Murmansk Oblast[a] is afederal subject (anoblast) ofRussia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of 144,900 square kilometres (55,900 sq mi). Its only internal border is theRepublic of Karelia to the south, and it is bordered internationally byFinland to the west andNorway to the northwest and theBarents Sea lies to the north andWhite Sea lies to the south and east. Itsadministrative center is thecity ofMurmansk. As of the2010 Census, its population was 795,409;[7] however, at the 2021 Census, the population had declined to 667,744.[14]
Much of the oblast's relief is hilly, with theKhibiny andLovozero ranges rising as high as 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) abovesea level and stretching from west to east.[15] The highest point of Murmansk Oblast isYudychvumchorr, a flat-topped peak of the Khibiny.[17] The north of the oblast is mostly covered bytundra;forest-tundra prevails further south, while the southern regions are in thetaiga zone.[15] There are over 100,000 lakes and 18,000 rivers in the oblast.[15] The coast contains theRybachy Peninsula and theCape Svyatoy Nos peninsulas.
The climate is harsh and unstable, due to the proximity of theGulf Stream on one side and Arctic cold fronts on the other.[15] Sharp temperature changes, high winds, and abundantprecipitation are common throughout the year, with the heating season lasting for ten straight months.[15] However, the waters of theMurman Coast in the south remain warm enough to remain ice-free even in winter.[18]
TheSaami, now a very small minority, are the indigenous people of the region.Russians started exploring the shores of the White Sea as early as in the 12th century, and in 1916 duringWorld War I founded the Russian city ofMurmansk as an ice-free supply port.[19]As of 2010, Murmansk had307,257 (2010 Census),[7] people – nearly 40% of the oblast's population. ManyFinns also immigrated to Murmansk during theFinnish famine, around the year 1860.[20]
Oblast Administration (right) and City Administration (left) buildings on Lenin's Avenue, Murmansk
During theSoviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Murmansk CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside electedregional parliament.
The Charter of Murmansk Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Murmansk Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter by theConstitution of Russia.
The indigenous people of the area, theSaami, are only a tiny minority today. As of the2002 Census, 92.2% of the oblast's population live in urban areas.[28] The most populous city is the Oblast's administrative center,Murmansk, with 270,000 inhabitants in 2021.[28] Other large cities and towns includeSeveromorsk,Apatity,Kandalaksha,Monchegorsk, andKirovsk.
Total fertility rate (2024):[31] 1.38 children per woman
Life expectancy (2021):[32] Total — 68.29 years (male — 63.72, female — 72.85)
In 2009, the urban areas were marked by natural population decline (−0.16% per year) and the rural areas were marked by natural population growth (+0.35% per year).[33]
According to a 2012 survey[34] 41.7% of the population of Murmansk Oblast adheres to theRussian Orthodox Church, 3% areunaffiliated genericChristians, 1% are Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to any church or are members of other (non-Russian)Orthodox churches, 1% are adherents ofIslam, 0.4% are adherents ofRodnovery (Slavic native faith) and other indigenous folk religions, and 1% are members of theCatholic Church. In addition, 28% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 12% isatheist, and 12.5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[34]
The Murmansk Oblast is very rich in natural resources and has deposits of over 700 minerals.[36] The main industries of the region are in the sphere of raw material extraction and basic processing.[37] The largest industries are metallurgy (36,6%), electric power-production (22,9%) and food-industry, including fishing (13,7%).[38][39] The icefree port of Murmansk plays an important role in marine transportation in Russia, and the oblast has a 41% share of the total Russian marine transport market.[40][41] The fishing industry is among the most profitable in the region, supplying 16% of Russia's total fish production. Murmansk is a key base for three fishing fleets, including Russia's largest, theMurmansk Trawl Fleet.[37]
The economy of the region is export-oriented. Main export items are nickel products,apatite concentrate, copper and copper products, aluminium and ferrous metals.[40] The Murmansk Region produces almost 100 percent of Russia's apatite concentrate (3.7 million tons in 1998), 43 percent of nickel, 15 percent of copper, 12 percent of iron ore and iron ore concentrate (17.7 million and 6.4 million tons in 1998), and 40 percent of cobalt.[36][38]
Large oil and gas resources have been discovered on the shelf of the Barents sea, including the massiveShtokman field – one of the world's largest gas fields with estimated reserves of 3.8 trillion cubic meters.[36][41][42] Prospective oil fields could potentially yield up to 40 million tons in the next 10–15 years.[36] However, the development of the oil and gas resources will require considerable investment.[36]
In 2006, the Murmansk Oblast'sgross regional product was 141.9 billion rubles, which amounts to about 0.4% of the Russian GDP.[40] Unemployment in 2006 was 3,4%.[40] GRP per capita in 2007 was 225,044 rubles.[43] Regional automobile code is 51.
The Murmansk Oblast plays an important role for theRussian Navy, theNorthern Fleet having its headquarters inSeveromorsk, 25 km north of Murmansk. The Navy has several other bases and shipyards in the Murmansk Oblast.
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
^Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
^Rybakov, Felix F. (September 23, 2005). "Murmansk". In Nuttall, Mark (ed.).Encyclopedia of the Arctic. Vol. 2. New York: Routledge. p. 1330.ISBN9781136786808. RetrievedJuly 13, 2024.From its foundation as a supply port during World War I, Murmansk developed as a seaport. The port does not freeze due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. This is significant for the Russian econony because year-round navigation is impossible in the Arkhangel'sk and St Petersburg seaport areas.
Мурманская областная Дума. Закон от 26 ноября 1997 г. «Устав Мурманской области», в ред. Закона №1448-01-ЗМО от 27 декабря 2011 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 58 Устава Мурманской области». Вступил в силу на двенадцатый день со дня официального опубликования в газете "Мурманский Вестник". Опубликован: "Мурманский Вестник", №235, стр. 6–7, 6 декабря 1997 г. (Murmansk Oblast Duma. Law of November 26, 1997Charter of Murmansk Oblast, as amended by the Law #1448-01-ZMO of December 27, 2011On Amending Article 58 of the Charter of Murmansk Oblast. Effective as of the day twelve days after the official publication in theMurmansky Vestnik newspaper.).
Президиум Верховного Совета СССР. Указ от 28 мая 1938 г. «Об образовании Мурманской области». Опубликован: "Ведомости Верховного Совета СССР", №7, 1938. (Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Decree of May 28, 1938On Establishing Murmansk Oblast. ).
Министерство транспорта Российской Федерации. Федеральное агенство геодезии и картографии (2007).Мурманская область. Атлас. Санкт-Петербург: ФГУП "Геодезия".
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