Loading AI tools
Town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Severomorsk (Russian: Североморск, lit. 'northern sea city'), known as Vayenga (Ваенга) until 18 April 1951,[2] is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is situated on the coast of the Barents Sea along the Kola Bay 25 kilometers (16 mi) northeast of Murmansk, the administrative centre of the oblast, 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 beyond the Arctic Circle.
Severomorsk
Североморск | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 69°04′N 33°25′E | |
Country | Russia |
Federal subject | Murmansk Oblast[1] |
Founded | 1896-1897 |
Town status since | 18 April 1951[2] |
Government | |
• Mayor | Alexander Abramov |
Elevation | 31 m (102 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 50,060 |
• Rank | 319th in 2010 |
• Subordinated to | closed administrative-territorial formation of Severomorsk[1] |
• Capital of | closed administrative-territorial formation of Severomorsk[1] |
• Urban okrug | Severomorsk Urban Okrug[4] |
• Capital of | Severomorsk Urban Okrug[4] |
Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK [5]) |
Postal code(s)[6] | 184606 |
Dialing code(s) | +7 81537 |
OKTMO ID | 47730000001 |
Website | www |
The first settlement on the site of the current city was established between 1896 and 1897. It was named Vayenga (Ваенга), after the river, the name of which itself comes from the Sami "vayongg", meaning a female reindeer. The settlers were engaged in hunting, fishing and cattle breeding. In 1917, only thirteen people lived in the settlement.[7]
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.[8] From 1934 and until the beginning of World War II, 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.
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.
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 was built. On 26 November 1996, by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the town of Severomorsk, as a major naval base, was tranformed into a closed administrative-territorial entity (ZATO) (urban district) with the inclusion of the following populated areas under its jurisdiction: Safonovo, Roslyakovo, Safonovo-1, Severomorsk-3, and Shchukozero.
Severomorsk is located on the Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Circle, in the permafrost zone, on the rocky east coast of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea.
Severomorsk has a subarctic 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.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1917 | 13 | — |
1947 | 3,884 | +29776.9% |
1959 | 28,116 | +623.9% |
1967 | 44,000 | +56.5% |
1970 | 40,919 | −7.0% |
1979 | 50,090 | +22.4% |
1989 | 62,120 | +24.0% |
1992 | 67,100 | +8.0% |
1996 | 58,700 | −12.5% |
1998 | 56,900 | −3.1% |
2002 | 55,102 | −3.2% |
2005 | 54,200 | −1.6% |
2009 | 53,474 | −1.3% |
2010 | 50,060 | −6.4% |
2014 | 48,977 | −2.2% |
2015 | 49,719 | +1.5% |
2016 | 50,905 | +2.4% |
On January 1, 2015, out of 1114 Russian cities and towns,[9] Severomorsk was ranked the 329th most populous.[10]
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.[11][12]
As of 2016, the population of Severomorsk has reached 50,905.[13]
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.[16] Since 16 April 2013, the position is occupied by Irina Norina.[17]
Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with the urban-type settlement of Safonovo 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.[1] As a municipal division, the closed administrative-territorial formation of Severomorsk is incorporated as Severomorsk Urban Okrug.[4]
Most of Severomorsk's industry is related to food, particularly the Severmorsk Dairy Plant and the Toni Bottling Plant. The town also has construction and ship repair enterprises, and a well-developed infrastructure of housing and communal services, consumer services, and trade.
The town is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. Severomorsk has the largest dry dock on the Kola Peninsula.
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 Northern Fleet's stockpile of surface-to-air missiles.[18]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.