Murmansk Okrug (, Murmansky okrug) was an administrative division (an okrug) 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 (VTsIK) issued two Resolutions: "On the Establishment of Leningrad Oblast" and "On the Borders and Composition of the Okrugs of Leningrad Oblast".Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, pp. 34–53 According to these resolutions, Murmansk Governorate was transformed into Murmansk Okrug and included into Leningrad Oblast together with eight other okrugs.Administrative-Territorial Division of Leningrad Oblast, p. 10 The okrug was not contiguous with the rest of Leningrad Oblast and was separated from it by the territory of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.Газета "География", №21, 2001. С. Тархов. Первая советская реформа, укрупнение единиц административно-территориального деления в 1923—1929 гг.
Upon the transformation, the administrative structure of the okrug was also changed. Instead of the nine volosts into which Murmansk Governorate was divided, the territory of the okrug was divided into six districts.
Administrative-territorial changes
1926–1929 Just as numerous proposals to change the administrative-territorial structure of Murmansk Governorate, the okrug's predecessor, had been submitted, the work on changing the administrative-territorial structure of the new okrug soon commenced. This time, however, the ethnic composition of the territory became a priority.
On October 25, 1926, the VTsIK and the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Temporary Provision "On the Governing of the Native Peoples and Tribes of the Extreme North of the RSFSR", which dealt with the peoples and the tribes of the Extreme North who did not have any forms of ethnic government in place. On May 30, 1927, the provision was extended to cover the Lapps (Sami) and the Samoyeds of Murmansk Governorate, allowing them to create special ethnic-based organs of the local self-government. Until 1928, the Sami and Samoyeds used the same forms of government as elsewhere on the Kola Peninsula—the selsoviets and the district executive committees. However, in preparation for the winter 1928–1929 soviet elections, the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee and the Committee of the North initiated planning to establish ethnic Sami soviets in the ethnic pogosts. On October 11, 1928, the Presidium of the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee decreed to establish thirteen ethnic Sami soviets: in Alexandrovsky District: Motovsky. in Kolsko-Loparsky District: Babinsky; Ekostrovsky; Kildinsky; Notozersky; Pulozersky. in Lovozersky District: Kamensky; Lovozersky; Semiostrovsky; Voronezhsky. in Ponoysky District: Iokangsky; Lumbovsky; Sosnovsky.
On October 25, 1928, the list was reviewed by the Selsoviet Review Commission of the Organizational Department of Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee. Out of proposed thirteen, they approved the creation of eight: in Alexandrovsky District: Motovsky Selsoviet. in Kolsko-Loparsky District: Babinsky Selsoviet; Kildinsky Selsoviet; Notozersky Selsoviet; in Lovozersky District: Semiostrovsky Selsoviet; Voronezhsky Selsoviet. in Ponoysky District: Iokangsky Selsoviet; Sosnovsky Selsoviet.
In addition to these eight, Peyvo-Yarvinsky Selsoviet of Kolsko-Loparsky District was granted the status of the national Finnish selsoviet. The creation of the other proposed ethnic Sami selsoviets was found to be impractical.
The creation of the new selsoviets was finally approved by the Resolution of the Presidium of the VTsIK of December 10, 1928, and seven ethnic Sami selsoviets were established in Murmansk Okrug in the beginning of 1929. The only exception was Babinsky Selsoviet, the creation of which did not succeed. Unlike elsewhere in the Russian SFSR, the new selsoviets were not clannish in nature, as the Sami people did not have clans, but rather territorially defined, which meant that their structure was identical to the structure of regular selsoviets, with the only exception of having the rights granted to them by the VTsIK's Temporary Provision.
On August 13, 1929, in the context of creation of the national okrugs and districts across the Extreme North territories, Murmansk Committee of the North submitted a project to the Presidium of the Okrug Executive Committee, which suggested the creation of an ethnic district on the territory of Ponoysky District and part of the territory of Lovozersky District, the population of which was predominantly Sami. On September 16, 1929, the project was discussed at the session of the Murmansk Okrug Planning Commission, which found the creation of such a district feasible and suggested in turn two possible scenarios of establishing an ethnic district. The first scenario suggested the creation of the district on the territories of Ponoysky and Lovozersky Districts, with Ponoysky Selsoviet being left out. The second one suggested the creation of the district on parts of the territories of Ponoysky and Lovozersky Districts, namely in Iokangsky, Kamensky, Lumbovsky, Semiostrovsky, and Sosnovsky pogosts. At the same time, the creation of another ethnic Sami district to the west was suggested.
On October 25–26, 1929, the joint session of the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee and the Murmansk City Council reviewed the Committee of the North report and found it feasible to establish two ethnic Sami districts: Vostochno-Laplandsky District, which would be created by merging the territories and the populations of Lovozersky and Ponoysky Districts, as well as the territory of the summer-time Semiostrovsky pogost of Teribersky District. Zapadno-Laplandsky District, on the territories of Kolsko-Loparsky District where the Sami population was predominant.
On December 25, 1929, this project was amended and approved by the Administrative-Legislative Commission of the Committee of the North. Vostochno-Laplandsky District was approved as proposed, with the exception of the village of Ponoy, which would be incorporated into a separate selsoviet with its own budget as its population was predominantly Russian. Zapadno-Laplandsky District was to include the following selsoviets and settlements: Kildinsky, Notozersky (with the Finnish village of Nivankyulya), Babinsky (with the Finnish village of Iona but without the Russian settlement of Zasheyek); the territories of the Sami people: Girvasky, Pulozersky, and Yekotrovsky. Sami in Motovsky Selsoviet would remain in Alexandrovsky District.
1930 On January 10, 1930 the Presidium of the VTsIK issued a circular letter on the procedures for establishing special ethnic administrative-territorial units (okrugs, districts, and selsoviets) for the ethnic minorities. Based on this letter, on January 25, 1930 the Presidium of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee ordered the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee to start working on granting the ethnic status to the selsoviets in which at least two-thirds of the population were ethnic minorities. By April 1, 1930, seven ethnic Finnish selsoviets and one ethnic Norwegian selsoviet were established in Murmansk Okrug, in addition to seven already existing Sami selsoviets. Discussions of the possibilities of establishing more ethnic selsoviets was ongoing in the executive committees of various levels.
On May 4, 1930, the Okrug Administrative Commission approved the list of the ethnic selsoviets: Finnish selsoviets in Alexandrovsky District: Belokamensky, Gryazno-Gubsky, Ozerkovsky, Tyuva-Gubsky, Ura-Gubsky, Zapadno-Litsky in Kolsko-Loparsky District: Peyvo-Yarvinsky Norwegian selsoviets in Alexandrovsky District: Tsyp-Navoloksky Sami selsoviets in Alexandrovsky District: Motovsky in Kolsko-Loparsky District: Kildinsky, Notozersky in Lovozersky District: Semiostrovsky, Voronezhsky in Ponoysky District: Iokangsky, Lumbovsky
This list was approved on May 7, 1930 by the Presidium of the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee.
With the task of creating ethnic selsoviets completed, on May 26, 1930 the okrug administrative commission returned to the discussion of the previously proposed ethnic districts. The possibility of creation of Vostochno-Laplandsky District was reviewed—the new district was to include the territory of Lovozersky District, a territory in the east of Teribersky District, and the territories of Iokangsky and Lumbovsky Sami Selsoviets of Ponoysky District. Ponoysky and Sosnovsky Selsoviets of Ponoysky District would be merged into Tersky District. This proposal was approved and sent on for further consideration to the administrative commission of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee. The proposal for creation of Zapadno-Laplandsky District, on the other hand, was declined and returned to the Committee of the North as needing a revision. The discussion of the possibility of creating an ethnic Finnish district was postponed.
The administrative commission of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee reviewed the proposal on July 31, 1930. Its decision, which was later confirmed by the Presidium of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee on January 7, 1931, was unexpected—instead of creating the proposed districts, the commission granted ethnic status to existing Lovozersky District, with Voronezhsky and Semiostrovsky Selsoviets designated as "ethnic", and Ivanovsky and Lovozersky Selsoviets—as "ethnic Zyryan". Alexandrovsky District within its existing borders was granted the status of an ethnic Finnish district; same status was confirmed for six of the district's selsoviets (Belokamensky, Gryazno-Gubsky, Ozerkovsky, Tyuva-Gubsky, Ura-Gubsky, and Zapadno-Litsky). Tsyp-Navoloksky Selsoviet was granted the status of an ethnic Norwegian selsoviet, Motovsky Selsoviet—the generic "ethnic" status, and Alexandrovsky and Titovsky Selsoviet retained their "regular" status. In Kolsko-Loparsky District, Peyvo-Yarvinsky Selsoviet was granted ethnic Finnish status. Kildinsky and Notozersky Selsoviets of Kolsko-Loparsky District, as well as Iokangsky and Lumbovsky Selsoviets of Ponoysky District, were classified as "ethnic" as well. The names of all selsoviets and their administrative centers remained unchanged.
This decision left the government of Murmansk Oblast unhappy. The meeting of the Murmansk Okrug Planning Commission on October 31, 1930 noted that granting Lovozersky District an ethnic status is mostly meaningless as the population of the district in its existing borders is composed mostly of the Zyryans, not of the Sami. The Planning Commission petitioned the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee to review its decision and to establish Vostochno-Laplandsky District as previously suggested—something the Leningrad Oblast Executive Commission ultimately never did.
1931–1936