Murmansk Oblast.

History

The Kola Peninsula has long been home to the Sami, whose culture lives on today. Settlements on the Barents coast lived by fishing; by some accounts Teriberka is mentioned as early as around 1523. Murmansk was founded in 1916 as Romanov-on-Murman and renamed after the 1917 revolution. In 1929, after apatite and nepheline were discovered in the Khibiny, the town of Khibinogorsk grew up, renamed Kirovsk in 1934. The 35.5-metre Alyosha monument in Murmansk honours Soviet soldiers of the Second World War.

Culture & traditions

Murmansk is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and home to Russia's nuclear icebreaker fleet. The nuclear icebreaker Lenin, now a museum ship, is moored in the city, and the Alyosha monument was unveiled in 1974. Lovozero is called the Sami capital of Russia: it hosts Sami festivals and a museum, and its very name comes from the Kildin Sami language. Teriberka gained fame after the 2014 film Leviathan, partly shot in the village.

Nature

From north to south the tundra gives way to forest-tundra and taiga. The Khibiny and Lovozero ranges rise to about 1,200 metres, and the Khibiny's highest peak, Yudychvumchorr, reaches 1,201 metres. The Khibiny have yielded 477 minerals, 108 of them first described here. Thanks to a warm current, the Murman Coast stays ice-free even in winter. The Lapland Nature Reserve south of Murmansk has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1985, and in Murmansk the polar night lasts from 2 December to 10 January.

Sport

Since 1934 Murmansk has hosted the annual Festival of the North, a Polar Olympiad that draws athletes from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Kirovsk is Europe's northernmost mountain ski area: its Big Wood and Kukisvumchorr resorts offer about 50 km of slopes, with a season running from November to June. Murmansk is also known for its bandy team, Murman.

Food & drink

Fishing is one of the region's main industries, so northern sea fish is a familiar part of meals. In Lovozero people herd reindeer, fish and gather cloudberries, and reindeer meat, fish and northern berries are the taste of Sami country.

Practical information

Emperor Nicholas II Murmansk Airport is near Murmashi, 24 km from the city centre. The railway links Murmansk with Saint Petersburg via Petrozavodsk, and Teriberka is about two hours from Murmansk by road. The region is on Moscow time. The weather is changeable, with strong winds and heavy precipitation, and winter averages around −14 °C. Come in the dark months for the northern lights, between November and June for skiing, and from late May to late July for the midnight sun.

What to see

• Nuclear icebreaker Lenin — a retired icebreaker turned museum ship in Murmansk
• Khibiny — mountains, minerals and the ski slopes of Kirovsk
• Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden — Russia's northernmost botanical garden
• Teriberka — a sandy beach, a 'ship graveyard' and the Barents Sea
• Lovozero — the Sami capital of Russia, with its museum and festivals
• Alyosha monument — a 35-metre soldier honouring the heroes of WWII

Cities on the map

• Murmansk 264,339