[15] Geographically, Murmansk Oblast is located mainly on the Kola Peninsula almost completely north of the Arctic Circle[16] and is a part of the larger Sápmi (Lapland) region that spans over four countries.

[17] The oblast borders with the Republic of Karelia in Russia in the south, Lapland Region in Finland in the west, Finnmark County in Norway in the northwest, and is bounded by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the south and east.

[16] Much of the oblast's relief is hilly, with the Khibiny and Lovozero ranges rising as high as 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) above sea level and stretching from west to east.

The climate is harsh and unstable, due to the proximity of the Gulf Stream on one side and Arctic cold fronts on the other.

[16] Sharp temperature changes, high winds, and abundant precipitation are common throughout the year, with the heating season lasting for ten straight months.

After the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947, the local Saami population was given the choice either of staying in Soviet Russia or resettling in Finland.

[citation needed] On 30 October 1997, Murmansk, alongside Astrakhan, Kirov, Ulyanovsk, and Yaroslavl signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, gaining autonomy.

Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.

[29] Other large cities and towns include Severomorsk, Apatity, Kandalaksha, Monchegorsk, and Kirovsk.

In addition, 28% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 12% is atheist, and 12.5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

[38] The main industries of the region are in the sphere of raw material extraction and basic processing.

[38] In 2006, the Murmansk Oblast's gross regional product was 141.9 billion rubles, which amounts to about 0.4% of the Russian GDP.