Salekhard
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Coordinates: 66°32′N 66°36′E / 66.533°N 66.6°E
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Salekhard (Russian: Салеха́рд; Nenets: Саля'харад, lit. house on a peninsula) is a town and the administrative center of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is believed to be the only town in the world that is located right on the Polar circle. Population: 36,827 (2002 Census);[1] 32,334 (1989 Census).[2] It is served by Salekhard Airport.
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[edit] History
A settlement of Obdorsk (Обдорск) was founded in 1595 in the place of a Khanty settlement Polnovat-Vozh (Полноват-вож) by Russian settlers who followed the conquering of Siberia by Yermak Timofeyevich. It was situated by the Ob River, and its name supposedly derives from that.
The land around Obdorsk was referred to as Obdorsky krai, or Obdoriya in the full address of Russian tsars.
The remote town was often used as a place of exile both during the Czars' and Soviets' rule. Among notable people who spent time here was the Doukhobor spriritual leader Peter Vasilevich Verigin.
On December 10, 1930, Obdorsk became the administrative center of the new Yamal (Nenets) National Okrug (Ямальский (Ненецкий) национальный округ). It was renamed Salekhard in 1933 and granted a town status in 1938.
The nearest rail terminus is at Labytnangi on the opposite side of the Ob river. From 1949 to 1953 the Salekhard-Igarka Railway project made an unsuccessful attempt to extend it to Igarka, claiming the lives of thousands of Gulag prisoners.
[edit] Economy
Yamalia is Russia's most important source of natural gas. The company Novatek, the country's second largest supplier of gas, is headquartered in the city.
[edit] References
- ^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved on 2008-07-25.
- ^ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров. (All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers.)" (in Russian). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989). Demoscope Weekly (website of the Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. 1989. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg2.php. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
[edit] External links
- Official website of Salekhard
- (English) Information at the official website of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
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