Rybachy Peninsula (russian: полуо́стров Рыба́чий, ''poluostrov Rybachiy''; se, Giehkirnjárga; no, Fiskerhalvøya; fi, Kalastajasaarento) is the northernmost part of continental

European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...

. Its name is translated as "Fisher Peninsula". It is connected with the

Sredny Peninsula Sredny Peninsula (russian: Сре́дний полуо́стров, lit. ''middle peninsula'') is a peninsula at north part of continental European Russia. The peninsula is connected with the continent by a thin isthmus and with Rybachy Peninsula ...

, "Middle Peninsula" by a thin

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

. So the peninsula is in fact nearly completely surrounded by water. Administratively, it is included into

Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (russian: Пе́ченгский райо́н; fi, Petsamo; no, Peisen; se, Beahcán; sms, Peäccam) is an administrative district ( raion), one of the six in Murmansk Oblast, Russia.Law #96-01-ZMO As a municipal division ...

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) o ...

and is within several hours of ride from Murmansk. Main occupations of the population are

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subs ...

herding and (since 2003)

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

drilling.

History

The peninsula lies in an area where borders were marked relatively late; the Norwegian-Russian border was drawn in 1826, leaving Rybachy on the Russian side of the border. At the time, several Norwegian settlers lived on the peninsula. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, the western parts of Sredny and Rybachy were ceded to Finland. After 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 ...

of 1939–1940, Finland ceded them to the Soviet Union by the Moscow Peace Treaty.''Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast'', p. 53 The Norwegian settlers became "trapped" in Soviet Russia after the revolution; some of their descendants were allowed Norwegian citizenship after the fall of the Iron Curtain. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

for three years it was an arena of a positional war between Germans and Soviets. The peninsula covered the access to Murmansk and

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

, which were the main gates for the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

. The front split the peninsula in two parts, both sides having heavily fortified positions. Before the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

the territory was heavily militarized because of the immediate vicinity of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

member. Now the military is removed, but in 2005 the territory was still closed to foreigners.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

News article regarding the dispute
{{Authority control Peninsulas of Murmansk Oblast

History

See also

References

Notes

Sources

External links