Salekhard (russian: Салеха́рд;

Khanty The Khanty (Khanty: ханти, ''hanti''), also known in older literature as Ostyaks (russian: остяки) are a Ugric indigenous people, living in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as "Yugra" in Russia, together ...

: , ''Pułñawat''; yrk, Саляʼ харад, ''Saljaꜧ harad'') is a town in

Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO; russian: Яма́ло-Не́нецкий автоно́мный о́круг (ЯНАО), ; yrk, Ямалы-Ненёцие автономной ӈокрук, ) or Yamalia (russian: Ямалия) is a fed ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, serving as the okrug's

administrative centre An administrative center 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 administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

. It crosses the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

, the main parts being about south and suburbs stretching to the north of the circle.

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 ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. It was situated on the

Ob River } The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's List of rivers by length, seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya (river), Biya ...

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

krai A krai or kray (; russian: край, , ''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 relate ...

, 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 Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia a ...

spiritual leader Pyotr Verigin and

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

. 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 loaded and unloaded goods at the dock, or mined metal ores. About 5,000 prisoners in two camps near Salekhard were assigned to polish diamonds mined from

Mir mine The Mir mine (russian: кимберлитовая алмазная трубка «Мир» ''kimberlitovaya almaznaya trubka "Mir"''; English: kimberlite diamond pipe "Peace"), also called the Mirny mine, is an open pit diamond mine located in ...

. The nearest railway station is at

Labytnangi Labytnangi (russian: Лабытна́нги; from Khanty: ; lit. ''seven larches''; Nenets: Лабытнаӈгы. ''Labytnaŋgy'') is a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the left bank of the Ob River, northwest of Salek ...

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 Igarka (russian: Ига́рка) is a town in Turukhansky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located north of the Arctic Circle. Igarka is a monotown established around a sawmill which processed timber logged in the basin of the Yenisei River ...

, claiming the lives of thousands of

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

prisoners. The section of railway from Salekhard to

Nadym Nadym (russian: Нады́м, Selkup: Ня́рэм, Nấrém) is a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the river Nadym. The population has fluctuated: Etymology There are three several translations from the Nenets langu ...

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. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle, ...

Ministerial Meeting in October 2006. In April 2014,

Rostelecom Rostelecom 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 local public operators� ...

, a Russian

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

, completed the final stretch of the

-Salekhard optical Internet line. That same line stretches for almost . In summer 2016, after temperatures as high as thawed

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

infected corpses frozen since 1941 near Salekhard, anthrax spores infected reindeer herds and herders.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with one

rural locality In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

, 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 o ...

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

Demographics

Ethnic composition (2010): *

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

– 65% *

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

– 9% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

– 6.2% *

– 3.3% * Nenets – 3% * Komi – 2.7% * Kyrgyz – 1% * Others – 9.8%

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, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...

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 Yamal Airlines (Russian: ОАО "Авиационная транспортная компания "Ямал", ''OAO Aviacionnaja transportnaja kompania "Yamal"'') is an airline based in Salekhard, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It opera ...

Headquarters Нефтебаза._Салехард_-_panoramio.jpg, Oil depot Рыболовно-охотничий_магазин_«Сармик»._Салехард_-_panoramio.jpg, Sarmik Fishing and hunting shop

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

Arctic circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

, 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 Extreme North or Far North (russian: Крайний Север, Дальний Север) is a large part of Russia located mainly north of the Arctic Circle and boasting enormous mineral and natural resources. Its total area is about , ...

. The unfinished

Salekhard–Igarka Railway The broad gauge Salekhard–Igarka Railway, ( ''Transpolyarnaya Magistral'', i.e. 'Transpolar Mainline') also referred to variously as ''Dead Road (')'', and ''Stalinbahn'', is an incomplete railway in northern Siberia. The railway was a project ...

was set to provide a rail connection between the

Ob river } The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's List of rivers by length, seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya (river), Biya ...

port of Salekhard and the

Yenisei river The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук ...

port of

. Currently, the nearest railway is at

(on the

), 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 Konosha (russian: Коноша) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Konoshsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Konosha River, south of Arkhangelsk. It also serves as the administr ...

Vorkuta Vorkuta (russian: Воркута́; kv, Вӧркута, ''Vörkuta''; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin at ...

railway and other parts of

European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...

. the Salekhard Bridge project, the combined railway-road bridge over

, is the main component of Northern Latitudinal Railway that connect

and Salekhard is to be constructed with cost of 60 billion rubles. Nadym-Salekhard road, a 344 km long road, has been inaugurated since December 2020 to the 90th anniversary of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug,which facilate the construction and railway between two cities and Connects East & West part of Yamal. For 9–10 months each year, the Ob river is frozen and cars and trucks can cross via 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 Nenets 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.2010/2011 visitor Любовь The city is also served by the

Salekhard Airport Salekhard Airport is an airport in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia located north of Salekhard. It is a civilian airfield, handling medium-sized aircraft. It is also a designated emergency airfield for commercial airliner cross-polar rout ...

, which is north of the main city. Салехард._Паром_через_Обь_-_panoramio.jpg, Ferry across the

Салехард, аэропорт - panoramio.jpg,

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 The Poluy (russian: Полуй) is a river in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, a right tributary of the Ob. It is long, with a drainage basin of . It flows into the Ob near the city Salekhard.subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a 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 an ocean, ge ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''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'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

monument in Salekhard Salekhard_-_Mammoth_2.JPG,

monument in Salekhard Памятник северному оленю. Салехард - panoramio.jpg,

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

monument in Salekhard Мечеть, Салехард - panoramio.jpg,

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in Salekhard Ледовый дворец .Салехард - panoramio.jpg, Ice Palace of Salekhard Памятник К.И.Миронову, Салехард - panoramio.jpg, Monument to K.I. Mironov Храм святых Петра и Павла, Салехард, ул. Свердлова, 6 - panoramio.jpg, Church of Saints Peter and Paul 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, North Outskirts of Salekhard Город Мастеров, Салехард - panoramio.jpg, City Masters Гостиница «Арктика»,Салехард, ул. Республики, 38 - panoramio.jpg, Arctic Hotel Спортивный комплекс «Студенческий». Салехард - panoramio.jpg, Student Sports complex .

International Relation

Twin Town & Sister City

Salekhard is twinned with: *

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, 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. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mo ...

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

, Russia

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