Liinakhamari, human settlement in Pechengsky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia
Liinakhamari is a small village on the Barents Sea coast, located within the Pechenga urban settlement close to the Finnish border. It has a small harbor with rocky shores, a handful of plain buildings, and a few older structures that hint at its past as a trading port.
After the 1920 Treaty of Tartu, Liinakhamari became Finnish territory and served as the country's sole outlet to the Arctic Ocean. During World War II it changed hands more than once before Soviet forces took lasting control in 1944.
The name Liinakhamari comes from Finnish and roughly means Liinan Harbor, a reference to the sheltered inlet it sits beside. Old Soviet-era monuments still stand near the water, marking the place where military operations ended and a new administration began.
The village sits inside a restricted Russian border zone, so a special permit is required on top of a standard visa before entering. The Arctic climate means long, very cold winters and brief summers, so warm and layered clothing is a must at almost any time of year.
Because Liinakhamari was Finland's only harbor on the Arctic Ocean, the sole road connecting it to the rest of the country ran for hundreds of kilometers along the Arctic coast. After 1944 the Finnish residents were completely displaced, and the village was turned into a military zone closed to outsiders for decades.
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