Severomorsk (), known as Vayenga () until 18 April 1951, is a closed

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

. The town is situated on the coast of the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

along the

Kola Bay Kola Bay () or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta and Kola Rivers discharge into ...

northeast of

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

, the

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

of the

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

, to which it is connected by railway and a motorway. It is the main naval base of the Northern Fleet of Russia and the sixth largest city in the world beyond the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

History

Early settlement

The first settlement on the site of the current city was established between 1896 and 1897. It was named Vayenga (), after the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

, the name of which itself comes from the

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

"vayongg", meaning a female

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

. The settlers were engaged in hunting, fishing and cattle breeding. In 1917, only thirteen people lived in the settlement.

The founding of the Northern Fleet Base

In 1926, a timber procurement office was founded in Murmansk, one of the teams of which was sent to Vayenga. A barrack-dormitory, a bathhouse, and a telephone line were built in Vayenga. In 1933, the bay was chosen as one of the bases for the newly created Northern Fleet. From 1934 and until the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, wooden and brick buildings and military facilities were built in the town, and the Vayenga-1 naval airfield was built in the neighbouring bay. From August 1941, all construction was mothballed. The airfield was used by the British; namely No. 151 Wing RAF to protect the Arctic Convoys before their fighters were later handed over to the

Soviet Naval Aviation Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, ) was the naval aviation arm of the Soviet Navy. Origins The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed in 1912–1914 as a part of the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. During World War I, the hydro ...

. After the war, construction was resumed. Vayenga, given the existing facilities, was chosen as the main base for the Northern Fleet. On 1 September 1947, the headquarters and command of the Northern Fleet were relocated from Polyarny to Vayenga. In the same year, the first secondary school in the city was opened. The population of Vayenga was 3,884 people. In 1948, Vayenga's village Council of Workers' Deputies was formed.

Severomorsk

On April 18, 1951, Vayenga received town status and was renamed to Severomorsk, from the Russian "sever" (север), meaning "north", and "more" (море), meaning "sea". By the 1960s, the town was already thoroughly developed - the city had a bakery, a sausage factory, and a soft drink bottling plant, and a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

was built. On 26 November 1996, by the decree of the

President of the Russian Federation The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

, the town of Severomorsk, as a major naval base, was transformed into a closed administrative-territorial entity (ZATO) (urban district) with the inclusion of the following populated areas under its jurisdiction:

Safonovo Safonovo () is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Safonovo, Safonovsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Safonovsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorp ...

, Roslyakovo, Safonovo-1, Severomorsk-3, and Shchukozero.

Geography

Location

Severomorsk is located on the

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...

in the

, in the

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

zone, on the rocky east coast of the

of the

Climate

Severomorsk has a

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...

climate (''Dfc''), with long, very cold winters and cool to mild summers. The average temperature in January is -8 °C and 12 °C in July. The average precipitation is around 800 mm per year.

Demographics

Population

On January 1, 2015, out of 1114 Russian cities and towns, Severomorsk was ranked the 329th most populous. According to the results of the Russian Census of 2010, the population of Severomorsk was 50,060. 26,503 (52.9%) of those were male, and 23,557 (47.1%) were female. As of 2016, the population of Severomorsk has reached 50,905.

Cityscape

Landmarks

*. More commonly known as "Alyosha", it is considered to be a symbol of the city. It is a figure of a sailor with a machine gun in his hands, 17 meters high, on a pedestal in the form of a submarine cabin, 10 meters high. It was created by the sculptors and , and the architects V. Dushkin and A. Shashkov. Installed on Primorskaya Square on 10 June 1973. *The Monument to the Heroes of the artillery 221-A of the Red Banner Northern Fleet battery. One of the most famous monuments in the city, it is a 130mm ship weapon on a concrete pedestal. It was created by the architects A. Shashkov, T. Shashkova, A. Weisman, and E. Panteleymonov. Installed on North Hill on Maritime Square on November 6, 1961. *The Monument to the aviators of Severomorsk, "Aircraft IL-4". The plane was found in the hills by a search party, was brought back to the city, and was then restored over the course of a year. It was created by the architects G. Yevdokimova and S. Bachurin, and the engineer A. Strashny. Installed on Courage Square on July 26, 1981. *The Memorial to the citizens of Severomorsk who did not return from the war. A monument in the form of an

MT-LB The MT-LB (, literally "multi-purpose towing vehicle light armored") is a Soviet Union, Soviet multi-purpose, fully amphibious vehicle, amphibious, tracked Armoured fighting vehicle, armored fighting vehicle in use since the 1970s. It was also ...

armoured vehicle, it is dedicated to the soldiers killed in action in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

region. Installed on Courage Square on 19 July 2013, next to the "Aircraft IL-4". *The Monument to the "Torpedo boat TKA-12". In the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, this boat was commanded by the twice

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

Alexander Shabalin. It was created by the architects V. Alekseev and V. Gopak, and the engineer A. Strashny. Installed on Courage Square on July 31, 1983. *Bust of the twice

Boris Safonov. Created by the sculptor E. Kitaychuk and the architect A. Shashkov. Installed on Safonov Square in 1967. *Bust of the

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

Timur Apakidze. Created by the local artists S. Abarina and P. Abarin, and the main engineer of the project, A. Rechits. Installed on Safonovo Square in July 2003. *The Museum of Severomorsk's and the Navy's History. Opened by the Severomorsk administration in October 1996 on Safonov street. *Museum " Submarine ''K-21''". A branch of the Naval Museum of the Northern Fleet. Opened in July 1983 on Courage Square.

Politics

Local government

The representative bodies of the local self-government are the City Council of Deputies. The mayor of Severomorsk is Alexander Abramov. Since 1991, the executive branch has been headed by Vitaly Voloshin. In the spring of 2011, he was approved to the post of the Head of Administration of Severomorsk. Since 16 April 2013, the position is occupied by Irina Norina.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with the

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

and two rural localities, incorporated as the closed administrative-territorial formation of Severomorsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Law #96-01-ZMO As a municipal division, the closed administrative-territorial formation of Severomorsk is incorporated as Severomorsk Urban Okrug.Law #530-01-ZMO

Economy

Industry

Most of Severomorsk's industry is related to food, particularly the Severmorsk Dairy Plant and the Toni Bottling Plant. There is also a bread/bakery factory and a meat plant. The town also has construction and ship repair enterprises, and a well-developed infrastructure of housing and communal services, consumer services, and trade.

Education

Although the town has no higher education colleges, it hosts 9 high schools.

Military

The town is the main administrative base of the Russian

. Severomorsk has the largest

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

on the

. On May 13, 1984, on the outskirts of Severomorsk, there was a major fire at a stockpile of naval missiles that resulted in numerous large explosions on May 17. The incident killed 200–300 people and destroyed at least one-third of the

's stockpile of

surface-to-air missiles A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-a ...

.See: *"Soviets claim ignorance in munitions depot blast," ''New York Times News Service'', June 23, 1984. Available online at
Google Newspapers
*"Soviet northern fleet 'disabled'," ''Associated Press'', July 10, 1984. Available online at
Google Newspapers
*Wayne D. LeBaron, ''America's Nuclear Legacy: The Dark Age of Egalita'' (Commack, New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 1998)
page 193

*Derek Wood (July 14, 1984) "Soviets' northern fleet disabled... 'not viable' for six months," ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', 2(1) : 3. *Derek Wood (July 14, 1984) "Six explosions in the past seven months," ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', 2(1) : 3. *Mark Daly (August 18, 1984) "Goa and Goblet SAMs in Severomorsk explosion," ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', 2(6) : 224. *John Moore (August 18, 1984) "The aftermath of Severomorsk," ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', 2(6) : 224.

Famous people

* Alexander Moiseenko, Ukrainian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

Grandmaster, born in Severomorsk in 1980. * Boris Safonov,

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

, served at Vaenga from 1940 until his death in 1942. * Elena Vaenga (real name, Elena Vladimirovna Khrulyova), singer, songwriter and actress, born in Severomorsk in 1977. * Lesya Yaroslavskaya, pop singer, born in Severomorsk in 1981. * Maksim Fisenko, emo-pop singer, born in Severomorsk in 1998.

Sister and partner cities

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

* Sør-Varanger,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Tervola Tervola is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Keminmaa, Ra ...

Города-побратимы Мурманской области
// Кольская энциклопедия. В 5 т. Т. 1. А — Д / Гл. ред. А. А. Киселёв. — Санкт-Петербург : ИС ; Апатиты : КНЦ РАН, 2008. — С. 502.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Official website of Severomorsk

{{Authority control Closed cities Russian and Soviet Navy bases Populated places of Arctic Russia Port cities and towns in Russia Barents Sea Populated coastal places in Russia Populated places established in the 1890s Kolsky Uyezd Former urban-type settlements of Murmansk Oblast