The city of the everlasting winter

Murmansk is situated deep inside the Arctic Circle. It's extremely cold: the city authorities have to light fires at bus stops to stop people freezing to death before the bus arrives, and it's almost suicide to go out without a hat. Between October and the end of January, dawn turns into dusk but the sun never rises at all. Yet many people have chosen to live here.

What's so special about Murmansk? People came here in the first place because the Gulf Stream touches the Arctic coastline at this point, warms the sea and makes Murmansk the only ice-free port in the north of Russia, so it has enormous commercial and military importance. More recently it became quite a rich town with a steady income from oil and fishing and in the 1960s people came here to live, attracted by various financial benefits: long holidays, good salaries and relatively comfortable housing. It is impossible to grow anything in this region, so everything has to be brought from central Russia, which means that the shops have traditionally been well-stocked.

But whether the attractions of Murmansk compensate for the disadvantages of living several hundred kilometers inside the Arctic Circle is a matter of opinion. It's very isolated from the rest of Russia. The street light have to stay on all day for three month in winter and children are given ultra-violet sunbaths to provide the vitamin D which they would normally get from natural light. Little grows naturally, and the proportion of oxygen in the air is unhealthily low because of the absence of trees. A bad winter means 50 degrees below zero, 30 below is normal. Even at this more reasonable temperature your breath freezes, your eyelashes stick together, your cheeks grow sore, your feet are constantly cold and you must never go out without a hat.

These days there is little reason for people to stay. What's more, the oil is running out and the shops are almost empty. The economic future of Murmansk, like its long winters, looks very bleak indeed.

Questions:

1. Where is Murmansk situated?

2. Why did the first people come here?

3. Why is the proportion of oxygen in the air low here?

4. Why is Murmansk a rich city?

5. What do people do to stop freezing in winter?

6. What financial benefits do people have here?

7. What are the disadvantages of living in Murmansk?

Text 3

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From the history of the kola peninsula

Archeological finds testify to the fact that the first people appeared on the Kola Peninsula about 5 thousands years ago. The aboriginal population was the Saami (Lapps). Their language belongs to the Finnish language group, their anthropological type is mixed having the features of European and Mongolian types. You can see in the local museum the tomb of a woman who was buried 3 thousand years ago. An outstanding specia­list in anthropology professor Gerasimov reconstructed her appearance using his scientific world famous method.

The Saami were pagans. They used to build labyrinths and stone alters ("seids") for sacrifice.

In the XIII century the Kola Peninsula became a domain of Novgorod (testimony can be found in manuscripts of 1216 and 1270). At that time the southern coast of the peninsula was called "Ter". This Saami word meant "land covered with forests".

Novgorod was the main trading centre in the West of Russia. The people of Novgorod were daring and enterprising tradesmen. They reached the remote northern lands trying to get rid of feudal yoke on the one hand and making profit trading with local population on the other hand. The trips to the North were long and dangerous, but in case the merchants succeeded they could bring back precious furs, tusks of walruses and valuable fish. All those goods were in great demand on the market in Novgorod.

The first Russian settlements appeared on the White Sea coast in the middle of the XV century. It played a progressive role for the develop­ment of backward local population of the North as the first Russian settlers were on the higher level of historic development than the Saami people.

From 1478 the Kola Peninsula became a part of the Russian State. The Russians brought their religion with them and in the middle of the XVI century Saami also adopted Christianity (Orthodox).

It had a double effect: on one hand the exploitation of the Saami people became harder, on the other hand it stimulated their acquaintance with Russian culture and brought the two peoples closer. There are churches in Varsuga and Kovda. Varsuga's church was built in 1674 without a single nail in the traditions of north Russia architecture.

Questions:

1. Who made the trips to the North many centuries ago and why?

2. When did the first settlements appear here?

3. What was the aboriginal population on the Kola Peninsula?

4. When did the Kola Peninsula become a part of the Russian State?

5. What is the church in Varsuga famous for?

6. When did the first people appear on the Kola Peninsula?

7. What goods from the North were in great demand in Novgorod?

PART 2

PRACTISE YOUR READING SKILLS

Text 1

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