Kargopol is a town and the administrative center of Kargopolsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on both sides of the Onega River, several miles north of Lake Lacha, in the southwestern corner of the oblast. Population:HistoryIt is not clear when Kargopol was founded, but, when first chronicled in 1146, it was a trade station of the Novgorod Republic and one of the most northerly permanent Slavic settlements. Although documentation for its early history is scarce, it is believed that Kargopol was the most significant trade center of Bjarmaland throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1447, it was the place where Dmitry Shemyaka found refuge from Vasily II's ire.Situated on the ancient route between Moscow and Arkhangelsk (then the only Russian seaport), Kargopol became one of the most prosperous cities of Russia, especially after the Muscovy Company started to operate in the mid-16th century. During the Time of Troubles it withstood a siege by Polish and Lithuanian brigands. The peasant rebel Ivan Bolotnikov was executed in Kargopol in 1608.