Murmansk Region is located on the Kola, Rybachiy and Sredniy Peninsulas and surrounded by the White and Barents seas. The region borders with Karelia, Finland and Norway. The territory is not a perfect place for living, since its lands mostly lie behind the Arctic Circle.

The Kola Peninsula was inhabited relatively recently – unearthed sites of ancient people data back to 7-6 millennium BC. Chronicles tell us about fabulous wealth of the region – fish, deer, and furs. The word “Murman” origins from “Normann”, which was the Russian name for Norwegian people. This word gave name to the whole region.

Russians came to power at the territories in the 13^th century. The future Murmansk Region was under Novgorod reign, and dwellers of the famous city frequented these lands for furs, which they redeemed from local population – Saami and the Karelians. In 1326 Norway and Novgorod signed a peace treaty, leaving the Kola Peninsula to Russia, and people sighed with relief.

Being located on the Baltic crystalline shield, Murmansk Region is the treasure of various minerals – over 700 minerals (about ¼ of all minerals on our planet) were discovered here, and over 100 minerals cannot be found anywhere else.

The region becomes a popular place for ecological tourism – incredibly beautiful environment of tundra, rich in berries and plants, attracts tourists from all over the world. Fishing is also popular. Another attraction is the Kola super deep borehole, but it has been closed no very long ago.

The population of the region is about 1 000 000 people, which are mainly employed in industries.

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