Thoughts leaving Murmansk

I am not going to give too much history on this city – the largest city north of the Arctic circle. Around 340,000, and has lost about 1/3 of its population in the last 10 years. We had to wait for customs and passport clearance, so were late leaving the ship – onto buses, and local guides with us to give some narration. It is a city based on fishing, and the oil and gas industry being generated from the seas off north Russia. So the port area is very large and busy. There are floating dry docks, and oil or gas offshore rigs in for service, many fishing vessels, and others all competing for wharf space.

The city itself boasts the wide streets that we saw in St Petersburg, with a lot of trees on the side. It is early summer (or what sits as summer here) so the lavender bushes are everywhere. But we mostly noticed the blocks of flats – everywhere, in all areas of the city – there are three terraces of the city – all reflecting the different geological development periods of the harbour. There is a low area, moving to two higher levels. And everywhere, there are these oppressing buildings which house the vast majority of the population. Much of Murmansk was bombed to obliteration during the dark times of the second world war. After the war, the housing was very grim, and gradually, these utilitarian buildings of one, two and three room (not bedroom) flats were constructed. They reflected the different tough styles of the leaders, from Kruschev, to Breshnev, and the other leaders. Some newer ones are a little brighter, but they are still very bald - we do not appreciate how lucky we are. One wondered what the Local passport control staff thought of the grandness of the ship decor, while we were processed. There is little colour in the streets, other than the green of the trees. But they are very proud of their history, and there is a huge statue of a lone soldier on a hill overlooking the city and Kola Harbour, in recognition of the young soldiers lost in the wars. It is amazing to see close up.

It has been an eye opening visit, after the incredible wealth seen in St Petersburg a few years ago, a very different city, where there is little evidence of the historic wealth of the larger southern cities. But they are strong, they have to be to survive the winter time alone – in mid winter, there is 19 minutes of daylight on the shortest day – a little time of celebration, with only around 30 days of good sun per year – a lot of cloud, and some severe storms and high winds – and the long weeks of 24 hour daylight – quite a challenge all year round.

So we sail out, with some bewildered thoughts as to how the locals do pass their days and years, and understand how the population , particularly the young, slowly drift away.

More soon