painted black and the lantern red. An undated closeup photo and a 2009 photo show that much of the paint has flaked off the tower. The lighthouse marks a small group of dangerous rocky islands in the middle of the passage between Solovetskiy Island and the western shore of Onega Bay. Located about 15 km (9 mi) west of Solovetskiy. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-281; Admiralty L6784; NGA 15832.
* Zhuzhmuysky (Ostrov Bol'shoy Zhuzhmuysky): 1871. Active; focal plane 59 m (194 ft); four long (3 s) white flashes every 30 s. 26 m (85 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower with central cylinder, lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted red; lantern roof is gray. A photo appears at the top of this page, and another photo is available. This lighthouse was prefabricated in France by Barbier, Bénard & Turenne; a photo of the builder's plate is available (about 1/3 the way down the page). The lighthouse was originally installed at the eastern tip of Ostrov Bolshoy, but sometime before 1920 it was relocated westward, to a higher location on the island. Located at the highest point of Ostrov Bolshoy, largest of the Zhuzhmuy Islands about 35 km (22 mi) south of Solovetskiy and a similar distance east of Belomorsk. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-133; Admiralty L6804; NGA 15844.

Lighthouses of Arkhangelsk Oblast

Onega Peninsula Lighthouses
Note: The Onega Peninsula projects northwestward into the White Sea, separating Onega Bay on the southwest from Dvina Bay on the northeast.
Mys Chesmenskiy: Date unknown (station established 1901). Active; focal plane 38 m (125 ft); white or red light, depending on direction, 4.5 s on, 7.5 s off. 19 m (62 ft) octagonal cylindrical brick tower with lantern and gallery, rising from the front of a 2-story keeper's house. Fog horn (two blasts every 90 s). A photo is available (about 1/4 of the way down the page; click on the photo to download a larger version). NGA describes this lighthouse as being painted with horizontal red and white bands. There are also two closeup photos (about 2/3 of the way down the page); in these photos we see that the surface of the tower has spalled, removing the bands; the lighthouse appears brick red in color with white trim. Located on a headland on the western shore of Onega Bay about 15 km (10 mi) south of Pushlakhta. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-238; Admiralty L6908; NGA 15968.
Letniy Navolok: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); white flash every 2 s. 15 m (49 ft) skeletal (?) tower carrying a black square daymark with white diagonal stripes. No photo available. Located on the extreme northern tip of the Onega Peninsula. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-252; Admiralty L6934; NGA 16008.
Mys Yaren'gskiy Rog: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); white flash every 1.5 s. 35 m (115 ft) skeletal tower carrying a black daymark with a white vertical stripe. No photo available. Located on a prominent cape northwest of Pertominsk. Site status unknown. Admiralty L6940; NGA 16024.
Severodvinsk Area Lighthouses
Note: These lights are at the extreme southern end of Dvina Bay. Severodvinsk is a major Russian naval base; many of the country's nuclear-powered submarines were built here and are based here. The city was called Molotovsk during the Soviet era.
Krasnaya Gora: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); white flash every 4 s. 23 m (75 ft) skeletal tower carrying a slatted daymark painted red with a white vertical stripe. Located at Krasnaya Gora, near the southeastern base of the Onega Peninsula. Site status unknown. Admiralty L6939; NGA 16032.
* Syuz'ma: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 49 m (160 ft); white flash every 2 s. 19 m (62 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower. The tower carries a slatted daymark in the form of two trapezoids, the upper one painted black and the lower one white. Ya. N. Kuznetsov has a photo, and a more distant view is available. Located at the village of Syuz'ma. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-278; Admiralty L6944; NGA 16036.
Tolstik: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 49 m (160 ft); white flash every 4 s. 29 m (95 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower. The tower carries a slatted daymark in the form of two trapezoids, the upper one painted red and the lower one white. No photo available. One visitor to the area reports that there is a military installation in the area where submarine-based missiles are built and tested. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-280; Admiralty L6946; NGA 16040.
* Severodvinsk Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; two continuous red lights, one above the other, visible only on the range line. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) square skeletal tower, painted black. The tower carries a slatted daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. A photo is available. Located south of the inner harbor in an area of Soviet-era apartment blocks. Site status unknown, but the tower is easily seen from nearby streets. Admiralty L6948.1; NGA 16040.82.
Arkhangelsk Area Lighthouses
Note: Russia's ancient northern seaport of Arkhangelsk is built at the foot of the delta of the Dvina River.
Lapominka Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); white flash every 2 s. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower. The upper third of the tower carries a slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. This is the entrance range for the easternmost mouth of the Dvina. Located on Ostrov Chizhov, a marshy island at the northeastern tip of the Dvina Delta. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty L6984.1; NGA 16120.
Perekhodnyye Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (56 ft); green light, 1.5 s off, 1.5 s on. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower. The entire front of the tower carries a slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located about 1 km (0.6 mi) south of the Lapominka Range Rear Light. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty L6986.1; NGA 16128.
Ustyanovsky Range Front: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); white light, 1 s on, 1 s off. 18 m (59 ft) square skeletal tower. The entire front of the tower carries a slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located at the northwestern corner of Ostrov Lisunova, a marshy island at the northern tip of the Dvina Delta. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty L6977; NGA 16080.
Ustyanovsky Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); quick flashing white light. 27 m (89 ft) square skeletal tower. The upper third of the tower carries a slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but the shadow of the tower is seen in a Google satellite view. Located on the south side of Ostrov Lisunova, about 1640 m (1 mi) southeast of the front light. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-170; Admiralty L6977.1; NGA 16084.
Obratnyye Bakanskiy Range Front: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); red flash every 1.5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower. The upper third of the tower carries a slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on the east side of the Severnaya Dvina, about 1.5 km (1 mi) southwest of the Ustyansky Range Rear Light. Site status unknown. Admiralty L6981; NGA 16100.
Obratnyye Bakanskiy Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); red light, 2 s on, 2 s off. 27 m (89 ft) square skeletal tower. The upper third of the tower carries a slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. (Note how a swath of the forest has been cleared to provide visibility for the light.) Located on the east side of the Severnaya Dvina, about 4 km (2.5 mi) northeast of the Vasilyevskiy Range Rear Light. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-159; Admiralty L6981.1; NGA 16104.
Vasil'yevskiy Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 33 m (108 ft); continuous white light. 30 m (98 ft) square skeletal tower. The upper third of the tower carries a slatted daymark painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, but the shadow of the tower is seen in a Google satellite view. This is the approach range for the Severnaya Dvina, the principal mouth of the river that leads to Arkhangelsk harbor. Located on the east side of the channel. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-171; Admiralty L6975.1; NGA 16068.
Eastern White Sea Lighthouses
Mys Kuyskiy: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 53 m (174 ft); white flash every 6 s. 22 m (72 ft) skeletal tower carrying a red slatted daymark. No photo available. Located high atop a cape about 25 km (15 mi) north of Mudyugskiy Island. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-250; Admiralty L7020; NGA 16132.
Mys Kerets: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); two white flashes every 7.5 s. Approx. 16 m (52 ft) square skeletal tower. The front of the tower is covered by a slatted daymark painted white with a red vertical stripe. Gregory Matveyeva has a very distant view from the sea. Located on a cape about 30 km (19 mi) north northwest of Mys Kuyskiy. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7024; NGA 16136.
Zimnegorskiy: 1878. Active; focal plane 126 m (414 ft); two white flashes every 16 s. 19 m (62 ft) square pyramidal wood tower with lantern. Lighthouse painted with black and white vertical stripes; lantern painted green. A photo is available. This is a rare surviving tsarist lighthouse. The lighthouse stands high on a promontory at the northern entrance to Dvina Bay. Located about 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Arkhangelsk. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-075; Admiralty L7026; NGA 16140.
Intsy: 1913. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); continuous white light. 20 m (66 ft) square cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, rising from the front of a 1-story keeper's house. A photo is available, also a second photo. In the photos, the building appears to have a red brick veneer, but the tower may have been raised in height with a concrete extension. Located on a promonory just north of Intsy, about 80 km (50 mi) northeast of the Zimnegorskiy lighthouse. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-036; Admiralty L7038; NGA 16152.
Ruchiy: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); white flash every 4 s. 15 m (49 ft) pyramidal skeletal tower atop a church tower. No photo available. Located at the south side of the river entrance in Ruchiy, about 28 km (18 mi) east of Intsy. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-271; Admiralty L7042; NGA 16156.
Mys Voronovski: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); white light, 4.5 s on, 10.5 s off. 6 m (20 ft) short skeletal tower mounted at the peak of the roof of a 1-story wood keeper's house. NGA describes the structure as yellow, but a photo shows the house unpainted and ramshackle. Located on a promontory at the east entrance to the narrow section of the White Sea, east of the Kola Peninsula. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-287; Admiralty L7068; NGA 16168.
Morzhovskiy (Ostrov Morzhovets) (3): Date unknown (station established 1842). Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); two white flashes every 8.6 s. 30 m (98 ft) round tower, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available. Huelse has a historic postcard view of an octagonal brick lighthouse built in 1892; the present tower is listed as round by NGA. Located on the southwest side of Morzhovets Island, about 17 km (11 mi) north of Koyda. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-051; Admiralty L7062; NGA 16176.
Abramovskiy: Date unknown (station established 1912). Active; focal plane 30 m (98 ft); white flash every 7.5 s. 14 m (46 ft) square cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-story keeper's house. Endangered: a 2008 photo and a small photo (third thumbnail on the first row) show the lighthouse with a severe lean and supported by guy wires. Located on a promontory about 19 km (12 mi) east of Koyda. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-232; Admiralty L7074; NGA 16188.
Nerpenskiy: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 17 m (56 ft) square skeletal tower. The upper portion of the tower appears to be enclosed by a slatted daymark painted white with a red vertical stripe on each face. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on Mys Nerpenskiy, the cape on the west side of the entrance to the Mezenskaya Gulf. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-260; Admiralty L7078; NGA 16196.
Maslyanyy: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); white flash every 3 s. 19 m (62 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a daymark painted with black and white bands. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on Mys Maslyanyy, the cape on the west side of the entrance to the Mazen River estuary. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-255; Admiralty L7084; NGA 16200.

Lighthouses of Nenetsia

Kanin Peninsula Lighthouses
Note: The anvil-shaped Kanin Peninsula projects northward into the Arctic Ocean, separating the northern White Sea on the west from the Barents Sea to the north and east. Shoyna is the only substantial settlement on the peninsula. The lighthouses of this region and on the rest of this page are in Nenetsia, the Nenets Autonomous Region of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. The population of Nenetsia is a little over 40,000, making it the least populous unit of the Russian Federation.
Konushin Nos (Mys Konushin): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 62 m (203 ft); white flash every 5 s. 21 m (69 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a daymark painted yellow with a black vertical band. No photo available. Located on a prominent cape about 120 km (75 mi) south of Shoyna. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7105; NGA 16224.
Shoyna: 1960. Active; focal plane 52 m (172 ft); two long white flashes every 10 s. 32 m (105 ft) cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted with horizontal red and white bands. The engineering company EDM restored the lighthouse in 2006 and has photos taken before and after the restoration, and Google has a good satellite view. This lighthouse has an important role in warning ships bound southeast into the White Sea away from the east coast. Located atop sand dunes on a promontory just west of the village of Shoyna. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-062; Admiralty L7116; NGA 16240.
Nadteisalya: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); white flash every 5 s. 22 m (72 ft) skeletal tower carrying a round topmark painted white. No photo available. Located about 7 km (4.5 mi) south of Mikulkin Nos. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7158.5; NGA 16277.
Kolguyev Island Lighthouses
Note: Ostrov Kolguyev is a roughly circular island about 80 km (50 mi) in diameter and 120 km (75 mi) northeast of the Kanin Peninsula. The island has a small Nenets settlement but is otherwise unoccupied.
Ploskiye Koshki: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); white flash every 3 s. 33 m (108 ft) skeletal tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. The tower also carries two square slatted daymarks. No photo available. Located on a small island off the southeastern coast of Kolguyev. Accessible only by boat. Admiralty L7196; NGA 16308.
Kolguyevskiy Vostochnyy (East Kolguyev): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); white flash every 5 s. 34 m (112 ft) skeletal tower. The tower also carries red square and rectangular white slatted daymarks. No photo available. Located on the easternmost point of Kolguyev. Accessible only by boat. Admiralty L7214; NGA 16312.
Kolguyevskiy Severnyy (North Kolguyev): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 73 m (240 ft); three white flashes every 15.4 s. 28 m (92 ft) tower. Lighthouse painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available. Located on the northernmost point of Kolguyev. Accessible only by boat. ARLHS ERU-044; Admiralty L7210; NGA 16316.
Southeastern Barents Sea and Yugorskiy Shar Lighthouses
Note: The Yugorskiy Shar strait is a narrow passage around the northern end of the Yugorskiy Peninsula joining the southeastern corner of the Barents Sea to the southwestern corner of the Kara Sea. The strait is a key passage in Russia's Arctic waterway, the Northern Sea Route.
Cheshkiy: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 36 m (118 ft); one long (1.5 s) white flash every 6 s. 27 m (89 ft) cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and yellow horizontal bands. Igor Kuznetsov has a 2007 photo, and another photo is available. The lighthouse marks the end of a long, narrow peninsula projecting into the sea at the eastern entrance to Cheshkiy Bay roughly 175 km (110 mi) east of Kanin Nos. (The cape is called Svyatov Nos, but there is a better-known cape by that name at the western entrance to the White Sea.) Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-022; Admiralty L7190; NGA 16304.
Khodovarikha: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 36 m (118 ft); two white flashes every 30 s. 26 m (85 ft) hexagonal wood-shingled tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and white vertical stripes (?). A foggy photo seems to show the vertical striping, but in another photo the lighthouse is all black. Located on a long spit projecting from the mainland opposite the southern end of the great island of Novaya Zemlya. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-040; Admiralty L7234; NGA 16344.
Gulyayevskiye Koshki: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white light, 2.2 s on, 4.8 s off. 21 m (69 ft) square skeletal tower, painted black. No photo available. Located on an island off a northward bulge of the coastline in the southeastern corner of the Barents Sea. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7246; NGA 16352.
Shvedskiye Range Rear: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); white flash every 5 s. 24 m (79 ft) skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available. Located at the entrance to the Pechora Gulf, a few miles southeast of the Gulyayevskiye Koshki light. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7250.1; NGA 16360.
Ostrov Matveyev: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); one long (1.5 s) white flash every 6 s. 30 m (98 ft) round cylindrical yellow concrete block tower with lantern and gallery; the lantern is painted black. Nikita Kucheruk has a photo, and another photo is available. This lighthouse guides ships bound towards the Yugorskiy Shar strait. Located on the northern tip of an island about 250 km (150 mi) west of the western entrance to the strait. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-132; Admiralty L7480; NGA 16440.
Mys Greben: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 43 m (141 ft); white flash every 3 s. 38 m (124 ft) skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available. Located on the north side of the western entrance to the Yugorskiy Shar strait. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7494; NGA 16450.
Mys Yarossel': Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); white light, 2 s on, 8 s off. 16 m (52 ft) octagonal tower on a square base. No photo available. Located on the south side of the eastern entrance to the Yugorskiy Shar strait from the Kara Sea. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7540; NGA 16520.
Mys Tonkiy: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 32 m (105 ft); one long flash every 7.5 s, white, red or green depending on direction. 8 m (26 ft) lantern mounted on a keeper's house. No photo available. This directional light guides vessels westbound to the Yugorskiy Shar strait. Located on a sharp cape about 12 km (7.5 mi) east of Mys Yarossel'. Site status unknown. Admiralty L7990; NGA 16532.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

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