Three lives of Norwegian consulate in Arkhangelsk

The article is devoted to the history of the Norwegian Consulate in Arkhangelsk, which began in 1815 and has continued to the present time. The history of the Consulate is analyzed from the standpoint of identifying the fundamental differences in the activities in each of the three periods (lives) of the Consulate. This, in particular, is the novelty of the research. Moreover, the first two lives (1815–1920 and 1924–1939) are presented as a background to a more detailed study of the prerequisites for creation, priorities in work, successes and some failures of the modern one — the third Consulate reopened in Arkhangelsk in 2010 and has the status of “Honorary”. The authors pay attention to the personal factor — the life path of the first and current honorary consul Andrei Alexandrovich Shalev. His activity was mainly discussed in regional mass media and was not subjected to research analysis. Even the actual material about the events held by the Honorary Consulate was not collected and not systematized, although it has relevance, as it concerns the interests of thousands of residents of the region. The authors believe that in this article they only outlined those directions in the study of consulates that deserve attention.