Murmansk

The world’s biggest Arctic city is a mere baby by Russian standards: Murmansk celebrated its 100th birthday in 2016. Murmansk’s raison d’être is its port, kept ice-free by comparatively warm Gulf Stream waters. This bustling, rapidly modernising place gets much of its wealth from the cornucopia of minerals found beneath the ground of the Kola Peninsula, the controversial exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic and close ties with its Scandinavian neighbours.

Locations

sits on both slopes and banks of a modest ria or fjord, Kola Bay, an estuarine inlet of the Barents Sea.

Also knows as

Sami word murman, meaning “the edge of the earth.”

Famous for

One of the cheapest place in the world to witness a once in a life time phenomena, the Northern Light (Aurora Borealis)

Weather

−13 to 17.3

Founded

October 4, 1916

Main cultural attractions

Alyosha Monument, Murmansk or Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War monument is also located in Murmansk. The main square of Murmansk is Five Corners, Murmansk. Murmansk Oblast Museum and Murmansk Oblast Art Museum. There are three professional theaters, libraries, and an aquarium in Murmansk.

Population

3,07,257

Airport

Murmansk Airport