One of the departments of the regional museum of the city of Murmansk became a museum of history, culture and life of Kola Sami. The museum was founded in 1962 in the small village of Lovozero on a solid basis of a high school geography teacher Paul Polikarpovich Yuriev. The museum was created in order to fully preserve not only the historical but also the cultural development of the indigenous population of the Kola Peninsula - the Sami people.

The village is the administrative center of Lovozero Lovozero region and the second largest village after village Revda. According to the 2002 census, the population of 3412 residents of Lovozero. The settlement was founded in 1574 on the site of a pre-existing Saami village. The chronicles first mention of the village belong to 1608. Lovozero is located on both banks of a shallow river Wyrm near Lovozero. The village became the cultural center of the life of the Sami. It hosts a variety of festivals and celebrations Sami, including international.

Sami people - a Western nation that came out of small indigenous peoples of the Russian North. The number of Sami reaches to 1, 9 thousand, 1, 6000 the representatives of whom live on the Kola Peninsula, relating to the Murmansk region. Sami people live also in some northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden, and their total number is 80 thousand.

All presented in the museum exhibits will detail the historical development of the Sami people and their cultural life. Existing until today a museum exposition includes the following sections: "Ancient history of the Sami people", "Development of the Lovozero region during the 1920-1930's," "Rear - front. The events of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 "," Cultural and economic development of the region over the years 1950-1980 "," Development of the traditional type of economy people Sami - reindeer "," Living conditions and supplies of small peoples of the Kola Peninsula. "

The museum has a rich collection, which is entirely devoted to cultural and consumer side of the small peoples of the Kola Peninsula. There is also extensive archaeological finds a wide variety of time periods. It is worth noting that the use of the museum is special and unique stone on which there are cave paintings. The stone was brought to the museum in 1988 from the famous center of the Kola Peninsula, and it is from the old place called Chalmny-Varre whose territory extends the average flow of the river Ponoy.

On the museum's exhibition, you can carefully to consider the ethnographic exhibits, a variety of everyday objects, models of ancient dwellings, clothing, arts and crafts peoples of the Kola North, tools, as well as a diorama, equipped with reindeer. In addition, there Tupou, pyrt - huts, which previously resided Sami in the cold season, Vezha - small housing, located on-site fishing in the warmer months and kuvaksu - special portable tent, which can be seen today in the summer time tundra reindeer pastures.

All museum exhibition includes 665 items of fixed assets and 141 items of scientific-auxiliary fund. Particularly well it fits into the museum space photos, pictures and documents pertaining to the various eras and time intervals. Here you can learn in detail about the history and development of the region, starting with the most distant ancient times and up to today, as well as to purchase small gifts that make for the guests of the museum of local craftsmen from reindeer fur, as well as traditional decorations and details of Sami clothing, beautifully embroidered using beads.

With regard to the activities of the Sami people of today, approximately 13% of the Sami is engaged, as in ancient times, the reindeer, the rest of the population works in the service sector, education and culture.