Murmansk
The city of Murmansk is the administrative centre of the Murmansk region. The city was founded on 4 October (21 September - Old Style) 1916 . Before April 1916 the city was called Romanov-na-Murmane. Most of the city is located on the eastern shore of the Kola Bay.
The city is situated in the Atlantic Arctic moderate climate zone. The lowest temperature in Murmansk was -39.4 Centigrade (on 27 January 1999), the highest temperature was 33.1 Centigrade (on 9 July 1972).
There is a big North-West seaport. The only one nuclear icebreaking fleet in the world is based here.
The nuclear icebreaker "Arktika", the first marine vessel to reach the North Pole left Murmansk and was back to Murmansk in 1977.
On 11 February 1971 Murmansk was awarded with the Red Banner of Labour Order.
On 2 December 1982 Murmansk was awarded with the I Degree Order of the Great Patriotic War
By a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 6 of May the city or Murmansk was titled "Hero-City". The administrative structure, the work of the municipal services are organised in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law "On the Basic Principles of the Organisation of the Local Administration in the Russian Federation" and the City Statute, ratified at the referendum of 17 December 1995
In accordance with the City Statute the head of the municipality is the Mayor. He is also Head of the City Administration. The mayor is elected in accordance with the universal suffrage by secret ballot for four years.
The representative body of the local administration - the City Council - consists of 22 members who are also elected in accordance with the universal suffrage by secret ballot for four years.
Murmansk is the largest transpolar city. The population is 320,000 (1 January 2006). The city is divided into three districts. Heads of the District Management Services are Deputies of the Mayor at the same time.
The total area is 15055 hectares including 1357 hectares of the Kola Bay water area. Economic PotentialThe major industrial sectors are fishery, marine transport, ship repairing, sea, railway and road transportation, metalwork, food, marine geology and Arctic geologic offshore exploration Murmansk is a large railway junction. The water area of the trade and fishery ports does not freeze the whole year round. A base for icebreaker service is also located here. There is a base for drill ships and drilling rigs.
The main enterprises are Murmansk Trawl Fleet, Murmansk Shipping Company, Murmanrybprom, Murmansk shipyard, Murmansk Ship Repairing Plant of the State Navy, Ship repairing plant "Sevmormput", the enterprise "Arkikmorneftegazrazvedka", the scientific and production enterprise «Morgeo» è äð. The main types of production are fish, preserves, metalware, field equipment, containers and packing materials. Science, Education, PublicIn Murmansk there is a Governor's residence, regional Government, other regional organisations, some representative bodies of federal agencies and services. The main scientific institutions are Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO), Murmansk Marine Biological Institute RAS (MMBI), Polar Geophysics Insitute of the Kola Science Centre RAS. The most important education establishments are Murmansk State Technical University (MSTU), Murmansk State Pedagogical University (MSPU), 26 other higher education establishments or their affiliates, departments and consulting facilities. Establishments of secondary professional education include Marine College, Merchandise Experts technical School, Murmansk Technical School of Computer Science, Musical College, Pedagogical College, and Medical College.
There are more than 70 professional schools, secondary schools, gymnasia, lyceums. The main culture establishments are Regional Drama Theatre, Regional Cultural Centre, Region Studies Museum, Regional Scientific Library, Theatre of Northern Fleet, Regional Puppet Theatre, Regional Philharmonic Hall, Murmansk Seaquarium, cultural centres for children and youth
The most influential media include daily newspapers (published on all working days) "Vechernii Murmansk" and "Murmanskii Vestnik", the oldest newspaper "Polyarnaya Pravda" (published for times a week); one state TV company ("Murman") and two commercial ones ("Severo-Zapadnoye Veshchanie" and "Blits"). There are about ten FM radio stations. There are several advertising publications. There is also publishing and printing office "Sever", some advertising printeries which offer services in making brochures, booklets, posters etc.
There are regional branches of various creative unions: two writers' unions, a regional journalists' union, an artists' union, a composers' union, a theatre union.
There are more than ten hotels. The largest are "Arktika", "Russlandia" and "Meridian". There are sports facilities: two stadiums, A Sports Palace with artificial ice, a swimming pool, a roofed tennis court, a ski stadium "Dolina Uyuta" where each March and April the Festivals of the North are held.
Tourist companies offer fishing and ecological tourism. The Murmansk Shippning Company organises nuclear icebreaker voyages to the North Pole each summer (arctic tourism).
You can see traditional national craft in the Centre of Traditional National Craft, in the Region Studies Museum and in some of the city shops. Saami national craft from reindeer fur, from precious stones and gems, flower pictures, chipping pictures are especially popular. International and Interregional RelationsMumansk has twinning and cooperation arrangements with foreign cities. The sister cities are Vadsø and Tromsø (Norway), Luleå (Sweden), Rovaniemi (Finland), Jacksonville (USA), Groningen (Netherlands), Akureyri, (Iceland) and Szczecin (Poland).
There is a Representative Body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian General Consulate, the departments of the General Consulates of Finland and Sweden. There are several joint enterprises working in the city. International seminar, conferences, meetings and exhibitions are held every year.
Murmansk is one of the important business centres of the Barents Euro-Arctic region which includes northern territories of Russia, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The city takes part in the international tourist project called "The Barents Way." Murmansk has long and friendly relations with Minsk (Belarus), Voronezh, Vorkuta as well as all the cities and districts of the Kola Peninsula. Murmansk is a member of The Union of Russian Transpolar Northern Cities.
Murmansk takes active part in Northern Fleet vessels patronage. It has a patrol vessel called "Murmansk" under its patronage. InformationCity Administration:
Tel. +7 8152 458160, +7 8152 458161, +7 8152 455572
City Administration Press Centre:
Tel. +7 8152 458056, 476507, 459362
Postal Address:
183006 ã. 75 Lenin Ave., Murmansk, Russia, Murmansk City Administration Places to SeeLenin Avenue
The main street of Murmansk crosses its central part from North to South. The city's most beautiful buildings are situated there. In summer the avenue is adorned by lilacs (they blossom in late July or early August due to the cold climate), in winter it is lit bit numerous lights, festoons and multicoloured advertisement signs. The history of the avenue started in 1930 at the very place where there is the Regional Drama Theatre now. The future road was marked in a cloudberry swamp. In 1934 the first buildings appeared. Those were seven-storey houses. A shop called "Souvenirs" is now in one of them; the central office of the "MMS" mobile service is in the other one. A building of the Pedagogical College premises (now the MSPU Physics and Mathematics Faculty), School No. 2, some other four and five storey building were constructed later. The war, which caused a considerable damage to the Lenin Avenue, disrupted the plans to build more houses. After the war, the destroyed houses were however reconstructed. A two storey residential quarter appeared between Oktyabrskaya and Karla Libknekhta streets in two years. By 1951 asphalt had been laid at the whole length of the avenue. The first trolleybus went along the avenue in 1962. The first spectators visited the Regional Drama Theatre in the following year. It is the Lenin Avenue where the main building for both City and Regional Administrations are located.
The Lenin Avenue has become even more beautiful over the recent years. New technologies were used to repair old houses; their facades are painted with bright colours. Lilacs are decorated with festoon lights during the polar nights. New shops, big and small, have been opened here. You can buy whatever you like: bread and exotic fruits, clothing, shoes, toys, souvenirs, flowers, household appliances and utensils, furniture. Dozens of cafes and restaurants welcome visitors. Even taking a stroll along the main street is itself a pleasure.
Centre
The centre is formed by the oldest streets of the city: Leningradskaya, Pushkinskaya, Samoilovoi, Vorovskogo, Shmidta, Komsomolskaya, Volodarskogo and Oktyabrskaya streets. One can often use the words "first", "for the first time" when telling about their history. The first monument in Murmansk was built in Leningradskaya Street - the one that commemorates the victims of the foreign invasion of 1918-1920. The first hotel was built opposite it. The first wooden pavements appeared in Leningradskaya Street, in 1939 hard-surface ones. The first concrete building is in Kominterna Street. Now it is the premises of the Arts Museum. The first bus route connecting Zhilstroy with Karla Libknekhta Street also went along this street. The first school situated in three barracks was opened in Chelyuskintsev Street in 1924.. The fist public garden called the Komsomolsky garden was created in Shmidta Street in 1920
Nowadays the centre is the favourite pace for the Murmansk residents to spent theair free time and to have a rest. Green trees in the streets, calm gardens, a variety of shops, cafes and restaurants invite to strolls and rest. Transport
Buses are used for transport inside the city as well as between the cities of the region. There regular bus routes connecting Murmansk to Finland (Ivalo - Rovaniemi) and to Norway (Kirkenes). The main road in the region is the road from Murmansk to Petrozavodsk and Saint Petersburg. All towns in the region have hard-surface roads that connect them to Murmansk.
There are two roads that lead to the state border and international checkpoints: Lotta/Raja - Ioseppi at the Finnish border and Storskog/Borisoglebski at the Norwegian border. The road to ê Raja - Ioseppi is open every day. Pechenga road through Zapolyarnyi to Borisoglebsk is often closed in winter due to snow. All the road do not have sufficient road service: camping, rest stop compounds, fuel stations, car repair service, cafes, souvenirs and ïðåäìåòàìè ïåðâîé íåîáõîäèìîñòè shops, post and telephone network and the road information (road signs, guides, practical instruction for travellers)
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