Murmansk Governorate (russian: Му́рманская губе́рния) was an administrative division (a ''
guberniya'') of the early
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
which existed in 1921–1927.
[''Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast'', pp. 28–34] The governorate was established on the territory of former
Alexandrovsky Uyezd
Alexandrovsky Uyezd (russian: Александровский уезд) was an administrative division (an uyezd) of Arkhangelsk Governorate of the Russian Empire and later of the Russian SFSR.
The origins of Alexandrovsky Uyezd trace back to Kols ...
of
Arkhangelsk Governorate
Arkhangelsk Governorate (russian: link=no, Архангельская губерния, ''Arkhangelskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. ...
by the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee ( rus, Всероссийский Центральный Исполнительный Комитет, Vserossiysky Centralny Ispolnitelny Komitet, VTsIK) was the highest legislative, administrative and r ...
(VTsIK) Decree issued on June 13, 1921.
The
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
was in
Murmansk
Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...
.
Proposals to change the administrative-territorial structure
1921
At the time of its creation, the governorate was administratively divided into nine
volost
Volost ( rus, во́лость, p=ˈvoləsʲtʲ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Eastern Europe.
In earlier East Slavic history, ''volost'' was a name for the territory ruled by the knyaz, a principality; either as an absolute ...
s and had three cities and towns.
However, just one month after the creation of the governorate, a new project of the administrative-territorial division was proposed at the First Congress of the Governorate Soviets.
According to the project, the governorate's territory was to be divided into four
uyezd
An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...
s:
*Murmansky, which was to cover the eastern coast of the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
up to the
Yokanga River
The Iokanga (russian: Иоканьга) is a river in the north of the Kola Peninsula in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is 203 km in length. The area of its basin is 6,020 km². The Iokanga originates in Lake Alozero and flows into the Ba ...
, the area of the
Kola Bay
Kola Bay (russian: Кольский залив) or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta ...
excluding Alexandrovsk, and all the areas adjacent to the railroad;
*Ledovity, which was to include the western part of the
Murman coast
The Murman Coast (russian: Мурманский берег, no, Murmankysten) is a coastal area in Murmansk Oblast in northwest Russia. It is located on the southern side of the Barents Sea, between the Norway–Russia border and Cape Svyatoy ...
, bordering
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 ...
in the west and Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost in the south;
*Kolsky, which would include the territory of Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost;
*Tersky, which would include the territories of Kuzomenskaya, Ponoyskaya, Tetrinskaya, and Umbskaya Volosts and have the administrative center in
Kuzomen.
The proposal, however, was shelved and a special commission was appointed to study the possibilities of changing the administrative-territorial structure of the governorate.
1922–1924
By 1922, the Murmansk Governorate Statistics Bureau and the Economics Council of the Governorate jointly developed a new project of the division of the governorate into districts.
The districts were delineated using the economic principles and included:
*Oceanic fishing-based, which consisted of two areas—the western coast of the
Kola Peninsula
sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк
, image_name= Kola peninsula.png
, image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast
, image_size= 300px
, image_alt=
, map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...
(Alexandrovskaya and Novozerskaya Volosts) and the eastern coast (Teriberskaya Volost)—and had its administrative center in Murmansk.
The division into the western and eastern areas took into the consideration the ethnic composition of the population—the population of the western coast was predominantly
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
while that of the eastern coast was mostly
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
.
*Sea fishing-based, located on the coast of the
White Sea
The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...
south of the
Ponoy River
The Ponoy (russian: Поно́й) is a river on the Kola Peninsula in Russia. It is 426 km in length. The area of its basin is 15,500 km2.
Geography
The Ponoy's source lies in the western end of the Keivy Uplands, 50 km east of L ...
.
Administratively, it included the territories of Kuzomenskaya, Tetrinskaya, and Umbskaya Volosts.
It was also proposed to transfer the eastern portion of
Kandalakshskaya Volost of
Kemsky Uyezd Kemsky Uyezd (''Ке́мский уе́зд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Arkhangelsk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Kem. In terms of present-day admi ...
of
Arkhangelsk Governorate
Arkhangelsk Governorate (russian: link=no, Архангельская губерния, ''Arkhangelskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. ...
to this district, and to make
Kandalaksha
Kandalaksha (russian: Кандала́кша; fi, Kantalahti, also ''Kandalax'' or ''Candalax'' in the old maps; krl, Kannanlakši; sms, Käddluhtt) is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandal ...
its administrative center, as the volost's populace voted in 1921 to transfer the volost to
Murmansky Uyezd and that ''de facto'' they were paying taxes to the Murmansk Department of Finance.
*Timber industry-based, on the territory of Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost.
As the territory of the proposed district was to be quite large, it was suggested that it is to be further subdivided into the northern and southern areas.
*Reindeer herding-based, on the territory of Lovozerskaya and Ponoyskaya Volosts.
This district was also proposed to be subdivided into two areas: western (all of Lovozerskaya Volost and the territory of Ponoyskaya Volost in the upper streams of the Ponoy River with the administrative center in
Lovozero) and eastern (the remaining territory of Ponoyskaya Volost with the administrative center in
Ponoy).
Reindeer herding was to play major role in the western area, whereas the eastern area, while having some of reindeer herding activity of its own, would primarily specialize in
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
.
*The fifth district (Belomorsky) was supposed to shape the borders of the governorate more neatly.
It was to be composed of the part of the territory of Kemsky Uyezd of the
Karelian Labor Commune
The Karelian Labor Commune (Karel´skaia Trudovaia Kommuna, KTK) was established in 1920 as an autonomous region (RSFSR), autonomous region following the successes of the Red Army's incursion into the Republic of Uhtua on 18 May 1920. Edvard Gylli ...
and of
Onezhsky Uyezd Onezhsky Uyezd (''Онежский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Arkhangelsk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Onega.
Demographics
At the time ...
of Arkhangelsk Governorate.
The district was to be divided into two sub-districts: Kemsko-Sorotsky (comprising
Kemskaya,
Keretskaya,
Kovdskaya,
Pongomskaya,
Pudozhemskaya,
Sorotskaya, and
Vychetaybolskaya Volosts of Kemsky Uyezd; with the administrative center in
Soroka) and Onezhsky (comprising
Kolchachinskaya,
Koledomskaya,
Kusheretskaya,
Lapinskaya,
Maloshuyskaya,
Nimencheskaya,
Nyukhotskaya,
Sumskaya, and
Vorzogorskaya Volosts, as well as
Podporozhskaya Volost with the town of
Onega, southwestern portion of
Kokorinskaya Volost, and western portions of
Mardinskaya,
Navolotskaya,
Piyalskaya,
Posadno-Kirillovskaya, and
Prilutskaya Volost
Prilutskaya (russian: Прилуцкая) is a rural locality (a village) in Ust-Velskoye Rural Settlement of Velsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The population was 331 as of 2014. There are 4 streets.
Geography
Prilutskaya is located o ...
s of
Onezhsky Uyezd Onezhsky Uyezd (''Онежский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Arkhangelsk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Onega.
Demographics
At the time ...
; with the administrative center in Onega).
The project was approved at the session of the Murmansk Governorate Economic Conference on January 2, 1923 and sent for further consideration to the North-Western Economic Conference in
Petrograd
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
There, however, the project was declined, and in 1924 the Murmansk Governorate Planning Commission developed yet another plan to divide the governorate into districts.
The new plan proposed only minor changes to the volost borders.
However, it again included a provision to transfer Kandalakshskaya Volost from the
Karelian ASSR
The Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( rus, Каре́льская Автоно́мная Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика, r=Karelskaya Avtonomnaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respub ...
(into which the Karelian Labor Commune was transformed in 1923) to Murmansk Governorate; as this merger was approved by the volost population once again during the peasant conference on February 10, 1924.
The plan was approved by the Presidium of the Murmansk Governorate Executive Committee on July 8, 1924 and forwarded to the administrative commission of the VTsIK.
While the VTsIK approved the transfer of some inhabited localities between the volosts; in general the plan was declined and Kandalakshskaya Volost remained a part of the Karelian ASSR.
1925–1927
On January 12, 1925 the VTsIK suspended all work on the changes to the administrative-territorial divisions of the territory of the RSFSR in order to re-group and to improve planning.
No changes were proposed until October 16, 1925, when at the Murmansk Governorate Commission meeting work on compiling the lists of the urban and rural localities was initiated.
The commission categorized Murmansk, Alexandrovsk, and Kola as urban; however, a recommendation was sent to the VTsIK to demote the latter two to rural localities due to economic conditions, sparse population, low trade volume, lack of industrial enterprises, and "general regress".
On March 15, 1926, the VTsIK approved the recommendation, and Murmansk remained the only town on the governorate's territory, while Alexandrovsk and Kola were re-categorized as rural.
The work on the redistricting of the governorate resumed in spring 1926, for which purpose a special Redistricting Commission had been established.
At the first meeting on May 17, 1926, the commission decided to transform the governorate into an
okrug
An ''okrug, ; russian: о́круг, ókrug; sr, округ, okrug, ; uk, о́круг, о́kruh; be, акруга, akruha; pl, okręg; ab, оқрҿс; mhr, йырвел, '' is a type of administrative division in some Slavic states. The ...
and suggested two possible redistricting schemes.
The first scheme suggested the creation of eight districts with the administrative centers in Alexandrovsk, Kandalaksha, Kola, Kuzomen, Lovozero, Ponoy,
Teriberka
Teriberka (russian: Тери́берка) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Kolsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Barents Sea coast, at the mouth of the river Teriberka.
History
As a settlement, Teriberka was first menti ...
, and
Umba Umba may refer to
*Umba, Russia, an urban-type settlement in Murmansk Oblast, Russia
*Umba (White Sea), a river on the Kola Peninsula, Russia
*Umba River (Tanzania), a river in Tanzania
*Umba sapphire, a sapphire from Tanzania
*Umba Valley, a valley ...
.
The other scheme suggested six districts: Alexandrovsky (with the administrative center in Alexandrovsk), Kolsko-Loparsky (Kola), Kandalakshsko-Umbsky (Kandalaksha), Tersky (Kuzomen), Lovozersky (Lovozero), and Teribersky (Teriberka).
Both scheme assumed the transfer of Kandalakshskaya Volost to the okrug, so the third scheme, without such a merger, was also proposed as an alternative.
By the summer of 1926, two redistricting projects were refined and offered for consideration. The first project suggested the replacement of the existing nine volosts with six districts, each of which would have a certain economic specialization:
*Zapadny Murmansky, with the administrative center in Alexandrovsk and including the territories of Novozerskaya and Alexandrovskaya Volosts (the latter without
Minkinsky Selsoviet). Its specialization was
cod
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
fishing. This district was the only one where the ethnic composition of the population was taken into consideration.
*Vostochny Murmansky, with the administrative center in Teriberka and including the territory of Teriberskaya Volost. This district's specialization also was cod fishing.
*Lovozersky, with the administrative center in Lovozero and including the territory of Lovozerskaya Volost. The specialization of this district was deer herding and related industries.
*Kolsky, with the administrative center in Kola and including the territories of Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost and Minkinsky Selsoviet of Alexandrovskaya Volost. The district's industries were mixed, and included deer herding, fresh water fishing, as well as forest and railroad industries.
*Tersky, with the administrative center in Kuzomen and including the territories of Kuzomenskaya, Tetrinskaya, and Umbskaya Volosts. The district specialized mainly in
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
fishing.
*Ponoysky, with the administrative center in Ponoy and including the territory of Ponoyskaya Volost. Despite the fact that the economic activity in this district was similar in nature to Lovozersky and Tersky Districts', Ponoysky District was still to be a separate entity due to its size and remoteness from the administrative centers of other districts.
The second project suggested the incorporation of Kandalakshskaya Volost into the okrug, which would become a separate Kandalakshsky District with the administrative center in Kandalaksha and including additionally the territory of Umbskaya Volost and the southern portion of Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost, namely
Yona-Babinsky Selsoviet and a part of
Ekostrovsky Selsoviet Ekostrovsky (masculine), Ekostrovskaya (feminine), or Ekostrovskoye (neuter) may refer to:
* Ekostrovskoye Rural Community (1861–1866), a rural community of Kemsky Uyezd of Arkhangelsk Governorate, Russian Empire
* Ekostrovskaya Volost (1866 ...
; the joint territory was then to be divided into three new selsoviets (Babinsky, Khibinsky, and Yensky).
Other differences from the first project included the creation of Kuzomensky District with the administrative center in Kuzomen and including the territories of Kuzomenskaya and Tetrinskaya Volosts (as opposed to larger Tersky District suggested by the first project) and a smaller Kolsky District, which, compared to the first project, would cede its southern portion to Kandalakshsky District.
The chairs of the volost executive commissions approved the first project during their meeting on June 25, 1926, but the extended Murmansk Governorate Redistricting Commission made several amendments on July 14, 1926.
The names of proposed districts were changed from Zapadny Murmansky to Alexandrovsky, from Vostochny Murmansky to Teribersky, and from Kolsky to Kolsko-Loparsky.
Furthermore,
Iokangsky Selsoviet of Ponoyskaya Volost was to be included into Teribersky District, and
Pyalitsky Selsoviet of Tetrinskaya Volost—into Ponoysky District.
The Presidium of the Murmansk Governorate Executive Commission approved this amended project on July 19, 1926, and the Plenary Session of the Murmansk Governorate Executive Commission and the members of the Murmansk City Soviet followed suit on August 3, 1926.
However, on April 18, 1927 the Presidium of the Murmansk Governorate Executive Commission changed the scheme yet again, increasing the number of districts to seven:
*Kolsko-Loparsky, on the territory of Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost and Minkinsky Selsoviet of Alexandrovskaya Volost;
*Alexandrovsky, on the territories of Novozerskaya and Alexandrovskaya Volosts; the latter without Minkinsky Selsoviet;
*Teribersky, on the territory of Teriberskaya Volost;
*Ponoysky, on the territory of Ponoyskaya Volost;
*Tersky, on the territories of Kuzomenskaya and Tetrinskaya Volosts;
*Umbsky, on the territory of Umbskaya Volost;
*Lovozersky, on the territory of Lovozerskaya Volost.
The Presidium revised and approved this scheme one last time on May 23, 1927; the number of districts was again reduced to six—Umbsky District was taken off the list with the territory of Umbskaya Volost to be included into Tersky District instead.
Transformation
On August 1, 1927, the VTsIK issued two Resolutions: "On the Establishment of Leningrad Oblast" and "On the Borders and Composition of the Okrugs of Leningrad Oblast".
Murmansk Governorate was transformed into
Murmansk Okrug Murmansk Okrug (russian: Му́рманский о́круг, ''Murmansky okrug'') was an administrative division (an okrug) of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, which existed in 1927–1938.
Creation
The okrug was established on August 1, 1927, ...
(which was divided into six districts) and included into
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, a ...
.
Karelian border issue
Until 1923, the border between Murmansk Governorate and the
Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
The Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( rus, Каре́льская Автоно́мная Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика, r=Karelskaya Avtonomnaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respub ...
was the same as the border between the historical
Kemsky and
Kolsky Uyezd
Kolsky Uyezd (russian: Ко́льский уе́зд) was an administrative division (an uyezd) of the Tsardom of Russia and later of the Russian Empire.
History 16th–17th centuries
Russian expansion to the Kola Peninsula can be traced to th ...
s of Arkhangelsk Governorate established in 1857.
[''Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast'', pp. 41–42] Consequently, all of the populated places in the south of Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost were unambiguously a part of Murmansk Governorate.
This changed in 1923, when the usage rights for two forest divisions in the south of Murmansk Governorate were passed to the colonization department of the
Murman Railway
Railway between Murmansk on the Baltic_Sea.html"_;"title="Arctic_Ocean_and_Saint_Petersburg_on_the_Baltic_Sea">Arctic_Ocean_and_Saint_Petersburg_on_the_Baltic_Sea_
Kirov_Railway_(russian:_Кировская_железная_дорога,_''Kiro ...
.
Since the forest divisions' territories were located in both Murmansk Governorate and the Karelian ASSR, for convenience purposes the colonization department's maps showed the Kandalaksha Forest Division as being entirely on the territory of the Karelian ASSR, which in practice meant that the map showed several inhabited localities of Ekostrovsky Selsoviet of Kolsko-Loparskaya Volost of Murmansk Governorate as being located on the territory of the Karelian ASSR.
The governorate's documents, however, continued to list these inhabited localities as being a part of Ekostrovsky Selsoviet.
Later, when the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
was creating maps for its own use, it used the colonization department's map as a basis, and the resulting map was used by the NKVD for official purposes.
The Murmansk Governorate Executive Committee pointed out this discrepancy on several occasions, but the problem was not resolved by the time the governorate was transformed into an okrug.
References
Notes
Sources
*{{Cite book , last=Архивный отдел Администрации Мурманской области. Государственный Архив Мурманской области. , title=Административно-территориальное деление Мурманской области (1920-1993 гг.). Справочник , publisher=Мурманское издательско-полиграфическое предприятие "Север" , year=1995 , location=Мурманск
Governorates of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
States and territories established in 1921
States and territories disestablished in 1927