The main city of the Nenets Autonomous. Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Nenets Autonomous Okrug

This region of European Russia is the northeastern end of the Northwestern Federal District. Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a subject of this district, but is also part of. On the western border it borders with the rest of it, on the southern - with, on the eastern - with. In the north, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is surrounded by islands, also belonging to the Arkhangelsk region.

This patch is called “the most sparsely populated place in Russia.”

One of the northernmost corners of our Motherland began to be settled by people back in the 8th millennium BC. An unknown people inhabited this territory until the 10th century BC. In the Iron Age, the first reindeer herders came here. Their ethnicity has also not been established. Only in the 5th century AD did the Sirtya people appear on the scene. This was the name of the clan by the Nenets who migrated here in the 8th century. The Russians called Sirtya the word “pechera” - in honor of the river of the same name.

Pechera already paid tribute to Rus' in the 9th century. This was during the time she lived together with the Nenets. About the mysterious disappeared nation, we only know what the Nenets themselves told us in their legends. It’s as if the Sirte dissolved into the Samoyed occupiers, who densely populated the regions of polar Europe adjacent to Asia... The Nenets themselves also came from Siberia - they are a related people for the same Samoyeds (they speak the same language with them, have a common folklore). The Nenets and Samoyeds occupy the largest territory (after the Finno-Ugric peoples) in the world - from the Gulf of Ob (and north of it to the Yenisei) in the east to the Onega River in the west. In a south-north relationship, this language group occupies the zone of the subpolar taiga and the tundra located to the north.

The Nenets and Samoyeds entered Russian history under the name Samoyeds. The Nenets and Samoyeds themselves called themselves “neneynits” - “real man”. Therefore, already in Soviet times, the population of the current Nenets Autonomous Okrug received the name “Nenets”. The Novgorod Republic managed to finally conquer the Neneinians only in the 13th-15th centuries. After Novgorod ceded to Moscow (in 1478), the Nenets became part of the Moscow state.

At the very beginning of the 16th century, Prince Semyon Kurbsky (a governor who began serving under Ivan III) organized a paramilitary expedition to Pechora and founded the administrative center here - Pustozersk (now it does not exist). After 200 years, Pomors appeared here (specifically, on the Kanin Peninsula) - the descendants of the “Arctic” colonists from the Novgorod Land. The further history of the region is a joint biography of these disappearing peoples.

Since the 19th century, their land has been part of the Mezen and Pechersk districts of the Arkhangelsk province. In Soviet times, permanent settlements appeared here. One of them is the former settlement of Beloshchelsky - the center of the northern shipping company. Later it became the village of Telvisochnaya, and in 1932 it turned into the working village of Naryan-Mar. The heads of the so-called tundra councils—electoral districts of the land undeveloped with villages, now called the Zapolyarny Municipal District—gathered here. On the contrary, Naryan-Mar developed as a city (now it is an urban district, subjugating hundreds of kilometers of the south). Not a single war has reached here. In this city and its environs, timber has been sawed for more than a century - a sawmill at the mouth of the Pechora was built in 1892 (and the idea itself arose after the Kruzenshtern expedition - in the 1860s).

Today, this part of European Russia is a land governed by various government bodies of the Arkhangelsk region. It consists of the 1st urban district and the 1st municipal district.

Relief and climate Nenets Autonomous Okrug

This section of the Arkhangelsk region is its eastern half. It is located on the coast of the White Sea, occupying the territory from the Czech Bay to the Baydaratskaya Bay.

The relief and climate of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is characteristic of the entire polar north of our homeland. The weather here is subarctic, turning into temperate maritime on the coast. The relief is predominantly flat - only the Pai Haoi ridge and the Timan ridge protrude. Bolshezemelskaya and Malozemelskaya tundras are swampy.

The relief and climate of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug explain the specifics of the local natural conditions. In January, the average temperature ranges from minus 3 degrees cold on the shores of the White Sea to minus 22 degrees in the southeast. The maximum temperature can be minus 31 degrees. In July, the standard temperature is 8 degrees on the coast and 16 degrees in the southeast. Precipitation is only 350 mm. in year. For these places, polar day and night, as well as permafrost, are considered normal.

The special relief and climate of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug explain the birth of three plant zones. Only 8% of the southwest lies in the territory of continuous forest (taiga). 15.5% of this corner of Russia is forest-tundra (where rare pines and dwarf birches turn into shrubs in the north). 76.5% of the region is continuous tundra (frozen soil on which only grass, moss and lichen grow). In its southern subzone you can still find dwarf birch, wild rosemary and northern juniper. But in the Malozemelskaya and Bolshezemelskaya parts, only grass grows. Only at the ends of small (facing the sea) mountains are there thickets of bushes, and to the south - dwarf birch.

As a result, the urban district of Naryan-Mar, surrounded by taiga forest, is better populated.

Roads - Nenets Autonomous Okrug

The region communicates with the islands of Vaygach and Bolshaya Zemlya to the rest of the Northwestern Federal District (by water).

The roads of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are two road directions. The first connects Ukhta and Usinsk (cities of the Komi Republic) with the Nenets River Kharayakha. The second highway is of local importance - from the center of Naryan-Mar it leads the traveler to the Shapkina River. It is called the Laya-Vozhskaya road and passes through all the settlements southeast of Naryan-Mar - from the Seekers’ Village to the distant geologists’ camp (near the Shapkina River).

The remaining roads of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are so-called winter roads (strips of snow compacted and raked by graders). They are stored exclusively at sub-zero temperatures.

Tundra Nenets (Khasova) are able to move along animal trails on reindeer sleds (they breed huge herds of deer here).

Winter roads of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug connect all corners of the district inhabited by a settled population with Naryan-Mar. They can also be used to reach more southern lands - regions of the Komi Republic. But Naryanmar residents fly to the tundra and to the east, for the most part, in small planes or helicopters.

Naryan-Mar is a river port. From here you can follow the Pechora River to the White Sea (only during rare shipping months). Residents of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug use frozen crossings as bridges across bodies of water. These are artificially “poured” strips of additional ice.

The capital has an airport designed for small aircraft. From the Naryan-Mar terminal you can fly to Ukhta or Arkhangelsk (sometimes even to St. Petersburg, Murmansk and Moscow). And by local planes and helicopters in good weather it is possible to reach any place in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Rest - Nenets Autonomous Okrug

The areas of tourism specific to this region are extreme tourism and local history. On the territory of the district, a person learns his countless abilities associated with survival in the conditions of the far north, and also gets acquainted with the culture of the original local population.

Holidays in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are, first of all, a dynamically developing extreme destination called Arctic tourism. Its development is the merit of recognized Russian survival schools. Snowmobile and dog sled tours are just one of the services offered.

Local history holidays in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug are organized by a certain number of tourism operators that directly cooperate with local authorities. The destination involves visiting 10 protected areas where the ancient economic way of life of the Nenets has been preserved, as well as cultural institutions of Naryan-Mar. This list includes 16 museums (2 state), as well as dozens of traveling exhibitions that immerse guests of the Russian north into the world of Nenets crafts. Among the listed institutions, three are the most popular among group tourists - the district museum of local lore, the “Ethnocultural Center of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug” and an exhibition dedicated to the life of the Pomeranian population.

It remains to add that holidays in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug also include summer rafting along numerous rivers (16 port points at various reservoirs in the district are available to watermen), fishing for a variety of local fish, as well as hunting for northern animals that have long disappeared in the more southern regions of our country.

The future of the Arkhangelsk Region Tourism Committee is to continue organizing seasonal car races “Naryan-Mar - Ukhta” on difficult-to-pass winter roads.

Outdoor recreation in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Leisure in various recreation areas of this administrative unit, located more than 1500 km away. from Moscow, it can be anyone. Outdoor recreation in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug also includes organized tours to the nomadic reindeer herders (an expensive pleasure involving helicopter travel), and even independent travel to the reserves of the distant Russian province.

4 specially protected natural zones (Vaigach Island, Nizhne-Pechorsky, Shoinsky and Pustozersky reserves) can only be accessed using special transport. The reserves “More Yu”, “Big Gate Canyon”, “Stone City”, “Pym-Va-Shor” operate by prior arrangement with guides who gather groups.

As mentioned, outdoor recreation in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug can be arranged on your own. The most accessible for the average tourist is the Nenets National Park. In fact, we are talking about 2 autonomous protected areas - a natural and zoological reserve. This is a characteristic section of the Bolshezemelskaya tundra, located in the middle reaches of the river with the mysterious name More-Yu. The “business card” of the location is relict spruce woodland and rare inhabitants of the northern tundra. At the height of summer you can even camp here – it’s quite picturesque on the seashore. Just don’t forget about scary insects and the peculiarities of temperature fluctuations.

When thinking about outdoor recreation in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, you should know that in summer it is more convenient to travel here by small water transport (rivers and bays are free of ice), and in winter - by car with winter tires (driving on winter roads). The Ministry of Emergency Situations does not recommend that citizens travel along the winter road in conditions of poor visibility - it is quite easy to lose its edge and drive into the wilds.

Tourism - Nenets Autonomous Okrug

As you know, tourism in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is primarily organized tours of water (“summer”) and winter (“Arctic”) extreme sports.

Rafting expeditions begin at the end of June - when the water on the rivers has already warmed up enough to avoid catching a cold if you fall into it. Kayakers use such water “highways” as the Pechora, its 3 channels, Kuya and Gorodetskaya (the latter is convenient because it crosses the urban district itself). After all, they all pass close to Naryan-Mar and the local “road of life” - the Naryan-Mar - Shapkina River highway. The Shapkina River itself is navigable for boats and rafts, but to swim far along it means dangerously moving yourself away from civilization and putting yourself at risk of finding yourself in the middle of unexplored swamps.

“Arctic” tourism in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is attractive for fans of snowmobiles, as well as dog and reindeer sleds. As for the last two types of transport, tour operators, together with the local population, make traveling on them a completely affordable tourism product. At different sections of the mini-winter roads, winter huts await participants in the races (sometimes they take the form of competitions). However, between these travelers the Arctic wanderer can only rely on himself. In his backpack he should have only the most necessary things - what can save his life in an emergency situation.

Tourism in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug may be limited for cautious people to travel only within the urban district of Naryan-Mar. However, here you can also find interesting places - see ancient architecture, climb caves, take a mushroom walk between the swampy lakes Solovyovskoye, Bezymyanoye and Molodezhnoe. In bad weather, a traveler can always take refuge here in the southern outlying villages.

Hunting and fishing - Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Fishing in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Good fishing in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is possible everywhere. The most attractive for fishermen are the wide mouths of large rivers and their large tributaries - Pechora (the lower reaches are 220 kilometers long, has several channels), Vizhas, Oma, Snopa, Pesha, Wolonga, Indiga, Chernaya and More-Yu. The reservoirs passing through the ridges are rapids in places. The duration of freeze-up is from 7 to 8 months. The ice has the greatest thickness of 1.2 meters. In these rivers, fans of northern travel can catch grayling, salmon, and whitefish. Of course, it won’t do without pike and perch.

Fishing in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is associated with numerous lakes, always connected by deep eriks. The most significant of these reservoirs include Golodnaya Guba, Gorodetskoye, Varsh and Nes. Some lakes are systems. These include Vashutkinskoye, Urdyuzhskoye, Indigskoye and many others. Fishermen come here to fish for omul and salmon.

It is worth considering that fishing in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is also an access to the mouth of the Pechora - to the nearest lip of the White Sea. And here you can catch simply gigantic representatives of the ichthyofauna - whitefish, navaga, huge cod. Herring, salmon and catfish are also found.

There is no point in limiting fishing activities here - there are almost no people in the area. Tourists are also rare guests. In general, nature still dominates in this patch of the East European Plain. Only a small part of it is protected from humans. However, several fish are still listed in the local Red Book. This list includes nelma, river eel, whitefish, common sculpin, as well as all types of whales and minke whales.

Hunting in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Hunting in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is an exciting activity that can be done all year round (it’s worth remembering who you can hunt and when, and also studying the local rules).

Commercial hunting in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is limited to 7 hunting bases. As for hunting farms, there are also less than 10 of them in the district.

In the east of the Nenets Okrug there is a place called by scientists “an earthly paradise for birds.” Birds fly here every spring from all nearby regions. All flying wanderers are drawn to the Yabtoyakha River, familiar from adolescence (in Nenets this expression means “goose river”). Everyone who came here is still shocked by the number and diversity of waterfowl on its hospitable shores. The “king” of local birds is the wild goose, which is respected by hunters. The nearby village of Karatayka can shelter hunters for several days.

Hunting in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug prohibits the hunting of several species of terrestrial mammals and birds listed in the local Red Book. These are the brown long-eared bat, Brandt's bat, flying squirrel and polar bear, as well as the great bittern, white gull, all representatives of hawks and ducks, gray shrike, peregrine falcon, falcon, hobbies, gyrfalcon and all breeds of owls and ospreys. Of the loons, only the white-billed loon is a rare animal.

Wild reindeer are allowed to be shot only from October 1 to the end of February. Other ungulates can be hunted from August 20 to the end of January. They go out on a bear only after receiving instructions from the ranger - from mid-August to the end of February. Various furs are available here from July to February (hare - from September 25 to the end of February). Production is strictly limited. Forest game is rare, but tundra game - swamp-meadow - can be shot from August to November.

The most sparsely populated region of the country, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, is located in the north-west of its Eastern European part. You can get an idea of ​​the district, consider its borders, cities and other objects using a satellite map of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The lands between Pechora and Ugra are mentioned in chronicles dating back to the 9th-10th centuries. The indigenous population (Nenets) moved here from the banks of the Ob, but after some time came under the control of the Novgorod princes, who constantly collected tribute from the northern regions.

If you look at the map of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug with diagrams, it becomes clear that most of the land is located in the Arctic. The district shares borders with:

• Arkhangelsk region;
• Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug;
• Republic of Komi.

The district owns several islands and peninsulas. The northernmost territories of the district are limited by the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Maps of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug with regions display all objects. You can easily find cities, and by zooming in, see in detail the streets, the location of buildings, find train stations, shops, and administrative offices. The card is an indispensable assistant in travel, business trips, and tourist trips. Load the map into your smartphone or tablet and view any object at its maximum magnification.

Districts on the map of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Everything on the territory of the district is unique - nature, indigenous culture and even territorial division. This is the only region in the country in which only 1 district is territorially allocated - Zapolyarny. There are 19 villages on its territory. All other villages in the region are not included in the district, but belong to the urban district. The detailed map of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug shows even small-sized villages.

Rivers flowing in the area:

• Lunvozh;
• Pechora;
• Voyvozh;
• Cher-Vozh.

The main administrative unit here is the village of Iskateley. The village has television, radio broadcasting, partial cellular coverage, and there are bus routes connecting the village with the city of Naryan-Mar. In the settlements that are displayed on the map of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the number of residents is very small. Just over 1,500 people inhabit the village of Krasnoye alone, while in other villages it is even smaller.

Transport links in the district are poorly developed. Only 28% of all roads have asphalt surface. Road transport links with other regions are interrupted by weather conditions, and sometimes are absent for a long time. Look at the location of the main roads in detail on the map of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and you will be convinced of the paucity of transport options.

The main burden when moving residents and guests of the region falls on air transport. Some villages can be reached by helicopter, and from the airport you can fly by plane to cities such as:

• Arkhangelsk;
• Saint Petersburg;
• Pechora;
• Moscow.

Along the rivers of the region, the villages that are indicated on the map with the villages of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug can also be reached by river transport, but navigation lasts for a very short period - from mid-June to October.

Map of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug with cities and villages

When you try to find a city on a map, you will be surprised. There is only one settlement with this status here. Naryan-Mar is the “heart” of the district in the literal sense. This is a commercial port that provides life for the Arctic region. As the map with the cities and villages of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug shows, you can only come here by car along the Laya-Voyazhskaya road, which stretches from the east and is a “winter road”.

The city has its own few attractions:

• administration and post office buildings;
• monument to the sailors of the steamship "Komsomolets";
• monument to reindeer herders;
• house of culture.

The city's population slightly exceeds 20 thousand people. The main nationalities are Nenets and Russians. Over the past 10 years, modern, comfortable houses have appeared in the city, which can be found on a map with settlements of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Also, using the online service, you can find main streets, access roads to the port and airport.

Economy and industry of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug

The region's economy is based on oil and gas production and traditional industries. The district contains the largest oil and gas condensate fields:

• Khasyreyskoe;
• Tedinskoe;
• Toraveyskoe;
• Kharyaginskoe.

In total, the region is already producing at 96 fields and is developing more than 20 more.

On Yandex maps of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug you can see large, undeveloped territories that are occupied by pastures. More than 2 thousand people are involved in reindeer husbandry, mainly representatives of the indigenous peoples of the region. There are also more than 10 fishing cooperatives with their own trawl fleet. There are several processing plants within Naryan-Mar.

The territory of the Nenets Okrug is unique; here is the only standard of flat tundra in Europe, where you can see untouched landscapes and natural complexes. The wealth of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is not only the mineral resources located on its territory, but also the unique northern nature, and the ancient people of reindeer herders with thousand-year-old traditions.

The Nenets Autonomous Okrug, located in the north of the East European Plain, is part of the Northwestern Federal District and borders the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Mezensky district of the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic. The population of the district is 42,789 people (as of 2013). The area of ​​the district is 175.81 thousand square meters. km. The Nenets Okrug occupies the Kanin Peninsula, two large islands - Vaygach and Kolguev and small islands - Peskov, Dolgiy, Bolshoi Zelenets, Maly Zelenets, Sengeevsky, Gulyavskie Koshki and others. Almost all the lands of the district, except for the southwestern part, are located beyond the Arctic Circle and are washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean - the Barents, White and Kara.

In 1929, the Nenets Okrug became the first national okrug in the Far North, and in 1977 it was renamed the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Two thirds of the district's population are Russians, a third are small peoples of the North, Komi and Nenets.

The administrative center is Naryan-Mar (translated from Nenets as “Red City”), located 1,500 km from Moscow. There is no time difference with Moscow. You can get to the city by plane, and during the shipping season from mid-June to October by sea. The city was founded in the 30s of the twentieth century as a seaport and river pier. Now Naryan-Mar is one of the main transshipment bases for oil tankers.

The Nenets Okrug is located in the Arctic climate zone, where the influence of Atlantic cyclones is strong, which is why the weather here is constantly changing. The subarctic climate is harsh - winter here is cold, lasting up to 5 months in the western part of the district, and up to 6.5 months in the eastern part. The average temperature in winter is 11−20 C, in summer +6−13 C. Thaws occur in winter, and frosts occur in summer. In autumn, the sea slightly softens the climate on the coast, and in spring and summer makes it cooler. August to September usually sees maximum rainfall. Fog and snowstorms occur quite often in the area.

Most of the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is covered by permafrost, which is interrupted on the coast and in the southern part. Most of the lands of the Nenets Okrug are tundra - arctic mountain, northern, southern, a quarter is forest-tundra and a small part, about 8% of the entire territory, is northern taiga.

The Nenets Okrug is of great interest for extreme, geological, ethnographic and environmental tourism. For nature lovers and scientists, this is simply a haven.

On the territory of the district there is the Nenets State Nature Reserve with an area of ​​almost 314 hectares, of which 182 hectares are in the marine area. The reserve occupies the northeast of the Malozemelnaya tundra, the Pechora delta and all the islands of the Pechora Bay. The reserve preserves both unique endemic plants and rare species of birds and animals - the little swan, the white-tailed eagle, the white-billed loon, the lesser white-fronted white-fronted white-fronted white-fronted white-fronted white-fronted white-fronted white-fronted walrus, the gray seal, the bearded seal, the ringed seal, and a rare amphibian - the Siberian salamander. . Rare cetaceans such as northern fin whales and high-browed bottlenose whales enter the bays.

In the Pechora delta, valuable species of fish spawn - navaga and salmon; salmon, omul, grayling are found in the lakes; smelt and cod inhabit the coastal waters.

Be sure to visit one of the most memorable places in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, which is a unique area of ​​the Belaya River in Northern Timan. Geographically, Northern Timan is a gently sloping hill consisting of four ridges stretching from southeast to northwest.

In its upper course, the Belaya River meanders through high rocky banks consisting of whitish quartz sandstone. Thanks to frosty weathering and rain streams that wash away destroyed material from the slopes, the shores are decorated with bizarre figures of remains that give free rein to fantasy and imagination. The soft rock of sedimentary origin is so worn down by severe temperature and water weathering that strong winds blow amazing statues, monuments, pillars, and arches out of shapeless cobblestones. Here you can see vases, dinosaurs, human and animal figures, chess pieces and dilapidated buildings. A real Stone City! Everywhere there are whole scatterings of white sand that shimmers like snow, the kind you won’t find in the most fashionable resorts. The tundra is also surprising here - instead of the standard wet swamp covered with moss, dwarf birch and willow, there is a pleasant dry surface covered with moss, pebbles and sand. This is due to the rugged terrain with excellent drainage and very strong winds.

Downstream, the Belaya flows in relatively low, bushy banks, and then again rushes into a narrow, deep canyon. Here Belaya cuts through the Chaitsyn Kamen ridge, and its high banks expose majestic and beautiful, and at the same time gloomy cliffs of sandstone and basalt. This is a unique natural monument - the Big Gate Canyon.

Along the entire course of the river there are beautiful rock outcrops, in some places falling sheer into the water. Magnificent agates are found in the shallows. In the basalts of the Big Gate Canyon there are often secretions made of chalcedony, beautiful bluish agate with transparent rock crystal crystals in the form of bubbles inside, purple amethyst and other minerals.

The river has rapids and requires attention and special caution from the traveler. There are places completely littered with huge boulders with several waterfalls, up to one and a half meters high, under which there is the main danger - foam boilers. The water, merging with a roar through a narrow gap, falling, does not even form foamed water, but water foam with an extremely low density.

The water in the river is so clear that even if you climb a rock, you can see all the inhabitants of the river - grayling, brown trout, and salmon. The abundance of fish in the river is simply amazing. Often the number of spinning casts coincides with the number of fish caught. On its banks you can find thickets of Karelian birch, reminiscent of orchards; in some areas along the banks, rowan berries, currants, aspen, and spruce grow. There is plenty to eat: there are a lot of cloudberries in the swamps, and blueberries and blueberries on the slopes.

The Belaya River can be interesting both for water tourism and for walking: its banks are passable along its entire length.

Those who like to eat berries will not be able to pass by the huge meadows of cranberries, cloudberries, blueberries and lingonberries; mushroom pickers will also be able to “hunt” - there are many edible mushrooms in the tundra.

On the territory of the district, sites of ancient people dating back to the Paleolithic era (8th millennium BC) and settlements of people from the Bronze Age were discovered. On Vaigach Island, the sacred island of the Nenets, 200 monuments of ancient Nenets culture were discovered - sanctuaries and cemeteries, sites, idols, altars.

On the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in the lower reaches of the Pechora River, 26 kilometers from Naryan-Mar, there is one of the memorable places of the Russian North - the place where the ancient capital of the entire Pechora Territory was located - Pustozersk.

The territory of the ancient settlement of Pustozersk is located on the shore of Lake Gorodets. It was founded in 1499 during the expedition of the Moscow squad to the Ugra land by the governors of Ivan III: princes P. Ushaty, S. Kurbsky and V. Brazhnik. During the 16th – 19th centuries it was the economic and cultural center of the Pechora region, played an important role in the development of the Far North and the development of Arctic navigation. It was a place of exile for state criminals.

In 1644, a prison for thieves and disgraced people was set up in Pustozersk - the most terrible and farthest in the north of the state. Here, the ideologist of the Old Believers and the outstanding Russian writer of the 17th century, Archpriest Avvakum, languished in prison for about 15 years. For several years, the famous diplomat and cultural figure of the 17th century, boyar Artamon Matveev, stayed there. Among the prisoners were princes Semyon Shcherbaty, Ivan Dolgoruky, participants in the uprisings of K. Bulavin, S. Razin, the Solovetsky “seat” and others.

The monument includes an ancient settlement (fortress) and a township part. The cultural layer on the side of Lake Gorodets (the southern and eastern parts of Pustozersk) is almost 4 meters high and contains the entire retinue of cultural strata over 500 years. Archaeological work has been carried out since 1987 by the AAE under the leadership of O.V. Ovsyannikov.

Monument to Pustozersk (obelisk), opened on August 2, 1964. Located on the site of the former Pustozersk. Erected on the initiative of V.I. Malyshev, Doctor of Philology, director of the Ancient Repository of the Pushkin House (St. Petersburg), according to the design of the chief architect of Arkhangelsk V. M. Kibirev. It was built at the expense of the Arkhangelsk Regional Executive Committee by the Leningrad master builder S. T. Ustinov, with the participation of students from the Naryan-Mar Construction School.

The monument is a tetrahedral obelisk, built from the stone of the former foundation of the Church of the Transfiguration (height 3.7 m, width 1.4 m) on the north side - a marble slab with the following content: “At this place was the city of Pustozersk, founded in 1499 , the economic and cultural center of the Pechora region, which played an important role in the development of the Far North and in the development of Arctic navigation. From here industrialists set out to develop Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen and the Siberian rivers.”

In the last century, Pustozersk became the object of comprehensive study by specialists. The city existed until the middle of the twentieth century. Now only monuments and grave crosses of old Pustozero cemeteries remind of its former glory. But interest in the history of Pustozersk does not wane. As evidenced by the Avvakumov Readings held in Naryan-Mar, the constant desire of residents and guests of the Nenets Okrug to visit this unique place. In 1991, the territory of the former Pustozersk was declared a museum zone.

The city of Naryan-Mar is located beyond the Arctic Circle in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The calling card and main architectural asset of the city is the building of the district's main post office.

Naryan-Mar is a small town that you can get around in one day. There are no special attractions here, the weather is harsh. But despite this, tourists coming here can have a great time. The houses in the city are painted orange and yellow, so they look quite interesting in the sun. The nature of Naryan-Mar amazes with its pristine beauty and severity. But the main feature and attraction of the city is the main post office building. This ancient building is a real architectural masterpiece, reminiscent of a church. In the good old days, the Arctic Circle telegraph was located here, now it is a branch of the Russian Post and the city administration. Previously, there was a beautiful and large clock on the tallest tower of the building, but then it was removed and replaced with a spire. In 2000, the building of the main post office of the city of Naryan-Mar was carefully restored.

The town has high prices for food, poor cellular communications and the Internet; traveling here is only suitable for strong-willed people who prefer to live away from civilization. The reward will be beautiful nature and local attractions, even if there are not many of them.

For local residents, the main post office is not only a cultural and architectural historical monument; it is a kind of visiting card of the city and its main asset.

Your trip to Pym-Va-Shor will be unforgettable. State natural monument Pym-Va-Shor, which translated from Komi means “stream of hot water”. The only mineral thermal springs in the Far North, first described by Archimandrite Veniamin in 1849, are located between the Pym-Va-Shor and Dyr-Shor streams, tributaries of the Adzva. This is a group of 8 sources with a total flow rate of 25−30 l/s. The water temperature in the springs in winter and summer is from 18 to 28 °C (previously it reached 40 °C). Some springs are located above the water level in the stream, others are located under water. The water of the springs contains a large set of microelements - titanium, chromium, iron, zinc, nickel, copper, bromine, etc. The gas dissolved in the water of the springs contains carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, radon. Since ancient times, among the Nenets and Komi, the water of the Pym-Va-Shor springs has been considered healing, curing stomach, lung and skin diseases. Geologists from the Polar-Ural Expedition built a swimming pool (now partially destroyed). The springs are located in a very picturesque place. Streams cut through Carboniferous limestone to form canyons. The limestone ridges are covered with red moss. In one of them there is a cave.

The main dwelling of the Nenets, Chum, which was built from 30-50 poles, was covered with two layers of deer skins with trimmed hair. The inner layer of skins was placed with the wool on the inside, and the top layer on the outside. In the summer it was covered with tires made from boiled birch bark.

The Nenets have been living in tents since ancient times. For the Nenets, this is the center of the entire life of the family, which is perceived as the whole world. There is a hole at the top of the chum; it corresponds to the location of the sun during the day and the month at night. The inclined poles covered with skins correspond to the sphere of air that envelops the Earth. The richer the family, the larger the chum. The poor people have a pointed plague, while the Nenets with good incomes have a blunt one. The tent is made of poles. This requires 40 poles.

Then the poles are covered with panels of reindeer skins, which the Nenets call nyuks. Deer skins are sewn into continuous panels and then covered with poles. To cover a plague in winter, 65 to 75 deer are required. From June to September there is a transition from winter to summer nukes. The diameter of the plague reaches up to 8 meters, it can accommodate up to 20 people.

Inside the plague, every object and every place has had its own purpose since ancient times. The central axis of the chum is a pole, which the Nenets consider sacred and call simzy. 7 heads of family and ancestral spirits are placed on it. In the shaman's chum, the simza was always decorated with the image of the sacred bird minley. According to the simza, smoke from the hearth rises to the upper opening of the chum. According to legends, heroes flew along the sacred pole to battles and military exploits.

Behind the simza there is a sacred place - “si”. Only older men are allowed to step on it. This place is forbidden for children and women. There is a sacred chest at this place. It contains the patron spirits of the hearth, family and clan. All family savings and heirlooms, weapons and a chest of tools are also kept there. These things are available only to the head of the house, and are inviolable for other members. The “not” place is for a woman, it is located opposite the si, at the entrance. Here she does all the household chores. In the middle, between ne and si, there is a sleeping place. A belt with amulets and a knife is placed at the head. When going to bed, a man covers himself with a woman's frog. In summer, the sleeping area is fenced off with a chintz canopy. The canopy is used only at night; during the day it is carefully rolled up and secured with pillows. Children lie next to their parents. Further from the simza, the unmarried eldest sons were laid, then the elderly and other family members, including guests. It is very smoky in the plague, but in summer the smoke is a good refuge from mosquitoes.

Chum often moved with its owners from place to place. That's why there are no beds or closets in the tents. The only furniture is a small table - roofing felt and a chest. Before the advent of mobile power plants, lamps were used to illuminate the plague. They were made from bowls and filled with fish oil, in which the wick was immersed. Later, kerosene lamps appeared. To shake snow from shoes and the hem of outerwear, there is a beater at the entrance to the tent.

For small children there is a cradle in the tent. Previously, the baby was placed in the cradle immediately after birth, and taken out only when he began to walk. Wood shavings and dry moss were poured into the bottom of the cradle. The skins of deer and arctic fox served as diapers. The child was attached to the cradle with special straps. When breastfeeding, the mother took the baby along with the cradle. Such cradles are still used today.

In the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, 320 amateur artistic groups have been created that preserve the ancient cultural traditions of the small peoples of the North and constantly participate in All-Russian and international festivals and holidays.

At festivals and exhibitions held in the area, you can purchase unique products made of leather and fur, wood, bone and deer antler, made by craftsmen according to ancient traditions, and even be present at their creation.

You will enjoy a lot while traveling around the Nenets Autonomous Okrug! These will be both man-made monuments created by ancient and modern inhabitants of these places, the original culture of the peoples who inhabit this region today, and unique natural attractions.

Most of the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is located beyond the Arctic Circle. It includes the islands of Kolguev and Vaygach.

Story

The first scientist to explore these lands in 1837 was the Russian botanist Alexander Shrenk. He passed Pechora, reached Yugorsky Shar, reached the island, crossed Pai-Khoi, and from there returned to St. Petersburg through Pustozersk. How difficult it was to do this can be seen from the fact that even a hundred years later, in 1930, the detachment of geologist Nikolai Jordansky spent more than two months just on the road from Moscow to the mouth of the Vorkuta River, which flows into the Usa.

Pomeranian industrialists often became the organizers of expeditions: for example, Mikhail Sidorov in the mid-19th century, who sent his own expedition to Pechora, which discovered that “the coast of the Pechora River is replete with layers of coal lying in lumps on the ground.”

The explorers of the region were not only selfless people, but also often selfless. In 1913, an expedition to the Verkhneusinsk region, which included local political exiles, refused payment for their labor for the sake of science. Local guides and workers in Russian expeditions of the early 20th century. They also didn’t take payment for work in money, preferring... salt: the places here are fishy, ​​but there is no salt. And today, salt is delivered to Naryan-Mar via the Northern Sea Route.

The region faces three seas of the Arctic Ocean. Dunes and coastal ramparts stretch along the sea coast, and there are erseis: the local name for deflation basins.

Over 3/4 of the territory is occupied by swampy tundra: Bolshezemelskaya, Pripechorye and Malozemelskaya (Timanskaya). Mainly birch and moss grow in it, in river valleys there are dense thickets of willow, on peat hillocks there are dwarf birches, a lot of cloudberries and blueberries, and mushrooms. But despite all this, there is the dominance of vileness, from which both people and animals suffer. The first explorers of the local tundra complained: “You can’t get a spoon to your mouth, the soup in it is moving from mosquitoes.”

There is an abundance of fish in the rivers and lakes, including grayling. There are many birds: tundra and white partridge, various types of geese and ducks, swan, polar owl. The dominant mammals are reindeer, arctic fox and lemming.

In the extreme northeast there is the Pai-Khoi ridge with mountains over 400 m. The southern regions are occupied by forest-tundra, which is characterized by spruce and larch 3-4 m high with a crown curved by the north wind. In the far southwest there is the taiga, where elk, brown bear, and lynx live. Typical birds include the tiger owl, three-toed woodpecker, and hawk owl.

There are many small rivers and small thermokarst and glacial lakes in the region.

The main river and main waterway in the tundra, the river is navigable in the summer season. Along it, sea vessels from the Barents Sea ascend to the city of Naryan-Mar, the administrative center of the district. To protect rare Arctic flora and fauna in the Pechora delta, the Nenets Nature Reserve was created.

The Nenets National Okrug itself was formed in 1929.

The development of the region accelerated significantly in the 1970-1980s, when large deposits of oil and natural gas were discovered, including on the offshore shelf.

The population of the district lives mainly near Pechora.

The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a very rich region, but difficult to access. There is tundra everywhere, through which cars can only pass in winter, but they managed to lay a pipeline through it. In the north are the seas of the Arctic Ocean, through which only everything necessary for the life and work of the city can be delivered to Naryan-Mar.

“Naryan-Mar, my Naryan-Mar, a town neither big nor small, near Pechora by the river...” is sung in a famous song. However, for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug it is almost a metropolis; its significance in the life of the district is enormous.

The settlement of the lands of the present Nenets Autonomous Okrug began no later than 9 thousand years BC. BC: archaeological finds in the area of ​​the Pymvashor River and the village of Kharuta date back to this period.

The Nenets belong to the tundra group of this people with migrations to the forest-tundra only in winter and speak the tundra dialect of the Nenets language. The name Nenets is a modified self-name “Nenets” (person).

The Nenets are one of the Samoyed peoples: hence the formerly common name “Samoyeds”. At the beginning of the first millennium, the Samodians occupied forest-steppe areas from the eastern spurs of the Urals to the Sayan Highlands. In the II-IV centuries. under the onslaught of nomads - the Huns and Turks - they were forced into the tundra. The Pechora tribes already lived here, long before the Samoyeds they had mastered the European North and laid the foundations of the tundra paleoculture. The Samoyeds displaced them or partially assimilated with them.

The assimilation process turned out to be lengthy. Legends about “siirtya” (small tundra aborigines living underground) have survived to this day, in which they appear to be real people with whom the ancestors of the Nenets fought and started families. Legends describe them as living in the tundra before the arrival of the Nenets. Most likely, this was the disappeared Pechora tribe, although ufology enthusiasts view them as descendants of aliens.

These legends occupy an important place in Nenets mythology. In their view, the earth is motionless, but the sky moves. The Universe is divided into three worlds - Upper, Middle and Lower. In the Upper, in the sky, lives the supreme god Num. The middle one is the earth, it is alive, every hill, river and lake has an owner - a spirit. The lower one is under seven layers of permafrost, Na, the spirit of illness and death, rules there, and the souls of the dead move into it.

At the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. The Russian Pomors learned about the Nenets, exploring the European North on kochas - wooden single-masted boats with a straight sail and several pairs of oars.

Then the Novgorod Republic, in its period of greatest prosperity, included these lands; its extreme eastern borders ran along the Northern Urals.

In 1478, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III subjugated and incorporated the republic into the Moscow state. To consolidate positions on the extreme northern borders, Ivan III in 1499 ordered the founding of Pustozersk, which became the first Russian city beyond the Arctic Circle (27 km southwest of modern Naryan-Mar). Until 1780, Pustozersk was the administrative, trade, cultural and religious center of the Pechora region. And also a place of reference. The most famous exile was Archpriest Avvakum, the most prominent leader of the Old Believers. From here he sent letters to his supporters for 14 years, cursing the kings and the patriarch, for which he was burned in a hut. In 1620, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich closed the sea route to Siberia for foreign traders; in the 17th-18th centuries. The devastating raids of the “haryuchi” - the Trans-Ural Nenets - became more frequent, the Gorodets Shar channel became shallow, which made it difficult to approach the city by water. Since the 18th century Pustozersk gradually lost its significance, in 1924 it lost its city status and was finally abandoned in 1962. In Naryan-Mar and Telvisk, streets were named in honor of Pustozersk.

Naryan-Mar is located in the lower reaches of Pechora, about 100 km from the Barents Sea. It is the capital and only city of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, almost 70% of the population lives there. Naryan-Mar is one of the few cities on earth beyond the Arctic Circle. Winter lasts 240 days a year; the last snow melts at the end of July. For two months of the year, in December and January, it is plunged into the long polar night. In winter, frosts drop to -45°C; in December, the aurora lights shimmer over the city with all colors. Translated from the Nenets language, Naryan-Mar means “red city”. The symbol of the polar city was the post office building, built back in 1950 and topped with a turret in the shape of a Nenets tent.

Naryan-Mar today is an important transport hub of the region, an airport, and a commercial port on the Northern Sea Route.

general information

Location : north-west of the European part of the Russian Federation, shore of the Arctic Ocean.
Administrative affiliation : Northwestern Federal District.

Administrative division : the city of district subordination of Naryan-Mar, Zapolyarny district and the urban-type settlement of Iskateley.
Administrative center : Naryan-Mar - 24,535 people. (2016).

Educated: 1929
Languages: Russian, Nenets.
Ethnic composition : Russians - 63.31%, Nenets - 17.83%, Komi - 8.61%, Ukrainians - 2.34% (2010).
Religions: Orthodoxy, shamanism.
Currency unit : Russian ruble.
Rivers: Pechora, Vizhas, Oma, Sheaf, Pesha, Wolonga, Indiga, Chernaya, More-Yu.
Lakes: Vashutkins, Golodnaya Guba, Gorodetskoye, Varsh, Nes.
Airport: federal significance Naryan-Mar.
Neighboring subjects of the Russian Federation and water areas : in the north - the White, Barents and Kara Seas, including adjacent islands not included in the jurisdiction of the Arkhangelsk region; in the east - the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in the south - the Komi Republic, in the west - the Arkhangelsk region.

Numbers

Square: 176,810 km 2 .
Length: from north to south - about 315 km and from west to east - more than 900 km.
Population: 43,838 people (2016).
Population density : 0.25 people/km 2 .
Urban population : 72.4% (2016).
Length of sea coastline : about 3000 km.
Highest point : 423 m, Mount Moreiz (Wesay-Pe, Pai-Khoi ridge).

Distance (Naryan-Mar) : 660 km east of Arkhangelsk, 1501 km northeast of Moscow.

Climate and weather

Subarctic, in the extreme northeast - arctic.
Cool summers, cold long winters.
Average January temperature : -12°C in the south, -22°C in the northeast.
Average temperature in July : +13°C in the south, +6°C in the northeast.
Average annual precipitation : from north to south 370-500 mm.
Average annual relative humidity : from south to north 75-85%.

Economy

GRP: RUB 183.7 billion (2014), per capita - 4,252,400 rubles. (2016).
Minerals : oil, natural gas, coal, fluorite, iron, manganese, titanium, diamonds, peat, building materials, mineral springs.
Industry: oil refining, forestry (lumber), food (fish processing, dairy, meat processing plant).

Seaport of Naryan-Mar.
Agriculture : livestock husbandry (reindeer husbandry, fur cage farming), crop farming (potatoes, vegetables, turnips).
Sea fishing and sea hunting.
Traditional crafts : sewing burkas, producing souvenirs.
Services sector: tourist, transport (including shipping on Pechora), trade.

Attractions

Natural

Kolguev and Vaygach Islands

Kara meteorite crater

Lake Golodnaya Guba

Yamal. Polar region. Center of Western Siberia. An outpost of Russia in the harsh Artik... The internal content of these words, as if in a lens, was focused in itself by the capital of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The modern and beautiful city of Salekhard, which has a 500-year history, is confidently heading towards tomorrow.

Salekhard - the capital of Yamal

According to archaeologists, in the place where the capital of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is now located, people built settlements over two thousand years ago.

Subsequently, not far from the mouth of the Poluy River, which flows into the Ob, the Cossacks, during the development of the Arctic, built the Obdorsky fort, which gradually turned into a fortified city - one of many in northern Siberia.

In 1595, Obdorsk was founded on the site of the fort, which two centuries later became the volost center of the Tobolsk province.

Residents hunted and fished and were engaged in trade: for 30 houses there were one and a half hundred trading shops. At the beginning of winter, the Obdorsk Winter Fair was held here, where furs, mammoth ivory, fish and bird feathers were exchanged for flour, cloth, tobacco and alcohol, which was brought here by hundreds of merchants.

In 1933, when Obdorsk became the capital of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, it was renamed Salekhard, which from Nenets means “Village (in Nenets language - “sele”) on a cape (in Nenets language - “hard”).”

Geographical position

Geographic coordinates of Salekhard: 66 degrees and 32 minutes north latitude, 66 degrees and 37 minutes east longitude.

Many well-known enterprises and companies operate in the capital of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug:

• River port;
• fish canning plant;
• bakery;
• motor transport enterprise;
• railway and air transport companies;
• representative offices of gold mining, gas and oil producing companies, including Gazprom and Lukoil - Western Siberia.

The administration of Salekhard also resolves issues of social and economic development of the city.

In 2009, an administrative complex was built specifically to house the administration on the banks of the Shaitanka River.

Population of Salekhard

The Russian population began to appear in Obdorsk at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1897, 500 people lived here, who were engaged in fur-bearing animal hunting, fishing and trade.

At the end of the 20th century, when the massive development of the lands of Yamal began, the population of the capital of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug began to grow at a rapid pace. Today Salekhard has a population of 45 thousand people.

People come here to work on gas and oil rigs. Scientists, teachers, doctors are coming. Not only a good “northern” salary, but also the romance of the Arctic Circle attracts many to Salekhard. The population of indigenous origin is the Khanty and Nenets, or Samoyeds. These are surprisingly taciturn and modest people with a traditional way of life, an original culture, interesting customs, rituals, and beliefs.

Many tribes continue to live in the tundra and, like their ancestors, engage in fishing, hunting, reindeer herding, and believe in spirits. They roam from pasture to pasture with herds of thousands of deer.

They live in tents, built, as many centuries ago, from long poles and reindeer skins. From the age of four, boys can handle a lasso and drive sledges, girls can light a fire in a tent and sew national clothes.

Architectural appearance of the city

The ancient city of Salekhard has changed a lot since the days of the Obdorsky fort. Today it has a modern architectural appearance. Intensive housing development and construction of new social infrastructure buildings are underway. After renovation, old houses were given a look that corresponds to the general architectural style. Multi-storey buildings look like a multi-colored palette against the backdrop of a cloudy day or white snow. They are painted in rich, bright, picturesque colors: cherry and blue roofs, green, blue, orange, yellow walls - the color scheme fills the harsh northern city with a special warmth and creates coziness.

Many architectural objects are unusual. One of the memorable structures is the “Torch” cable-stayed bridge with a single pylon. There is a restaurant here, right above the water surface of the Shaitanka River.

The capital of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is peaceful towards all religions. This is evidenced by the fact that on the territory of the city there are adjacent Orthodox churches and a mosque, which is located closest to the Arctic Circle than any other mosque in Russia.

Next to it, the construction of the Transfiguration Cathedral is underway.

The first stone temple in Salekhard is the Peter and Paul Cathedral, built in 1894. Snow-white walls, light blue towers, golden domes with crosses - under the low polar sky against the background of endless tundra and the river, the building seems airy, directed upward.

The sculptural world of Salekhard

The sculptural world of Salekhard is unusual. There are a large number of monuments dedicated to animals that embody the sacred spirits of the indigenous inhabitants of Yamal:

• Near the ferry crossing there is a 10-meter mammoth. More than 40 extinct mammoths have been found in northern Siberia, among them the Yamal mammoths Masha and Lyuba.
• On the embankment of the Shaitanka River there is a six-meter-tall monument to the reindeer - the main wealth of the tundra, a symbol of goodness and immortality.
• The bypass road is crowned with a sculptural composition dedicated to the Siberian Cranes - white Siberian cranes, a sacred bird of the indigenous peoples of the North, bringing happiness to everyone who sees it.
• Near the Polaris cinema there is a small sculpture perched - a dragonfly immortalized in stainless steel.
• In the center of the waiting room at Salekhard airport, tundra swans seem to be trying to take off - a symbol of returning to their native land.
• Near the building of the Arctic Hotel, a bear and a bear cub, carved from granite, represent a 10-ton “Constellation” composition.
• Near the airport, two bears froze on snow-covered ice floes. They support the shield “Coat of Arms of Yamal in a Crown”. This is a vivid image of the connection between people and nature in the Arctic.
• The entrance to Salekhard is marked by a stele of the same name, depicting the inhabitants of the aquatic, celestial and terrestrial spaces of the Arctic coast: seagulls, walruses and bears reflect the natural world of Yamal.

“Tundra, call me from afar...”

The capital of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a special world.

In winter, these are hundreds of snowflakes fluttering in the light of the lanterns. Snow crunching loudly underfoot. The flashes of the northern lights evoke admiration, the shimmer of the multi-colored canvas fascinates. The shining whiteness of the snow blinds the eyes, the sun's rays scatter into sparks on the even white blanket...

In autumn, the tundra stirs the soul, bright, soaked in the short northern summer. It is filled with a subtle bird whistle, a subtle bitter smell of wormwood and the taste of lingonberries, sweet and sour with a slight bitter taste...

Lilac thickets of fireweed. Dwarf birches and touching fir trees. Blue-blue lakes and rivers scattered across the tundra. A leaden sky with low, heavy clouds, as if pressed to the ground. The steel-colored surface of the river...

The air is transparent and crystal clear - it is impossible to breathe. The nature of the North is majestic and laconic.

Anyone going to Yamal for the first time may find some brief advice useful:

• Aerosols and other mosquito repellents and the most closed clothing are protection from rampant mosquitoes and annoying midges.
• Waterproof shoes are the best footwear for the swampy tundra.
• The Tundra hospitably opens its arms to everyone, and you need to treat it in such a way as not to hurt it with your presence. Since ancient times, traditional shoes of northern peoples have been made in such a way as not to damage the soil cover, not to harm the northern nature, which generously gifts everyone: deer with moss, people with mushrooms and berries, and sometimes needs centuries to restore strength and natural resources.

Salekhard, Russia, Arctic Circle - a world where nature is strict and majestic, and people are open and hospitable.