The winds of Kildin
Kildin is like a champagne cork, tossed by a foamy wave from the Kola Inlet. On a geographical map, this rugged, rocky island, separated from the mainland by a narrow strait ranging from 700 meters to 4 kilometers, looks just like that. Here, champagne is replaced by fireweed tea, but you still feel the euphoria, much like from sparkling "Cristal." It’s just you and the island, which sweeps away all negativity and leaves only what matters. By the way, this is where the strongest gusts of wind in Russia have been recorded. Truly a hyperborean place!
Leaving the Kola Inlet
Getting to Kildin is not difficult; just make sure to obtain a pass through "Gosuslugi" in advance. This is issued by the Border Control of the FSB for the Western Arctic region in Murmansk. If you forget to apply, you'll have to admire the island only from the water. As a consolation, we assure you: that too is beautiful. The jagged coastline and the post-apocalyptic sight of a couple of forgotten rusty ships — reminiscent of Teriberka, but in this cinema, you'll be alone. However, if you make it to Kildin, you must organize a landing on the shore. Don’t believe those who write on forums that there’s nothing to see; they’re just trying to deter competitors. Kildin is not something you want to share.
The first option is trivial — set off from Teriberka. Formally, the island belongs to the waters of this rural locality. The second, more interesting option is to sail from Murmansk. Kildin lies 11 miles east of the exit from the Kola Bay, so it’s better to approach it from the inside out. The island is not small, measuring 18 km in length and up to 9 km in width, making it a prominent navigational landmark along the Murmansk coast.
We beautifully set out from the Murmansk Yacht Club, leaving behind the standing "Alyosha" on the hill, and slowly (due to port restrictions) head out to sea. From the deck, you can’t miss the epic panorama of the marine station, fish and trade ports. The fleet of "Rosatom" and icebreakers share the waters with fishing schooners. The corporate landscape of the Novatek marine construction center gives way to a northern military landscape (here, cameras will need to be covered). Finally, rounding Toros Island, we enter the Barents Sea, which, thanks to the North Atlantic current, doesn’t freeze year-round. An hour and a half has passed since our departure.
Homo Kildinus
There’s still an hour left to the wonder island, which will fly by in an instant. Dolphins, seals, and perhaps even belugas and whales might accompany you; it’s hard to predict who will join you, but they will certainly make their presence known. Cod swims in the Kildin Strait, and the coastal shallows are ruled by the Kamchatka crab, thriving in the absence of natural predators.
Among humans, there is only one local resident, who receives guests by arrangement. Otherwise, even the lighthouses operate autonomously. Meanwhile, archaeologists date human presence on Kildin back to the Mesolithic era — ten thousand years ago. The island has been recorded in written sources since the 11th century, and it is described quite clearly on William Barents' geographical map. Old engravings indicate that in the 16th and 17th centuries, active navigation along Kildin's southern shore took place, with both Pomor boats and foreign vessels passing through. In 1822, Fyodor Litke, a future co-founder of the Russian Geographical Society, compiled a physical and geographical description of the island during an expedition aboard the brig "Nova Zemlya."
In the second half of the 19th century, the Eriksen family of Norwegian colonists settled here. Before the World War, the first coastal fortifications appeared, and Kildin long served as a military base. Until the mid-1990s, around 15,000 people lived there, mostly military personnel and their families. After the military units were disbanded, the island became deserted overnight — a common story in post-perestroika Arctic garrisons. The once-bustling settlements of Upper, Lower, and Eastern Kildin are now home to abandoned stone houses, rusty cars, barrels, pipes, wires, and metal airfield coverings.
For Cleanliness, For Beauty
The traces of modern human habitation are not harmless; they threaten the local flora and fauna. Seeing all this, along with the washed-up plastic from the mainland and the garbage trail left by "gray" tourist flows (Kildin is closed, but unfortunately not a nature reserve!), one realizes that the Arctic island is in danger. The rocky shores are defenseless against campers eager to disrupt the local silence.
In 2022, the "Arctic. General Cleanup" project was launched by the Russian Geographical Society and the Ministry of Defense. Volunteers and soldiers from the ecological unit of the Northern Fleet collected and removed over 300 tons of man-made waste on a large landing ship from the Kola Flotilla. After clearing 9 km of coastline of six tons of plastic, the volunteers tested the first release of our "Arctic Volunteer" app. You can also download it from the App Store and participate in ecological monitoring.
A Lost World
In addition to the cleanup, scientists have been exploring Kildin under the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society. It had been a long time since they experienced the quiet luxury of Arctic nature, so discoveries were made.
First, over 40 species of birds have been recorded. I can’t remember the last time I saw ornithologists so happy: they discovered that the gray goose nests here rather than just resting during migrations, as previously thought. For non-specialists, the screaming seagulls nesting on the cliffs and their fluffy gray chicks scurrying at your feet become endless subjects for photography. During the expedition, a little-known bird market was studied, and it’s worth seeing! Among other rare species inhabiting Kildin are the long-tailed duck, gyrfalcon, and white-tailed eagle, all of which have nested here.
Secondly, our limnologists surveyed the relic lake Mogilnoye, which contains layers of fresh and saltwater, home to about 25,000 fish. Its origin story is dramatic: ancient seismic activity shifted tons of seawater from the Kildin Strait across the isthmus, creating a natural phenomenon of global significance. Recent findings indicate that the layer of seawater in the lake is decreasing. Visitors to the island jokingly comment that the unique Kildin blind cod has lost its sight, having cried its eyes out from sorrow. Biologists literally counted the population using sonar. Several thousand individuals, constituting an endemic species, are concentrated at a depth of 5 meters from the water's surface — scientists still have much to learn about this phenomenon.
Biologists and those fortunate enough to encounter Kildin share a sense of wonder at the lake, which reflects the 10-meter white outline of the Eastern Kildin lighthouse. There is a second lighthouse on the northern side of the island, whose 19-meter white and red body begs to be photographed. Today, both lighthouses are operational and open to the public, including the upper observation decks.
The expedition members of the Russian Geographical Society also discovered the cedar dwarf on the island for the first time. How it got here is a mystery. The same goes for the Far Eastern iris. Kildin is also home to "golden root" — rhodiola rosea.
Sources indicate that there was once an abundance of wildlife on land and in the surrounding waters — arctic foxes, otters, walruses… The terrestrial species were wiped out even before the military arrived on Kildin. Today, various plans for species introduction are in development, but all hinge on a modest food base in the case of large populations. For now, while importing reindeer is still on the agenda, the island occasionally sees random "intruders." For example, a family of bears. They likely swam here from the mainland. Considering that each individual requires several kilometers of productive territory, these brown predators have found an ideal habitat on Kildin, devoid of natural enemies and with a good food supply. Flounder, halibut, salmon, and pink salmon make up a royal menu of marine and river fish, complemented by a garnish of mushrooms and northern berries. Tundra excursions in early autumn on Kildin are a delight.
