Refugees and migrants gather near a check point on the Russian-Norwegian border

Refugees and migrants gather near a check point on the Russian-Norwegian border outside Nickel settlement in Murmansk region, on Oct. 30, 2015. The flow of Middle Eastern migrants trying to reach Europe via the Russian Arctic slowed dramatically on Oct. 29, partly due to a shortage of bicycles to cross the border. According to officials, many Syrians obtain business or study visas to enter Russia and then travel through Moscow and Murmansk to Nickel, a town of some 12,000 population named after the metal mined there.