Teriberka

Teriberka is one of very few places on the Russian Arctic coast reachable by ordinary road, and that is why it gets visitors: three hours north-east from Murmansk across treeless tundra to a village on the open Barents Sea. It was a substantial fishing settlement, declined heavily after the Soviet collective fishery was reorganised, and by the 2000s was half abandoned - the rusting boats on the shore and the roofless buildings are that, not decoration. Zvyagintsev filmed Leviathan here in 2013, the film won at Cannes the following year, and the resulting attention brought hotels, restaurants and coach traffic to a place that had none. There is a beach of large egg-shaped stones, a tidal waterfall at Batareysky, cliffs, and whales offshore in summer - minke, humpback and belugas are seen on boat trips. In winter it is a standard aurora destination, with the road sometimes closed by storms for days.

History

Teriberka is first mentioned around 1523, though other sources date its founding to the 1860s, when the Murman coast was being settled, and by the end of the 19th century it had a church, a lighthouse and the first weather station on the Murmansk coast. In the early 20th century it had thriving cod and shark fisheries, and its decline began in the 1960s, as bigger vessels fished the open ocean and a new processing complex in Murmansk took the trade (Wikipedia, Teriberka).

What's there

• The Arctic shore - open Barents Sea reachable by road, which is rare.
• The wrecked boats - hulls on the shore from the collapse of the local fishery.
• The stone beach - large egg-shaped boulders on the coast.
• The whales and aurora - summer boat trips and winter northern lights.

When to go

July to September for whales and hiking; December to March for aurora, when it is dark and cold. A day, better an overnight. The road can close in winter storms.

Practical notes

Three hours each way from Murmansk on a road that closes in blizzards, sometimes stranding people for days. The village has real deprivation and residents are ambivalent about the tourism. Whale sightings are not guaranteed. Winter temperatures and wind on the coast are severe.

Nearby

Murmansk is south-west; the Kola tundra runs in every direction.

Key facts