Pechenga

Encyclopedia : P : PE : PEC : Pechenga

For other uses of "", see ; Finnish: Petsamo; Northern Sami: Beahcán; Skolt Sami: Peäccam) is an urban-type settlement in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Population: 2,959 (2002 Census).
The area of Pechenga is located in northern Lapland, indigenously inhabited by Samis, since 1533 part of Russia (Archangelsk krai and guberniya), became part of Finland in 1920 and part of the Soviet Union in 1944.
It contains an ice-free harbour, Liinahamari, and deposits of nickel.
The harbour Liinahamari in Petsamo was important for the Russian economy during World War I as the Baltic Sea was blocked by the Germans. In the Treaty of Tartu (1920), Bolshevist Russia ceded Petsamo to Finland.
Deposits of nickel were found 1921, after Petsamo became a part of Finland, and in 1934 it was estimated that the deposits contained over five million tonnes of nickel. Mining operations started in 1935 by Canadian and French corporations.
Construction of a road from Sodankylä through Ivalo to Liinahamari started in 1916 and was completed in 1931. This made Petsamo a popular tourist attraction, as it was the only port by the Barents Sea that could be reached by automobile.
In the Winter War the Soviet Union occupied Petsamo. In the following peace agreement only the Finnish part of the Rybachi peninsula (Finnish Kalastajasaarento) was ceded to the Soviet Union, although the Soviet Union had occupied all of Petsamo during the Winter War.
In 1941, during the Continuation War, Petsamo was used by Nazi Germany as a staging area for the attack towards Murmansk. In 1944 the Red Army occupied Petsamo again. Petsamo was ceded to the Soviet Union as part of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1946. In 1947 Finland in addition sold the Jäniskoski area, with its hydroelectric plant, in exchange for Soviet confiscated German investments in Finland.
After the war the Soviet Union expanded the mining operations, which had a negative impact on the environment.

External links

[link] Skolt Sámi History

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