MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS Correspondents Nikolay Kochetkov, Anastasiya Kosheleva/. The Arctic Hectare program kicked off in August, 2021. Under the program, Russian citizens may obtain for free a land plot to build a house or to start a business project. The Murmansk Region leads in terms of filed applications - 4,500. Many applicants plan businesses, mostly in tourism. Active businesses are not many as yet. A few companies in the Murmansk and Karelia Regions have shared their Arctic history with TASS.
1. First SUP station on Arctic Hectare
Ekaterina Korovina was born in Murmansk. Her idea was to open a SUP station with a sonorous name - Hyperborea. She applied for a land plot on Revozero in the Murmansk Region's Lovozero District, which is located fully within the Arctic Zone, and where the average air temperature in summer is about 12 degrees.
"Standup paddleboarding originates from surfing, when people stand on boards (floating on the water and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water - TASS)," Ekaterina said. "The trick is to stand correctly and just to paddle. In SUP boarding, you as if walk on the water. Great emotions and a fantastic feeling of freedom."
Standup paddleboarding is very popular in the southern latitudes, she continued. However, only Ekaterina has decided to promote it professionally in the Far North.
"Technically, an Arctic SUP station is similar to those in the south, but here, in the North, we have something which they are missing in the south," Ekaterina continued. "The most stunning nature: forests, lakes, which are so numerous in the Murmansk Region. And, by the way, the changing Northern weather may be another attraction. One day, we were surfing the lake in pouring rain, and it was absolutely great. It's impossible to understand until you try it yourself. I've told my southern friends about that day, and obviously they could not understand me. What? Surfing in the rain? Right! That's superb!"
Girls' SUP party
SUP seasons in the Arctic are much shorter than in the south - from late May to first frosts, Ekaterina said with a smile remembering a recent group of girls, who wanted to party on the water.
"We've given to them warm wetsuits, water-proof footwear. It was plus eight, but nobody was cold. They were only happy and pleased," she said.
Generally speaking, happiness and joy are the typical emotions of SUP boarders, she added. Ekaterina has ten boards to lend. The clients are both locals and guests from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ryazan. Many guests to Hyperborea are families with kids and even aged relatives.
"We have welcomed our friends - a family with kids of 7 and 9 and a grandpa of about 70. They all surfed. Parents surf with kids, some surf even with dogs," she said.
Planned for ourselves - now it's for all
"In the very beginning of the Arctic Hectare program, we wanted to take a land plot for ourselves - to build a house by the lake, just to come there from time to time to surf the lake. We were far from any business, any SUP station. Then comes the governor's grant of 1 million rubles ($16,000) for young entrepreneurs. Thus, we combine the ideas - both to surf when we want it, and to develop the SUP boarding culture in the Murmansk Region."
Guests to Hyperborea may prefer to hike - the place is so scenic! "When we were picking a hectare, the biggest trick was to find a beautiful location which would suit us best. Close to the water, with beautiful nature, forest. We spend the spring and early summer driving across the Kola Peninsula back and forwards, uses a copter, or just walked. We've walked the areas in fact. In winter, we walked on wide snowshoes," Ekaterina said.
The girl's plan is - after she arranges electricity and all other infrastructures - guests will come in winter to practice snowshoeing. Ekaterina's partner on a neighboring hectare plans to offer accommodation inside Saami chums, and nearby there is a Hasky park. The hectares' owners will invite tourists to complex programs.
"Guests come here for a day, to the very evening. SUP boarding takes about a couple hours, then people are tired. And this would be the time to relax. We have a pavilion, where they may have snacks, tea. Besides, I cook venison dishes, and serve them. In summer and autumn - forest hiking, in winter - snowshoeing. The place is most beautiful and calm. Many would come here for the quiet atmosphere. Nobody around, just the nature, the water and SUP boarding which gives the feeling of freedom," she concluded.
2. Tourism business on lake
Tourism has been the biggest dream of Ilya Denisov from Karelia. He's a military retiree, a businessman in the Segezha District. In 2021, he received an Arctic Hectare at Urosozero. A year later, he built there two guest houses, a pier, and opened the Urosyarvi tourist base ('yarvi' in Karelian means 'lake').
"In the past, it was unrealistic to make true the dream of a tourist base, because buying land was out of question," he said. "I was eyeing the land, but everything was too expensive. When the program began, I decided - Why not try? And I did."
He knew the area very well, and the family helped to pick a plot. Under the program, people may obtain plots in cooperation, and Ilya applied for three plots - for himself, for the son and for the wife, so that his guests and neighbors could feel comfortable.
Most forest areas in the region are rented by logging companies, but the family managed to find a calm location not far from the Sumerechi station.
This is a big advantage for those who invite tourists to relax in Karelia's remote areas - the railway maintains and cleans from snow the most part of the road from the Kola highway to the Sumerechi station. The remaining three kilometers of a ground road, arranged in the soviet times, are Ilya's responsibility. A shop, which is about one kilometer away from the base, offers delivery services.
"I can't say this place is very popular, but the locals, in the villages, know it well. They've no problems with me. Some of them come here, walk, spend time," Ilya said.
The base is two guest houses - Blueberries and Lingonberries, - a pier and a sauna. The business has been working for less than a year. Over that time, guests have come from Astrakhan, Belgorod, Tambov, Tver, Yaroslavl, St. Petersburg and Moscow.
People living in the Murmansk Region also come to spend time by Urosozero. Even in the first year, Ilya said, he had to deny some bookings. Word-of-mouth recommendations promote the base. In September, Ilya welcomed guests, and now he plans a pause - until electricity lines connect the base with main supplier. The plan is - electricity will be available in spring, 2023, and Ilya will equip guest houses with fridges.
"Winters here are long, nights are long - it's not quite bright even at 10 in the morning, and it's absolutely dark at 4 pm. If we continue working without electricity, people will stay indoors, the generator will be working and working, which means much money for gas and woods. So, I'd rather hold for now, and next year I'll be able to have an autumn-winter season - with electricity and with five houses," he said. "I've bought already new fridges, microwaves, pots - so that my guests feel comfortable."
By next season, he will build another two small houses and one big house - to accommodate 12 clients. The houses will have water supplies. Sewage, however, remains at the elementary level, like in villages: sewage systems cannot be arranged in that area on the rock.
Ilya continues the building jointly with the son. His approach is - do it yourself, if you want it done well. The family invests all the money in the base, hoping for future revenues and future developments.
"I may have a kids playground next to the big house - it seems just the place for it. A mini playground for kids, to have fun, badminton, volleyball, probably a couple slides. Kayaks, SUP boards are also on our plans," he concluded.