The main symbol of the city of Totma is the black fox. The Vologda region, and Totma in particular, is already the beginning of the Russian North. Here, you can already see the characteristic northern architecture of the houses, and the nature is harsher. Although it is quite warm in summer, winters bring severe frosts. Even the Suhona River that flows here shows that it is a northern river. By the way, it flows into the Northern Dvina, through which one can reach the White Sea via Arkhangelsk. In the most majestic of the preserved churches in Totma, namely the Entry into Jerusalem Church, is the Museum of Navigators. Totma merchants, in the second half of the 18th century, organized around twenty expeditions to Russia's eastern borders – the Pacific coast, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands. The main goal of these journeys was the acquisition of furs, which were highly valued at the time – and in this trade, the people of Totma achieved significant success. Even Empress Catherine the Great knew about these commercial expeditions, and in 1780 she approved Totma's coat of arms featuring a black fox on a golden field – "as a symbol of the fact that the residents of this town are skilled in hunting these animals."