Kostomuksha (russian: Костому́кша; krl, Koštamuš; fi, Kostamus; vep, Kostamukš) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the northwest of the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, located from the border with Finland, on the shore of

Lake Kontoki A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

. Population:

Geography

The nearest large cities in

are St. Petersburg and

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

, which are connected to Kostomuksha by rail. The nearest towns in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

are

Kuhmo Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a town and a municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

and

Kajaani Kajaani (; sv, Kajana) is the most populous town and the capital of the Kainuu Region of Finland. It is located southeast of Lake Oulu (Oulujärvi), which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River (Oulujoki). As of , it had a pop ...

History

It was established in 1977 as an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

and populated by people from various regions of the Northwestern Soviet Union. It was mostly built by Finnish building companies, according to an agreement between the Soviet and Finnish governments. Town status was granted to it in 1983. The town was later expanded by Soviet building companies but maintaining plenty of green areas.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with six rural localities, incorporated as the town of republic significance of Kostomuksha—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

.Law #871-ZRK As a municipal division, the town of republic significance of Kostomuksha is incorporated as Kostomukshsky Urban Okrug.Law #824-ZRK

Economy

The

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

JSC '' Karelsky Okatysh mine'' operates the

Kostomuksha mine The Kostomuksha mine is a large iron mine located in north-western Russia in the Republic of Karelia. Kostomuksha represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental ...

and employs approximately five thousand people and associated mining has left a huge hole near the factory. Wiring harness ("AEK" LLC) and electronics ("Electrokos" LLC) factories are part of Finnish company PKC Group Oyj. Other important industries include timber and furniture making. A

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wood pro ...

complex being developed by Swedwood (an industrial group within IKEA) will include a sawmill, chip-board and furniture factory. There is also a railway station, an airport (with no regular flights), and a federal road.

Nature

There is a large national park near the town with a reindeer population and a beaver population of Canadian origin, which were introduced in Finland and have migrated over into Russian territory. Part of the national park extends into Finnish territory. Tourism and recreational activities within the national park are subject to authorization.

Culture and recreation

Every summer there is a chamber music festival to which musicians, orchestras and theater groups come from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other parts of Russia. In summer, the town enjoys more than two months of uninterrupted sunlight and many inhabitants spend time at their ''

dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...

s'', typically situated on the banks of one of the many lakes in the vicinity, which also attract anglers due to their large fish populations. As in Finland, saunas are very popular. In winter, skiing and biathlon are popular. Most visitors come from Finland.

Sister city

Robertsfors Robertsfors is a locality and the seat of Robertsfors Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,004 inhabitants in 2010. Robertsfors is named after the Scotsman Robert Finlay, who, together with John Jennings, founded an ironworks the ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in the Republic of Karelia Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Populated places established in 1977 1977 establishments in the Soviet Union