Murmansk is situated 300 km north of the Arctic Circle. A million years ago a huge
glacier, one kilometre thick, crawled across the Kola land. Due to this the soil became
one solid layer of permafrost with only its upper crust thawing out sufficiently to
sustain life.
The area of the Kola Peninsula above the Arctic Circle is characterized by tundra and
taiga. The Arctic taiga is not as dense as the Siberian taiga but rather stunted and
sparse.
The territory covers 144. 9 sq. km and, in addition to woodland, there are as many as 110,
701 lakes and 18, 209 rivers. Low hills and marshy valleys typify the landscape from the
Barents Sea to the White Sea, with the Khibiny mountains being the only exception. It is
here where the town of Kirovsk is situated.
Not much grows above the Arctic Circle but even so Northerners appreciate any chance they
have to get away from the city and into the country. People like to go picnicking in
nearby woods, but those who like fishing prefer to go farther afield to distant lakes and
rivers. Others even go hunting. But above all, the favourite pursuit of the locals is that
of berry and mushroom picking.
The dwarf arctic birch, a tree that creeps along the ground, the common birch, the spruce,
the pine, the rowan, the aspen and the willow, all provide a typical backdrop for picnics
around camp-fires, which are allowed provided the weather is not too hot and dry.
However, whatever the weather, fishermen go away for at least two or three days. Usually,
they just fish with a fishing-rod, but fishing with a large net is also quite popular,
although without a special licence they run the risk of incurring the wrath of government
inspectors. In a successful fisherman's keepnet may well be found the rare silvery white
fish as well as pike, perch and roach. Any type of fishing of the salmon family requires a
special licence, too. In the woods and forests hares, squirrels, foxes and polar foxes,
weasels, stoats and wolverenes may all fall prey to the hunter, who can on occasion also
find his path crossed by brown bears, reindeer and elks. Sadly, tundra wolves here were
hunted to extinction in the 1960s and 1970s. As far as waterfowl are concerned, swans and
wild geese are protected by law all year round, but ducks, sandpipers and partridges have
no such protection once the hunting season begins.
On the Kola Peninsula, unlike in neighbouring Scandinavian countries, no special permit is
needed to gather berries and mushrooms. The cloudberry, which mainly only grows in the
north, is considered to be the most beneficial and the most delicious. Sepals of
cloudberries, when added to tea, give a very distinctive and pleasant flavour and they are
also used as a traditional medicine for colds. For many years cloudber - ries from Russian
Lapland were regularly delivered to the Tsar's table. Another favourite berry is the
cranberry, which is usually only found growing on marshland. Cranberries are full of
vitamins and are again used for medicinal purposes. Bilberries and red whortleberries grow
in great abundance. Great bilberries however are difficult to gather because they are so
soft. Recently, Northerners have come to like the socalled voronika berry, which they turn
into wonderful nalivka, home-made liqueur. Dark blue juniper berries are not particularly
good to eat as such but are used as a flavouring. The only poisonous local berry is
spurge-flax or "volchiyelyko", little bright red or orange beads growing on high
bushes. In the foxes, weasels, stoats and wolverenes may all fall prey to the hunter, who
can on occasion also find his path crossed by brown bears, reindeer and elks. Sadly,
tundra wolves here were hunted to extinction in the 1960s and 1970s. As far as waterfowl
are concerned, swans and wild geese are protected by law all year round, but ducks,
sandpipers and partridges have no such protection once the hunting season begins. On the
Kola Peninsula, unlike in neighbouring Scandinavian countries, no special permit is needed
to gather berries and mushrooms. The cloudberry, which mainly only grows in the north, is
considered to be the most beneficial and the most delicious. Sepals of cloudberries, when
added to tea, give a very distinctive and pleasant flavour and they are also used as a
traditional medicine for colds. For many years cloudber - ries from Russian Lapland were
regularly delivered to the Tsar's table. Another favourite berry is the cranberry, which
is usually only found growing on marshland. Cranberries are full of vitamins and are again
used for medicinal purposes. Bilberries and red whortleberries grow in great abundance.
Great bilberries however are difficult to gather because they are so soft. Recently,
Northerners have come to like the socalled voronika berry, which they turn into wonderful
nalivka, home-made liqueur. Dark blue juniper berries are not particularly good to eat as
such but are used as a flavouring. The only poisonous local berry is spurge-flax or
"volchiye lyko", little bright red or orange beads growing on high bushes. In
the south of the region, on Tersky Bereg, grow wild raspberries, bird cherries and various
wild currants.
Forest mushrooms have always been a favourite delicacy and a must when it comes to Russian
national cuisine. Local citizens get quite upset whenever there is a poor mushroom
harvest. From August to October there are usually so many "mushroom-hunters"
that the forests and woods on the outskirts of towns are more akin to crowded local parks
at the weekend.
Most people in Murmansk like to go walking on the hills around the city. It's impossible
to get lost since no matter where you are the town is easily seen from far away. Distant
forests are the prerogative of those who know exactly how to get there and who have a good
sense of direction. Nevertheless, sometimes the unexperienced venture too far. As a
result, every year there is always a certain number of people, mainly
"mushroom-lovers", who manage to get lost in the woods. Beware the unknown
forest!
As previously mentioned there are a great many lakes on the Kola Peninsula. The two most
well-known are Lake Imandra, which is the largest and is situated right in the centre of
the peninsula, and Lake Mogilnoye, situated on the island of Kildyn near the entrance to
the Gulf of Kola. Lake Mogilnoye is unique in that, despite it being a freshwater lake, it
is full of animal and plant life normally found in the sea, e. g. cod, seaperch, starfish,
seaweed and so on. Needless to say, this mysterious "aquarium" is being studied
by scientists.