Okladnikova sloboda

Okladnikova Sloboda stood on the lower Mezen River, a northern river flowing to the White Sea. The settlement became an administrative and trading centre for a wide northern region of forests and tundra. Merchants came for the winter trade, while people from the Pechora country and Nenets brought furs and other products to exchange.

In 1552 the settlement was attached to the Dvina district. A decree of 1600 required duties on Siberian trade to be paid at Okladnikova Sloboda, giving its officials an important role in the movement of goods. The religious dissenter Archpriest Avvakum lived here in exile from 1664 to 1666 before being sent to Moscow and then Pustozersk. In 1780 Okladnikova and neighbouring Kuznetsova Sloboda were united as the town of Mezen.