The Russian route R12, also known as the Lotta, is a regional road that which connects Murmansk and Finland (Finland–Russia border[1]).

[2] Until the middle of the twentieth century, missing road links from Kola and Murmansk to Finland along the Lotta River.

[3] The need for a road arose in the 1960s, in connection with the construction of the Upper Tuloma Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The Upper Tuloma Hydroelectric Power Plant was built by Soviet and Finnish specialists.

[8] Major settlements along the road include Murmansk, Tuloma, Verkhnetulomsky, and Svetly.