R12 road (Russia)

The Russian route R12, also known as the Lotta, is a regional road that which connects Murmansk and Finland. Its length is 231 km.
Until the middle of the twentieth century, missing road links from Kola and Murmansk to Finland along the Lotta River. The need for a road arose in the 1960s, in connection with the construction of the Upper Tuloma Hydroelectric Power Plant. The Upper Tuloma Hydroelectric Power Plant was built by Soviet and Finnish specialists. The construction of the road began in 1961. The road to the village of builders, which later became known as Verkhnetulomsky, was also built by the joint efforts of the two countries. From Kola the road was built by Soviet builders, from Finland by Finnish builders.
In 1967, the frontier and customs post "Lotta" was opened on the road.
In 2010, 191 km of the road from 231 had asphalt concrete, the remaining 40 km had gravel concrete.
Major settlements along the road include Murmansk, Tuloma, Verkhnetulomsky, and Svetly. After crossing the border, the route continues to Ivalo.