Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, which is located in the northwestern part of the country, occupying mostly the Kola Peninsula. The oblast itself was established on May 28, 1938, but some kind of administrative organization of the territory existed here since at least the 13th century. As of the 2002 Census, Russians account for the majority of the oblast's population (85.3%, or 760,862 people), with the indigenous Sami constituting only a 0.20% minority (1,769 people).[3]
Since establishing and maintaining the structure of the administrative divisions of the federal subjects is not explicitly specified in the Constitution of Russia as the responsibility of the federal government, this task falls within the scope of the responsibilities of Murmansk Oblast itself.[4] Changes of the administrative-territorial structure of Murmansk Oblast are authorized by the Murmansk Oblast Duma.[5]
The oblast's administrative divisions remained largely unchanged from the structure used during the Soviet era, with the notable exception of selsoviets—a low-level administrative unit type abolished after the new law on the administrative-territorial divisions had been adopted in January 1998.
^The list of the responsibilities of the federal government of the Russian Federation is specified in Article 71 of the Constitution. Article 72 lists the joint responsibilities of the federal government of the Russian Federation and the governments of the federal subjects.