It was first mentioned in the chronicles in 1137 as the pogost of Todma. It was founded by Novgorodians, who used the Sukhona as the main waterway leading to the north and eventually to the White Sea. The name "Totma" is nevertheless of Finno-Ugrian origin, which, together with archeological discoveries, indicates that an earlier settlement on the site of the present town was established by the Merya people. The original pogost was located downstream of the current location, close to the mouth of the Staraya Totma River. In the 13th century, salt production started around Totma and the town was relocated. In 1539, Totma was plundered by Kazan Tatars; a fortress was built after this event. In 1554, monk Feodosy Sumorin founded the Transfiguration Monastery. In the 16th–17th centuries, Totma was one of the most prosperous towns of the Russian North, due to the trade and to the salt production. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Totma was visited several times by Peter the Great, which was rather exceptional given the remote location of the town. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, Totma was included into Archangelgorod Governorate and named one of the towns constituting the governorate. In the 18th century, Totma was one of the main centers of the exploration of and the trade with Alaska. In particular, Ivan Kuskov, the first administrator of Fort Ross, a Russian fortress in California, was a native of Totma. In 1780, Totma became the seat of Totemsky Uyezd of Vologda Viceroyalty, and since 1796 it was a part of Vologda Governorate. In the 19th century, Totma quickly lost its significance as the foreign trade was rerouted from Arkhangelsk to St. Petersburg and the river transportation was gradually replaced by railways and highways. The railway from Vologda to Arkhangelsk was constructed along the shortest way via Konosha and bypassed Totma, while the old highway from Moscow to Arkhangelsk never ran via Totma. Until the late 1990s, the only road through Totma connected Vologda with Veliky Ustyug via Nikolsk. In the second half of the 19th century, Totma was frequently used as a destination for political exile. On July 15, 1929, several governorates, including Vologda Governorate, were merged into Northern Krai and the uyezds were abolished. Totma became the administrative center of Totemsky District, which included parts of former Totemsky Uyezd.
The most important industry in Totma is the food industry.
Transportation
Paved roads connect Totma with Vologda via Kadnikov, Veliky Ustyug via Nyuksenitsa, and Nikolsk via Imeni Babushkina. Before the road between Totma and Veliky Ustyug along the Sukhona was completed in the first decade of the 2000s, the only connection between the towns was via Nikolsk. The Sukhona is navigable in Totma; however, there is no passenger navigation.
Culture and recreation
Totma is a historical town which preserved, along with other heritage, several churches which have all similar structure not related to any other region of Russia. A Totma church is a building on which the church proper is based on one side and the bell-tower on the other side so that the construction reminds a ship. This style is sometimes referred to as Totma Baroque. Totma contains twelve objects classified as cultural and historical heritage by Russian Federal law and additionally seventy-four objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local importance. The town of Totma is classified as a historical town by the Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation, which implies certain restrictions on construction in the historical center. The monuments classified as cultural heritage by the federal law are the following:
The complex of the Resurrection Church and the Assumption Church
The Totma Regional Museum, founded in 1915. Feodosy Vakhrushov, a landscape painter, was the founder of the museum, and the museum presents a display of his paintings
