S. A. Nikonov. Catherine Harbor — the Fishing Base of the Belomorskaya Company
in the Early 19th Century // Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 2, 2026, pp. 51–61.

DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2026_2_51

Abstract:

The article deals with the construction of a fishing base of the Belomorsky Company (1803–
1813) in Catherine Harbour, Kola Bay. The creation of the Company was the result of cooperation between large merchants and the state, which aimed to develop European technologies for fishing and hunting, as well as access to international markets. One of the directions was the organisation of whaling. The Catherine Harbor was supposed to provide an earlier exit of ships for hunting in the ice-free Barents Sea. The merchants of Kola — brothers A. I. and D. I. Popov, carried out the construction of the settlement in the harbor. They hired builders, delivered materials. The company’s management was a full-fledged settlement, in which, in addition
to residential, warehouse and outbuildings, a church will be built. It was also supposed to melt the fat of marine animals here. The death of the whaling ship Graf Rumyantsev in 1806 forced the abandonment of the idea of a trading post. Before the liquidation of the Company in 1813, the harbor played the role of a transshipment base, where ships were unloaded and loaded, and products were shipped to Arkhangelsk and Northern Norway.

Key words: Catherine Harbor, Arctic, hunting, Belomorskaya Company.

Author:

Nikonov, Sergey Alexandrovich — Dr. of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of History of Murmansk Arctic University (Murmansk, Russia).
E-mail: snikonov‑77@mail.ru
ORCID: 0000-0003-2523-7365

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