Murmansk is a major city and seaport  in Russia. It is situated on the eastern shore of Kola Bay, 50 kilometres from the ice-free Barents Sea in north west Russia and has a population of around 500,000.  It is an important fishing port, and its fish-processing plant is one of the largest in Europe. Murmansk's ice-free harbour makes it Russia's only port with unrestricted access to the Atlantic and world sea routes. From December to May it replaces icebound St. Petersburg as the major port of the northwest. It is connected by railroad with St. Petersburg and Moscow and the mining and industrial centres of Monchegorsk and Kirovsk.