Murmansk

For the Soviet-era warships, see Soviet cruiser Murmansk.
Murmansk (English)
Мурманск (Russian)
-  City[1]  -

Murmansk Port

Location of Murmansk Oblast in Russia
Murmansk
Location of Murmansk in Murmansk Oblast
Coordinates: 68°58′N 33°05′E / 68.967°N 33.083°E / 68.967; 33.083Coordinates: 68°58′N 33°05′E / 68.967°N 33.083°E / 68.967; 33.083
Coat of arms
City Day October 4
Administrative status (as of November 2014)
Country Russia
Federal subject Murmansk Oblast[1]
Administratively subordinated to City of Murmansk[1]
Administrative center of Murmansk Oblast,[1] City of Murmansk[1]
Municipal status (as of December 2004)
Urban okrug Murmansk Urban Okrug[2]
Administrative center of Murmansk Urban Okrug[2]
Head/Mayor Tamara Pryamikova (Head)
Andrey Sysoev (Mayor)
Representative body Council of Deputies
Statistics
Population (2010 Census) 307,257 inhabitants[3]
- Rank in 2010 61st
Population (January 2014 est.) 299,148 inhabitants[4]
Time zone MSK (UTC+03:00)[5]
Official foundation
date (see text)		 October 4, 1916[6]
City status since July 19, 1916[6]
Previous names Romanov-on-Murman (until April 16, 1917)[6]
Postal code(s)[7] 183000..183099
Dialing code(s) +7 8152
Official website
Murmansk on Wikimedia Commons
Central part of Murmansk

Murmansk (Russian: Му́рманск; IPA: [ˈmurmənsk]; Kildin Sami: Мурман ланнҍ; Northern Sami: Murmánska; Skolt Sami: Muurman) is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, an inlet of the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, close to Russia's borders with Norway and Finland. The city is named for the Murman Coast; Murman is itself an older Russian term for Norwegians.

Despite its extremely-northern latitude of 68°58'N (just 2° north of the Arctic Circle at approximately 66°33'N), Murmansk is in many ways similar to other Russian cities of its size at far-lower latitudes, with highway and railway access to the rest of Europe, and the northernmost trolleybus system on Earth. This is in stark contrast to the isolation of other major Arctic maritime cities such as Dikson, Krasnoyarsk Krai (73°30'N) in the far-north of Siberia on the shores of the Kara Sea or Iqaluit, Nunavut in Canada on Baffin Island's Frobisher Bay off the Labrador Sea (actually further south at 63°44'N). While still having long, harsh winters, Murmansk enjoys somewhat warmer temperatures, relatively speaking, than other regions at similarly high latitudes due to the moderating effects of the Gulf Stream on the Barents Sea.

Although Murmansk's population is in decline—299,148 (2014 est.);[4] 307,257 (2010 Census);[3] 336,137 (2002 Census);[8] 468,039 (1989 Census)—[9] it remains by far the largest city north of the Arctic Circle and is a major port on the Arctic Ocean.[10]

History

Aerial view of Murmansk, 1936

Murmansk was the last city founded in the Russian Empire.[11] In 1915, World War I needs led to the construction of the railroad from Petrozavodsk to an ice-free location on the Murman Coast in the Russian Arctic, to which Russia's allies shipped military supplies.[6] The terminus became known as the Murman station and soon boasted a port, a naval base, and an adjacent settlement with a population which quickly grew in size and soon surpassed the nearby towns of Alexandrovsk and Kola.[6]

On June 29 [O.S. July 12], 1916, Russian Transport Minister Alexander Trepov petitioned to grant urban status to the railway settlement.[6] On July 6 [O.S. July 19], 1916, the petition was approved and the town was named Romanov-on-Murman (Рома́нов-на-Му́рмане, Romanov-na-Murmane), after the imperial Russian dynasty of Romanovs.[6] On September 21 [O.S. October 4], 1916, the official ceremony was performed,[6] and the date is now considered the official date of the city's foundation. After the February Revolution of 1917, on April 3 [O.S. April 16], 1917, the town was given its present name.[12]

HMS Glory, flagship of the British North Russia Squadron in Murmansk in the First World War

In the winter of 1917 the British North Russia Squadron under Rear Admiral Thomas Kemp was established at Murmansk.[13]

From 1918 to 1920, during the Russian Civil War, the town was occupied by the Western powers, who had been allied in World War I, and by the White Army forces.[14]

On February 13, 1926, local self-government was organized in Murmansk for the first time, during a plenary session of the Murmansk City Soviet, which elected a Presidium.[12] Prior to this, the city was governed by the authorities of Alexandrovsky Uyezd and later of Murmansk Governorate.[12] On August 1, 1927, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) issued two Resolutions: "On the Establishment of Leningrad Oblast" and "On the Borders and Composition of the Okrugs of Leningrad Oblast", which transformed Murmansk Governorate into Murmansk Okrug within Leningrad Oblast and made Murmansk the administrative center of Murmansk Okrug.[12]

In 1934, the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee developed a redistricting proposal, which included a plan to enlarge the city by merging the surrounding territories in the north, south, and west into Murmansk.[12] While this plan was not confirmed by the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee, in 1935–1937 several rural localities of Kolsky and Polyarny Districts were merged into Murmansk anyway.[12]

According to the Presidium of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee resolution of February 26, 1935, the administrative center of Polyarny District was moved from Polyarnoye to Sayda-Guba.[15] However, the provisions of the resolution were not fully implemented, and due to military construction in Polyarnoye, the administrative center was instead moved to Murmansk in the beginning of 1935.[15] In addition to being the administrative center of Murmansk Okrug, Murmansk also continued to serve as the administrative center of Polyarny District until September 11, 1938.[12] On February 10, 1938, when the VTsIK adopted a Resolution changing the administrative-territorial structure of Murmansk Okrug, the city of Murmansk became a separate administrative division of the okrug, equal in status to that of the districts.[12] This status was retained when Murmansk Okrug was transformed into Murmansk Oblast on May 28, 1938.[12]

During World War II, Murmansk was a link to the Western world for the Soviet Union with large quantities of goods important to the respective military efforts traded with the Allies: primarily manufactured goods and raw materials into the Soviet Union. The supplies were brought to the city in the Arctic convoys.

German forces in Finnish territory launched an offensive against the city in 1941 as part of Operation Silver Fox, and Murmansk suffered extensive destruction, the magnitude of which was rivaled only by the destruction of Leningrad and Stalingrad.[16][17] However, fierce Soviet resistance and harsh local weather conditions along with the bad terrain prevented the Germans from capturing the city and cutting off the vital Karelian railway line and the ice-free harbor.

For the rest of the war, Murmansk served as a transit point for weapons and other supplies entering the Soviet Union from other Allied nations. This unyielding, stoic resistance was commemorated at the 40th anniversary of the victory over the Germans in the formal designation of Murmansk as a Hero City on May 6, 1985.[18] During the Cold War Murmansk was a center of Soviet submarine and icebreaker activity. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the nearby city and naval base of Severomorsk remains the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet.

In 1974, a massive 35.5-meter (116 ft) tall statue Alyosha, depicting a Russian World War II soldier, was installed on a 7-meter (23 ft) high foundation.[19] In 1984, the Hotel Arctic, now known as Azimut Hotel Murmansk, opened and became the tallest building above the Arctic Circle.

On January 1, 2015, the territory of Murmansk was expanded, when the urban-type settlement of Roslyakovo, previously in jurisdiction of the closed administrative-territorial formation of Severomorsk, was abolished and its territory merged into Murmansk.[20]

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the City of Murmansk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.[1] As a municipal division, the City of Murmansk is incorporated as Murmansk Urban Okrug.[2]

City divisions

As of 2012, the city is divided into three administrative okrugs:[21]

City districts were established in Murmansk for the first time by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR of April 20, 1939; at the time, three city districts (Kirovsky, Leninsky, and Mikoyanovsky) were created.[12] They were abolished on June 2, 1948.[12] The same city districts were created for the second time on June 23, 1951.[12] Mikoyanovsky City District was renamed Oktyabrsky on October 30, 1957, but on September 30, 1958, all three city districts were again abolished.[12] On June 10, 1967, two city districts were created (Leninsky and Oktyabrsky); Pervomaysky City District was split from Oktyabrsky on February 21, 1975.[12] In the Charter of the Hero City of Murmansk, adopted on December 17, 1995, the city districts started to be referred to as administrative okrugs.

Politics

In November 2010 direct mayoral election was abolished, and re-instituted in January 2014, with the most recent elections for mayor and city council taking place in September 2014.[22]

Transportation

The Murmansk central rail station, in the city center near Five Corners

The port of Murmansk remains ice-free year round due to the warm North Atlantic Current and is an important fishing and shipping destination. It is home port to Atomflot, the world's only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers.[23]

The Port of Murmansk is the headquarters of Sevmorput (Northern Sea Route), and the administration of Russian Arctic maritime transport.

Murmansk is linked by the Kirov Railway to St. Petersburg and is also linked to the rest of Russia by the M18 Kola Motorway. Murmansk Airport provides air links to Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as an international connection to Tromsø, Norway.

Buses and trolleybuses provide local transport.

Trolley Ziu-682 with Azimut Hotel Murmansk in the background

Arctic Bridge

Murmansk is set to be the Russian terminus of the Arctic Bridge, a sea route linking it to the Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba. Even though the passage has not been fully tested for commercial shipping yet, Russian interest exists (along with the Northwest Passage), since the bridge will serve as a major trade route between Europe and Asia.[24]

Climate

Murmansk features a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc), with long and cold winters and short but relatively mild summers. In the city, freezing temperatures are routinely experienced from October to May. Average temperatures exceed 0 degrees Celsius only from May through October. The average low during the coldest part of the year in Murmansk is approximately −14 °C (7 °F). However temperatures routinely plunge below −20 °C (−4 °F) during the winter. Murmansk's brief summer is mild, with average highs in July exceeding +17 °C (63 °F). The city is slightly wetter during the summer than the winter, seeing an average of just under 500 mm (20 in) of precipitation each year. The "midnight sun" is above the horizon from 22 May to 23 July (63 days), and the period with continuous darkness lasts a bit shorter, polar night from 2 December to 10 January (40 days).

Climate data for Murmansk
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 7.0
(44.6)		 6.6
(43.9)		 9.0
(48.2)		 16.9
(62.4)		 29.4
(84.9)		 30.8
(87.4)		 32.9
(91.2)		 29.1
(84.4)		 24.2
(75.6)		 15.0
(59)		 9.6
(49.3)		 7.2
(45)		 32.9
(91.2)
Average high °C (°F) −6.8
(19.8)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −2.4
(27.7)		 2.6
(36.7)		 7.6
(45.7)		 13.6
(56.5)		 17.3
(63.1)		 14.9
(58.8)		 10.0
(50)		 3.6
(38.5)		 −2.4
(27.7)		 −5.3
(22.5)		 3.8
(38.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −10.1
(13.8)		 −9.7
(14.5)		 −5.5
(22.1)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 4.0
(39.2)		 9.2
(48.6)		 12.8
(55)		 11.1
(52)		 7.0
(44.6)		 1.5
(34.7)		 −4.8
(23.4)		 −8.2
(17.2)		 0.56
(33.01)
Average low °C (°F) −13
(9)		 −12.8
(9)		 −8.6
(16.5)		 −3.8
(25.2)		 1.1
(34)		 5.7
(42.3)		 9.2
(48.6)		 8.0
(46.4)		 4.5
(40.1)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 −7.1
(19.2)		 −11.2
(11.8)		 −2.4
(27.7)
Record low °C (°F) −39.4
(−38.9)		 −38.6
(−37.5)		 −32.6
(−26.7)		 −21.7
(−7.1)		 −10.4
(13.3)		 −2.5
(27.5)		 1.7
(35.1)		 −2
(28)		 −5.4
(22.3)		 −21.2
(−6.2)		 −30.5
(−22.9)		 −35
(−31)		 −39.4
(−38.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 30
(1.18)		 22
(0.87)		 23
(0.91)		 24
(0.94)		 36
(1.42)		 53
(2.09)		 70
(2.76)		 61
(2.4)		 52
(2.05)		 51
(2.01)		 38
(1.5)		 34
(1.34)		 494
(19.45)
Average rainy days 0.1 0.3 0.7 3 9 17 20 21 19 8 1 0.4 99.5
Average snowy days 23 21 20 14 7 0.5 0 0 0.5 9 19 24 138.0
Average relative humidity (%) 84 83 79 73 72 70 73 78 81 83 86 85 78.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours 0 33.6 120.9 183.0 192.2 228.0 235.6 155.0 90.0 46.5 6.0 0 1,291.1
Source #1: Pogoda.ru.net[25]
Source #2: Hong Kong Observatory (sunshine hours)[26]

Demographics

The population of the city, according to the 2010 Census, is 307,257, down from 468,039  recorded in the 1989 Census. Ethnic Russians make up the majority of the population, but Ukrainian and Belarusian minorities also live in the city.

Culture

Murmansk has two main (and several small) museums: Murmansk Oblast Museum and Murmansk Oblast Art Museum. There are also three professional theaters, libraries, and an aquarium in Murmansk.

Education

Murmansk is home to Murmansk State Technical University, the Murmansk State Humanities University (formerly Murmansk State Pedagogical University) and the Murmansk Institute of Humanities. The city also has eighty-six primary schools and fifty-six secondary schools, two boarding schools, and three reform schools.

Media

Murmansk's evening newspaper is Vecherniy Murmansk, published since 1991.

Sports

Stadium Stroitel

The city's association football team, FC Sever Murmansk, played in the Russian Second Division until 2014 when it folded due to financial difficulties.

Bandy club Murman[27] has played in the highest division of the Russian Bandy Super League, last in 2011–2012. Their home arena Stadium Stroitel has an audience capacity of 5 000.[28] The city is one of only three places with representation in the female league, through the team Arktika.[29]

Religion

To commemorate the 85th anniversary of the city's foundation, the snow-white church of the Savior-on-the-Waters was modeled after the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal and built on the shore for the sailors of Murmansk (see photograph).

Notable people

Twin towns and sister cities

Murmansk is twinned or has sister city relationships with:

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Law #96-01-ZMO
  2. 1 2 3 Law #531-01-ZMO
  3. 1 2 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Численность населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2014 года
  5. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №271-ФЗ от 03 июля 2016 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #271-FZ of July 03, 2016 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, p. 24
  7. ↑ Main Murmansk post office
  8. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Top 10 largest cities within the Arctic Circle".
  11. ↑ The Moscow Times. It's Always Colder in Murmansk, May 20, 2012
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, pp. 60–63
  13. ↑ Clifford Kinvig (November 23, 2007), Churchill's Crusade, Hambledon & London, ISBN 9781847250216, OCLC 747256147, 1847250211
  14. ↑ "Bolshevik, North Russian, Royal Navy, Expeditionary Force, Archangel, Dvina River". Naval-history.net. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  15. 1 2 Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, p. 48
  16. ↑ Мурманску исполняется 90 лет(Russian)
  17. ↑ Газета «Вечерний Мурманск» Выпуск № 93 от 28 мая 2005 (Russian)
  18. ↑ "Nature Administrative-territorial system". 2004.murman.ru. 1916-10-04. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  19. ↑ https://www.intltravelnews.com/2012/04/alyosha-granite-monument-russias-litsa-riv
  20. ↑ Law #1812-01-ZMO
  21. ↑ Charter of Murmansk, Article 3.1
  22. ↑ Выборы мэра Мурманска пройдут 14 сентября
  23. ↑ "Atomflot – Bellona". Bellona. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  24. ↑ "Chinese goods may come to US via Murmansk". Barentsnova. 18.08.14. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ↑ "Климат Мурманска" [The Climate of Murmansk]. Weather and Climate (Погода и климат) (in Russian). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  26. ↑ "Climatological Information for Murmansk, Russia". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  27. ↑
  28. ↑ "Google Translate". Translate.google.se. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  29. ↑ «Арктика» Мурманск (жен.)
  30. ↑ "Groningen – Partner Cities". © 2008 Gemeente Groningen, Kreupelstraat 1,9712 HW Groningen. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  31. ↑ "Kontakty partnerskie Miasta Szczecin". Urząd Miasta Szczecin (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  32. ↑ Мурманск и Харбин стали побратимами

Sources

External links

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