Nikel
| Nikel (English) Никель (Russian) | |
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| - Urban-type settlement[1] - | |
 View of Nikel | |
.svg.png) Location of Murmansk Oblast in Russia | |
  Nikel | |
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| Administrative status (as of 2011) | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Murmansk Oblast[1] |
| Administrative district | Pechengsky District[1] |
| Administrative center of | Pechengsky District[1] |
| Municipal status (as of November 2009) | |
| Municipal district | Pechengsky Municipal District[2] |
| Urban settlement | Nikel Urban Settlement[2] |
| Administrative center of | Nikel Urban Settlement[2] |
| Statistics | |
| Population (2010 Census) | 12,756 inhabitants[3] |
| Time zone | MSK (UTC+04:00)[4] |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 81554[citation needed] |
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Nikel (Russian: Ни́кель, lit. nickel; Finnish: Kolosjoki) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia,[1] located on the shores of Lake Kuets-Yarvi 196 kilometers (122 mi) northwest of Murmansk and 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) from the Norwegian border. Population: 12,756 (2010 Census);[3] 16,534 (2002 Census);[5] 21,838 (1989 Census);[6] 18,000 (1973).
History
In the 1920 Treaty of Tartu, Soviet Russia ceded the area of Petsamo to Finland.[7] In the 1930s huge reserves of nickel were found on fells nearby. The amount was estimated to be five million tons. In 1934, the Finnish Government awarded the mining right to the British Mond Nickel Co, subsidiary of International Nickel Co (Inco), that founded the Petsamon Nikkeli Oy mining company. The company began building a railway, as well as other infrastructure, between the town, then known as Kolosjoki, and Liinahamari harbor.
In the Winter War of 1939–1940, the Soviet Union occupied Petsamo. In the following peace agreement only the Finnish part of the Rybachy Peninsula was ceded to the Soviet Union, although the Soviets had occupied all of Petsamo during the war. In summer 1940, the Finnish government took over the mines from the British company. The first mining operations began in the same year. During World War II, the ore was mainly sold to Germany. The hydro power plant in Jäniskoski started operations in 1942, making it possible to smelt the ore locally. In 1944, the Red Army occupied Petsamo, and Finland had to cede it to the Soviet Union as part of the Moscow Armistice signed on September 19, 1944.[7] Retreating German forces destroyed the power plant and partially the smelter. On July 21, 1945, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union decreed to establish Pechengsky District with the administrative center in Nikel on the ceded territory and to include this district as a part of Murmansk Oblast.[7]
Ecology
The town is linked to the Norilsk Nickel plant nearby where many of its citizens are employed and which causes grave environmental and health concerns for the population. The nickel smelter which has been an eyesore in Norway–Russia relations for decades due to its extreme pollution levels, usually deposits its sulfur dioxide fumes to the south of the town where the countryside is a brown moonscape of bald hills, barren of plant life for kilometers around.[8] In the summertime, the toxic fumes which for the rest of the year rarely blow northwards towards the town, occasionally do just that, making breathing difficult and even burning holes in people's umbrellas.[8]
Recent events
The video of English alternative rock band White Lies, "Farewell to the Fairground" was filmed there in early 2009.
Sister cities
References
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Государственный комитет Российской Федерации по статистике. Комитет Российской Федерации по стандартизации, метрологии и сертификации. №ОК 019-95 1 января 1997 г. «Общероссийский классификатор объектов административно-территориального деления. Код 47 215», в ред. изменения №226/2013 от 1 января 2014 г.. (State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation. Committee of the Russian Federation on Standardization, Metrology, and Certification. #OK 019-95 January 1, 1997 Russian Classification of Objects of Administrative Division . Code 47 215, as amended by the Amendment #226/2013 of January 1, 2014. ).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Law #539-01-ZMO
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
- ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Постановление №725 от 31 августа 2011 г. «О составе территорий, образующих каждую часовую зону, и порядке исчисления времени в часовых зонах, а также о признании утратившими силу отдельных Постановлений Правительства Российской Федерации». Вступил в силу по истечении 7 дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №197, 6 сентября 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Resolution #725 of August 31, 2011 On the Composition of the Territories Included into Each Time Zone and on the Procedures of Timekeeping in the Time Zones, as Well as on Abrogation of Several Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation. Effective as of after 7 days following the day of the official publication.).
- ↑ "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. May 21, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- ↑ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров." [All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989) (in Russian). Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, p. 54
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Antonova, Maria (July 25, 2008). "Balancing Growth and Environment". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ↑ The model of twin cities Barents Institute Reprint (2008) no. 2
Sources
- Архивный отдел Администрации Мурманской области. Государственный Архив Мурманской области. (1995). Административно-территориальное деление Мурманской области (1920-1993 гг.). Справочник. Мурманск: Мурманское издательско-полиграфическое предприятие "Север".
External links
- Official website of Nikel (Russian)