Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base is located within the Litsa Fjord at the westernmost point of the Kola Peninsula in Russia's far north, about 120 kilometers from Murmansk and 45 kilometers from the Norwegian border, and includes four naval facilities: Malaya Lopatka, Andreyeva Bay, Bolshaya Lopatka, and Nerpichya.

A severe climate with changeable temperatures and strong winds, and a long polar night in winter (about 43 days), make the Zapadnaya Litsa region an inhospitable place.

Numerous rivers, streams and lakes, rocky ground and swamps help characterize this remote and inhospitable area.

The area of Zapadnaya Litsa was originally developed in 1939 as a small naval base for Nazi Germany, at the beginning of World War II, as a result of Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.

The first facility built, Malaya Lopatka, became the home port of the first Soviet nuclear submarine, K-3 Leninsky Komsomol.