Vidyayevo (russian: Видя́ево) is a closed rural inhabited locality in

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 ...

. Despite having a rural status, it is municipally incorporated as Vidyayevo Urban Okrug, as such status is the only one allowed by the federal law for closed inhabited localities. Population: 6,307 ( 2002 Census). It is mostly known for the naval bases located in the

Ara ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

and

Ura Bay URA is an acronym which may refer to: *The IATA code for Oral Ak Zhol Airport in Kazakhstan *The IPAsTA code for Herschel Orbital Cosmodrome, Uranus *, a Russian news site *Uganda Revenue Authority *Uganda Revenue Authority SC, a Kampala football c ...

s. The locality itself is situated on the eastern side of the Ura Bay.

History

It was founded in 1958 as Uritsa (), after the river flowing from Pityevoye Lake into the bay and providing drinking water for the settlement. Most likely, the name Uritsa is a Russian diminutive of Ura, which is a native

Saami The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Americ ...

(Lappi) name for the bay and for a larger river Ura also feeding into the Ura Bay several kilometers away from Vidyayevo. Uritsa was renamed Vidyayevo in 1964 in honor of the World War II submarine commander

Fyodor Vidyayev Fyodor Alekseyevich Vidyayev (russian: Фёдор Алексеевич Видяев, 1912-1943) was a Soviet Navy submarine commander during World War II. He was killed in action in 1943. Vidayev was born in Samara Oblast, he was an ethnic Mord ...

who perished in 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 ...

in course of the military mission of the submarine SHCH-402 under his command.

Naval base

In the early 1960s, the area started serving as a base for

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

-powered

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s, and in 1979

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

-powered ones as well. In the 1980s, the base at Ara Bay was a relatively large one, serving submarines of all three generations. Remaining submarines in service in Ara Bay today are of the (''Shchuka-B''), , and Oscar-II (''Antey'') class. Vidyayevo (particularly the Ara Bay) was the home base of the now lost K-141 ''Kursk'' (which was an Oscar-II class). Naval radioactive waste storage facilities are located at the Ara Bay as well. The base at Ura Bay is used for diesel submarines and a few smaller surface vessels. The settlement consists mostly of five-story apartment buildings built on granite rock foundations or on poles driven into permafrost.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with another rural locality, incorporated as the

closed administrative-territorial formation A closed city or closed town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorization is required to visit or remain overnight. Such places may be sensitive military establishments or secret research ins ...

of Vidyayevo—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 #96-01-ZMO As a municipal division, the closed administrative-territorial formation of Vidyayevo is incorporated as Vidyayevo Urban Okrug.Law #530-01-ZMO

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Rural localities in Murmansk Oblast Submarine installations of the Russian Navy Russian and Soviet Navy submarine bases Closed cities