Ukhta (russian: Ухта́; kv, Уква, ''Ukva'') is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Chibyu'' (until 1939).

History

Oil springs along the

Ukhta River The Ukhta (russian: Ухта́, kv, Уква - ''Ukva'') is a river in the Komi Republic of Russia. It is a left tributary of the Izhma (in the Pechora's drainage basin). It is long, with a drainage basin of . Its average discharge is from it ...

were already known in the 17th century. In the mid-19th century, industrialist M. K. Sidorov started to drill for oil in this area. It was one of the first oil wells in Russia. There was homecraft oil-field in 1920–1921 in Ukhta. Lying on the river of the same name, the settlement was founded as the village of Chibyu in 1929, but in 1939 it was renamed Ukhta. It was granted town status in 1943 when it was linked to the

Pechora Railway Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population: History Pechora was ...

. To the east of the town is

Sosnogorsk Sosnogorsk (russian: Сосного́рск; kv, Сӧснагорт, ''Sösnagort'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Izhma River. Population: History The settlement was first established in 1939 as a railway station. It wa ...

, and to the southwest—

Yarega Yarega (russian: Я́рега; kv, Ярега, ''Jarega'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of republic significance of Ukhta in the Komi Republic, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, ...

. In addition to its rail link, Ukhta also has an airport. The town expanded in the 1940s and 1950s by use of political prisoners' forced labor (see: gulag).

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with four urban-type settlements ( Borovoy, Vodny,

Shudayag Shudayag (russian: Шудаяг; kv, Шудаяг, ''Šudajag'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of republic significance of Ukhta in the Komi Republic, Russia. As of the 2010 C ...

, and

) and thirteen rural localities, incorporated as the town of republic significance of Ukhta—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 #16-RZ As a municipal division, the town of republic significance of Ukhta is incorporated as Ukhta Urban Okrug.Law #11-RZ

Economy

Ukhta lies within the Timan-Pechora Basin, an important oil and gas-producing region. The oilfields lie just south of the city. Some of the Ukhta's oil is refined locally; most, however, is piped to

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...

between St. Petersburg and Moscow. There have been a few gas pipeline explosions at a distance of Eight kilometres (five miles) from the town since the 1990s.

Climate

Ukhta has a continental

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 ...

( Dfc) with long, cold winters and short, warm summers. Compared with areas at a similar latitude in Siberia, winters are less extreme, but still much longer than summer and bitterly cold by European standards.

Notable people

* Roman Abramovich, Russian businessman * Dmitri Aliev, Olympic figure skater * Aleksandr Chupriyan, Minister of Emergency Situations *

Olga Fonda Olga Tchakova (russian: Ольга Чакова; known professionally as Olga Fonda) is a Russian-American film and television actress and model. She is also known for her role as Nadia Petrova in ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2013–2014). Early lif ...

, actress * Sergei Kapustin, hockey player * Viktor Alexandrovič Lyapkalo, painter *

Eduard Rossel Eduard Ergartovich Rossel (russian: Эдуард Эргартович Россель; born 8 October 1937) is a Russian politician, who was the governor (1995–2009) of Sverdlovsk Oblast, an oblast in Russia. He returned into office in 1995. ...

, Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast *

Yulia Samoilova Julia Olegovna Samoilova ( rus, Ю́лия Оле́говна Само́йлова, , ˈjʉlʲɪjə ɐˈlʲeɡəvnə sɐˈmojləvə; born 7 April 1989), sometimes credited as Yulia Samoilova or Julia Samoylova, is a Russian singer-songwriter. In ...

, Russian singer * Alexander Sukhorukov, Olympic swimmer * Arsen Pavlov, former commander of Donetsk Separatist militia "Sparta Battalion"

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of Ukhta

Unofficial website of Ukhta

Pictures of Ukhta
*Website of Leonid Tomov

{{Use mdy dates, date=August 2011 Cities and towns in the Komi Republic Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Populated places established in 1929 1929 establishments in the Soviet Union 1929 establishments in Russia