«Melting» cities

#СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАДНЫЙ ФЕДЕРАЛЬНЫЙ ОКРУГ

Автор: Егор Кириллов
г. Мурманск

Murmansk is the largest city in the polar circle. People moved to the North from all over Soviet Union, but nowadays demographic decline is observed in Murmansk. The most of people leaving the town is the youth. Russia. If the trend continues, many cities, like «melting» Murmansk, may disappear from the map.

«Murmansk was built before our eyes... The house we live in was one of the first. Before that there were only two buildings in that area and nothing else. We've got the flat from a factory».

Faina and Petr moved to Murmansk in the late 50's. They are married since 1964. Petr is originally from Cherbakyl and Faina is from Vologda. He worked as a navy radio operator, she worked at furniture factory.

310 thousand people lived there in 1971. In 20 years the population has grown to almost half a million. This was due to the growth of the fishing and naval industries and huge progress in all areas of city life.

Since 1998 the population has decreased by almost 100 thousand people. The most of people leaving the town is the youth. It depends on the fact that central and secondary regions are experiencing different growth rates of living standards.

Bogdan is 23 years old, he's studying to be a skipper. He doesn't see his future in Murmansk: «The city is dull and small. It's the place to age only... All my classmates have left and they don't want to return. There's nothing to do here».

Kola bay remains ice-free throughout the year, thanks to warm Gulf Stream waters. Locals wants government to build a promenade, but the question remains open.

Some people are still leave in wooden huts here.

Also Bogdan told us that Russian sailors land fish in Norway and other nearby countries. After that Russian suppliers buy it for higher prices. That happens due to unprepared and expensive conditions of berthing in the port of Murmansk.

Nastya is 23 y.o., she is working as an environmental engineer. in the Murmansk Commercial Seaport. Her boyfriend is a sailor. He offers her to move from Murmansk to Saint Petersburg.

Nastya told us about the situation in the village of Belokamenka, on the western shore of the Kola Bay. It's the place where a shipyard for the construction of floating plants for liquefying natural gas are being build.

There are almost none workers from Murmansk. Instead there are people from other cities who work on a rotational basis. That happens due to the reluctance of the organization to pay local Northern premiums.

View from the window of a house in the uptown.

Grey color has the advantage in this city. From all this, only one thing follows: Murmansk is one of the many "melting" cities in Russia, which is slowly disappearing before our eyes.