Murmansk
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225302136
2008-07-12T23:53:19Z
Ghirlandajo
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{{Infobox Russian city
|EnglishName=Murmansk
|RussianName=Мурманск
|Skyline=MurmanskHarbour.jpg
|SkylineLegend=Murmansk Port
|LatDeg=68
|LatMin=58
|LatSec
|LonDeg=33
|LonMin=5
|LonSec
|LocatorMap=Polar siberia 4.png
|LocatorMapLegend=Murmansk on the map of the North Pole region
|CoatOfArms=RUS Murmansk COA.svg
|Flag=Flag of Murmansk Oblast.svg
|CityDay=[[October 4]]
|FederalSubject=[[Murmansk Oblast]]
|MunStatus=Urban okrug
|InJurisdictionOf=[[Murmansk Oblast]]
|AdmCtrOf=[[Murmansk Oblast]]
|LeaderType=Head
|LeaderName=Mikhail Savchenko
|Legislature=[[Council of Deputies of the City of Murmansk|Council of Deputies]]
|Charter=[[Charter of Murmansk]]
|Area_km2=150.55
|AreaRank
|Population=336137
|PopulationRank=52nd
|FoundationDate=[[October 4]], [[1916]]
|Event1=Town status
|Event1Date=1916
|Event2=Renamed ''Murmansk''
|Event2Date=April 1917
|PostalCode=183000..183099
|DialingCode=8152
|Website=http://www.gov-murman.ru/mun/murmansk/
}}
[[Image:MurmanskAlosha.jpg|thumb|250px|The 42-meter-tall [[Murmansk Alyosha]], a WWII monument unveiled in 1974.]]
[[Image:MurmanskProspektLenin.jpg|thumb|250px|Central Murmansk]] [[Image:Мемориал «Морякам, погибшим в мирное время».jpg|thumb|A monument to the sailors who died in the time of peace.]]
'''Murmansk''' ({{lang-ru|Му́рманск}}; {{lang-se|Murmanska}}; {{lang-sms|Muurman}}) is a [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|city]] and [[seaport]] in the extreme northwest part of [[Russia]], on the [[Kola Bay]], 12 km from the [[Barents Sea]] on the northern shore of the [[Kola Peninsula]], not far from Russia's borders with [[Norway]] and [[Finland]].
Murmansk is the administrative centre of [[Murmansk Oblast]]. The [[ice-free port|port remains ice-free]] year round due to the warm [[North Atlantic drift]] [[ocean current]] and is an important fishing and shipping port. Its satellite, [[Severomorsk]], is an important [[navy base]] for the [[Russian Navy]]. It is home port to Atomflot, the world's only fleet of nuclear-powered [[Nuclear powered icebreaker|ice breakers]]. <ref>[http://www.msco.ru/cgi-bin/common.cgi?lang=eng&skin=menu2&fn=cont2 MSCO: Fleet: Icebreaking fleet<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> <ref>[http://www.bellona.org/english_import_area/international/russia/civilian_nuclear_vessels/radwaste/30138 Atomflot - Bellona<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Murmansk is the largest city north of the [[Arctic Circle]]. Population: {{ru-census|p02=336137|p89=468039}}
==History==
Murmansk was the last town founded in the [[Russian Empire]]. The Murman is a traditional [[Pomor]] name for the [[Barents Sea]] and derives from the Old Russian word for Norwegians, "murmane", which is cognate to English "[[Normans]]".<ref>[[Max Vasmer]]'s Etymological Dictionary, trans. by [[Oleg Trubachev]], vol. 3, p. 13.</ref>
The city, known initially as '''Romanov-on-the-Murman''' ({{lang|ru|Рома́нов-на-Му́рмане}}), was founded on [[October 4]]<!--Gregorian-->, 1916 and named after the Russian royal dynasty of the [[Romanov]]s. The city, the only ice-free port in the Russian Arctic, was built as a terminus of the [[railroad]] line to [[Kola (town)|Kola]] designed to open the North Atlantic supply route to Russia in support of the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] during the [[First World War]]. The city was renamed Murmansk after the [[October Revolution]] in 1917.
From 1918 to 1920, the city was [[North Russia Campaign|occupied by the Western powers]] who had been [[Allies|allied]] in the [[World War I|First World War]] and [[White Army|"White"]] forces during the [[Russian Civil War|Civil War]] in Russia.<ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/WW1z05NorthRussia.htm Bolshevik, North Russian, Royal Navy, Expeditionary Force, Archangel, Dvina River<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
During [[World War II]], Murmansk was a link with the Western world for Russia, and a vast commerce with the [[Allies]], in items important to the respective military efforts passed through it: primarily manufactured and raw materials goods into the [[Soviet Union]]. These supplies were brought to the city in the [[Arctic Convoys]].
A joint German and Finnish force launched an offensive against the city in 1941 as part of [[Operation Silver Fox|Unternehmen Silberfuchs]]. Murmansk suffered profound destruction, second only to [[Stalingrad]] of all the Soviet cities.<ref>[http://www.rian.ru/society/20061004/54494341.html Мурманску исполняется 90 лет]{{ref-ru}}</ref><ref>[http://www.b-port.com/info/smi/vm/?issue=538&article=10256 Газета «Вечерний Мурманск» Выпуск № 93 от 28 мая 2005] {{ref-ru}}</ref> However, fierce Soviet resistance and unforgiving territory prevented the Germans from capturing the city and from cutting off the vital Karelian railway line. This resistance was eventually recognized in 1985 by the [[Soviet Union]] with the formal designation of Murmansk as a [[Hero City]] on [[May 6]], [[1985]] <ref>[http://2004.murman.ru/nature/adm_delenie/murmansk/index-eng.shtml Nature » Administrative-territorial system<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. In commemoration of this event, the massive statue [[Alyosha]], depicting a Russian soldier of World War II, was erected overlooking the city harbour. For the rest of the war, it served as a transit point for weapons and other supplies entering the Soviet Union from other Allied nations.
During the [[Cold War]] it was a centre of Soviet [[submarine]] activity, and since the breakup of the USSR, it remains the headquarters of the [[Russian Northern Fleet]].
To commemorate the 85th anniversary of the city's foundation, the snow-white church of the Saviour-on-Waters was modeled after the [[White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal]] and built on the shore for sailors of Murmansk ([http://photo.murman.ru/www/vcards.nsf/images/NT00076D1E/$FILE/001.jpg photograph]).
Murmansk's evening newspaper is [[Vecherny Murmansk]], published since 1991.
==Arctic Bridge==
Murmansk is set to be the Russian terminus of the [[Arctic Bridge]] (or Arctic Sea Bridge), a sea route that would link it to the [[Canada|Canadian]] port of [[Churchill, Manitoba|Churchill]], [[Manitoba]]. This passage has not yet been fully tested for commercial shipping but Russia has shown interest in it. Once this bridge is further developed (along with the [[Northwest Passage]]) it is believed that it will serve as a major trade route between [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]. The development of the trans-Arctic sea route is possible due to the retreat of Arctic ice, due to{{Fact|date=May 2008}} [[global warming]].
==Murmansk in fiction==
The city is one of the main settings in the novel ''[[Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident]]'' by [[Eoin Colfer]]. It is the place where Artemis's shipwrecked father is believed to have died after capture by the [[Russian Mafia|Russian Mafiya]].
The climatic scene of [[Alex Rider#Skeleton Key|Skeleton Key]], (July 8, 2002) the third novel of the [[Alex Rider]] series by [[Anthony Horowitz]], takes places in and around Murmansk with the now dilapidated nuclear fleet playing a pivotal role. Through all characters are fictional, the actual airport, city and port are described with Alex's final actions of this book being depicted in the port.
In the novels ''[[HMS Ulysses (novel)|HMS Ulysses]]'' (1955) by the Scottish writer [[Alistair MacLean]] and ''[[The Captain (1967 novel)|The Captain]]'' (1967) by Dutch author [[Jan de Hartog]], the protagonists are sailors in the [[Second World War]] Murmansk-bound convoys who ran the gauntlet of German U-Boats and war planes. In their minds, Murmansk assumes the status of almost a "Promised Land" which lucky survivors will reach.
The physical city itself does not appear in either book. In de Hartog's book the protagonists, with their ship sunk, get in a lifeboat which is picked up at sea and get to Iceland instead; in the MacLean book, the survivors of the decimated convoy who arrive at the port of Murmansk are not allowed to set foot ashore, and remain cooped on board until the material is unloaded and the moment comes to set out back to Britain.
==Sister cities==
The [[sister cities]] of Murmansk are:
*{{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Akureyri]], [[Iceland]]
*{{flagicon|Norway}} [[Vadsø]], [[Norway]]
*{{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]], [[Netherlands]]
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Jacksonville]], [[Florida]], [[United States]]
*{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Luleå]], [[Sweden]]
*{{flagicon|Finland}} [[Rovaniemi]], [[Finland]]
*{{flagicon|Norway}} [[Tromsø]], [[Norway]]
*{{flagicon|Poland}} [[Szczecin]], [[Poland]]
<br clear=all><!--Infobox begins-->{{Infobox Weather
|metric_first= Yes
|single_line= Yes
|location = Murmansk
|Jan_Hi_°C = -7.2 |Jan_REC_Hi_°C = 7.0
|Feb_Hi_°C = -7.3 |Feb_REC_Hi_°C = 6.6
|Mar_Hi_°C = -3.3 |Mar_REC_Hi_°C = 9.0
|Apr_Hi_°C = 1.9 |Apr_REC_Hi_°C = 16.9
|May_Hi_°C = 7.2 |May_REC_Hi_°C = 27.2
|Jun_Hi_°C = 14.0 |Jun_REC_Hi_°C = 30.8
|Jul_Hi_°C = 17.2 |Jul_REC_Hi_°C = 32.9
|Aug_Hi_°C = 15.2 |Aug_REC_Hi_°C = 29.1
|Sep_Hi_°C = 9.6 |Sep_REC_Hi_°C = 24.2
|Oct_Hi_°C = 2.9 |Oct_REC_Hi_°C = 15.0
|Nov_Hi_°C = -2.0 |Nov_REC_Hi_°C = 9.6
|Dec_Hi_°C = -5.3 |Dec_REC_Hi_°C = 5.6
|Year_Hi_°C = 3.7 |Year_REC_Hi_°C = 32.9
|Jan_Lo_°C = -13.8 |Jan_REC_Lo_°C = -39.4
|Feb_Lo_°C = -13.4 |Feb_REC_Lo_°C = -38.6
|Mar_Lo_°C = -9.8 |Mar_REC_Lo_°C = -32.6
|Apr_Lo_°C = -4.4 |Apr_REC_Lo_°C = -23.0
|May_Lo_°C = 0.6 |May_REC_Lo_°C = -10.4
|Jun_Lo_°C = 5.7 |Jun_REC_Lo_°C = -2.5
|Jul_Lo_°C = 8.8 |Jul_REC_Lo_°C = 1.7
|Aug_Lo_°C = 8.0 |Aug_REC_Lo_°C = -2.0
|Sep_Lo_°C = 4.3 |Sep_REC_Lo_°C = -5.4
|Oct_Lo_°C = -1.2 |Oct_REC_Lo_°C = -21.2
|Nov_Lo_°C = -7.0 |Nov_REC_Lo_°C = -30.3
|Dec_Lo_°C = -11.4 |Dec_REC_Lo_°C = -35.0
|Year_Lo_°C = -2.7 |Year_REC_Lo_°C = -39.4
<!--**** use mm or cm but not both! ****-->
|Jan_Precip_cm = |Jan_Precip_mm = 30
|Feb_Precip_cm = |Feb_Precip_mm = 22
|Mar_Precip_cm = |Mar_Precip_mm = 19
|Apr_Precip_cm = |Apr_Precip_mm = 20
|May_Precip_cm = |May_Precip_mm = 30
|Jun_Precip_cm = |Jun_Precip_mm = 53
|Jul_Precip_cm = |Jul_Precip_mm = 61
|Aug_Precip_cm = |Aug_Precip_mm = 65
|Sep_Precip_cm = |Sep_Precip_mm = 53
|Oct_Precip_cm = |Oct_Precip_mm = 44
|Nov_Precip_cm = |Nov_Precip_mm = 40
|Dec_Precip_cm = |Dec_Precip_mm = 36
|Year_Precip_cm = |Year_Precip_mm = 473
|source = Pogoda.ru.net<ref name="pogoda">{{cite web
| url = http://pogoda.ru.net/climate/22113.htm | title = Pogoda.ru.net| accessmonthday = September 8| accessyear = 2007
| publisher = | language = Russian}}</ref>
|accessdate = 8.09.2007
<!--|source2 = <ref name= >{{cite web
| url = | title = | accessmonthday = | accessyear =
| publisher = | language = }}</ref>-->
|accessdate2 = -->
}}<!--Infobox ends-->
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.murmansk1.ru/en/ Murmansk: Info,News,Photo]
*[http://www.scandplus.ru/en/ Murmansk Travelling Agent]
*[http://atomic.msco.ru/cgi-bin/common.cgi?lang=eng&skin=menu1&fn=first Atomic ice breaker fleet]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/business_murmansk0s_gorgeous_garages/html/1.stm Murmansk's gorgeous garages — a photo journal by BBC news journalist Jorn Madslien]
*[http://www.world66.com/europe/russia/murmansk Murmansk travel guide]
*[http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=68.976381,33.075714&spn=0.119116,0.468361&t=k&hl=en Satellite picture by Google Maps]
*[http://www.supertravelnet.com/map/1/241_6061_7.jpg Map of Murmansk]
*[http://flickr.com/groups/murmansk/ Views of Murmansk group on Flickr]
*[http://eng.mstu.edu.ru/ Murmansk State Technical University]
*[http://www.naval-history.net/WW1z05NorthRussia.htm British North Russian Expeditinary Force 1918–1919 (based at Murmansk)]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6103384.stm "Big-dollar deals tempt Arctic firms" BBC article on the energy industry's effect on Murmansk]
*[http://www.arcticwar.com/bilder/pages/alyosha_jpg.htm Image of "Alyosha" statue]
{{Cities and towns in Murmansk Oblast}}
{{Hero Cities}}
[[Category:Coastal cities]]
[[Category:Hero Cities of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Settlements established in 1916]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns in Russia]]
[[Category:Barents Sea]]
[[Category:Russian and Soviet Navy bases]]
[[myv:Мурманск ош]]
[[ar:ميورمانسك]]
[[be:Горад Мурманск]]
[[be-x-old:Мурманск]]
[[bg:Мурманск]]
[[ca:Múrmansk]]
[[cv:Мурманск]]
[[cs:Murmansk]]
[[da:Murmansk]]
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[[et:Murmansk]]
[[el:Μούρμανσκ]]
[[es:Múrmansk]]
[[eo:Murmansko]]
[[fa:مورمانسک]]
[[fr:Mourmansk]]
[[gl:Múrmask]]
[[ko:무르만스크]]
[[hr:Murmansk]]
[[io:Murmansk]]
[[id:Murmansk]]
[[os:Мурманск]]
[[it:Murmansk]]
[[he:מורמנסק]]
[[ka:მურმანსკი]]
[[lt:Murmanskas]]
[[hu:Murmanszk]]
[[nl:Moermansk]]
[[ja:ムルマンスク]]
[[no:Murmansk]]
[[nn:Murmansk]]
[[pl:Murmańsk]]
[[pt:Murmansk]]
[[ro:Murmansk]]
[[ru:Мурманск]]
[[se:Murmansk]]
[[sl:Murmansk]]
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[[vi:Murmansk]]
[[tr:Murmansk]]
[[uk:Мурманськ]]
[[zh:摩爾曼斯克]]