Olenegorsk

 city, district center

Town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located north of the Arctic Circle, 112 kilometers (70 mi) south of Murmansk. Population: 23,072 (2010 Census).
The railway station of Olenya (Оле́нья) was opened in 1916, with the construction of the Murman Railway. The station facilities, and the small settlement associated with the station were located to the east of the railroad. Their importance was somewhat increased in the 1930s, as Olenya became a junction for the railway branch to the newly built town of Monchegorsk some 30 kilometers (19 mi) to the southwest. In 1949, work started on the iron ore strip mines and ore-processing facilities a few kilometers to the west of the Olenya station. At the same time, construction of a company town, originally also named Olenya, started between the rail station and the mines, to the west of the railway. In December 1949, it was granted work settlement status. By the March 27, 1957 Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, the work settlement of Olenya was granted the status of a town under district jurisdiction, subordinated to Monchegorsk, and given its present name. The railway station, however, retained the name Olenya and was not renamed Olenegorsk until the 1980s. Olenegorsk was elevated in status to that of a town under oblast jurisdiction by the August 10, 1981 Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Decree, and several inhabited localities previously subordinated to Monchegorsk were transferred to Olenegorsk by the August 26, 1981 Decision of the Murmansk Oblast Executive Committee.