Severomorsk

Severomorsk, known as Vayenga until April 18, 1951, is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is located on the coast of the Barents Sea along the Kola Bay northeast of Murmansk, the administrative centre of the oblast, to which it is connected by railway and a motorway. History Early settlement The first settlement on the site of the modern city arose between 1896 and 1897. It was named Vayenga, after the river, the name of which itself comes from the Sami "vayongg", meaning "doe" or "reindeer". In 1917, only thirteen people lived in the settlement, who engaged in hunting, fishing and animal husbandry. The founding of the Northern Fleet Base In 1926, the Murmansk office of logging was founded, one of the artels of which was sent to Vayenga. A barracks, a dormitory, and a banya were built, and a telephone line was laid through the village. In 1933, the bay was chosen as one of the bases for the newly created Northern Fleet. From 1934 and until the beginning of World War II, wooden and brick buildings, as well as military installations, were built in the settlement, and the Vayenga-1 naval airfield was built in the neighbouring bay. From August 1941, all construction was suspended. The airfield was used by the British; namely No. 151 Wing RAF to protect the Arctic Convoys before their fighters were later handed over to the Soviet Naval Aviation.