We came to the very small town of Dalniye Zelentsy in order to find and explore the abandoned Murmansk Marine Biology Institute (MMBI) base.

The town is located on the coast of a small bay (called the Oscar bay) of the Dalne-Zelenetskaya gulf of the Barents Sea.

The town appeared after a seasonal MMBI biological station was opened here in the 1930s. It remained the chief facility of the institute up until the early 1990s.

Currently there are only a few dozen permanent residents in the town.

A single five-storey building is left of the institute, and most of it is occupied by living quarters, but there is also an operational laboratory.

The rest of the houses (all of them, basically) are derelict and keep deteriorating because of the harsh Arctic weather conditions.

There is a burnt down hull of a large ship lying on the coast of the bay

The date is made of nails embedded in the concrete of some utility structure like a sewage well or a water drainage facility.

But then again, why would there be drainage or sewage here whatsoever?

There is a number of old boats scattered over the town.

And here is the building of the institute, the one we came such a long way to see

The front and the back views of the building

There are a few sheds located around it, most of them are just storage facilities

The plaque on the building has deteriorated due to high levels of humidity and temperature fluctuations.

A shed built on piles.

The metal items that are scattered around are slowly being consumed by corrosion, which was also studied close by.

The next post will be about the interiors of the building.

Images @ Lana Sator