Murmansk

Seaport (pop., 2006 est.: 320,962), northwestern Russia. Situated on the eastern shore of Kola Bay near the Barents Sea, it is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Its ice-free harbour makes it Russia's only port with unrestricted access to the Atlantic. Founded in 1915 as a supply port in World War I, it was a base for the British, French, and U.S. forces against the Bolsheviks in 1918; it also served as a major supply base during World War II. In addition to a Russian naval base, it has a large fishing fleet and fish-processing industry.

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