murmansk – мурманск

The city of Murmansk was founded in 1916. It is the world largest city within the Arctic Circle. Here you can experience both the midnight sun and the northern lights. The polar day lasts from late May till late July. The polar night lasts from late November to mid January.

Five Corners Square and the Azimut (former Arktika) Hotel.

The memorial commemorating the defenders of the city in WWII overlooks much of Murmansk. The gigantic concrete soldier nicknamed Alyosha is Murmansk's most noticeable sight. In 1941-44 Murmansk was heavily bombed by the German Air Force. All wooden structures burnt to ashes. Only few stone buildings survived.

Murmansk is an important seaport. Warm Gulf Stream waters keep it ice-free all the year round.

The memorial to sailors perished at sea in peacetime looks like a simple lighthouse.

The memorial to submariners who lost their lives at sea at the time of peace. It was built using a fragment of the nuclear-powered submarine KURSK that sank in the Barents Sea in August 2000. According to the information plate 14 Soviet/Russian submarines were lost in the period 1952-2003.

The anchor view of the city.

The 2002 Church of the Saviour on the Waters.

Lake Semyonovskoe located atop the hill overlooking the city is a scenic place and a recreation area.

In the lakeshore oceanarium one can watch an artistic performance of trained arctic seals all the year round.

There are at least three Lenins in Murmansk. One is in the Lenin Avenue.

Another one is hidden in the seaport apparently wounded in the shoulder.

And the third one - the decommissioned nuclear-powered ice-breaker LENIN has been turned into a museum.

The seaport terminal.

The railway station.

The city hall.

To Arctic railroad workers.

Five Corners Square as seen from the Azimut Hotel.

Streetscapes.

Bird cherry trees bloom in Murmansk in late June.

MURMANSK  oblast – МУРМАНСКая область

teriberka – териберка

Teriberka appeared well before Murmansk in 1608. It was a humble fishermen's village that in the course of history lived through good and bad times. In 2014 a movie entitled LEVIATHAN was released. The public liked the movie that was shot in the half-abandoned and dilapidated Teriberka. Tourists began flocking the village in search of scenes of apocalyptical destruction and abandonment they saw in the movie.

The road to Teriberka runs through tundra.

A toy traffic cop half way between Murmansk and Teriberka.

The destruction and abandonment are still visible.

Due to steady influx of visitors Teriberka is being revived with new hotels being built, streets paved, houses renovated.

Views around the village are scenic.

The sea takes its toll.

white sea coast

It is the southern coast of the Kola Peninsula. Travelers can go by road as far as the village of Kuzomen (Кузомень).