Vienankemi

Vienankemi (sometimes spelt Vienan Kemi, Russ. Кемь, Kare. Kemi) is a Uralican city in northern Karelia, located on Highway UH-7D, at the mouth of the Kemi River as it enters the White Sea (via Keminlahti, Kemi Bay). It is known for the fact that it stretches out over a 10-kilometre section of coastline, due to the amalgamation of the town of Rabocheostrovsk (Worker's Island Settlement) and several surrounding hamlets.

The nomenclature of the city is somewhat unique. The name "Kemi" supposedly comes from an older Finno-Ugric word meaning "big river," however this has not been proven, and another word kemi existed in Old Finnish, meaning "arable," for lack of a better translation. Interestingly enough, although Uralican Spoken Finnish calls the Northern Dvina Tivina, it has retained the "Viena" name for both the White Sea (Vienanmeri) and this city, so as to distinguish it from the Kemi in northwestern Old Finland, which is simply "Kemi." However, in Karelian, this is reversed, with this city being Kemi and the one in Finland being Suomenkemi.

Given its location right on the White Sea, the most important industries are actually fishery and canning, but a drop in the local fish stocks mean that most fish canned in Uralica is actually imported from the Aethiopian Empire. As the stocks are slowly being revitalised, Vienankemi has been in a process of diversifying its economy, with pulp-and-paper milling, metallurgy and mineral processing, chemical manipulation, furniture making, and food production all now having a decent presence within the city. There is also a small hydroelectric power scheme in the area.

Culture
Although the area was initially inhabited by Finnic and possibly Samic peoples, by the time of the first mention of the settlement in 1450 (as Kem'), the area was under the control of a Novgorodian noblewoman. Everything happening since this is chronicled in Vienankemi's historical museum. Other popular tourist spots include a small marine biology outpost on the White Sea and a large wooden cathedral dating back to 1717.

Not in Kemi per se, but accessible from it, is the Solovetsky Monastery, which is a massive complex whose oldest buildings actually predate the first mentions of Kem. It had a brief history as a non-Christian facility, first from 1926-1939 as one of the first gulags, then later as a naval academy. After being partially destroyed and left derelict by the Soviet Union, a refurbishment project began in 1992, the same year it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, the Cataclysm of late 2005 did further damage to it. It wasn't until mid-2008 that the project was completed. Although there were plans to cease using the monastery as a museum, those have been shelved. Tours are done six days a week, and Orthodox services are held on Sunday.

Neighbourhoods and Suburbs

 * Narela
 * Ganzhyovo
 * Kashkaturka
 * Rabocheostrovsk
 * Keminsatama