Murman Coast

The Murman Coast on the Rybachy Peninsula

The Murman Coast (Russian: Мурманский берег, Norwegian: Murmankysten) is a coastal area in Murmansk Oblast in northwest Russia. It is located on the southern side of the Barents Sea, between the Norway–Russia border and Cape Svyatoy Nos. The major rivers flowing to the sea at the coast are the Tuloma and the Voronya.

The coast originally home to coastal Saami by the 13th century became populated by Pomors and Kola Norwegians. The name "Murman" is believed to be a corruption of the word Norman, referring to the Norsemen. In Old Norse this region was referred to as Bjarmaland.

Administratively, the Murman Coast is shared between Pechengsky, Kolsky and Lovozersky Districts of Murmansk Oblast and Zaozyorsk, Vidyayevo, Aleksandrovsk, Murmansk, Severomorsk, Ostrovnoy.

The cities of Zaozyorsk, Gadzhiyevo, Polyarny, Snezhnogorsk, Murmansk, Kola, Severomorsk, Ostrovnoy are all located on the Murman Coast.

The Murman Coast, excluding Murmansk, is a Russian border security zone, intended to protect the borders of the Russian Federation from unwanted activity. In order to visit the zone, a permit issued by the local FSB department is required.

See also

• Bjarmaland
• Kola Norwegians
• Pomor trade
• Russenorsk
• Ushkuyniks
• Viking expansion

External links

• Мурманский берег. Great Soviet Encyclopedia.