History of Arkhangelsk Seaweed Factory though the Context of Changing Technological Paradigms, 1918-2024

The authors present the retrospective analysis of the century-long history of the Arkhangelsk Seaweed Factory, the oldest Russian enterprise that utilized a full resource cycle of seaweed processing. The study is relevant in the context of the current challenges of import substitution and ecologization of industrial production. The subject of the study is the patterns and features of the development of the enterprise based on renewable sea-based natural resources; the object of the study is the activity of the Arkhangelsk Seaweed Factory, and the article covers the full production cycle from seaweed harvesting to output. The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the long-term economic dynamics of the factory through the concept of technological paradigms of Kondratieff (Kondratyev)-PeresGlazyev. For this purpose, the authors identified the periods of technological history and the specifics of the technological development of the enterprise. The information base of the study includes documents from the State Archive of the Arkhangelsk region, reports of the Arkhangelsk Seaweed Factory, scientific publications, and digital resources. These resources are used as part of a time-series and comparative analysis. The authors developed the periodization of the century-long economic history of the Arkhangelsk Seaweed Factory based on the concept of technological paradigms, and through this process, it is shown that the development of the enterprise from artisan to modern post-industrial production. The authors reveal contradictions between the production base and resource base, which determined the need for technological transformation, and the conducted research demonstrates the importance of the transition to nature-compatible technologies (plantation cultivation of seaweed), and the ecologization of production. The authors come to the conclusion that the unique role of the Arkhangelsk Seaweed Factory was an example of successful import substitution, transformation of technological paradigms, and adaptation to the challenges of sustainable development.