Arkhangelsk Governorate (, Arkhangelskaya guberniya) was an administrative division (a guberniya) of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. Its seat was in Arkhangelsk. The governorate was located in the north of the Russian Empire and bordered Tobolsk Governorate in the east, Vologda Governorate in the south, Olonets Governorate in the southwest, Sweden (later Grand Duchy of Finland and later independent Finland) in the west, and Norway in north-west. In the north, the governorate was limited by the White and Barents Seas. The area of the governorate is currently split between Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Oblasts, the Komi Republic, the Republic of Karelia, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. History In 1780, the Archangelgorod Governorate, with its center in Arkhangelsk, was abolished and transformed into the Vologda Viceroyalty. The viceroyalty was subdivided into three oblasts: Vologda, Veliky Ustyug, and Arkhangelsk. On 26 March 1784, the Arkhangelsk Oblast was split off and formed into the Arkhangelsk Viceroyalty. Tsar Paul I on 12 December 1796 issued a decree remaining Arkhangelsk Viceroyalty into Arkhangelsk Governorate. Simultaneously, the Olonets Viceroyalty was abolished, and the Kemsky Uyezd and about a half of the Povenetsky Uyezd were transferred to the Arkhangelsk Governorate. In 1780, the Arkhangelsk Oblast (and later the Arkhangelsk Viceroyalty) was subdivided into seven uyezds (the administrative centers, which all had the town status, are given in parentheses), Arkhangelsky Uyezd (Arkhangelsk) Kholmogorsky Uyezd (Kholmogory) Kolsky Uyezd (Kola) Mezensky Uyezd (Mezen) Onezhsky Uyezd (Onega) Pinezhsky Uyezd (Pinega) Shenkursky Uyezd (Shenkursk) Mezen, Onega, and Pinega were incorporated as towns in 1780 just to become the uyezd towns. Kola was incorporated in 1784. In 1801, portions of the Povenetsky Uyezd were transferred to the Olonets Governorate, while the Kemsky Uyezd, with its center in Kem, was left to remain in the Arkhangelsk Governorate. In 1854, the town of Kola was destroyed during the Crimean War, and Kolsky Uyezd was merged into the Kemsky Uyezd. In 1883, the Kolsky Uyezd was restored, but in 1899, the Uyezds center was transferred to Aleksandrovsk, and the uyezd was renamed to become the Aleksandrovsky Uyezd. In 1891, Pechorsky Uyezd with its center in Ust-Tsilma was split off from the Mezensky Uyezd. The governorate's structure remained in place after the 1917 revolution. In 1917, the governorate thus comprised nine uyezds. On 2 March 1918, the Ust-Vashsky Uyezd with its center in Ust-Vashka was split off from the Mezensky Uyezd