In this article, discover five essential locations selected from our Urbex Russia Map, which features over 500 abandoned places across Russia, carefully documented for unique and immersive explorations.

Urbex Russia in Murmansk offers the most extreme and most militarised urban exploration experience in the country. The world's largest city above the Arctic Circle was the headquarters of the Soviet Northern Fleet — the most powerful naval force the world has ever seen — and the Cold War left its mark on every fjord and peninsula of the Kola region. Decommissioned submarine bases, Arctic fishing villages emptied by economic collapse, and Soviet military infrastructure decaying in the tundra make Murmansk unlike any other urbex destination in Russia.

Why Murmansk Is One of the Best Urbex Destinations in Russia

Murmansk and the Kola Peninsula were among the most militarised territories on earth during the Cold War. Dozens of naval bases, submarine pens, radar installations, and nuclear weapons storage sites were carved into the Arctic rock. When the Soviet Union collapsed, funding for these installations evaporated overnight — leaving Cold War infrastructure scattered across some of the most dramatic Arctic landscapes on the planet. The Kola Peninsula's sparse population and extreme climate mean many sites have been left entirely undisturbed for three decades.

📍 All locations below are referenced on our Urbex Russia Map — GPS coordinates, access notes, condition ratings, and explorer reports included.

1. Teriberka – The Arctic Fishing Village of the Barents Sea (Known Location)

The most photographed abandoned place in the Russian Arctic. Teriberka stands at the end of the earth — an ancient Pomor fishing settlement on the Barents Sea coast, 130 kilometres from Murmansk, where more than half the buildings are abandoned. Grey wooden houses tilt in the Arctic wind, a graveyard of twelve rusting ship carcasses lines the beach, and an abandoned school still has desks inside. The village became internationally known as the filming location for Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan (2014), winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.

👉 Story: First mentioned in 1523, Teriberka's decline began in the 1960s when modernised fishing vessels became too large for the river mouth and fish processing moved to Murmansk. Population fell from over 5,000 to under 900. The 2014 film Leviathan brought unexpected international attention to the ruins.

🔗 More on Teriberka: Abandoned Spaces – Teriberka

2. Olenya Guba – The Soviet Submarine Graveyard, Kola Peninsula (Known Location)

The most extraordinary military abandoned site in the Russian Arctic. Olenya Guba (Olenya Bay) near the closed naval town of Gadzhiyevo in Murmansk Oblast is a submarine graveyard where dozens of Cold War-era Soviet vessels were brought to rust after decommissioning. Giant metal skeletons half-submerged in the Arctic waters, nuclear submarine hulls split open to reveal torpedo tubes, and the remnants of naval infrastructure scattered across the tundra — one of the most visually apocalyptic sites in Russia.

👉 Story: After serving in the Soviet Northern Fleet, submarines were brought to Olenya Bay from the 1970s onward and simply left. The site became one of the most significant Cold War environmental disasters in the Arctic — radioactive contamination from nuclear reactors was a major concern into the 2010s, when international funding finally enabled partial decommissioning.

🔗 More on Olenya Guba: SOFREP – Soviet Submarine Graveyard

3. The Abandoned Arctic Radar Station – Kola Peninsula (Exclusive on our Map)

A decommissioned Cold War radar installation in the Kola tundra — antenna arrays still standing against the Arctic sky, control rooms with original Soviet electronics, and a military settlement whose last occupants left decades ago.

👉 Story: The Kola Peninsula was the frontline of Soviet Arctic radar defence during the Cold War — monitoring for NATO aircraft and missiles from Scandinavia and the North Atlantic. When funding collapsed after 1991, installations were abandoned with their equipment intact.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex Russia Map.

4. The Abandoned Northern Fleet Barracks – Severomorsk Region (Exclusive on our Map)

Empty dormitory blocks built for thousands of Soviet naval conscripts, a parade ground reclaimed by Arctic moss, and a mess hall where the portrait of Lenin still watches over rows of empty tables.

👉 Story: The Northern Fleet at its peak employed hundreds of thousands of military personnel across the Kola Peninsula. As Russia's defence spending collapsed and the fleet was downsized, dozens of barracks, bases, and support installations were abandoned — their scale a monument to a military ambition that no longer exists.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex Russia Map.

5. The Abandoned Kola Arctic Settlement – Murmansk Hinterland (Exclusive on our Map)

A Soviet-era Arctic settlement in the Murmansk hinterland — built to support mining or military operations, now completely empty, its buildings preserved by the permafrost in a state of suspended decay.

👉 Story: The Kola Peninsula is scattered with settlements built for single industrial or military purposes that became unviable after 1991. The Arctic permafrost preserves abandoned structures far better than temperate climates — buildings here look as though they were emptied last year, not three decades ago.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex Russia Map.

Urbex Russia – Safety & Legal Reminder

Urban exploration in the Murmansk region carries specific additional risks. Former military sites on the Kola Peninsula may contain unexploded ordnance, radioactive contamination, or active surveillance. Always:

• Research each site thoroughly — check for radioactive contamination warnings
• Explore with at least one other person
• Wear protective gear — mask, gloves, sturdy boots, and warm layers
• Never enter former nuclear sites without a dosimeter
• Never force access to active or former military installations
• Respect the spaces and leave no trace

The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."

❓ FAQ – Urbex Murmansk

What is the most famous abandoned place near Murmansk?
Teriberka is the most internationally recognised — a Barents Sea fishing village with an abandoned ship graveyard, used as the location for the Oscar-nominated film Leviathan (2014). It is accessible by car from Murmansk in approximately 2 hours.

Is it safe to explore abandoned military sites in the Murmansk region?
Former military and nuclear sites in the Kola Peninsula carry higher risks than standard urbex locations. Some sites have documented radioactive contamination. Always research the specific contamination history of a site before visiting, carry a dosimeter for any former nuclear installation, and never enter active restricted zones.

What makes Murmansk unique for urbex compared to other Russian cities?
Murmansk is the only city in this series where the primary urbex category is naval military heritage — submarine graveyards, Arctic radar installations, and Northern Fleet barracks on a scale found nowhere else on earth. The permafrost also preserves abandoned structures in extraordinary condition, giving sites here a quality of suspension impossible in warmer climates.

🎯 Conclusion

Murmansk offers the most extreme and most militarised urbex Russia experience — a region where Cold War submarines rust in Arctic fjords, ancient fishing villages decay on the Barents Sea coast, and Soviet radar installations stand silent in the tundra. Every abandoned place here is shaped by the same forces: the strategic importance of the Arctic, the ambition of the Soviet military, and the silence that followed its collapse.

Thanks to our Urbex Russia Map, you get access to over 500 unique locations for a safe and immersive exploration experience — with GPS coordinates, access ratings, photos, and explorer reports for every spot.

🗺️ Explore the full Urbex Russia Map →