 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 220 (1895) [1] / c. 150-200 (1910) [2] | |
| Languages | |
| Russian, Norwegian | |
| Religion | |
| Lutheranism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Norwegians |
| Part of a series on |
| Norwegians |
|---|
 |
| Culture |
| Diaspora |
| Other |
| Norwegian Portal |
The Kola Norwegians (Norwegian : Kolanordmenn) are Norwegian people, who mostly settled along the coastline of the Kola Peninsula in Russia.[ citation needed ]
In 1860 the Russian Tsar Alexander II granted permission for Norwegian settlements on the Kola. Around 1870, scores of families from Finnmark in northern Norway departed for the Murman Coast, attracted by the prospects of fishing and trade. The Russian authorities granted them privileges to trade with Norway.[ citation needed ]
Most of them settled in Tsyp-Navolok on the easternmost tip of the Rybachiy Peninsula (Полуостров Рыбачий; Norwegian: Fiskerhalvøya – both terms meaning "Fishermen's Peninsula"). Others settled in Vayda-Guba at the northwestern tip – Cape Nemetskiy (мыс Немецкий, "Cape German") – of the same peninsula. A vibrant society developed while retaining contact with Norway, especially with the town of Vardø. Some settlers returned to Norway shortly after the Russian Revolution of 1917, but most of them remained at Tsyp-Navolok.
On 23 June 1940, Lavrenty Beria of the NKVD ordered the Murmansk Oblast, encompassing the entire Kola Peninsula, to be cleaned of "foreign nationals". As a result, the entire Norwegian population was deported for resettlement in the Karelo-Finnish SSR. Soon they had to move from there too, because of pressures caused by the Finnish invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, so they were moved further away from the borders: to Arkhangelsk Oblast. [3]
Despite many having served in the Red Army, they were not allowed to return home to the Kola after the end of the Second World War. Many children were raised without learning to speak Norwegian.[ citation needed ]
After 1992, some descendants of the original settlers began to emphasize their family backgrounds, although only a few had been able to maintain a rusty knowledge of the Vardø dialect of the Norwegian language. Some have now migrated to Norway. There are special provisions in Norwegian immigration law which ease this process, albeit generally being less permissive than those which pertain in other countries which operate a "right of return". In order to obtain a permit to move to Norway and work there, a foreign citizen must show an adequate connection to the country, such as having two or more grandparents who were born there. [4] Descendants of Kola Norwegians are eligible for Norwegian citizenship after one year of living in Norway with a residence permit. [5] By 2004, approximately 200 Kola Norwegians had settled in Norway. [6]
In 2007, the small village of Port-Vladimir , the last stronghold of the Kola Norwegians lost its official recognition due to depopulation. [7] About 20 498 individuals identified themselves as Norwegians in the 2010 census of Russia, including 6 241 in Murmansk, 4 009 in St. Petersburg, and 1 281 in Karelia. [8] A proportion of these can be considered descendants of the Kola Norwegians together with other Norwegian nationals.
Murmansk is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far northwest part of Russia. It remains the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Kola Bay, an estuarine inlet of the Barents Sea, with its bulk on the east bank of the inlet. The city is a major port of the Arctic Ocean and is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the border with Norway, 180 kilometres (110 mi) from the border with Finland and 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) from Moscow.
Finnmark is a county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.
Vardø is a municipality in Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vardø. Two of the larger villages in the municipality are Kiberg and Svartnes.
The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula located mostly in northwest Russia and partly in Finland and Norway. It is one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is bordered by the Barents Sea to the north and by the White Sea to the east and southeast. The city of Murmansk, the most populous settlement on the peninsula, has a population of roughly 270,000 residents.
Pomors or Pomory are an ethnographic group thought to be descended from Russian settlers according to traditional Russian historiography, living on the White Sea coasts and the territory whose southern border lies on a watershed which separates the White Sea river basin from the basins of rivers that flow south. Genetically, though, they are more closely related to indigenous Uralic ethnicities of the area and show no affiliations to Novgorod populations.
Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of 144,900 square kilometres (55,900 sq mi). Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bordered internationally by Finland to the west and Norway to the northwest and the Barents Sea lies to the north and White Sea lies to the south and east. Its administrative center is the city of Murmansk. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 795,409, but at the 2021 Census this had declined to 667,744.
Severomorsk, known as Vayenga (Ваенга) until 18 April 1951, is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is situated on the coast of the Barents Sea along the Kola Bay 25 kilometers (16 mi) northeast of Murmansk, the administrative centre of the oblast, to which it is connected by railway and a motorway. It is the main naval base of the Northern Fleet of Russia and the sixth largest city in the world beyond the Arctic Circle.
Rybachy Peninsula 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.
Kiberg (Norwegian) or Kiiperi (Kven) is a village in Vardø Municipality in eastern Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the eastern end of the Varanger Peninsula, along the Barents Sea. Kiberg is the second largest settlement in Vardø municipality. It is situated about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of the municipal centre, the town of Vardø. Kibergsneset is the easternmost spot on the Norwegian mainland, and it is located just east of the village. The 0.28-square-kilometre (69-acre) village has a population (2013) of 202, which gives the village a population density of 721 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,870/sq mi).
Apatity is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located along the Murman Railway, 23 km (14 mi) west of Kirovsk and 185 km (115 mi) south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. The town is named after one of its most abundant natural resources in the area, apatite, the raw mineral used in the production of phosphorus mineral fertilizers. Population: 59,672 (2010 Census).
Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, which is located in the northwestern part of the country, occupying mostly the Kola Peninsula. The oblast itself was established on May 28, 1938, but some kind of administrative organization of the territory existed here since at least the 13th century. As of the 2002 Census, Russians account for the majority of the oblast's population, with the indigenous Sami constituting only a 0.20% minority (1,769 people).
Nikel is an urban locality and the administrative center of Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, 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 on E105. Population: 12,756 (2010 Census); 16,534 (2002 Census); 21,838 (1989 Soviet census); 18,000 (1973).
Kola is a town and the administrative center of Kolsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kola and Tuloma Rivers, 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) south of Murmansk and 24 kilometers (15 mi) southwest of Severomorsk. It is the oldest town of the Kola Peninsula. Population: 10,437 (2010 Census); 11,060 ; 16,541 (1989 Soviet census).
The Skolt Sámi or Skolts are a Sami ethnic group. They currently live in and around the villages of Sevettijärvi, Keväjärvi, Nellim in the municipality of Inari, at several places in the Murmansk Oblast and in the village of Neiden in Sør-Varanger Municipality. The Skolts are considered to be the indigenous people of the borderland area between present-day Finland, Russia and Norway, i.e. on the Kola Peninsula and the adjacent Fenno-Scandinavian mainland. They belong to the eastern group of Sámi on account of their language and traditions, and are traditionally Orthodox rather than Lutheran Christians like most Sami and Finns.
Tsypnavolok or Tsyp-Navolok is a rural locality in Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Rybachy Peninsula by Cape Tsypnavolok, by the Barents Sea.
Mayak Gorodetsky is a rural locality in administrative jurisdiction of the closed administrative-territorial formation of Ostrovnoy in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, beyond the Arctic Circle, at an elevation of 1 meter above sea level. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 6.
Tersko-Orlovsky Mayak is a rural locality in administrative jurisdiction of the closed administrative-territorial formation of Ostrovnoy in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, beyond the Arctic Circle, at an elevation of 18 meters (59 ft) above sea level. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 9.
Vayda-Guba is a rural locality in Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located beyond the Arctic Circle on the Rybachy Peninsula at a height of 15 meters (49 ft) above sea level. Population: 94.
Bolshoy Oleny Island is an island in the Kola district of the Murmansk region of Russia. It is located in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea, 2.5 km northeast of the city of Polyarny, and 35 km north of Murmansk.
Valentina Vyacheslavovna Sovkina is a Russian-Sami politician and chair of the Kola Sámi Assembly.
| Europe |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | ||
| Americas | ||
| Asia & Oceania | ||
See also: Nordic diaspora and Norwegians | ||
| From Europe | |
|---|---|
| From Asia | |
| From Africa | |
| From America | |
