Kirovsk Кировск | |
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 View of Kirovsk | |
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 Interactive map of Kirovsk | |
  Kirovsk Location of Kirovsk Show map of Russia Kirovsk Kirovsk (Murmansk Oblast) Show map of Murmansk Oblast | |
| Coordinates:67°37′N33°39′E / 67.617°N 33.650°E /67.617; 33.650 | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Murmansk Oblast[1] |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Town status since | October 30, 1931[2] |
| Elevation | 380 m (1,250 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 28,625 |
• Estimate (2023) | 24,271 (−15.2%) |
| • Subordinated to | KirovskTown with Jurisdictional Territory[1] |
| • Capital of | Kirovsk Town with Jurisdictional Territory[1] |
| • Urban okrug | Kirovsk Urban Okrug[4] |
| • Capital of | Kirovsk Urban Okrug[4] |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK  [5]) |
| Postal code[6] | 184250 |
| Dialing code | +7 81531 |
| OKTMO ID | 47712000001 |
| Website | kirovsk |
Kirovsk (Russian:Ки́ровск), known asKhibinogorsk (Хибиного́рск) until 1934, is atown inMurmansk Oblast,Russia, located at the spurs of theKhibiny Mountains on the shores of theLake Bolshoy Vudyavr, 175 kilometers (109 mi) south ofMurmansk. Population:28,625 (2010 census).[3]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | 22,542 | — |
| 1959 | 39,047 | +73.2% |
| 1970 | 38,484 | −1.4% |
| 1979 | 40,521 | +5.3% |
| 1989 | 43,526 | +7.4% |
| 2002 | 31,593 | −27.4% |
| 2010 | 28,625 | −9.4% |
| 2021 | 24,857 | −13.2% |
| Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions. Source: Censuses[7][8][9][10] | ||
A settlement which eventually became Kirovsk was founded in 1929, soon after an expedition led byAlexander Fersman had discovered large deposits ofapatite andnepheline in the Khibiny Massif in the 1920s.[citation needed] By the end of 1930, its population grew to ten thousand people, and a mining and[11] chemical plant here was well under construction.[2]
The new urban settlement was largely populated by forced settlers, dekulakised peasants from other parts of the country. Death rates in the 1930s were high and they were buried next to the highway in what became the town cemetery.[12] A stone monument was erected there in 2005.
Due to the rapid growth, the Presidium of theMurmansk Okrug Executive Committee petitioned on January 18, 1931 to grant the settlement town status and to name it Khibinogorsk.[2] The petition was approved by theAll-Russian Central Executive Committee Resolution on October 30, 1931 and the town was subordinated directly to the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee.[2] On December 15, 1934, the town was renamed Kirovsk after recently assassinatedSergey Kirov,[13] who had been in charge of planning the development of the deposits.
On February 26, 1935, when newKirovsky District was established on part of the territory ofKolsko-Loparsky District, Kirovsk was transferred to it and made its administrative center.[13] On May 6, 1954, by the Decree of the Presidium of theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, Kirovsk was elevated in status to that of a town under oblast jurisdiction.[14] Kirovsky District was abolished, and its territory was subordinated to Kirovsk.[14]
By the September 20, 1965Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR Decree, thework settlement ofKovdor located on the territory under Kirovsk's jurisdiction was grantedtown under district jurisdiction status and subordinated to Kirovsk TownSoviet.[15] On January 6, 1966, the Murmansk Oblast Executive Committee petitioned to transform the work settlement ofMolodyozhny located on the territory under Kirovsk's jurisdiction into a town under oblast jurisdiction called Khibinogorsk and on subordinating a part of the territory in Kirovsk's jurisdiction to it.[15] The petition was reviewed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, which, however, decreed on July 7, 1966 to merge the work settlements of Molodyozhny andApatity into a town under oblast jurisdiction, which would retain the name Apatity.[15] Consequently, the Murmansk Oblast Executive Committee subordinated a part of the territory under Kirovsk's jurisdiction to the new town by the decision of October 13, 1966.[15]
Within theframework of administrative divisions, it is, together with two rural localities, incorporated asKirovskTown with Jurisdictional Territory—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of thedistricts.[1] As amunicipal division, Kirovsk Town with Jurisdictional Territory is incorporated asKirovsk Urban Okrug.[4]
The northernmostbotanical garden in Russia is located in Kirovsk.
Kirovsk is the northernmost mountained ski area in Europe. There are two major ski resorts in the town: Bigwood and Kukisvumchorr with nearly 50 km of slopes operating from November to June. The tourism industry is developing rapidly with new hotels and ski lifts opening every year.
Kirovsk istwinned with:
Alpine Meadow, Lake Tahoe, United States
Gällivare Municipality,Sweden
Harstad,Norway
Tornio,Finland
Newry,United Kingdom
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