Regional Studies Museum


Comprehensive exhibits at Murmansk's oldest museum include one on Sami culture and handicrafts, a vast natural-history section with all manner of taxidermied beasts and Wait For Me – an exhibition on the fierce defence of the north during WWII. Delve also into the history of Arctic exploration, contemplate the region's mysterious ancient stone labyrinths, and get nostalgic over prehistoric radios and Zenit cameras in the 'Made in the USSR' section.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Fine Arts Museum

0.25 MILES

The 1927 Fine Arts Museum hosts temporary exhibitions that range from female nude photography and Kanozero petroglyphs to severe Arctic landscape painting.

2. Nuclear Icebreaker Lenin

0.61 MILES

Murmansk is a centre for nuclear icebreakers that carve their way to the North Pole, but even in port you can give in to your wildest seafaring–Arctic…

3. Church of the Saviour on the Waters

0.97 MILES

This gold-domed church, built in 2002 from public donations, is part of a memorial complex dedicated to the memory of Murmansk's seamen who perished in…

4. British Naval Cemetery

1.19 MILES

In 1919 the British navy assisted the White Russians against the Reds – Winston Churchill, war secretary at the time, wanted to see if the Bolsheviks…

5. Ice Bathers' Hut

1.25 MILES

Home to Murmansk's ‘walruses’ – hardy souls who swear by the health benefits of regularly bathing in icy waters – this wooden hut on the edge of Lake…

6. Alyosha

1.39 MILES

One of Murmansk’s most memorable sights is a gigantic concrete soldier nicknamed Alyosha, erected to commemorate the Arctic fighters who perished in the…

7. Monument To Semyon The Cat

1.44 MILES

This bronze monument to a fat little cat carrying all his worldly possessions in a knapsack was unveiled in 2013 in honour of an act of incredible feline…