The Mining Institute dealt with the problems of geomechanics that with setting up the mining- and-processing industry under the specific arctic conditions. The occurrence of horizontal tectonic stresses in the basement cristalline rocks and in the metamorphosed series of the upper layers of the Earth`s crust was proved by experiment and given a substantiation; some cardinal engineering suggestions were given on how to take these stresses into account in mining operations and in construction of underground facilities for the Apatit Industrial Amalgamation and Kovdorsky GOK; the problems connected with control over ore mass flows passing through ore chutes in the greatest in the world mountain open pits were solved; the ways of safe dump formation on steep slopes during intensive snowing were determined. To comprehensively process mineral raw materials in closed water cycles some methods were developed and some apparatus designed; new reagents and reagent regimes for selective flotation of phosphate, alumina, titanium, feldspar and of other ores were synthesized, enabling high grade concentrates to be produced from rebellious ores of a complicated mineralogical composition. For the first time were the apparatus designed that enabled minerals to be separated on the basis of their magnetic- gravitational and flotation properties.

The visit of M.S. Gorbachev to the Murmansk region in 1988
favoured the Governmental resolution to create Kola science center and a number of institutes in its structure.

The Institute of Chenistry developed new technological processes of the niobium and tantalum, production, zirconium-niobium alloys and hardeners; the principles of loparite and perovskite hydrometallurgical processing were established; methods of the extremely pure alkali metals production have been suggested. To implement the plans, designed by A.Ye.Fersman, on non-waste utilization of apatite-nepheline ores, research chemists developed a high-effective technology for rare-earth elements recovery from apatite concentrate, and, jointly with the Apatit Industrial Amalgamation, they worked out industrial methods of the titanium pigments production from the Khibiny sphene. Under the guidance of D.L.Motov, Honoured Inventor of the USSR, the production of a titanium tanning agent having no analogues, was introduced at the plants (later, the licences for the technology were sold to many countries, resulting in a 2 billion profit return for the academy). To diminish the impact on the environment, a number of technologies were worked out and introduced at the industry. These are the silicate brick production from iron ore waste produced by the Olenegorsk integrated iron-ore works, the production of slag wool, sorbents and concrete from slag produced by the Severonikel combine. New low-temperature glass-ceramic connectives for the abrasive instruments production using the Kola mineral raw materials were synthesized.

The Polar Geophysical Institute in co-operation with the IZMIRAN and some French research organizations carried out the unique experiments "Araks" and "Zarnitsa" on active change of the local parameters of the polar ionosphere by the r.f. emission and electron beam injection. A system of all-planetary ionospheric distribution of nonuniformities dissipating the ultrashort radiowaves was determined, and a shortwave high- latitudinal radio connection prediction technique, taking into account noise effects produced by the Aurora lights, was created. With the help of baloon measurements the structure and dynamics of high-energy electron flows in the magnetosphere within the periods of its disturbances was investigated; physical principles of forecasting a radiation situation in the high latitudinal stratosphere and near-Earth space were developed. The Institute became a co-author of a scientific invention known as Getmantsev`s effect. For further development of investigations in the field of geophysics, the High-Latitudinal Ionoshere Complex of the USSR Academy of Sciences was planned to be set up to carry out a comprehensive investigation of the dynamics and structure of the high-latitudinal ionosphere; the investigations of interaction between the ionosphere and magnetosphere, and those of peculiarities of wave propagation in high latitudes. Some apparatus and a theoretical substantiation developed by a group of scientists under the guidance of Ye.D.Tereshchenko, made it possible, some years earlier than in the leading foreign centres, to master the radiotomographic methods for measurement of the 2D electron density distribution in the subauroral and auroral ionosphere (these works were later rewarded with two State Prizes). With the help of a unique plant for partial reflection designed in the testing ground near the settlement of Tumanny, it became possible, for the first time, to record specific wave reflections, in the medium frequencies (2.7 MHz), from the polar summer ionosphere region that are analogous to the mesosphere echo PMSE that is observed by the MST- and incoherent scattering radars.

The Murmansk Marine Biological Institute discovered the biological regularities determining the Barents sea productivity, including the hydrochemical regime, the organic substance turnover; the metabolic processes in marine ecosystems; the physiological principles and the behaviour mechanism of fish and invertebrates as well as the pollutants impact on the marine organisms. Ways of bringing the coastal ecosystem and food-fish cultivation to a commercial level were being determined. Research base and sea transportation facilities for sea research expeditions have been developed in a planned way. The Institute was equiped with a research ship "Dalny Zelentsy" of an unlimited cruising range and of 120-t displacement. An international biological station in the Franz-Josef Land (the Tikhaya Bay, the Guker island) and an experimental base in the White Sea coast (the settlement of Khyazhaya near the Kandalaksha Bay, the White sea) were set up. An experimental aquacomplex was constructed to carry out experiments with marine mammals and fish, and there was a pilot seaweed plantation for the laminarium growing technology development.

The Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden was granted a status of a research institute in 1967, which testified the fact that the contribution of the Kola school of botanists to the investigations of the subarctic vegetation was recognized. The Institute compilated and published a multivolume summary "Flora of the Murmansk region", "A vegetation map of the Murmansk region", "A Red Book of Flora of the Murmansk region", and a "Soil map of the Murmansk region" at a scale of 1:500,000. The scientific principles of podsolic and peaty-boggy soils cultivation were developed; effective ways of recultivation of the areas disturbed by mining activities and those of the development of the ornamental gardening in the northern areas were suggested. In 1981, the Polar- Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute was awarded to Order лBadge of Honour¬ for its practical success in study and mastering the biological resources of the region.

In 1960, the Department of Hydroelectric Power was set up as a structural subdivision for investigations in the field of power, being included into the KFAN. When the Mining-Metallurgical Institute was set up, the Department of Hydroelectric Power was included into it as a Laboratory of Power and Integrated Water Supply Problems. By the 1960s the hydrologists and power engineers have compilated a Catalogue of rivers and lakes, and Power Cadastre of the Murmansk region; the recommendations given by power engineers were made use of in the construction of the Voronia and Teriberka Hydros. During those years to optimize of the fuel and power balance in the North-West area of the USSR, the works on optimization of the power consumption regimes at the industrial enterprises, and on that of the heating regimes in a dwelling complex, were started. At the late 1960s first integrated investigations were carried out on the evaluation of the pollution level in Lake Imandra where the industrial waste produced by mining and processing combines, were discharged to, and the recommendations concerning the pollution decrease in the lake, its fishing potential rehabilitation, and utilization of the lake for recreation purposes was elaborated. Having become an independent subdivision (1972), the Department of Power headed by I.R.Stepanov, Dr. Sci.(Eng.), paid a great attention to the investigations connected with the future development of the power facilities, to the development of integrated problems of fuel and power supply. The forecasts and programmes concerning the development of the regional power and the power of the European North of the USSR for a long period of time (15-20 years) were developed. Wind power cadastres of the Murmansk region and those of the European North of the USSR were worked out. Some questions on atomic power- and-heat generation in the Murmansk region were discussed including the substantiation of the construction of an underground nuclear thermoelectric plant near Murmansk, and the substantiation of heat supply to the settlements located near the Kola NPP. Some works on improvement of the power lines and substations protection from thunderstorms under the increased soil resistivity were carried out.

The resolution of the Presidium of the AS to create KSC was prepared by a commission from the AS, consisting of academicians M.I. Shults, N.M. Zhavoronkov, G.I. Marchuk and corr.-mem. V.I. Revnivtsev. Memorable photo in the Presidium of KBr of the AS.

The Department of Economic Investigations carried out a great number of investigations connected with the elaboration of the prospects of the future socio-and-economic development of the Murmansk region, with the economic evaluation of comprehensive utilization of natural resources. Schemes of the productive forces development and allocation in the Murmansk region over a 5-year period and long-term programmes of their development as well as the regional labour resources formation over a 5-year period, were being regularly elaborated. In co-operation with the Karelian and Komi Branches of the USSR AS, a forecast for a comprehensive utilization of natural resources was made, and the main directions of the productive forces development in the European North of the USSR during the period from 1981 to 2000 were elaborated. The investigations carried out revealed the main directions aimed at making the production more efficient at the leading enterprises of the specialized branches of industries of the Murmansk region as well as in agriculture; determined the economic efficiency of the fixed production assets and of capital investments under the Arctic conditions; made it possible to elaborate an optimal perspective plan of an comprehensive utilization of the Khibiny apatite-nepheline ores and modernize their cost estimation technnique, reveale the technical-and- economic premises for commercial mining and processing low-grade copper-nickel ores of the Kola peninsula; on the basis of rational utilization of useful minerals, to elaborate an optimization technique for setting up, development and allocation of industrial complexes.

Since the late 1970s, some works were launched on preservation and improvement of the environment under the Arctic conditions, the forecasts of its change under the enhanced rate of the economy development being elaborated. Many research and technological problems were solved by research miners, chemists and botanists. To make these problems more ecologically orientated, the Laboratory of Nature Protection (headed by V.V.Kryuchkov, Dr. Sci. (Biol.)) was set up within the KFAN.A long-term plan for territorial development of reserves" and zakazniks (reserves), for protection of objects of nature in order to the ecological balance in the Kola peninsula, was elaborated; the regularities of the impact zone formation around the industrial centres effecting the environment, atmosphere, snow and soil-vegetation covers, water bodies, are being studied; the questions concerning the rational utilization and protection of unique Lake Imandra and those of chemical and biological recultivation of waste generated by processing industry being solved.

The Kola Science CentreТs (KSC) structure, as of the 1950s-70s period, allowed to solve the tasks of a wide sphere of scientific-and-technological problems facing the economy and life and survival in the Arctic conditions; carry out fundamental investigations on problems determined by and related to a specific geography of the region. The integrated interdisciplinary investigations carried out in the KSC resulted in broadening data and knowledge bases necessary for revealing the most important factors and regularities responsible for the state and dynamics of interactions between nature systems in the polar region of the Earth as well as those determining the resource potential and keeping stable conditions necessary for life and efficient activity of people.

At the same time, the importance of some new factors of a technological and geopolitical nature increased, which required changing the trend of the scientific potential development, which was presented mainly by the academic science in the region.The intensive development of the mining complex, the prospects of oil and gas development in the Barents shelf made the investigations on the environmental protection in the Barents region of the first priority, in which, against other Arctic regions, the impact exerted on its ecological systems by man`s activities has reached its critical level. The technical revolution determined by general and wide-scale application of computing machinery required to launch the investigations in the field of informatics and mathematical modelling of technological and socio-and-economic processes. Being intensively developed, the Russian sector of the Barents region, turned into the most economically developed and urbanized region against the other near-arctic regions of the Earth whose economy was based on industries exploiting the nature. The regional industrial complex and traditional system of economic and natural resources management, however, needed urgent improvement because these did not provide for, in terms of technology, a complete comprehensive utilization of raw materials resources, and initiated only the processes of non-reversable degradation of the biosphere, and, in terms of economics, the system was unstable, having no reserves to improve its efficiency even in the economic medium of that period. During its first steps which were made by the state towards its integration into the world economy, the geographic location of the region opened new opportunities for its socio-and-economic development, which have to be effectively and quickly used.

The leaders of the KFAN and Academy of Sciences have made the most of the situation formed. It was decided to strengthen the scientific potential of the region, to orientate the activity towards high technologies and new scientific directions. In 1985 the Kola Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was headed by V.T.Kalinnikov, a corr.-member of the RAS (in the year 2000 - was conferred with a title of Academician). Some Institutes are headed by the future academicians of the RAS - F.P.Mitrofanov, Dr.Sci.(Geol.-Min.), N.N.Melnikov, Dr.Sci.(Eng.), G.G.Matishov, Dr.Sci.(Geogr.).

The scientists of the KFAN develop and advance the idea of the Kola mining complex (KMC) formation on the basis of comprehensive utilization of mineral raw materials of the Kola peninsula. The Interdepartmental territorial commission of the State Planning Committee of the USSR (Gosplan of the USSR) on the development of the KMC was set up in 1984, in 1985 a Programme of Comprehensive Utilization of Raw Materials of the Kola peninsula was developed and in 1986 it was approved by the decision of the USSR N1226 "On comprehensive utilization of minerals of the Kola Peninsula".
		The museum of the Arctic research and development of the International center of science, culture and education development in the Barents Region.

To implement this decision and to develop works on the problems of the Extreme North economy, the Department of Economic Researches was transformed into the Institute of Economic Problems (G.P.Luzin, Dr.Sci.(Econ.) as Director). Then some proposals on acceleration of socio-economic development of the Murmansk region were elaborated, forming the basis of Decision N338 passed by the Government of the USSR in 1988 "On measures on acceleration of socio-economic development of the Murmansk region in the 1988-90 period and up to the year 2005. In accordance with this decision, the Kola Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences has got a status of the Science Centre of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and some measures were provided for further strengthening its material base and expand the network of scientific institutions. Some Institutes were set up - 1989 - the Institute of Informatics and Mathematical Modeling of Technological Processes - IIMM: (V.A.Putilov, Dr.Sci.(Eng.) as Director), and the Institute of Problems of the Industrial Ecology of the North - IPIEN (G.V.Kalabin, Dr.Sci.(Eng.) as Director); 1991 - the Kola Regional Seismological Centre - KRSC (I.A.Kuzmin, Dr.Sci.(Phys.-Math.) as Director); 1990 - the Department of Power was transformed into the Institute of Physical-and-Technological Problems of the Power of the North - IPTPPN (A.A.Papin, Dr.Sci.(Eng.) as Director).

The major task facing the Institute of Problems of the Industrial Ecology of the North was the elaboration of scientific principles of ecological optimization of nature management in the North, with the Kola peninsula taken as an example, as the most developed mining-and-metallurgical region of the Russa`s North..

The Institute of Physical-and-Technological Problems of Power Industry of the North was to tackle the regional problems connected with power industry, to determine the strategy of its development, to inhance the reliability of power supply, and to accomplish the practical tasks connected with the implementation of the programmes on heat-and-power supply.The Kola Regional Seismological Centre was aimed to provide for seismic monitoring within the North-European area of Russia as a region with plenty of nuclear objects as well as due to the plans concerning with the construction of some facilities involved in oil-and gas-development in the northern sea shelf.The Institute of Informatics and Mathematic Modeling of Technological Processes dealt with the development of scientific and applied problems on informatization of technological processes.The factors mentioned above were also the determining ones in the consequent years for the directions of scientific researches carried out by the KSC. (The present state of the scientific institutions of the KSC and their basic achievements are summerized in brief below).The accelerated convertion of the economic complex of the country into a maket system after 1991 and the change in the federative relations have significantly corrected only the spectrum of economic studies. Negative effect on the development of researches in Russia as a whole was produced by a sharp reduction in financing science, resulted in reduction of researches and personnel. The period of growth of the KSC, observed since the 1930s, had changed to a period of reduction after the IIM, IPIEN, and IPIEN had been set up: the personnel was twice as less by the year 2000, amounting about 1900 people. Nevertheless, in spite of a very complicated economic and social situation, they managed to preserve and strengthen the material base necessary in carrying out fundamental academic researches in the Euro-Arctic region, to strenthen the personnel potential and create the necessary conditions for efficient and creative work carried out by researchers. The scientific activity of the institutes of the KSC is concentrated on system investigations on the key problems determining the current day strategy in nature management and life support in the Euro-Arctic region. There were new scientific schools formed in the region that occupied a leading position in studies on the peculiarities of nature and socio-and-economic sphere of the Western Arctic. At present the researches are carried out using modern information technologies (including GIS-technologies, computer databases, simulation modeling etc.). A local information-communication network enabling the access to the WWW was set up in Academic Town.Due to a target-oriented support rendered by the RAS, the analytical and monitoring laboratories of the KSC have been equipped with a number of unique instruments for geochemical and material-.... investigations; the expeditionary ships are equipped with some devices for satellite navigation.

The co-operation with a number of foreign research organizations and universities, in the Barents region primarily, was extended. Some international teams were formed within some projects concerning the natural protection themes, the ecological, including nuclear, safety, as well as the sphere of economics. The greater role in broadening the international contacts is being played by the International Centre on Science, Culture and Education Promotion in the Barents region that is known abroad as ."Nordic Study Centre".

The science and higher schools have been successfully integrated. By the initiation of the KSC, a set of higher schools based on the KSC`s potential, are being formed including the Branches of Petrozavodsk State University and Murmansk Technical University, St.-Petersburg Engineering and Economic Academy.This contributes the strengthening of the KSC`s position in the region, forms a potential used in the research pesonnel renewal at the expense of students and graduates involvement into various scientivic activities. The staff of the KSC is replenished with skilled personnel taking post-graduate studies. In the year 2000, 82 post-graduates and 97 Doctoral candidates were taking a post-graduate course on 18 specialities. Four specialized scientific councils on theses defence were formed at the KSC: for a doctor`s degree - on three specialities, and for a candidate`s degree - on four specialities.

An illustration of the scientific potential qualitative growth and of highly effective researches made by the scientists of the KSC was the fact that a number of leading scientists were elected to the Academy of Sciences as its members, some scientists have received academic ranks, State Prizes and awards. Since 1985 the staff of the KSC has been replenished with 4 academicians and 2 corresponding-members of the RAS; 9 leading scientists of the KSC received a title of "Нonoured Scientist of the RF"; 3 scientists received a title of "Нonoured Economist of the RF";3 scientists received a title of "Honoured Inventor of the RF";16 scientists were approved as Professors;23 scientists have become State and Government Prize winners;14 collaborates of the KSC received government awards.The activitiy of the KSC was reported at the meeting of the Presidium of the RAS in 1994, being positevely assessed. In 1999 all the Institutes of the KSC have passed the state accreditation, the Kola Regional Seismological Centre was included into the Geophysical Survey of the RAS.