Lighthouses of Russia: Nenetsia

Nenetsia is the Nenets Autonomous Region of the Arkhangelsk Oblast in northwestern Russia. The population of Nenetsia is a little over 40,000, making it the least populous unit of the Russian Federation. The coastline of the region faces north on the southeastern corner of the Barents Sea. It may come as a surprise to lighthouse fans to learn that there are many lighthouses along these Arctic waterways. These lighthouses are surely among the most poorly known in the world. Under the Soviets, they were not accessible to Westerners, and even today many areas in the Russian North are restricted. But cruise ships are beginning to visit these waters, so conditions for visiting the lighthouses may be improving. Special thanks to Michel Forand for sharing his research on the lighthouses of this area and providing data from recent Admiralty light lists. If you have any photos of lighthouses in this area, or spot any such photos on the Internet, please let me know. Russian lighthouses are owned and operated by the Russian Navy, although some of them have civilian keepers. The Russian word for a lighthouse is mayak (маяк); mys is a cape and ostrov is an island. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Russian light list (RU) numbers are from Russian Navy Publications 2103 (Barents Sea), 2105 (White Sea), or 2111 (Kara Sea) as reported by the Admiralty. Admiralty numbers are from volume L of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 115. General Sources Europäische Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse. Lighthouse photos This Ukrainian site is a rich source of photos for Russian and Ukrainian lighthouses. Reconstruction of Beacons in Russia This page of before-and-after photos was posted by EDM, a Russian engineering company that has completed reconstruction and restoration of many historic lighthouses in the Russian North.

Kanin Nos Light, October 2008 Russian Hydrographic Service photo

Kanin Peninsula Lighthouses
Note: The anvil-shaped Kanin Peninsula projects northward into the Arctic Ocean, separating the northern White Sea on the west from the Barents Sea to the north and east. Shoyna is the only substantial settlement on the peninsula.

Reka Nes'

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); white flash every 5 s. 21 m (69 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a slatted daymark painted with red and white horizontal bands. Maxim Ldokov has a distant view, but Google's satellite view has no detail in the area. Located on a headland near the base of the west side of the peninsula. Site status unknown. RU 2105-3220; Admiralty L7100; NGA 16220.

Konushin Nos (Mys Konushin, Mys Konushinskiy)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 62 m (203 ft); white flash every 5 s. 21 m (69 ft) square skeletal tower, supposedly carrying a daymark painted yellow with a black vertical band. The daymark is not seen in a photo of the lighthouse. Google has only a distant satellite view of the area. Located on a prominent cape about 120 km (75 mi) south of Shoyna. Site status unknown. RU 2105-3165; Admiralty L7105; NGA 16224.

Shoyna (2) 1960 (station established 1931). Active; focal plane 52 m (172 ft); two long white flashes every 10 s. 32 m (105 ft) cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted with horizontal red and white bands. The engineering company EDM restored the lighthouse in 2006 and has photos taken before and after the restoration, and Google has a good satellite view. The photo at right must also have been taken just after the restoration. This lighthouse has an important role in warning ships bound southeast into the White Sea away from the east coast. Located atop sand dunes on a promontory just west of the former fishing village of Shoyna. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-062; RU 2105-3130; Admiralty L7116; NGA 16240. Kanin Nos 1915. Active; focal plane 75 m (246 ft); two white flashes every 13.8 s. 22 m (75 ft) cross-shaped pyramidal wood tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted with black and white horizontal bands; lantern painted black. Fog horn (Morse code "G": two longs and one short, every 30 s). A photo is at the top of this page, another good photo is available, and Wikimedia has Mihail Gluhov's photo of the abandoned station taken from the lighthouse, but Google has only a distant satellite view of the area. The lighthouse stands on the cape at the eastern entrance to the White Sea from the Barents Sea. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-037; RU 2103-1220; Admiralty L7140; NGA 16256. Madakha Date unknown. Active; focal plane 49 m (161 ft); white flash every 5 s. 20 m (66 ft) skeletal tower, painted yellow, carrying a rectangular red daymark. No photo available, and Google has a very fuzzy satellite view of the area. Located on the central north coast of the peninsula. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-048; RU 2103-1225; Admiralty L7146; NGA 16260. Vostochnaya Kambal'nitsa (Ostrov Korga) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); white flash every 3 s. 19 m (62 ft) skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available, and Google has only a very distant satellite view of the island. Located on a sandy barrier island off the northeast coast of the peninsula. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1230; Admiralty L7152; NGA 16264. Mikulkin Nos Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 3 s. 22 m (72 ft) skeletal tower carrying a round topmark painted brown. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the cape. Located at the eastern corner of the peninsula, marking the west side of the entrance to Chesha Bay. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1250; Admiralty L7158; NGA 16272.

Shoyna Light, Shoyna, 2006 Wikimapia Creative Commons photo

Chesha Bay Lighthouses
Note: Chesha Bay occupies a circular basin on the southeast side of the Kanin Peninsula.

Nadteisalya

Date unknown. Inactive since 2010. 22 m (72 ft) skeletal tower carrying a round topmark painted white. No photo available, and Google has only a distant satellite view of the area. Located on a promontory on the southeastern coast of the Kanin Peninsula. Site status unknown. ex-Admiralty L7158.5; ex-NGA 16277.

Oma

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 3 s. 22 m (72 ft) skeletal tower carrying a "black round structure," according to the Admiralty. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the location. Located on the west side of the entrance to the Oma estuary, on the south shore of Chesha Bay. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1275; Admiralty L7160; NGA 16280.

Mys Bol'shoy Vzglavnyy

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); white flash every 5 s. 17 m (56 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a round daymark painted white with a black band. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on the west side of the entrance to the Pesha River, at the southeastern corner of Chesha Bay. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1279; Admiralty L7165; NGA 16285.

Mys Suvoynyy

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); white flash every 4 s. 24 m (79 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark painted white with a black band. No photo available, and Google has a only a distant satellite view of the cape. Located on a sharp cape on the east side of Chesha Bay about 80 km (50 mi) north of the Pesha River. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1315; Admiralty L7170; NGA 16290.

Mys Barmin

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 3 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower carrying two circular black and white daymarks. No photo available, and Google has a only a distant satellite view of the cape. Located on a sharp cape at the eastern entrance to Chesha Bay. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1320; Admiralty L7180; NGA 16296.

Kolguyev Island Lighthouses
Note: Ostrov Kolguyev is a roughly circular island about 80 km (50 mi) in diameter and 120 km (75 mi) northeast of the Kanin Peninsula. The island has a small Nenets settlement as well as bases for oil and gas production.
Ploskiye Koshki

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); white flash every 3 s. 33 m (108 ft) skeletal tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. The tower also carries two square slatted daymarks. No photo available, and the location is only a blur in Google's satellite view. Located on a small island off the southeastern coast of Kolguyev. Accessible only by boat. RU 2103-1395; Admiralty L7196; NGA 16308.

Kolguyev-Yuzhnyy (South Kolguyev)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 5 s. 18 m (56 ft) skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark painted red with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, and Google's distant satellite view has no detail. Located on the southernmost point of Kolguyev. Accessible only by boat. RU 2103-1382; Admiralty L7195; NGA 16309.

Kolguyev Severnyy (North Kolguyev)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 73 m (240 ft); three white flashes every 15.4 s. 28 m (92 ft) tower. Lighthouse painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, and Google's distant satellite view has no detail. Located on the northernmost point of Kolguyev. Accessible only by boat. ARLHS ERU-044; RU 2103-1435; Admiralty L7210; NGA 16316.

Kolguyev Vostochnyy (East Kolguyev)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); white flash every 5 s. 34 m (112 ft) skeletal tower. The tower also carries red square and rectangular white slatted daymarks. No photo available, and Google's distant satellite view has no detail. Located on the easternmost point of Kolguyev. Accessible only by boat. RU 2103-1430; Admiralty L7214; NGA 16312.

Pechora Sea and Pechora Gulf Lighthouses
Note: The southeastern corner of the Barents Sea, between Kolguyev and Vaygach islands, is known in Russia as the Pechora Sea (Pechorskoye More). The Pechora Gulf is an embayment of this sea that receives the outflow of the Pechora River. Naryan-Mar, the capital of Nenetsia, is located on the Pechora River 110 km (70 mi) from the mouth.

Cheshkiy Date unknown. Active; focal plane 36 m (118 ft); one long (1.5 s) white flash every 6 s. 27 m (89 ft) cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and yellow horizontal bands. Igor Kuznetsov's photo is at right, and another photo is available, but Google's distant satellite view does not show the station. The lighthouse marks the end of a long, narrow peninsula projecting into the sea at the eastern entrance to Cheshkiy Bay roughly 175 km (110 mi) east of Kanin Nos. (The cape is called Svyatoy Nos, but there is a better-known cape by that name at the western entrance to the White Sea.) Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-022; RU 2103-1370; Admiralty L7190; NGA 16304. Ostrov Sengeyskiy Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); white flash every 6 s. 16 m (52 ft) square pyramidal skeletal (?) tower, painted black. The light may be in the background of a photo (2/3 the way down the page); Google's indistinct satellite view does not reveal the tower. Located on Sengey island, a barrier island off the mainland opposite Kolguyev island. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1440; Admiralty L7220; NGA 16328 Khodovarikha Date unknown. Active; focal plane 36 m (118 ft); two white flashes every 30 s. 26 m (85 ft) hexagonal wood-shingled tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and white vertical stripes. A photo and a foggy photo show the vertical striping, but there is another photo showing the lighthouse all black. A distant view is also available, but Google has only a very distant satellite view. Located on a headland of the mainland about 200 km (125 mi) east of Kolguyev Island. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-040; RU 2103-1465; Admiralty L7234; NGA 16344. Mys Russkiy Zavorot Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); 14 m (46 ft) square pyramid, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available; the area is ice-covered in Google's distant satellite view. Located near the end of the point on the west side of the entrance to the Pechora Gulf Site status unknown. RU 2103-1475; Admiralty L7238; NGA16348 Gulyayevskiye Koshki No. 3 Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white light, 2.2 s on, 4.8 s off. 22 m (72 ft) square skeletal tower, painted black; the tower also carries a slatted daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available; the area is ice-covered in Google's distant satellite view. Located on the third of nine islands scattered across the mouth of the Pechora Gulf. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1500; Admiralty L7246; NGA 16352.

Cheshkiy Light, 2007 Panoramio photo copyright Igor Kuznetsov; permission requested

Shvedskiye Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); white flash every 5 s. 24 m (79 ft) skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available. Located at the entrance to the Pechora Gulf, a few miles southeast of the Gulyayevskiye Koshki light. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1541; Admiralty L7250.1; NGA 16360.

Mys Konstantinovskiy

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 7 s. 18 m (56 ft) pyramidal tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available, and Google's satellite view has no detail in this area. Located on a promontory east of the entrance to the Pechora Gulf. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1565; Admiralty L7254; NGA 16364.

Mys Bolvanskiy

Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 44 m (144 ft); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off. 18 m (59 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower. This is probably the tower seen in the distance in Galina Malkova's photo; if so, it has a bad lean and is probably endangered. Google's satellite view has no detail of the cape. Not to be confused with the Bolvanskiy Nos Light (see below). Located on a promontory on the east side of the entrance to the Pechora River, at the southern end of the Pechora Gulf. Site status unknown. RU 2103-1587; Admiralty L7262.

Ostrov Matveyev Date unknown. Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); one long (1.5 s) white flash every 6 s. 30 m (98 ft) round cylindrical yellow concrete block tower with lantern and gallery; the lantern is painted black. Nikita Kucheruk's photo is at right, another photo is available, and Google has a distant satellite view of the island. This lighthouse guides ships eastbound towards Yugorskiy Shar. Located on the northern tip of an island in the Pechora Sea about 250 km (150 mi) west of the western entrance to the Yugorskiy strait (see below). Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-132; RU 2103-1955; Admiralty L7480; NGA 16440. Vaygach Island Lighthouses Note: Vaygach Island lies just off the end of the Yogorskiy Peninsula. The Yugorskiy Strait is the narrow passage between the northern end of the peninsula and Vaygach Island. The strait, a shortcut from the southeastern corner of the Barents Sea to the southwestern corner of the Kara Sea, is a key passage in Russia's Arctic waterway, the Northern Sea Route. Always a difficult passage, it narrows to as little as 3 km (1.9 mi) and has been known for centuries as the "Iron Gateway" to the Siberian coast. Vessels can avoid the Yugorskiy strait by sailing around the north end of Vaygach Island, which is separated from Novaya Zemlya by the 56 km (35 mi) wide Kara Strait. Mys Greben Date unknown. Active; focal plane 43 m (141 ft); white flash every 3 s. 38 m (124 ft) skeletal tower carrying a rectangular daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available; Google has a very distant satellite view of the cape. Located on the north side of the western entrance to the Yugorskiy Strait. Site status unknown. RU 2103-2000; Admiralty L7494; NGA 16450. Varnek Range Rear Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (79 ft); one long yellow flash every 6 s. 19 m (62 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a slatted daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. A photo is available, but Google's satellite view has no detail in this area. The front light is on an 11 m (36 ft) skeletal tower. Located at Varnek, a small village on an embayment on the north side of Yugorskiy Strait. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty RU 2111-0260; L7498 Belyy Yugorskiy Date unknown. Active; focal plane approx. 20 m (66 ft); two red flashes every 10 s. Approx. 14 m (46 ft) square skeletal tower mounted atop a 1-story wood keeper's cottage. A photo is available, but Google's satellite view has no detail in this area. Located on a promontory on the north side of the eastern entrance to Yugorskiy Strait. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0360; Admiralty L7572.

Ostrov Matveyev Light, September 2003 Wikimapia Creative Commons photo by Nikita Kucheruk

Bolvanskiy Nos

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); one long white flash every 6 s. 20 m (66 ft) square pyramidal wood skeletal tower, painted in a black and white checkerboard pattern. A photo and a second photo are available, but Google has only a very fuzzy satellite view of the cape. A weather station surrounds the lighthouse. Not to be confused with the Mys Bolvanskiy Light (see above). Located at the northern tip of Vaygach Island, marking the eastern entrance to the Kara Strait. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0385; Admiralty L7566.

Oleniy Severo-Zapadnyy

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); green flash every 5 s. 16 m (52 ft) square pyramidal wood skeletal tower, painted in black and white horizontal bands. A closeup photo is available, but Google has only a very fuzzy satellite view of the island. Located on a small island off the north coast of Vaygach Island about 30 km (19 mi) west of Bolvanskiy Nos. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0440; Admiralty L7564.

Ostrov Chirachiy

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); one long red flash every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) square pyramidal wood skeletal tower, painted in black and white horizontal bands. A closeup photo is available, but the island is only a blur in Google's satellite view. Located on a small island off the northwest coast of Vaygach Island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0420; Admiralty L7560.

Ostrov Kolyubakina

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); white flash every 4 s. 16 m (52 ft) square pyramidal wood skeletal tower, painted black with white diagonal stripes in the form of an X. No photo available, and the island is only a blur in Google's satellite view. Located on a small island off the northwest coast of Vaygach Island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU 2103-2070; Admiralty L7556.

Lapin Nos

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); white flash every 6 s. 33 m (108 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a daymark painted with brown and white horizontal bands. No photo available, and Google's satellite view has no detail of the cape. Located on a prominent cape on the central west coast of Vaygach Island. Site status unknown. RU 2103-2016; Admiralty L7553.

Kara Sea Lighthouses

Mys Yarossel' Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); white light, 2 s on, 8 s off. 16 m (52 ft) octagonal brick tower on a square brick base. The lighthouse is unpainted red brick (unusual for the Arctic). A photo is at right, but Google has only a very distant satellite view of the area. Located on the south side of the eastern entrance to the Yugorskiy Strait from the Kara Sea. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0350; Admiralty L7540; NGA 16520. Mys Tonkiy Date unknown. Active; focal plane 32 m (105 ft); one long flash every 7.5 s, white, red or green depending on direction. 8 m (26 ft) lantern mounted on a dilapidated 1-12/ story wood keeper's house. A photo is available, but Google has only a distant satellite view of the cape. This directional light guides vessels westbound to the Yugorskiy Strait. Located on a sharp cape about 12 km (7.5 mi) east of Mys Yarossel'. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0710; Admiralty L7990; NGA 16532. Ostrov Mestnyy Date unknown. Active; focal plane 56 m (184 ft); yellow flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square pyramidal tower, painted with black and white diagonal stripes. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the island. Located on an island about 2 km (1.25 mi) east of Mys Tonkiy. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0720; Admiralty L8000. Amderma Date unknown. Active; focal plane 56 m (184 ft); one long green flash every 6 s. 11 m (36 ft) square skeletal tower carrying a red triangular daymark. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the area. Located on a hillside behind the village of Amderma, about 30 km (20 mi) east of Mys Tonkiy. Site status unknown. RU 2111-0761; Admiralty L8008. Shpindlera Date unknown. Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); one long red flash every 8 s. 14 m (46 ft) square pyramidal wood skeletal tower, painted black with a white vertical stripe. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the area. Located about 120 km (75 mi) east of Amderma. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU-2111-0770; Admiralty L8012. Vylkin Nos Date unknown. Active; focal plane 59 m (194 ft); one long white flash every 8 s. 18 m (56 ft) square pyramidal wood skeletal tower, painted black. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the area. Located about 15 miles northwest of the seasonal village of Ust'-Kara. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU-2111-0775; Admiralty L8014.

Mys Yarossel' Light, July 2010 photo copyright Sevproster.ru; permission requested

Mys Tolstik

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); red flash every 3 s. 10 m (33 ft) square pyramidal wood skeletal tower, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available, and Google has only a fuzzy satellite view of the area. Located in the seasonal village of Ust'-Kara, at the eastern border of Nenetsia. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. RU-2111-0790; Admiralty L8015.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: Siberian Arctic | South: Eastern White Sea | West: Murmansk Area

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Posted December 7, 2005. Checked and revised September 19, 2012. Lighthouses: 40. Site copyright 2012 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.