Kirovsk known as Khibinogorsk until 1934, is a town in Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the northwestern part of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Murmansk.-Geography:...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, located at the spurs of the Khibiny Massif

Khibiny Massif

The Khibiny Massif, Khibiny Mountains, Khibinsky Mountains or Khibins, Khibinsky tundras, Khibiny is one of the two main mountain ranges of the Kola Peninsula, Russia, within the Arctic Circle, located between Imandra and Umbozero lakes.The massif is of oval shape of about 1,300 sq.km...

 on the shores of the Lake Bolshoy Vudyavr, 175 kilometres (108.7 mi) south of Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

. Population: 31,593 (2002 Census

Russian Census (2002)

Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...

); 43,526 (1989 Census

Soviet Census (1989)

The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...

).

History

A settlement which eventually became Kirovsk was founded in 1929, soon after an expedition led by Alexander Fersman

Alexander Fersman

Alexander Yevgenyevich Fersman was a prominent Soviet geochemist and mineralogist, academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences ....

 had discovered large deposits of apatite

Apatite

Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, chlorapatite and bromapatite, named for high concentrations of OH−, F−, Cl− or Br− ions, respectively, in the crystal...

 and nepheline

Nepheline

Nepheline, also called nephelite , is a feldspathoid: a silica-undersaturated aluminosilicate, Na3KAl4Si4O16, that occurs in intrusive and volcanic rocks with low silica, and in their associated pegmatites...

 in the Khibiny Massif in the 1920s. By the end of 1930, its population grew to ten thousand people, and a mining and chemical plant here was well under construction. Due to rapid growth, the Presidium of the Murmansk Okrug

Murmansk Okrug

Murmansk Okrug was an administrative division of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, which existed in 1927–1938.-Creation:The okrug was established on August 1, 1927, when the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issued two Resolutions: "On the Establishment of Leningrad Oblast" and "On the...

 Executive Committee petitioned on January 18, 1931 to grant the settlement town status and to name it Khibinogorsk. The petition was approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee

All-Russian Central Executive Committee

All-Russian Central Executive Committee , was the highest legislative, administrative, and revising body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Although the All-Russian Congress of Soviets had supreme authority, in periods between its sessions its powers were passed to VTsIK...

 Resolution on October 30, 1931 and the town was subordinated directly to the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee. On December 15, 1934, the town was renamed Kirovsk after recently assassinated Sergey Kirov

Sergey Kirov

Sergei Mironovich Kirov , born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad...

, who had been in charge of planning the development of the deposits.
On February 26, 1935, when new Kirovsky District

Kirovsky District, Murmansk Oblast

Kirovsky District was an administrative division of Murmansk Okrug of Leningrad Oblast, and later a district of Murmansk Oblast, of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, which existed in 1935–1954....

 was established on part of the territory of Kolsko-Loparsky District, Kirovsk was transferred to it and made its administrative center. On May 6, 1954, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, Kirovsk was elevated in status to that of a town under oblast jurisdiction. Kirovsky District was abolished, and its territory was subordinated to Kirovsk.

Population development

• 1959: 40,500
• 1970: 38,500
• 1979: 41,300
• 1989: 43,526
• 2002: 31,593
• 2010: 28,639

Twin towns/sister cities

Kirovsk is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Gällivare

Gällivare Municipality

Gällivare Municipality is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Gällivare.The municipality is the third largest in Sweden, but it has not been amalgamated with other entities....

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 Harstad

Harstad

is the second largest city and municipality by population, in Troms county, Norway – the city is also the third largest in North Norway. Thus Harstad is the natural centre for its district. Situated approximately north of the Arctic Circle, the city celebrated its 100th anniversary in...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 Newry

Newry

Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Tornio

Tornio

Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

External links

• Botanical Garden in Kirovsk