Salekhard ( ;

Khanty The Khanty (), also known in older literature as Ostyaks (), are a Ugric Indigenous people, living in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as " Yugra" in Russia, together with the Mansi. In the autonomous okrug, the K ...

: , ''Pułñawat''; , , formerly Obdorsk) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (; ) also known as Yamalia () is a federal subject of Russia and an autonomous okrug of Tyumen Oblast. Its administrative center is the town of Salekhard, and its largest city is Novy Urengoy. The 2021 Russian ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The town lies on the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, with the town centre being about south and suburbs stretching to the north of the circle. The population is .

History

The settlement of Obdorsk () was founded in 1595, in the place of a

settlement called Polnovat-Vozh (), by Russian settlers after the conquest of

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. It was situated on the

Ob River The Ob (; ) is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia, and with its tributary the Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at . The Ob forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins in the Alta ...

, and its name supposedly derives from that. The land around Obdorsk was referred to as Obdorsky

krai A krai or kray (; , , ''kraya'') is one of the types of federal subjects of modern Russia, and was a type of geographical administrative division in the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR. Etymologically, the word is related to the verb "" ...

, or Obdoriya. The town was often used as a place of exile during the Tsarist and Soviet periods. Among notable people who spent time here were the

Doukhobor The Doukhobors ( Canadian spelling) or Dukhobors (; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are known for their pacifism and tradition of oral history, hymn-singing, and verse. They reject the Russian Ortho ...

spiritual leader Pyotr Verigin and

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

. The town and nearby area contained three Soviet camps where approximately 6,500 prisoners were held, arrested for their belief in God. At the port of Salekhard, approximately 1,500 prisoners were used as

slave labor Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, loading and unloading goods at the dock, or mining metal ore. About 5,000 prisoners in two camps near Salekhard were forced to polish diamonds mined from Mir mine. The nearest railway station is at Labytnangi on the opposite side of the river Ob. From 1949 to 1953, the Salekhard-Igarka Railway project made an unsuccessful attempt to extend the line to Igarka, claiming the lives of thousands of

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

prisoners. The section of railway from Salekhard to Nadym was completed and remained in use for some time in the Soviet era, although it was later abandoned. It is currently being rebuilt, along with a long-awaited bridge across the Ob between Labytnangi and Salekhard. Salekhard was the host city for the 2006

Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic region. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic ...

Ministerial Meeting in October 2006. In April 2014,

Rostelecom Rostelecom (Ростелеком) is Russia’s largest provider of digital services for a wide variety of consumers, households, private businesses, government and municipal authorities, and other telecom providers. Rostelecom interconnects all ...

, a Russian

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

, completed the final stretch of the Nadym-Salekhard optical Internet line, which stretches for almost . In the Summer of 2016, temperatures as high as thawed

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

-infected corpses that had been frozen since the soviet era near Salekhard, causing anthrax spores to infect reindeer herds and herders.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with one rural locality, incorporated as the town of okrug significance of Salekhard—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Law #42-ZAO As a municipal division, the town of okrug significance of Salekhard is incorporated as Salekhard Urban Okrug.Law #26-ZAO

Demographics

As of 2021, the ethnic composition of Salekhard was: *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

– 66.3% *

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

– 7.1% *

– 3.8% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

– 3.7% *

Nenets The Nenets (; ), in the past also called 'Samoyeds' or 'Yuraks', are a Samoyedic ethnic group native to Arctic Russia, Russian Far North. According to the latest census in 2021, there were 49,646 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them l ...

– 3.7% * Komi – 2.0% * Kyrgyz – 1.4% * Others – 12%

Economy

Супермаркет_«Стерх»,_Салехард_-_panoramio.jpg, Sterh Supermarket Building_under_construction_of_the_representative_office_of_PAO_Gazprom_in_Salekhard_(1).jpg, Building of the representative office of

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...

Рынок_«Дары_Ямала»,_Салехард_-_panoramio.jpg, Gifts of Yamal Supermarket Headquarters_of_"Yamalneftegaz".jpg, Headquarters of Yamalneftegaz Shopping_center_"Sezam"_at_Yamalskaya_Street_(3).jpg, Sezam Shopping center Yamal_Airlines_Headquarters.jpg, Yamal Airlines Headquarters Нефтебаза._Салехард_-_panoramio.jpg, Oil depot Рыболовно-охотничий_магазин_«Сармик»._Салехард_-_panoramio.jpg, Sarmik Fishing and hunting shop Yamal Airlines has its head office in Salekhard. Most of residents are employed in reindeer herding, fishing and the services sector. By 2015, about from the airport, near the

, authorities plan to build a large polar resort "Center of the Arctic tourism".

Transportation

Salekhard is located in the Ob river valley and is an important river port of the Russian Far North. The unfinished Salekhard–Igarka Railway was set to provide a rail connection between the

Ob river The Ob (; ) is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia, and with its tributary the Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at . The Ob forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins in the Alta ...

port of Salekhard and the

Yenisei river The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the list of rivers by length, fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal a ...

port of Igarka. Currently, the nearest railway is at Labytnangi, northwest on the opposite side of the river Ob. The project Northern Latitudinal Railway will provide Salekhard access to Russian railway and will further connect Salekhard to the Konosha–

Vorkuta Vorkuta (; ; Nenets languages, Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin a ...

railway and other parts of

European Russia European Russia is the western and most populated part of the Russia, Russian Federation. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the country's sparsely populated and vastly larger eastern part, Siberia, which is situated in Asia ...

. The Salekhard Bridge project, a combined railway-road bridge over

, is the main component of Northern Latitudinal Railway that will connect Labytnangi and Salekhard is to be constructed with the cost of 60 billion rubles. Nadym–Salekhard road, a 344 km long road, was inaugurated in December 2020 to the 90th anniversary of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, it will facilate the construction of a railway between the two cities and connects the eastern and western parts of Yamal Okrug. For 9–10 months each year, the Ob river is frozen and cars and trucks can drive across the river ice. In the summer a ferry operates, however during the floating of ice, generally shortly before the start and shortly after the end of summer, Salekhard is effectively isolated from the outside world, regarding freight. During these periods, only helicopters are able to reach Salekhard in case of emergency. Native people, mainly the

and

people, always build up stocks of food at home, in the shops, and in the markets during this period, but they still suffer from seasonal inflation. The city is also served by the Salekhard Airport, which is north of the main city. Салехард._Паром_через_Обь_-_panoramio.jpg, Ferry across the

Салехард, аэропорт - panoramio.jpg, Salekhard Airport Salehardobriver.jpg, Salekhard port on

Brodneva Street (03).jpg, Bus transport Паромная переправа. Салехард - panoramio.jpg, Ferry service station Мост_«Факел»,_Салехард_-_panoramio.jpg, Fakel (Torch) Bridge over Poluy river

Climate

Salekhard has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfc'') with short, mild summers and severely cold winters. Precipitation is moderate, and is significantly greater in summer than in winter.

Gallery

Salekhard_-_Mammoth.JPG,

Mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

monument in Salekhard Salekhard_-_Mammoth_2.JPG,

monument Памятник северному оленю. Салехард - panoramio.jpg,

Reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

monument in Salekhard Мечеть, Салехард - panoramio.jpg,

Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in Salekhard Ледовый дворец .Салехард - panoramio.jpg, Ice Palace of Salekhard Развлекательный центр «Полярис», Салехард - panoramio.jpg, Polyaris Entertainment center Дворец бракосочетания, Салехард, ул. Некрасова, 4 - panoramio.jpg, Wedding Palace North Outskirts of Salekhard (02).jpg, Northern outskirts of Salekhard Город Мастеров, Салехард - panoramio.jpg, "Craftsmen Village" Гостиница «Арктика»,Салехард, ул. Республики, 38 - panoramio.jpg, Arctic Hotel Спортивный комплекс «Студенческий». Салехард - panoramio.jpg, Students sports complex

International relations

Twin Town & Sister City

Salekhard is twinned with: *

Azov Azov (, ), previously known as Azak ( Turki/ Kypchak: ), is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. The population is History Early settlements in the vici ...

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

, Russia

Notable people

* Ion-Georgy Kostev (born 1990), professional ice hockey player

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of Salekhard
*Official website of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Information about Salekhard
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1595 Populated places of Arctic Russia Populated places on the Ob River