village, port, and administrative centre of Kholmogory rayon (sector), Arkhangelsk oblast (region), northwestern Russia. It lies along the Northern Dvina River, 47 miles (75 km) southeast of the city of Arkhangelsk. The village has existed since 1355, when it served traders as a riverine port en route to the White Sea. It grew into a large commercial centre in the 15th and 16th centuries. Mikhail V. Lomonosov, the 18th-century scientist and poet, was born in the neighbouring village of Mishaninskaya (now called Lomonosovo). With the commercial development of Arkhangelsk initiated by Peter I the Great (reigned 1682–1725), the significance of Kholmogory declined.

Modern Kholmogory continues to be a centre for cattle raising. The Kholmogory breed of cattle, developed in the 18th and 19th centuries by cross-breeding local cattle with Holstein-Frisians, produces record milk yields and is particularly suited to the cold climate in the northern parts of Russia. Kholmogory is the home of a pedigree stock farm and has a livestock technical institute. Pop. (2002) 4,592.