Pechengsky District

Pechengsky District
Печенгский район (Russian)

Location of Pechengsky District in Murmansk Oblast
Coordinates: 69°32′N 31°12′E / 69.533°N 31.200°E / 69.533; 31.200Coordinates: 69°32′N 31°12′E / 69.533°N 31.200°E / 69.533; 31.200

Landscape in Pechengsky District, August 2013
Coat of arms
Location
Country Russia
Federal subject Murmansk Oblast[1]
Administrative structure (as of March 2013)
Administrative center urban-type settlement of Nikel[1]
Administrative divisions:
Towns 1
Urban-type settlements 2
Territorial okrugs 1
Inhabited localities:
Cities/towns 1
Urban-type settlements[2] 2
Rural localities 14
Municipal structure (as of November 2009)
Municipally incorporated as Pechengsky Municipal District[3]
Municipal divisions:[3]
Urban settlements 3
Rural settlements 1
Local government:
Representative body Council of Deputies[4]
Statistics
Area (municipal district) (December 2010) 8,662.22 km2 (3,344.50 sq mi)[4]
Population (2010 Census) 38,920 inhabitants[5]
• Urban 81.6%
• Rural 18.4%
Density 4.49/km2 (11.6/sq mi)[6]
Time zone MSK (UTC+03:00)[7]
Established July 21, 1945[8]
Official website
Pechengsky District on WikiCommons
The green area was the Finnish part of the Rybachy Peninsula, which was ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter War. The red area is Jäniskoski, which was sold to the Soviet Union in 1947.

Pechengsky District (Russian: Пе́ченгский райо́н; Finnish: Petsamo; Norwegian: Peisen; Northern Sami: Beahcán; Skolt Sami: Peäccam) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Murmansk Oblast, Russia.[1] As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Pechengsky Municipal District.[3] It is located in the northwest of the oblast on the coast of the Barents Sea (by the Rybachy Peninsula, which is a part of the district) and borders with Finland in the south and southwest and with Norway in the west, northwest, and north. The area of the district is 8,662.22 square kilometers (3,344.50 sq mi).[4] Its administrative center is the urban locality (an urban-type settlement) of Nikel.[1] Population: 38,920 (2010 Census);[5] 46,404 (2002 Census);[9] 59,495 (1989 Census).[10] The population of Nikel accounts for 32.8% of the district's total population.[5]

History

The area was long inhabited by the indigenous Sami people. In 1533, it became a part of Russia; in 1920—a part of Finland, and from 1944–a part of the Soviet Union.

The settlement of Pechenga was founded as the Pechenga Monastery in 1533 at the influx of the Pechenga River into the Barents Sea, 135 kilometers (84 mi) west of modern Murmansk, by St. Tryphon, a monk from Novgorod. Inspired by the model of the Solovetsky Monastery, Tryphon wished to convert the local Skolt Sami population to Christianity and to demonstrate how faith could flourish in the most inhospitable lands.

The area was resettled by the Pomors and other Russians. The present border between Norway and Russia was settled in 1826, and the development of the area considerably accelerated in the late 19th century, when the monastery was re-established there. The harbor of Liinakhamari in Petsamo was important for the Russian economy during World War I as the Baltic Sea was blocked by the Germans. In the 1920 Treaty of Tartu, Soviet Russia ceded Petsamo to Finland.[8]

Deposits of nickel were found in 1921, after Petsamo became a part of Finland, and in 1934 the deposits were estimated to contain over five million tonnes. Mining operations were started in 1935 by Canadian and French corporations.

Construction of a road from Sodankylä through Ivalo to Liinakhamari started in 1916 and was completed in 1931. This made Petsamo a popular tourist attraction, as it was the only port by the Barents Sea that could be reached by automobile.

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, with the area of 321 square kilometers (124 sq mi), was ceded to the Soviet Union, although the Soviets had occupied all of Petsamo during the Winter War.

In 1941, during World War II, Petsamo was used by Nazi Germany as a staging area for the attack towards Murmansk. In 1944, the Red Army occupied Petsamo again, and Finland had to cede it to the Soviet Union as part of the Moscow Armistice signed on September 19, 1944;[8] the total ceded area was 8,965 square kilometers (3,461 sq mi). 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.[8]

In 1947, Finland additionally sold the remaining 169 square kilometers (65 sq mi) Jäniskoski area with its hydroelectric plant, in exchange for Soviet confiscated German investments in Finland.

Following the Paris Peace Treaty, the local Skolt Sami were given the choice of staying in Soviet Russia or moving to Finland. Most opted to re-settle in Finland.

When Polyarny District was abolished on July 9, 1960, a part of its territory was transferred to Pechengsky District.[11]

On December 26, 1962, when the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR decreed to re-organize the Soviets of People's Deputies and the executive committees of the krais, oblasts, and districts into the industrial and agricultural soviets, Murmansk Oblast was not affected and kept one unified Oblast Soviet and the executive committee.[8] Nevertheless, on February 1, 1963, the Decree by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR established the new structure of the districts of Murmansk Oblast, which classified Pechengsky District as rural.[8] However, this classification only lasted for less than two years.[8] The November 21, 1964 Decree by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR restored the unified Soviets of People's Deputies and the executive committees of the krais and oblasts where the division into the urban and rural districts was introduced in 1962, and the districts of Murmansk Oblast were re-categorized as regular districts again by the January 12, 1965 Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Decree.[8]

Economy

The district is important for its ice-free harbor, Liinakhamari, and the deposits of nickel.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Law #96-01-ZMO
  2. ↑ The count of urban-type settlements may include the work settlements, the resort settlements, the suburban (dacha) settlements, as well as urban-type settlements proper.
  3. 1 2 3 Law #539-01-ZMO
  4. 1 2 3 Charter of Pechengsky District
  5. 1 2 3 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "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. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  6. ↑ The value of density was calculated automatically by dividing the 2010 Census population by the area specified in the infobox. Please note that this value is only approximate as the area specified in the infobox does not necessarily correspond to the area of the entity proper or is reported for the same year as the population.
  7. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №271-ФЗ от 03 июля 2016 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #271-FZ of July 03, 2016 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, pp. 54–56
  9. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "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] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ 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). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Decree #741/18

Sources

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