Understand
Murmansk Oblast is of interest to a tourist mostly for its novelty value—it is located in Russia's extreme north, above the Arctic Circle, and is relatively easy to get to from Saint Petersburg. The highlights of a Murmansk Oblast trip are certainly the capital itself and perhaps also an adventurous trip out to Kola. To heighten the novelty value of your trip, try to come around the summer Equinox, when the sun moves around the sky but never sets, or the winter Solstice, when the sun never rises and the city is plunged into blackness. The winter is cold, but it is also the best time to see the Northern Lights.
