One of the largest port cities in Russia is Murmansk. Its population is 305 thousand inhabitants. How did the number of residents of Murmansk change over the years? What nationalities live here? You will find answers to these and some other demographic questions in this article.
Murmansk - the city beyond the Arctic Circle
The origin of the name of the city is very interesting. In ancient times, the Slavs in these parts were called the "Murmans" of the Norwegians (Normans). Most likely, later the local lands began to be called so - the coast of the Barents Sea, as well as the Kola Peninsula. When the port was built here at the beginning of the 20th century, it got its name - Romanov-on-Murman, which after the advent of Soviet power was transformed into Murmansk.
The population of this city is forced to live in difficult climatic conditions. And this is not surprising, because Murmansk is located beyond the Arctic Circle. The polar night here lasts more than a month - from December 2 to January 11.
In residential development of Murmansk predominantly panel multi-storey buildings. And often their walls are decorated with colored mosaics. In this way, the city authorities are trying to deal with "color starvation", because the winter here lasts about 7-8 months.
Murmansk: population and dynamics over years
By the number of inhabitants, the city occupies the 64th position in Russia. 305 thousand people - this is precisely the population of the city of Murmansk recorded at the beginning of 2015.
In the first year after the foundation of the village (in 1917), only 1,300 people lived here. The population of the city of Murmansk began to increase rapidly in the late 20s, after the creation of the Northern Fleet of the USSR. Before the start of World War II, almost 120 thousand people already lived in the city.
The population grew even during the war, since Murmansk for a long time was essentially the only port through which the Soviet Union could carry out its foreign trade. In the two post-war decades, the population of the city doubled. In subsequent years, Murmansk grew mainly due to the influx of migrants.
The demographic crisis began in the city in the early 90s, when about 30 thousand young people left it. The same deplorable situation was then observed only in Grozny, which survived the First Chechen War. In the period from 1989 to 2002, the city "lost" up to 150 thousand of its inhabitants.
The outflow of young people from the city caused another acute demographic problem: today in Murmansk a negative natural population growth is recorded annually (approximately 0.5% per year).
Murmansk: population and ethnic composition
The idea to build a port city on this site arose in the 70s of the XIX century. These aspirations were quite understandable: the presence of a large port here opened up for the Russian Empire free access to the Arctic Ocean.
In 1916, the city of Murmansk was laid on a high hill. By the way, it became the last settlement founded in the Russian Empire. A year later, as you know, the tsarist state ceased to exist.
Ethnically, the population of the city is quite homogeneous. According to the latest census in 2010, Russians (about 89%), Ukrainians (4.5%), Belarusians, Tatars, Finns, as well as representatives of other nationalities live in Murmansk.
The religious structure of the urban population is more interesting. In Murmansk there are 17 religious associations, among which the dominant place belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church. At least ten Orthodox churches were built in the city, and the department of Metropolitan Simon is also located here.
Represented in Murmansk are Catholics who conduct their services in the church of St. Michael the Archangel. Protestant churches are also registered here (in particular, Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals and Jehovah's Witnesses). A small Muslim community of Murmansk is building a mosque. In addition, a Krishna religious organization, the Society for Krishna Consciousness, is registered in the city.
Conclusion
Among the cities that are located beyond the Arctic Circle, the largest is Murmansk. The population is forced to live in conditions of a very long harsh winter and an annual polar night of one month in length. Today, more than 300 thousand people live here.