Olenegorsk (, lit. ''reindeer mountain'') is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, south of

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

. Population: 25,166 ( 2002 Census);

History

The railway station of Olenya () was opened in 1916, with the construction of the Murman Railway. The station facilities, and the small settlement associated with the station were located to the east of the railroad. Their importance was somewhat increased in the 1930s, as Olenya became a junction for the railway branch to the newly built town of

Monchegorsk Monchegorsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 (Russian Census (2002), 2002 Census); ...

some to the southwest. In 1949, work started on 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 f ...

strip mines and ore-processing facilities a few kilometers to the west of the Olenya station. At the same time, construction of a company town, originally also named Olenya, started between the rail station and the mines, to the west of the railway. In December 1949, it was granted work settlement status. By the March 27, 1957 Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, the work settlement of Olenya was granted the status of a town under district jurisdiction, subordinated to Monchegorsk, and given its present name.''Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast'', p. 55 The railway station, however, retained the name Olenya and was not renamed Olenegorsk until the 1980s. Olenegorsk was elevated in status to that of a town under oblast jurisdiction by the August 10, 1981 Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Decree, and several inhabited localities previously subordinated to Monchegorsk were transferred to Olenegorsk by the August 26, 1981 Decision of the Murmansk Oblast Executive Committee.''Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast'', p. 57

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with four rural localities, incorporated as Olenegorsk Town with Jurisdictional Territory—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 ...

.Law #96-01-ZMO As a municipal division, Olenegorsk Town with Jurisdictional Territory is incorporated as Olenegorsk Urban Okrug.Law #534-01-ZMO

Transportation

All passengers trains on the St. Petersburg–Murmansk railway stop at Olenegorsk. The station also serves the nearby town of Monchegorsk, which itself has next to no passenger service, the Olenya airbase (a.k.a. Vysoky), a more remote

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 ne ...

village of Lovozero, and the mining town of Revda in Lovozersky District.

Economy

The town economy continues to be based on iron ore extraction and processing, mostly shipping enriched ore to Severstal in Cherepovets. Military bases include the Olenya air base and Olenegorsk Radar Station.

Notable people

Kate Grigorieva Yekaterina Sergeyevna Grigoryeva (; born 15 September 1988), known professionally as Kate Grigorieva, is a Russian model. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2015 to 2016. Early life Grigoryeva was born in Olenegorsk to a military family. ...

, model * Liudmila Samsonova, a Russian-Italian tennis player (place of birth)

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Olenegorsk

Unofficial website of Olenegorsk
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Murmansk Oblast Populated places of Arctic Russia Former urban-type settlements of Murmansk Oblast