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 (85.3%, or 760,862 people), with the indigenous Sami constituting only a 0.20% minority (1,769 people).
Since establishing and maintaining the structure of the administrative divisions of the federal subjects is not explicitly specified in the Constitution of Russia as the responsibility of the federal government, this task falls within the scope of the responsibilities of Murmansk Oblast itself. Changes of the administrative-territorial structure of Murmansk Oblast are authorized by the Murmansk Oblast Duma.
The oblast's administrative divisions remained largely unchanged from the structure used during the Soviet era, with the notable exception of selsoviets—a low-level administrative unit type abolished after the new law on the administrative-territorial divisions had been adopted in January 1998.
Administrative and municipal divisions
Historical background
The territory on which modern Murmansk Oblast is located has been settled by humans since the 3rd millennium BCE, and by the end of the 1st millennium CE, it was settled only by the Sami people. In the 12th century, Russian Pomors from the shores of Onega Bay and in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina River started regular hunting and fishing visits to the area and started barter trade with the Sami. They also called the White Sea coast of the peninsula Tersky Coast, or Terskaya Land. Pomors were soon followed by the tribute collectors from the Novgorod Republic, and the Kola Peninsula gradually became a part of the Novgorodian lands. A 1265 treaty of Yaroslav Yaroslavich with Novgorod mentions Tre Volost, which continued to be mentioned in other documents until as late as 1471. Another known administrative divisions in this area was Kolo Volost, which bordered Tre approximately along the line between Kildin Island and Turiy Headland of the Turiy Peninsula. Kolo Volost laid to the west of that line, while Tre was situated to the east of it.
In the 15th century, Novgorodians started to establish permanent settlements on the Kola Peninsula. Administratively, this territory was divided into Varzuzhskaya and Umbskaya Volosts, which were governed by a posadnik from the area of the Northern Dvina. The Novgorod Republic lost control of both of these volosts to the Grand Duchy of Moscow after the Battle of Shelon in 1471, and the republic itself ceased to exist in 1478 when Ivan III took the city of Novgorod. All Novgorod territories, including those on the Kola Peninsula, became a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
In the second half of the 16th century, King Frederick II of Denmark–Norway demanded the Tsardom of Russia to cede the peninsula. Russia declined, and in order to organize adequate defenses established the position of a voyevoda, who sat in Kola, which became an administrative center of the region. Newly established Kolsky Uyezd covered most of the territory of the modern oblast, and continued to exist well into the 19th century.
In 1854, after having been reduced nearly to ashes as a result of a bombardment by a British ship, the town of Kola went into decline. As a result, on , 1858, Tsar Alexander II approved a State Council opinion "On Changing the Governance in the Town of Kola and in Kolsky Uyezd" that Kolsky Uyezd be abolished and its territory merged into Kemsky Uyezd. However, on , 1883 when Tsar Alexander III approved a new opinion of the State Council, the uyezd was restored, although the territory of the restored uyezd was smaller than its pre-1858 territory.
In 1896, Alexandrovsk was founded and grew in size so quickly that it was granted town status in 1899; Kolsky Uyezd was renamed Alexandrovsky on that occasion. In 1916, Romanov-na-Murmane (modern Murmansk) was founded and quickly grew to become the largest city on the peninsula.
When the White movement controlled the northwest of Russia in 1918–1920, Alexandrovsky Uyezd was included into Northern Oblast. On February 2, 1920, Murmansk Governorate was established by the Resolution of the Provisional Government of Northern Oblast; it included the territory of Alexandrovsky Uyezd. The uyezd, however, was restored in its 1917 borders after Murmansk Governorate was abolished effective February 21, 1920 when the Soviet power was restored on the Kola Peninsula.