One of the worst jobs in WWII must have been to be a sailor on the Murmansk run. Miserable weather, a sea infested with U-Boats, threat of air and sea attack from Norway . . . And if you make to Russia, what the heck would you do for fun with a pass in Murmansk???
There was no fun in Murmansk. My understanding is that the Soviets only let the merchant sailors off the ship only if essential to unloading. The dock workers were all in the Gulag as forced labor (who would want to be a dockworker in Murmansk?)
The merchant sailors said that looking into the eyes of the dockworkers was like looking into the eyes of the damned.