Kotlas

a city in Arkhangel’sk Oblast, RSFSR, with a wharf on the Severnaia Dvina at the influx of the Vychegda River. A railroad junction of the lines running to Konosha, Kirov, and Mikun’. Population, 57,000 (1972).

The city arose as the terminus of the Viatka (now called Kirov)-Kotlas line, which was built in 1898. In 1917 the station, which had a locomotive depot and repair shops, became a city that incorporated the surrounding three villages. Large industrial enterprises were built in Kotlas during the prewar five-year plans. The Konosha-Kotlas-Vorkuta railroad line was inaugurated in 1941, and the line to Mikun’ was added in the 1960’s.

Kotlas is a large timber-transshipping base. Its main industries are shipbuilding, wood processing, and food processing. It is the site of the Limend Shipyard, a woodworking combine, and a flour mill. There are schools of river engineering, medicine, and teaching. The Kotlas Pulp and Paper Combine is located 30 km from Kotlas in the settlement of Koriazhma.