Pechenga (russian: Пече́нга;

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 ...

and sv, Petsamo; no, Petsjenga; se, Beahcán; sms, Peäccam) is an urban locality (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 ...

) in

Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (russian: Пе́ченгский райо́н; fi, Petsamo; no, Peisen; se, Beahcán; sms, Peäccam) is an administrative district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Murmansk Oblast, six in Murmansk Oblast, Russ ...

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...

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 ...

. Municipally, it is incorporated as Pechenga Urban Settlement of Pechengsky Municipal District. Population:

History

The Pechenga area has been indigenously inhabited by the Finnic

Kvens Kvens (; fi, kveeni; no, kvenar, kvener; sv, kväner; se, kveanat) are a Balto-Finnic ethnic minority in Norway. They are descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Northe ...

Julku, Kyösti: ''Kvenland - Kainuunmaa''. With English summary: ''The Ancient territory of Kainuu''. Oulu, 1986. and the

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

. The settlement was founded by Russians as the

Pechenga Monastery The Pechenga Monastery (russian: Печенгский монастырь; fi, Petsamon luostari) was for many centuries the northernmost monastery in the world. It was founded in 1533 at the influx of the Pechenga River into the Barents Sea, 135& ...

in 1533 at the influx of the

Pechenga River The Pechenga (russian: Пече́нга, fi, Petsamonjoki) is a river in Murmansk Oblast, Russia (Kola Peninsula). It is the namesake for the Pechenga settlement, Pechenga Monastery and the Pechenga District. The river discharges into the Pechen ...

into the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

, 135 km west of modern

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

. St.

Tryphon of Pechenga Saint Tryphon of Pechenga (russian: Преподобный Трифон Печенгский, Кольский; fi, Pyhittäjä Trifon Petsamolainen (Kuolalainen); sms, Pââʹss Treeffan, 1495–1583) was a Russian monk and ascetic in the East ...

, a monk from

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

is considered to be the founder of Pechenga Monastery. In 1533, the area became part of Russia. Inspired by the model of the Solovki, Tryphon wished to convert the local Sami population to Christianity and to demonstrate how faith could flourish in the most inhospitable lands. His example was eagerly followed by other Russian monks. By 1572, the Pechenga Monastery counted about 50 brethren and 200 lay followers. Six years after Tryphon's death in 1583, the wooden monastery was raided and burnt down by the Swedes. It is said that the raid claimed the lives of 51 monks and 65 lay brothers. The monastery was moved closer to the Norwegian border. It was destroyed in 1764, but restored in 1880, and exists to this day. During the state of war between Finland and Soviet Russia (1918–1920) the area around Pechenga was occupied by the Finnish forces, and as a result of the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 became a part of

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 ...

as Petsamo.

Nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

was discovered in 1921 and began to be exploited commercially in 1935. The area was captured by the Soviets during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

in 1940 but returned to Finland at the conclusion of the war. During the Second World War, between 1941 through 1944, Petsamo was used as a staging post for attacks on

by Finland and Germany. Aircraft from the British aircraft carrier attacked the port on July 30, 1941. The area was captured by the Red Army during the

Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive The Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive was a major military offensive during World War II, mounted by the Red Army against the ''Wehrmacht'' in 1944 in the Petsamo region, ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland in accordance with the Moscow Armist ...

in 1944 and in 1947, after the subsequent

Paris Peace Treaty The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...

, incorporated into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. After the war the area was a military zone due to its proximity to the Norwegian border. Nickel mining has led to ecological problems in the area. The 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade is stationed at the settlement.

References

External links

Skolt Sámi HistoryWebsite of Pechengsky District
{{Authority control Urban-type settlements in Murmansk Oblast Barents Sea Geographic history of Finland Populated places established in 1533