Orthodox Religious Infrastructure in the Tourism and Recreation Sphere of the Murmansk Oblast

Abstract

Using the example of the Murmansk Oblast, the article analyzes the functioning of religious tourism within a region located in the conditions of the Polar and Subpolar areas. The region is considered as an example of the development of this direction of recreational economy, within which almost all objects of religious infrastructure, acting as the main objects of excursion display on thematic tourist routes, were lost during the Soviet period. A differentiated approach is used to apply the calculated coefficient of territorial concentration in order to identify the features of the placement of functioning monasteries, temples, and chapels. Their high concentration within certain areas of the Murmansk Oblast is recorded. On this basis, as well as on the basis of the analysis of the composition of the main thematic routes offered on the market, the following religious tourism clusters are proposed to be identified — Murman-Kolskiy, Tersko-Beregovoy, and Pechengskiy. The main conclusion of the article is that the role of religious objects in the implementation of educational routes throughout the Murmansk Oblast is significant, and religious tourism within its borders not only operates despite the high dispersion in the placement of monasteries and temples, as well as the losses of the Soviet period, but also has prospects for the introduction of innovative forms.

Keywords

• murmansk oblast
• religious tourism
• tourist-recreational cluster
• educational tourism
• multiplicative effect