Murmansk << moor MAHNSK >> (pop. 270,384) is Russia’s chief port on the Arctic Ocean and the world’s largest city north of the Arctic Circle. The Gulf Stream keeps the harbor free of ice all year. Murmansk stands on the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It borders the Kola Inlet, an arm of the Barents Sea. Murmansk has fish canneries and other fishing-related industries. The city exports fish, lumber, and minerals. It also has a polar research station.
Murmansk was a small village until World War I (1914-1918), when Russia built a modern port there. Russia also built a railroad linking the town and St. Petersburg. In World War II (1939-1945), the Allies used the port to ship supplies to parts of the Soviet Union that were controlled by Germany. Murmansk faced economic problems after the Soviet Union ended in 1991.
