From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
69°42′N
32°36′E
/
69.7°N 32.6°E
/
69.7; 32.6
Rybachy Peninsula is the most northeastern part of Pechengsky District
Rybachy Peninsula
(
Russian
:
полуо?стров Рыба?чий
,
poluostrov Rybachiy
;
Northern Sami
:
Giehkirnjarga
;
Norwegian
:
Fiskerhalvøya
;
Finnish
:
Kalastajasaarento
) is the northernmost part of continental
European Russia
. Its name is translated as "Fisher Peninsula". It is connected with the
Sredny Peninsula
, "Middle Peninsula" by a thin
isthmus
. So the peninsula is in fact nearly completely surrounded by water. Administratively, it is included into
Pechengsky District
of
Murmansk Oblast
and is within several hours of ride from
Murmansk
.
Main occupations of the population are
reindeer
herding
and (since 2003)
petroleum
drilling.
History
[
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]
Historical map of the
Petsamo region
. The green area is the Finnish part of the Rybachy peninsula (
Kalastajasaarento
) which was ceded to the Soviet Union after the
Winter War
.
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 western parts of Sredny and Rybachy were ceded to Finland. After the
Winter War
of 1939?1940, Finland ceded them to the Soviet Union by the
Moscow Peace Treaty
.
[1]
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
for three years it was an arena of a positional war between Germans and Soviets. The peninsula covered the access to Murmansk and
Arkhangelsk
, which were the main gates for the
Lend-Lease
. The front split the peninsula in two parts, both sides having heavily fortified positions.
Before the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
the territory was heavily militarized because of the immediate vicinity of
Norway
, a
NATO
member. Now the military is removed, but in 2005 the territory was still closed to foreigners.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
- ^
Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast
, p. 53
Sources
[
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]
- 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
[
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]