Kirovsk, Murmansk Oblast

Kirovsk ( _ru. Ки́ровск, _fi. Hiipinä), known as Khibinogorsk ( _ru. Хибиного́рск) until 1934, is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the spurs of the Khibiny Massif on the shores of the Lake Bolshoy Vudyavr some 175 km south of Murmansk. Population: 31,000 (2005 est.); ru-census|p02=31593|p89=43526|punct=; 38,000 (1970).

Kirovsk was founded in 1929, soon after an expedition led by Alexander Fersman had discovered large deposits of apatite and nepheline in the Khibiny Massif in the 1920s. It was granted town status in 1931 and later renamed Kirovsk after Sergei Kirov, who had been in charge of planning the development of the deposits. Kirovsk boasts the most northern botanical garden in Russian Federation. Kirovsk is currently becoming a popular ski resort.

Population development

*1959: 40,500
*1970: 38,500
*1979: 41,300
*1989: 43,500
*2002: 31,600
*2006: 30,900
*"Source": [http://www.mojgorod.ru/murmansk_obl/kirovsk/index.html]

ister City

*flagicon|Norway Harstad, Norway

References

External links

* [http://www.kirovsk-city.ru/en/ Kirovsk: Info, News, Photos, Map]
* [http://www.pabgi.ru Botanical Garden]