Railway between Murmansk on the Arctic_Ocean_and_Saint_Petersburg_on_the_ Arctic_Ocean_and_Saint_Petersburg_on_the_Baltic_Sea_">Baltic_Sea.html"_;"title="Arctic_Ocean_and_Saint_Petersburg_on_the_Baltic_Sea">Arctic_Ocean_and_Saint_Petersburg_on_the_Baltic_Sea_ Kirov_Railway_(russian:_Кировская_железная_дорога,_''Kirovskaya_zheleznaya_doroga'',_until_1935_''Murman_Railway'')_is_a__Russian_gauge.html" ;"title="Baltic_Sea_.html" ;"title="Baltic_Sea.html" ;"title="Arctic Ocean and Saint Petersburg on the Baltic Sea">Arctic Ocean and Saint Petersburg on the Baltic Sea ">Baltic_Sea.html" ;"title="Arctic Ocean and Saint Petersburg on the Baltic Sea">Arctic Ocean and Saint Petersburg on the Baltic Sea Kirov Railway (russian: Кировская железная дорога, ''Kirovskaya zheleznaya doroga'', until 1935 ''Murman Railway'') is a Russian gauge">broad gauge Russian railway network that links the Murman Coast and Murmansk city (in the north) and Saint Petersburg (in the south). The railway is operated by the ''Arktika'' passenger train. The total distance between Saint Petersburg and Murmansk is , the section between Petrozavodsk and Kola having a length of . It has 52 stations. The line is of vital military importance because of Murmansk being an

ice-free port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

on the Arctic Sea. The northern part between

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

and Kola was built in 1915–1917, due to a lack of workers under assignment of an increasing number of German and Austrian war prisoners. In 1941–1943 the central part between Svir and Petrozavodsk was occupied by the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...

under orders from

Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comm ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Originally called the ''Murman Railway'', the line was renamed the ''Kirov Railway'' in 1935 in honor of

Sergei Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (né Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Soviet politician and Bolshevik revolutionary whose assassination led to the first Great Purge. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and membe ...

, a prominent

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

leader of the Russian revolution, who had been assassinated the year before. The railway was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

in 2005.

External links

{{Russia-rail-transport-stub Railway lines in Russia Rail transport in Murmansk Oblast

See also

External links