Affordable Russian Arctic - Naryan-Mar, how they live in the Arctic and why go there

When my friends found out that I was flying to Naryan-Mar, they asked: “Where is this, near Alaska?” No. This is the capital of the Nenets (not to be confused with the Yamalo-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug (NAO), which is part of the Arkhangelsk region. It takes a little over two hours to fly there from Moscow, but already as you approach the city, looking out the window, you realize that this is a completely different world. This is the edge of the earth, the Arctic, the Russian North, the accessible Arctic.

I’ll admit right away: I was very lucky with the time of year. No matter how attractive the north is, there are two seasons for traveling to the Arctic – early autumn (September) and late winter (March-April). It is at this time that the Arctic nature is able to accept a new person without frightening him off with an abundance of feisty insects and frost reaching minus 42 ° C. Alexander Sergeevich’s favorite season was generous to me, and in the first two days the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the temperature rose to plus 15 °C. .

Under the wing of the plane, the tundra is singing about something...

Northern life

Part of our cheerful group, which flew to the capital of the Nenets Okrug, was settled in the village of Iskateley. The working settlement was formed 6 km from Naryan-Mar downstream of the Pechora River on the site of a geological exploration base in 1974. Now there are almost no geologists among the seven thousand population of the urban settlement (this is how the status of Seekers officially sounds), but the name remains. The houses here are mostly two-story, wooden. Near many there are boats and vegetable gardens where locals grow potatoes.

Neighborhoods of the working village of Iskateley

Naryan-Mar, where in 20-30 minutes. You can easily get there by city bus or taxi, older than Seekers. In 1903, on the territory of the modern city, the Pechora timber mill was founded by local loggers and a Norwegian industrialist. It became the first industrial enterprise in the lower reaches of Pechora, thanks to which the predecessor of the city, the Beloshchelsky settlement (Beloshchelye), gained strength. In the 30s, it received the name “Naryan-Mar” (translated from Nenets as “Red City”). The timber mill, by the way, was a city-forming enterprise until the mid-90s, but then went bankrupt.

In terms of architecture, the capital of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is partially similar to the Seekers, but it now has more monolithic houses, where wooden residents are being resettled. The buildings remaining from the USSR are being tiled and painted, while the vegetable gardens and greenhouses beloved by residents are not going anywhere. The locals almost never plant flowers, but there are some in the city. City services plant flowerbed plants in boxes that are attached to the roadway fences. The bright colors of residential buildings are not only a recognizable style of the polar city, but also the theme for the funny names and nicknames of more than 30 houses.

Urban vegetable garden under the windows of a house, Iskateley village

During the Tundra festival, held in 2022, an interactive map Naryan map (naryan-map.ru) was compiled, and it turned out that there are many small stories in Naryan-Mar - almost legends. For example, house 29 b on the street. Lenin is called “Sandwich” because the building’s cladding used alternating red and white bricks. The city also has its own “Three Little Pigs” (Aviatorov, 24, building 1-3). These houses are architecturally similar to each other and have a characteristic pink color of the facades.

Pechora also adds color to the city. Along it, residents travel from the port of Naryan-Mar to remote villages on hovercraft. They are able to cope with stormy waters when Pechora rages above 5–7 points.

Passenger port in Naryan-Mar

About the city Naryan-Mar

Naryan-Mar (Nen. Naryana mar" - "Red City") is a city (since 1935) in Russia, the administrative center of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The city is located beyond the Arctic Circle, located in the lower reaches of the Pechora River, 110 km from the Barents Sea.

The distance from Moscow to Naryan-Mar is 1500 km, from Arkhangelsk to Naryan-Mar – 660 km. The nearest railway station - Usinsk - is located at a distance of 350 km; it can be reached by land only along a winter road (winter road).

Story

Background

The idea of ​​building a city in the lower reaches of the Pechora River arose a long time ago. Rich wildlife, beautiful places, a large navigable river, the opportunity to trade timber - all this attracted people to the North. Information from Russian chronicles leaves no doubt that the area of ​​Nizhnyaya Pechora was well known already from the 12th century. Here the local tribes - Yugra, Pechera - first carried out barter trade with the Russians. As the power of the Novgorod Republic and then the Moscow Principality grew, barter trade was replaced by tribute. In 1499 Pustozersk was founded. In the 18th-19th centuries, new villages and hamlets appeared on the banks of the Pechora estuary; Velikovisochnoye, Oksino, Telviska, Kuya - whose residents were engaged in traditional farming, fishing, hunting, and reindeer herding. In the second half of the 19th century. shipment of Pechora forest began abroad. Since 1897, the Partnership of the Arkhangelsk-Murmansk Express Shipping Company has established sea routes between Arkhangelsk and the lower reaches of the Pechora (Kuya village). In 1903, on the territory of modern Naryan-Mar, the Pechora timber mill was founded, created by the Stella Polare partnership led by the Norwegian timber merchant Martin Olsen.

Foundation of the city

In 1924, an agency of the Northern Shipping Company was opened in the Beloshchelye tract. The staff consisted of eight people. 2 frame warehouses and a shed were built, which were dismantled for the winter.

On September 4, 1931, a meeting of the commission of the Arkhangelsk regional committee of the CPSU (b) was held in Beloshchelye. The only question is “About the construction of the Pechora port.” The main reason for the construction changes was the discovery of the Vorkuta coal deposit by geologist G. A. Chernov in 1930. There was only one way to deliver coal to the consumer - through the Pechora port. This is how the working village of Naryan-Mar (Red City) was formed. In order for the village to be formed, it was necessary to unite the territories and populations of the timber plant, Beloshchelye, the villages of Kalush, Karmanovo (Gorodetsky), Nosovo (Kachgort) and the village of Ekusha. The first buildings on the territory of the future city were a residential barracks for 65 people, an eight-apartment building, a canteen, a post office, a “Nenets house,” a hospital, and a printing house.

On December 18, 1931, a resolution was adopted by the Presidium of the Nenets Regional Executive Committee: “Due to the inconsistency with the understanding of the word “mard”, the name of the workers’ settlement should be written “Naryan-Mar”.

By decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of March 2, 1932, the administrative center of the Nenets National Okrug, the Northern Territory, was moved from the village of Telvisochnoye to the working village of Naryan-Mar.

On April 9, 1934, the V Plenum of the Nenets Regional Executive Committee adopted the Decision to transform the workers' village of Naryan-Mar, where over 8,000 people lived, into the city of Naryan-Mar. March 10, 1935. By decree of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the working village of Naryan-Mar in the Nenets District of the Northern Territory was transformed into a city.

1930s

In 1934, by decision of the village council, the first streets were named. They were Naberezhnaya Street, Partizanskaya Street (now Pyrerki Street), Zapolyarny Avenue (now Smidovicha Street), Olennaya Street (since 1936 it has been Vyucheysky Street) and Polyarnaya Street. In the same year, the city leadership decided to begin construction of the House of Soviets. In 1934, the pedagogical school graduated its first specialists. In 1932, a reindeer herding zonal station began operating. In 1933, a fish trust office was organized. At the same time, the seaport increased the pace of its work. In the same 1934, the library began educational activities, and then the district museum was opened. The development of education did not lag behind the general development of the city. Since 1934, a cultural education school and two secondary schools operated in the city.

In 1936, a weather warning bureau was created.

In 1937, a professional drama theater was opened, subsequently transferred to the city of Kotlas.

Trade consisted of two department stores, a specialty grocery store, and a specialty store selling goods for the tundra population.

On February 13, 1933, the first polar airline was opened, which connected Arkhangelsk with Naryan-Mar. In 1932, the first radio center with 110 radio points began operating, and in 1937 the authorities established direct telegraph communication with Arkhangelsk.

On March 30, 1937, in Naryan-Mar, the planes of the expedition flying to the North Pole landed on the ice of Pechora to organize the world's first polar drifting station, North Pole-1. Due to bad weather, the stop in Naryan-Mar lasted for two weeks. On April 12, 1937, the planes flew to the polar station Matochkin Shar (Novaya Zemlya). There is a memorial plaque installed on the house where the polar explorers lived.

The Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, Naryan-Mar was a rear city. Since October 1941, a military airfield began operating in the city, which belonged to the 772nd air base of the White Sea Military Flotilla. Airplanes from Naryan-Mar carried out reconnaissance flights in the Arctic. On June 22, 1943, the German Yu-88 plane flew over Naryan-Mar for the only time during the entire war; it is assumed that it carried out aerial photography of the city and nearby settlements.

On Aviation Day 1944, workers of the Naryan-Mar seaport handed over to the pilot of the White Sea Military Flotilla V.V. Tomashevsky's Il-4 bomber "Worker of the Pechora Fleet", bought with money from port workers. On September 7, 1944, the leading workers of the Nenets District handed over to the pilots of the White Sea Military Flotilla the Yak-7B fighter from the Naryan-Mar shipbuilder, which was awarded to the Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain A.K. Tarasov. In 1946, the fighter was delivered to Naryan-Mar and installed in the park as a monument to Soviet people who worked in the rear (lost in 1956 and restored in 2010).

On August 16, 1942, a group of ships left the village of Khabarovo for Naryan-Mar. It included the tugboats Komsomolets, Nord and Komiles. The Nord towed the faulty Komiles and the Sh-500 lighter, and the towing steamer Komsomolets towed the P-4 barge. The latter housed 300 people, most of whom were prisoners from Norilstroy camps. On August 17, at about 7 o'clock in the morning, when the caravan was passing two miles from the northern coast of Matveev Island in the Barents Sea, the German submarine U-209 surfaced near it and opened artillery fire. The lighter "Sh-500", the barge P-4 and the towing steamer "Komiles" were sunk. The towing steamer "Komsomolets" caught fire and washed ashore. The steamer "Nord" managed to escape. Of the 328 people who were on the ships of the destroyed caravan, 305 drowned or died during artillery shelling. In memory of this event in Naryan-Mar, on Saprygina Street in November 1968, a monument to the crew of the tugboat Komsomolets was erected.

1940s – 1980s

Local industry in the 30s and 40s was represented by a handicraft brick production enterprise in Ekusha. In 1940, they produced 1 million 100 thousand bricks. And the city’s housing stock at that time was 52.4 thousand square meters. m. total area. A new stage in the development of the city in the late 40s and 50s was marked by the construction of a block of residential buildings along Vyucheyskogo Street. In the 60s, the first brick buildings were put into operation - a recreation center and school No. 3. In 1975, builders commissioned the first multi-storey brick building - the building of the regional committee of the CPSU, now the city administration. And in 1981, workers of the Naryan-Mar SMU received apartments in the city’s first new panel building. Construction was transferred to an industrial basis. With the start of construction of brick and panel houses, a centralized water supply and a local sewerage system with local treatment facilities are being introduced. The system of serving citizens was also improved. The first bus route opened in 1955. With the creation of a city diesel power plant in 1959, a stable power supply was established, and in the early 60s, residential buildings began to be switched to central heating.

Since 1973, Naryanmar residents have been watching television programs through the Orbita station. And in 1978, natural gas came to residential apartments, and the conversion of boiler houses to gas fuel began. In 1973, a 92-meter bridge across the river was built. Kachgortinskaya Kurya, and then, in 1983 - a 57-meter across the river. Sawmill chicken. In the 80s, new capacities were introduced at the power plant and oil depot, a bakery was built, and in 1989, a four-story building of the district hospital was built. In the 80s, a new clinic and pharmacy, the Pechora Hotel, a boarding school with a dormitory building, a department store, and a music school were built. A whole block of modern panel residential buildings has appeared.

1990s and today

In the 90s, the pace of development of the city, as well as the entire country, decreased, and some residents began to leave Naryan-Mar. However, even at this time, several residential buildings, the Promstroibank building, a cash settlement center, and the federal treasury were built in the city. Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the growth of oil production in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the city has received a new impetus in its development; in the first decade, dozens of modern monolithic and brick buildings have appeared, roads and communications are being built and repaired, dilapidated housing is being actively demolished and residents are being resettled into new comfortable apartments.

In September 2009, Naryan-Mar was visited by the President of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity, who participated in the celebrations dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

On October 4, 2011, in Naryan-Mar, President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev held a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on housing and communal services issues.

On July 29, 2012, the President of Vietnam Truong Tan Shang paid an official visit to Naryan-Mar.

Economy

Industry

• Seaport and river pier
• Food industry enterprises
• OJSC "Nenets Oil Company"
• Oil
• JSC "Naryan-Marseismorazvedka"
• JSC "Naryan-Mar United Air Squadron"
• Gas pipeline from the Vasilkovo field, terminal point Naryan-Mar

Attractions

• Administration building of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug
• District library
• Museum of Local Lore
• Post office building
• Monument to the 500th anniversary of Pustozersk
• Monument to Yak-7B
• Cultural and business
• Monument to the crew of the tugboat "Komsomolets"
• Monument to the “Feat of the Participants of the Reindeer Transport Battalions during the Great Patriotic War”

Transport

Urban

Bus transport has been operating in the city since 1955, currently serving 6 routes:

• Route No. 411: Naryan-Mar - Iskateley village
• Route No. 2: Seaport - st. Lenin
• Route No. 4: Seaport - Airport
• Route No. 4a: st. Lenina - Airport
• Route No. 7: Seaport - lake. Unnamed
• Route No. 8: Seaport - st. Mira

LiAZ-5256, PAZ-4234 and PAZ-3205 buses are used on the routes.

Long distance connections

Naryan-Mar is not connected to other cities either by a permanent road or by railway. Since 1991, large-scale construction of the Naryan-Mar - Usinsk road with a length of 386 km has been underway. 80 km have not been completed. The route should connect the Nenets Autonomous Okrug with the Komi Republic and provide it with access to the railway junction in Usinsk. From December to April you can drive to Naryan-Mar along the winter road from Kharyaga. During the navigation period, the Shchelyayur - Naryan-Mar ferry service operates on Pechora.

Until the highway is built, aviation remains the main mode of transport to get to Naryan-Mar. Naryan-Mar Airport accepts An-24, An-26, An-12 Tu-134, Yak-40, Yak-42, Il-18, Boeing 737, ATR 42 aircraft, and helicopters of all types. The operator of the airport is JSC Naryan-Mar United Aviation Squad, which has An-2 aircraft and Mi-8 helicopters in its fleet. Regular flights are operated to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Syktyvkar, Usinsk, as well as on local air lines.

Cargo is delivered to the city by sea from Arkhangelsk, as well as by river from the city of Pechora.

Climate

The climate of Naryan-Mar is subarctic, with long winters and short, cool summers. The city is located in a permafrost zone, but there is no permafrost within the city. The polar night lasts from December 14 to December 30. Winters are relatively mild for polar latitudes due to the influence of the Barents Sea, however, spring and autumn are long and cold, and summers are cool. The average daily temperature crosses zero only in May, and again crosses zero at the beginning of October. The polar day lasts from May 30 to July 15, and white nights are observed from April to August. Summer is cold, with an average temperature of only 13 degrees (with quite strong variations from year to year, the warmest July was observed in 1974, and the coldest in 1968, with average temperatures of +18.8 and +7.7, respectively). In summer, sometimes hot air masses from the steppes of Kazakhstan can reach the city, then the temperature can exceed +30 °C in the shade.

Population

• 1939 – 13,700 people
• 1959 – 13,222 people
• 1970 – 16,864 people
• 1979 – 23,435 people
• 1989 – 20,182 people
• 2002 – 18,611 people
• 2010 – 19,820 people
• 2011 – 21,338 people
• 2012 – 22,375 people

What's the price

Prices in stores both in the city and in the village are high. Until you deliver the goods to the Nenets Okrug, you will have to spend a lot of money. It’s the same story if you need to produce something here and try to establish a market outside the district. Communication with the mainland in summer and autumn by air and water. There are roads only in Naryan-Mar and its immediate surroundings, including Iskateley. When winter sets in and constant snow falls, the necessary long-distance destinations, for example, Naryan-Mar - Usinsk, are filled with water and cars are driven along the frozen road. Federal authorities are promising to allocate significant funds for the construction of a permanent road, and by 2024 it may appear here. So, both in summer and winter, the road will soon serve people well. And the winters here are harsh: minus 35 °C is the norm, but sometimes 42 °C can occur. This was told by local taxi driver Gashim, who moved here in 1983 from Azerbaijan. To the question: “How could you come to the Arctic and stay after the south?” - he replied: “Now this is my homeland. I like it here. Hunting, fishing, winter... And I like northern people. They are honest and gentle!”

City post office, Naryan-Mar

Back to prices. They are not just “tall” here, they are “Moscow” and even higher. On the eve of the New Year holidays, prices for common fruits and vegetables reach 500-600 rubles. Lemons in September already cost 200 rubles, and the principle “I’ll go to another store and buy cheaper lemons”, unfortunately, does not work here. Prices are high everywhere. The main local meat is venison. “Life” and “deer” sound the same in Nenets. The deer from horns to hooves goes into action: the carcass is used as food - reindeer stew, fried liver, boiled tongue... The autumn skin goes to malitsa (Nenets outer clothing with a hood and almost to the floor). This is also the bed of a tundra dweller, chum, even dried deer skin is used for the lasso. And in general, the word “olenium” is a wise world order made up of simple things.

For an expanded assortment of venison, you need to go to the company store of the local meat processing plant OJSC Meat Products . There is a large selection here: canned food, sausages, meatballs, steaks, goulash, minced meat, deli meats, etc. Neck and excellent pressed boiled venison cost about 839 rubles/kg. Deer chips are considered chic. They sell out quickly and if you come across them, buy several packs at once - for yourself and friends.

Assortment of branded meat store, Naryan-Mar

In addition to venison, the diet of northerners also consists of local fish. Peled-payha, nelma-syavta, pike-whitefish and whitefish-palkur, and here is also white fish on the ear and quick-salt. It makes sense to buy fish in the company store “Fish shop “Argus” (Saprygina St., 10) . Interestingly, if you ask locals where this store is located, many will not answer you. And not out of malice (this has not been observed among northerners), they simply do not go there. Almost every family has its own fish getter: father, husband, son, brother. Fishing for the residents of Naryan-Mar and the Seekers is not even a hobby, it is a way of life. They divide local fish into red (salmon), white (whitefish, nelma, omul, broad whitefish, peled) and gray (pike, sorog, perch). But marine and coastal fish, such as navaga and smelt, are not even customary to “color”.

For fishermen, one of the most delicious fish allowed for catching is herring - the White Sea vendace from the whitefish genus. It happens that in some year there is not enough of it, so the store only has frozen ones for 365 rubles. Nearby are frozen sorog (roach) for 140 rubles, trout, also frozen, with a head for 950 rubles. and wonderful frozen Pechora salmon – 1835 rubles. for 1 kg. This salmon is so fatty that it is even difficult to completely salt it. Of course, there is also the beautiful nelma (sometimes up to 1 m long and weighing up to 15 kg), but it is listed in the Red Book.

Northern fish

Nelma is also called “white fish” due to the white color of its meat. Thanks to the ban on catching nelma, there are more and sometimes incidents happen. By purchasing a fishing license, local fishermen are not insured against getting caught in nelma nets. The fish is powerful, heavy, it rushes like a torpedo, vigorously waving its tail and drowning out small fish, and, of course, gets tangled in nets. Often, before the fisherman swims up to it, the fish dies. And fisheries conservation officers are able to understand just by landing a boat whether there is salmon among the catch or not.

Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Nen. Nenetsie autonomous okrug) is a subject of the Russian Federation. According to the Charter of the Arkhangelsk Region, it is also part of the Arkhangelsk Region, being a subject of the Russian Federation and at the same time an integral part of the region. It is part of the Northwestern Federal District. In accordance with the Charter of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Okrug is an equal subject of the Russian Federation and has on its territory all the fullness of state power outside the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and its powers on subjects of joint jurisdiction. The administrative center of the district is the city of Naryan-Mar (22,375 people). The district was formed on July 15, 1929. It borders in the west with the Arkhangelsk region, in the south with the Komi Republic, in the east with the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in the north the border runs along the coast of the White, Barents and Kara seas, including adjacent islands that are not included in the jurisdiction of the Arkhangelsk region.

Geographical position

The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is located in the north of the East European Plain, most of which is located above the Arctic Circle. Includes the islands of Kolguev and Vaygach, the Kanin and Yugorsky peninsulas. It is washed by the White, Barents, Pechora and Kara seas of the Arctic Ocean. In the south the district borders with the Komi Republic, in the southwest with the Arkhangelsk Region, and in the northeast with the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. To the west of the Kara River there is the Kara meteorite crater with a diameter of 65 km.

Story

The first human settlements in the district date back to the 8th millennium BC. e. (Paleolithic). There are numerous sites from the Bronze Age (2nd-1st millennium BC). In the V-XIII centuries AD. e. Tribes of unknown ethnicity lived here, whom the Russians knew under the name “Pechera”, and the Nenets called “Sirtya”. This culture includes the Orty settlement, sanctuaries on the Gnilka River and on Vaygach Island.

The Nenets migrated to the territory of the district from the lower reaches of the Ob at the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. e. Around the same time, the colonization of the extreme northeast of Europe by the Novgorodians began. Russian chronicles note the dependence of Pechora and Ugra on the Kyiv princes in the 9th century and the systematic collection of tribute. The final establishment of Novgorod's power over Pechora occurred in the 13th-15th centuries. After the annexation of Novgorod to Moscow (1478), the territory of the current Nenets Autonomous Okrug also passed to the Moscow state. In 1500, the military expedition of Prince Semyon Kurbsky founded the border fortress of Pustozersk on Pechora. This now defunct city for centuries was the administrative and commercial center of all lands from Mezen to the Urals.

Lower Pechora and the coast of the Barents Sea were developed, in addition to the Russians (Pomors) and Nenets, also by the Komi-Zyryans, Komi-Permyaks and Komi-Izhemtsy. In the 18th century, Pomors began settling the Kanin Peninsula.

In the 19th - early 20th centuries, the territory of the district was part of the Mezen and Pechora districts of the Arkhangelsk province.

In 1928, a decree was issued on the administrative centers of the Kaninsko-Timansky district of the Mezen district and the Telvisochno-Samoedsky district of the Pechora district of the Arkhangelsk province.

In 1929, the Nenets (Samoyed) district of the Northern Territory was formed. P. G. Smidovich and N. E. Saprygin took an active part in the creation of the district. The district from the Arkhangelsk province included: Kaninsko-Timansky district, Peshsky and Omsky village councils of the Mezen volost of the Mezen district, Telvisochno-Samoedsky district of the Pechora district. From Komi Autonomous District (Zyryan): Bolshaya Zemlya (tundra) of Izhmo-Pechora district. Thus, according to the Resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the following composition of the Nenets District was approved: Kaninsko-Timansky District, with a center in the village of Nizhnyaya Pesha and the Nenets District (Bolshezemelsky), with a center in the Khoseda-Hard cultural base.

By decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of December 20, 1929, changes were made to the administrative boundaries of the district: the Pustozersky volost of the Pechora district (with the exception of the Ermitsky village council) and the coastal islands were included, and a third administrative district was formed - the Pustozersky district, with its center in the village of Velikovisochnoe.

In 1931, the Pustozersky district was renamed Nizhne-Pechorsky, and its regional center was moved to the village of Oksino.

By decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of March 2, 1932, the administrative center of the Nenets National Okrug, the Northern Territory, was moved from the village of Telvisochnoye to the working village of Naryan-Mar.

By a resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee dated February 10, 1934, many islands located near the territory of the district were included in the Nenets Okrug, including Vaygach Island, as well as the territory of the Nessky village council of the Mezen region.

In 1940, the Amderma district and tundra councils were formed - Karsky, Yu-Sharsky and Vaygachsky (island).

In October 1940, the village of Vorkuta was transferred from the Bolshezemelsky district to the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

In July 1954, Kolguev Island was assigned to the district.

In 1955, the Nizhne-Pechorsky district was abolished.

In 1959, all districts of the Nenets NO were abolished, and their territory passed into direct district subordination.

In 1977, the Nenets National Okrug was renamed the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

In 1980, in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a gas release occurred at the Kumzha-9 well during drilling, after which a fire started. In May 1981, a nuclear charge was detonated at the field at a depth of about 1.5 thousand meters to shift geological layers, but the accident could not be eliminated, the field was mothballed.

In 1993, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, received the status of a federal subject.

In 2005, the Polar Region was formed in the Nenets Okrug.

Natural conditions

The terrain of the territory is mostly flat; The ancient Timan ridge and the Pai-Khoi ridge (height up to 467 m), and the wetlands of the Bolshezemelskaya and Malozemelskaya tundra stand out. The main river is Pechora. On the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug there is a dense network of small rivers and small lakes, often connected by short channels. Tundra and peat-gley soils are common in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Geologically, the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug belongs to two Precambrian sedimentary plates of different ages: Russian and Pechora. The conventional boundary between them coincides with the zone of Western Timan deep faults.

The slabs have a two-story structure: the lower floor is an intensely dislocated folded foundation, the upper is a gently lying, weakly dislocated sedimentary cover. The formation of the crystalline foundation of the Russian Plate was completed already in the Middle Proterozoic, the folded foundation of the Pechora Plate - in the second half of the Proterozoic (Baltic folding). Both foundations, after their formation, underwent repeated transformations, were broken by faults, some sections rose, others, on the contrary, sank. The result of this is a very uneven surface.

Climate

The Nenets Autonomous Okrug belongs to the regions of the Far North.

The climate is universally subarctic, turning into arctic in the far north: the average January temperature is from −12 °C in the southwest to −22 °C in the northeast, the average July temperature is from +6 °C in the north to +13 °C in the south ; precipitation - about 350 mm per year; permafrost.

The Nenets District is subject to systematic invasion of Atlantic and Arctic air masses. Frequent changes in air masses are the cause of constant weather variability. In winter and autumn, winds with a southern component predominate, and in summer - northern and northeastern ones, caused by the invasion of cold arctic air onto the heated continent, where atmospheric pressure is low at this time.

The air temperature in summer is determined by the amount of solar radiation and therefore naturally increases from north to south. The average July temperature in Naryan-Mar is +12° C. In the cold half of the year, the main factor in the temperature regime is the transfer of heat from the Atlantic, so there is a distinct decrease in temperature from west to east. The average January temperature in Naryan-Mar is −18°C, winter lasts on average 220–240 days. The entire territory of the district is located in the zone of excess moisture. Annual precipitation ranges from 400 mm (on the coasts of the seas and on the Arctic islands) to 700 mm. The minimum precipitation is observed in February, the maximum in August - September. At least 30% of precipitation falls in the form of snow, and permafrost is present.

Hydrography

The territory of the district is washed in the west by the waters of the White Sea, in the north by the Barents and Pechora Seas, in the northeast of the Kara Sea, forming numerous bays - bays: Mezenskaya, Cheshskaya, Kolokolkovskaya, Pechora, Khaypudyrskaya, etc.

It is characterized by a dense river network (on average 0.53 km per 1 km² area) and an abundance of lakes. The rivers belong to the basins of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, are mainly flat in nature, and rapids on the ridges. It is fed predominantly by melted snow water (up to 75% of the runoff). Rainwater is of subordinate importance (15-20% of runoff), the share of groundwater is 5-10% or practically absent. The distribution of runoff has a pronounced seasonality with summer and winter low water, large spring and minor autumn floods. The duration of freeze-up is 7-8 months. By the end of winter, the ice thickness reaches 0.7–1.2 m, and small tundra rivers freeze to the bottom.

Among the rivers, the Pechora River occupies a special place; within the district there is its lower reaches (220 km) with an extensive delta. The depths allow sea vessels to rise to Naryan-Mar. In terms of water content, Pechora is second only to the Volga in the European part of Russia. Significant rivers are Vizhas, Oma, Snopa, Pesha, Wolonga, Indiga, Chernaya, More-Yu, Korotaikha, Kara, as well as tributaries of the Pechora - Sula, Shapkina, Laya, Kolva, Adzva.

Among the lakes, Golodnaya Guba (186 km²) and lake systems stand out: Vashutkinskoye, Urdyuzhskiye, Indigskiye, etc. Most lakes are small with a water surface area of ​​up to 3 km² and average depths of 0.5-3 m, less often 4-5 m. Lake basins in mainly of residual glacial and thermokarst origin, in river valleys there are relict oxbow lakes. Swamps occupy 5-6%, on the coast up to 10-20% of the territory. Their depth is from 0.5 to 2 m. The main types of swamps are: hummocky (flat and large-hilly) and raised sphagnum ridge-hollows of atmospheric feeding, floodplain lowland ground feeding and transitional sphagnum. The thickness of peat deposits in hummocky bogs reaches 3-5 m. Groundwater, with the exception of the area of ​​​​the city of Naryan-Mar, has not been sufficiently studied.

Land resources

The district's land fund as of January 1, 1999 amounted to 17,681,048 hectares. It is distributed into the following categories: agricultural land - 16,799.3 thousand hectares (95.01%); lands of settlements - 12.4 thousand hectares (0.07%); lands of industrial, transport and other non-agricultural enterprises - 39.8 thousand hectares (0.23%); lands for environmental purposes - 2.0 thousand hectares (0.01%); reserve land - 827.5 thousand hectares (4.68%). The area of ​​agricultural land (hayfields, pastures, arable land) is 25.9 thousand hectares, or less than 0.15% in the structure of the district's land fund. 847.8 thousand hectares (4.8%) are occupied by forests, 1089.3 thousand hectares (6.2%) are swamps, and 1000.4 thousand hectares (5.66%) are under water. Reindeer pastures account for 13,202.2 thousand hectares (74.67%).

Soils

Depending on bioclimatic conditions, relief, the nature of soil-forming rocks, and the depth of surface water, the following main types of tundra soils are distinguished: arctic-tundra gleyic, tundra primitive, tundra surface-gley, peat-swamp, sod. Tundra podzolized illuvial-humus soils are formed on sandy and sandy loam soil-forming rocks under conditions of good drainage. Arcto-tundra gleyic ones are found on Vaygach Island and the coast of the Kara Sea, tundra primitive ones are found in the upper part of the slopes of Pai-Khoi, tundra surface gleyic ones, like peat-swamp ones, are widespread throughout the entire district. In the southwest of the district, in the subzone of the northern taiga, gleyic-podzolic soils and illuvial-iron-humus podzols are formed.

The soil-forming process is determined by low temperatures, short summers, widespread permafrost, waterlogging and develops according to the gley-swamp type. Chemical weathering is weak, while the released bases are washed out of the soil, and it is depleted in calcium, sodium, potassium, but enriched in iron and aluminum. Lack of oxygen and excess moisture make it difficult to decompose plant residues, which slowly accumulate in the form of peat.

Vegetation

The territory is located in the tundra (76.6%), forest-tundra (15.4%) zones, the southwestern part is in the northern taiga subzone (8%). In the tundra zone there are subzones of arctic (4.9%), mountain (3.5%), northern (10.3%), southern (57.9%) tundra.

In the subzone of the Arctic tundra (the coast of the Kara Sea and Vaygach Island), vegetation does not form a continuous cover. Frozen soil, exposed on dry ground from snow by strong winds, cracks, and the surface of the tundra is divided into separate polygons (polygons). The vegetation consists largely of mosses and lichens, grasses: small sedges, grasses, cotton grass, as well as slate forms of shrubs.

In the mountain tundra subzone, the main background is created by sedge-lichen associations and creeping shrubs of willow and dwarf birch.

The northern tundras cover the north of the Malozemelskaya tundra, in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra they are confined to large hills, the southern slopes of the Pai-Khoi ridge. Here the moss and lichen cover are closed, thickets of dwarf birches and low-growing species of willows appear. Significant areas are occupied by grass-sedge bogs; in the valleys of rivers and streams there are willows and tundra meadows with abundant multi-species forbs and grasses.

In the southern tundra subzone, large areas are covered with thickets of dwarf birch (birnie), as well as various types of willows, wild rosemary, and juniper. Moss or shrub cover is developed, shrubs, forbs, and marsh plant complexes are widely represented. In the forest-tundra zone, sparse forests appear on watersheds, and in river valleys and on the southern slopes of hills, woody vegetation appears in islands: low-growing spruce and birch trees, less often larches, alternating with areas of tundra and swamps.

The northern taiga subzone is characterized by the presence of significant tracts of closed tree vegetation with a predominance of spruce and spruce-birch forests; pine grows along sandy river terraces and in swamps. In river floodplains, areas with impenetrable thickets of various types of willow and alder alternate with sedge bogs and meadows. Grasses (reed grass, bluegrass, foxtail grass, red fescue) with an admixture of forbs grow on tundra meadows and laidas.

More than 600 species of flowering plants, several hundred species of mosses and lichens are found in the district. In coastal sea waters, macrophytes, which are represented here by algae (about 80 species), are dominated by brown algae, in rivers and flowing lakes - sedge, horsetail and arctophila. Blue-green diatoms dominate in river phytoplankton, and green and diatom algae dominate in lakes.

Species of northern groups are widespread in the flora, and taiga (boreal) species are quite widespread. Among the flowering plants, cereals, cruciferous plants, sedges, and willows predominate. With anthropogenic impacts on the vegetation cover of the tundra, shrubs, mosses and lichens are replaced by grasses, forming a secondary vegetation cover. The largest areas with secondary vegetation are found in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra, in areas of geological exploration and oil and gas production.

The flora is rich in a variety of food plants: berries, edible herbs. The most important are cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, blueberries, and crowberries. In the forest-tundra zone, along river valleys and in the taiga zone, red and black currants, honeysuckle grow, and raspberries, strawberries, and rose hips are found. In warm years, bird cherry and rowan ripen, and in the south of the Malozemelnaya tundra and in Kanino-Timanya - cranberries. Sorrel, wild onion and other meadow plants are used for food.

The resources of forage plants of floodplain meadows are rich - cereals, legumes, forbs, sedges; There are significant reserves of lichens in reindeer pastures - Cladonia, Cetraria; Medicinal plants grow everywhere.

More than 100 species of cap mushrooms are found in the district. Their species composition increases in the direction from north to south. In the northern tundra, edible mushrooms include russula, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, and dry milk mushrooms; to the south, aspen mushrooms appear; in the forest-tundra and taiga, milk mushrooms, saffron milk caps, white milk mushrooms, and others appear.

Animal world

Represented by inhabitants of the tundra, taiga, and arctic deserts. There are numerous aquatic invertebrates: ciliates, phytomonads, oligochaetes, nematodes, rotifers, lower crustaceans, mollusks, etc. The species composition of insects is diverse, with a huge number of blood-sucking insects: mosquitoes, midges, and gadflies. Among the cyclostomes, the lamprey is found. There are more than 30 species of fish in rivers and lakes. Among the migratory species are salmon, omul and others; semi-anadromous - nelma, whitefish, vendace; Among the aquatic (local) species are pike, ide, sorog, perch, burbot, peled, grayling and others. In the coastal seas - herring, navaga, flounder, cod, smelt and others (about 50 species of marine fish).

Amphibians include the grass frog, Siberian salamander, and common toad, and reptiles include the viviparous lizard. The species composition of birds is diverse - about 160 species, including 110 species of birds nesting in the area. About 20 species overwinter. In terms of species richness and abundance, the most represented are passerines and charibiformes (waders) - more than 40 species each, and waterfowl - about 30 species. Geese, ducks, and also ptarmigan, one of the background species of the tundra and forest-tundra, are of commercial importance.

There are 31 species of land mammals. The most numerous rodents are lemmings (Siberian and ungulate) and voles (water, housekeeper, Middendorf, narrow-skulled); squirrels are found in the taiga. Among other groups of mammals, the Arctic shrew and the mountain hare are common; Among the predators are arctic fox, wolf, fox, wolverine, brown and polar bear, marten, otter, ermine, weasel; among artiodactyls - wild reindeer and elk.

In the coastal seas, marine mammals are found: beluga whale, North Atlantic porpoise, narwhal, ringed seal, bearded seal, gray seal, Atlantic walrus. Among terrestrial mammals, the main fish species are arctic fox, fox, brown bear, marten, otter and elk. Of the marine mammals, only the ringed seal and bearded seal continue to be fished. A number of species are acclimatized in the district. Of the rodents, this is the muskrat, which spread widely throughout the territory and was the object of hunting; among fish - sterlet, but its population remains very small. Single specimens of pink salmon acclimatized in the Barents Sea basin come to spawn.

Minerals

The district has large oil and gas reserves, as it is located in the northern part of the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province, which is in 4th place in Russia in terms of oil reserves. 83 hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered: 71 oil, 6 oil and gas condensate, 1 gas and oil, 4 gas condensate and 1 gas. Moreover, the depth of occurrence of hydrocarbons is relatively small, and the physicochemical properties are high, as a consequence of the high profitability of most fields.

There are also deposits of coal, manganese, nickel, copper, molybdenum, gold, and diamonds, however, most of the deposits have not been fully explored. Demonstrations of lead-zinc and copper ores were discovered on Vaygach Island.

Awards

• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1979) “for achievements in economic and cultural construction, as well as in connection with the 50th anniversary of the region.”
• Order of Friendship of Peoples (December 29, 1972) - “for the great merits of workers in strengthening the fraternal friendship of Soviet peoples, achievements in economic and cultural construction, and in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the USSR.”

Order ribbons adorn the coat of arms of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug: on the right is the Order of Friendship of Peoples, on the left is the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

Relations with the Arkhangelsk region

The first official proposals for the unification of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug with the Arkhangelsk Region began to come from Arkhangelsk in 2004, after the election of Nikolai Kiselev as Head of the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region (in the elections, the majority of the population of the district voted against everyone), who was supported in this matter by the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North -Western Federal District Ilya Klebanov. This caused active opposition from residents of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. A group of residents of the village of Velikovisochnoye addressed the meeting of deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug with a proposal for a referendum that would once and for all remove this issue from the agenda. The proposal for a referendum was recognized by deputies as not complying with current legislation. On January 1, 2004, amendments to the federal law “On the general principles of the organization of legislative (representative) and executive bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation” came into force, according to which the income of the autonomous okrugs from part of the federal taxes and fees, as well as most of the power powers were transferred to the territories and regions. The meeting of deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug unsuccessfully tried to challenge these amendments in the Constitutional Court. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, agreements were in force between the Arkhangelsk region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, according to which the district transferred part of its income to the regional budget, and the region did not interfere in the management of the district. During this period, statements about unification from the Arkhangelsk region continued, and protest sentiments in the district grew. On November 1, 2007, the Head of the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region, Nikolai Kiselev, arrived in Naryan-Mar, where he held a meeting with residents of the district. At the meeting, Nikolai Kiselyov stated the need for the region to exercise its powers in the territory of the district. On November 17, 2007, a rally was held in Naryan-Mar against the unification processes taking place between the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Arkhangelsk Region. The decision to conclude the following agreement on the division of powers with the district was never made, and on January 1, 2008, a number of powers and part of the revenues of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug were transferred to the Arkhangelsk region. From December 2007 to February 2008, three groups of citizens tried to initiate a referendum on the direct entry of the district into the Russian Federation, but their applications were rejected by the district election commission. The subsequent course of events showed that the Arkhangelsk region does not have the ability to effectively exercise its powers in the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, therefore, since 2009, the process of gradual transfer of power back to the jurisdiction of the district began.

Attractions

The administration building of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Naryan-Mar.

Post office building in Naryan-Mar.

Monument to Yak-7B in Naryan-Mar.

Monument to the “Feat of the Participants of the Reindeer Transport Battalions” in Naryan-Mar.

Monument to the crew of the tugboat "Komsomolets" in Naryan-Mar.

The disappeared city of Pustozersk.

Reserve:

• Nenets Nature Reserve

Museum:

• Pustozersky Complex Historical and Natural Museum

Natural monuments:

• Pym-Va-Shor
• Grand Gate Canyon
• Stone City

Administrative division

In administrative-territorial terms, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug consists of 1 city of district subordination (Naryan-Mar), 1 district (Zapolyarny district), 1 urban-type settlement (village of Iskateley)[26]. All other settlements have rural status (the village of Amderma was transformed into a rural village in 2004.

Municipalities

Since 2006, the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug has been divided into 1 municipal district (Zapolyarny district) and 1 urban district (Naryan-Mar).

The polar region, in turn, is divided into 1 urban settlement (Seekers Village) and 18 rural settlements, corresponding in the administrative division to 17 village councils and one village (Amderma).

Settlements

In the Nenets Autonomous Okrug there is 1 city (Naryan-Mar), 1 urban-type settlement (Iskateley), 42 rural settlements.

Power

On June 2, 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin fired the head of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Alexei Barinov, who was arrested on May 23, 2006 on charges of large-scale fraud and theft. Chief federal inspector for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug Valery Potapenko has been appointed acting head of the district.

On August 7, 2006, the Assembly of Deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, on the proposal of Vladimir Putin, unanimously approved Valery Potapenko as head of the Administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

On February 16, 2009, Valery Potapenko was dismissed by the President of Russia from the post of governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug at his own request.

On February 24, 2009, the Assembly of Deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, on the recommendation of Dmitry Medvedev, by a majority vote approved Igor Gennadyevich Fedorov as head of the Administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Governors and heads of administration

Komarovsky, Yuri Vladimirovich from November 30, 1991 to February 1996.

Khabarov, Vladimir Viktorovich from March 21, 1996 to December 25, 1996.

Butov, Vladimir Yakovlevich from December 13, 1996 to February 17, 2005.

Barinov, Alexey Viktorovich from February 6, 2005 to July 21, 2006.

Potapenko, Valery Nikolaevich from June 2, 2008 to February 16, 2009.

Fedorov, Igor Gennadievich since February 24, 2009.

Representatives in the State Duma

• Chilingarov, Artur Nikolaevich - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia of the I, II, III, IV and V convocations (from 1993 to 2011) in the Nenets single-mandate electoral district No. 218.
• Pekhtin, Vladimir Alekseevich - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia of the VI convocation (from 2011 to 2013) elected on the regional list of the United Russia party. On February 20, 2013, Vladimir Pekhtin voluntarily resigned as a deputy of the State Duma due to accusations of concealing income and real estate.

Representatives in the Federation Council

Elected on December 12, 1993 in the Nenets two-mandate electoral district No. 83.

• Sablin Leonid Ivanovich, from January 1994 to January 1996.
• Komarovsky Yuri Vladimirovich, from January 1994 to January 1996.

From the Assembly of Deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug:

• Vyucheysky Vyacheslav Alekseevich, Chairman of the Assembly of Deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug - powers recognized on January 23, 1996, confirmed on December 25, 1996, terminated on May 23, 2001.
• Konovalova Tatyana Ivanovna - powers recognized on May 23, 2001, terminated early on July 12, 2005 due to sudden death.
• Akhmedov Farhad Teymurovich - powers recognized on June 6, 2007, terminated on July 18, 2009.
• Panteleev Alexey Borisovich - powers recognized on July 18, 2009, terminated early on February 9, 2012
• Koshin Igor Viktorovich - powers recognized on February 9, 2012, expire in March 2014.

From the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug - the executive body of state power:

• Komarovsky Yuri Vladimirovich, head of the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug - powers recognized on January 23, 1996, terminated on March 19, 1996.
• Khabarov Vladimir Viktorovich, head of the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug - powers recognized on April 10, 1996, terminated on December 25, 1996.
• Butov Vladimir Yakovlevich, head of the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug - powers recognized on December 25, 1996, terminated on January 1, 2002.
• Volkov Yuri Nikolaevich - powers recognized on January 31, 2002, terminated early on September 26, 2002.
• Sabadash Alexander Vitalievich - powers recognized on June 25, 2003, terminated early on May 26, 2006, remained in office until June 27, 2006.
• Biryukov Yuri Stanislavovich - powers recognized on December 22, 2006, confirmed on April 22, 2009, expire in February 2014.

Economy

In 2008, according to Wikipedia, the district ranks first in the Russian Federation in terms of Gross Regional Product per capita (RUB 3,419 thousand), see List of Russian regions by GRP per capita In 2012, Kommersant-Vlast magazine based on data for 2010—2012 publishes the following calculations for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Population

• 1959 – 36,881 people
• 1970 – 39,119 people
• 1979 – 47,001 people
• 1989 – 54,840 people
• 1990 – 51,993 people
• 1991 – 51,667 people
• 1992 – 50,245 people
• 1993 – 48,235 people
• 1994 – 46,504 people
• 1995 – 44,526 people
• 1996 – 43,367 people
• 1997 – 42,549 people
• 1998 – 41,774 people
• 1999 – 41,513 people
• 2000 – 41,174 people
• 2001 – 40,931 people
• 2002 – 41,546 people
• 2003 – 41,699 people
• 2004 – 41,832 people
• 2005 – 41,954 people
• 2006 – 41,989 people
• 2007 – 41,960 people
• 2008 – 42,019 people
• 2009 – 42,023 people
• 2010 – 42,090 people
• 2011 – 42,104 people
• 2012 – 42,437 people
• 2013 – 42,789 people

Beauty under your feet

The question is rhetorical: what kind of crazy genius mixed and splashed onto this harsh land such colors of the autumn tundra - gold, red, green, black, gray, silver, orange - and covered them with blue and white. Maybe this is what the anticipation of winter should look like, when white will level and consume everything. Tundra is such a generous gift for the eyes, such a luxurious gift.

The colors simply hurt the eye, crossing all the usual boundaries of shades. Children should be taken here, artists and designers should come here. Here all the beauty is not at eye level, you don’t even need to raise your head for it, it’s all under your feet, and it’s captivating.

Autumn colors of the tundra

I repeat, I was lucky with the weather, and my first acquaintance with the tundra - sunny and short - occurred immediately after leaving Naryan-Mar. And it continued in the Historical, Cultural and Landscape Museum-Reserve "Pustozersk" . The city of the same name was “cut down” by order of Tsar Ivan III in the fall of 1499. Thanks to its special geographical location, it played an outstanding role in the development of “new lands”. Here, the Pomor ships, caught by ice in the Yugorsky Shar or the Kara Sea, making their way to the Ob, spent the winter here. Detachments of the Great Northern Expedition set sail from Pustozersk. The first attempts to develop the oil business in Peter's Russia are also associated with his name. Reindeer herders of the European and Trans-Ural tundras, industrialists and traders from various counties and lands came to Pustozersk for winter fairs.

As time passed, due to changes in trade routes and other objective factors, the XX century met the city as a small northern village. Now, unfortunately, nothing even remains of her - only her name.

Symbolic entrance to the Pustozersk Museum-Reserve

It takes an hour to get to Pustozersk by boat from Naryan-Mar by water. We came out on a deserted shore, and here it is - a museum-reserve, named after the first Russian city in the Arctic, which is older than Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. We had a 12 km walking route. We walked along hummocks and paths, paths and bridges. All around there was tundra and forest, a river and water meadows, there was even a swamp, after which some people wrung out their socks. You can't drown in it, but high rubber boots are a must. From time to time, the signature Nenets rain began - fine, as if someone was irrigating the plants with a sprayer.

Sometimes there was wind, but overall the weather was pleasant. And the nature... The nature here is such that you just widen your eyes: well, it can’t be! Maybe! Tundra can do everything.

Pillow for travel to Pustozersk

In the reserve there is a place where you can walk, tear, collect and try everything - to the touch and taste. Of course, with due respect and respect. And there is a special area where you can only walk, look, take pictures and breathe.

In any case, you need to carefully look at your feet. And not only so as not to step on the grandfather of the lemming (the basis of the entire northern food chain), but also so as not to miss amazing herbs, lichens and mushrooms. The tundra, on the one hand, is endless, vast, and there is only one limitation for it - the horizon. On the other hand, it all consists of very small, tiny parts. There are 120 species of moss alone. On a piece of land the size of a landscape leaf, 3-4 types of lichens plus some kind of grass, dwarf birch, berry, mushroom can simultaneously fit. Tundra is a celebration of life, its splendor.

Flora and fauna of the Nenets tundra

We walked as a team of 9 people, led by Evgenia Kolesnikova, head of the museum communications department. The team was made up of people who hunt great species, dream of rare photo opportunities, and love berries. For the first quarter of the journey, all we did was stop every 30–50 m, take photographs and scour the ground in search of lingonberries, blueberries and honeysuckle. Zhenya showed us the crazy, reassured us that the cloudberries had already gone and we didn’t find the princess, and we began to try the crazy. The berry is awesome!

When walking along the tundra, do not forget that you can easily get lost here. There are no specially marked trails or signs in the reserve, and this is not a forest in the Moscow region. Here you can meet a wolverine (they say that it is a terrible beast, capable of tearing a deer with its powerful claws), an elk, and even a brown bear.

A piece of tunda in the palm of your hand, Pustozersk

A few words about birch!

Finally, I want to tell you about birch. Dwarf birch, also known as dwarf birch, dwarf birch and slate – that’s all it is – thin, graceful, small. In fact, not a tree, but a shrub 20-60 cm high - part of the tundra, responsible for the gold in its picturesque splendor in the fall.

Do you know why birch trees have black stripes? The Russian beauty breathes through them! The white bark is strong, and the black cut stripes “give” oxygen to the tree. Birch bark does not allow moisture and air to pass through, so in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug it is used for the production of floats and shoe insoles.

Dwarf birch (in the foreground), Pustozersk

Also on the website www.gastronom.ru read about traveling around Russia Why is it necessary to visit Vladivostok? We counted 10 good reasons

What to try?

Wild plants of the north, berries: cloudberries, princelings, lingonberries, blueberries, blueberries, honeysuckle and, of course, crazy! Psycho (this is what this rare berry is called in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug), also known as shiksha, crowberry, crowberry, berry birchberry, blueberry, lyha. In Rus', the psycho was called bear berry, drunkenness, sixa, ssykha, black grass. Foreigners call it “crowberry” because it looks like a raven’s eye, and Finns call it “pork blueberry”

Psycho is an evergreen, creeping shrub from the heather family with needle-like leaves and black berries. The berries have an unusual sour taste. But this is not the acid of lemon and cranberry; everything here is much more complicated. The acid is softer and richer in flavor. Inside are several seeds and juice that can color everything and everyone. Berries are a good diuretic and sedative. Psycha treats headaches, epilepsy and depression.

Psycho

Where to visit?

If you want to understand and realize what the Arctic and Arctic recreation are, you need:

• visit Vaigach Island - a sacred place of the Nenets people, but only as part of an organized excursion (otherwise the shamans will misunderstand you)
• see Northern Timan, rich in waterfalls and miraculous stone sculptures interspersed with semi-precious stones
• swim in the Pym-Va-Shor hot springs, the only spring beyond the Arctic Circle. The water in it is healing, its temperature in winter and summer ranges from 18 to 28 ° C
• walk around Amderma. This is an almost abandoned village, preserved from the times of the USSR
• take part in the “Visiting Sula” snowmobile tour. Sula – in Finno-Ugric means “taiga”. A river with this name is always beautiful, but the icy Shchuchy waterfall, which forms frozen grottoes in winter, makes the river a unique platform for photo shoots
• relax at the Hanaway Xia recreation center, two hours away along the river from Naryan-Mar. Here, three generations of Fyodor Lichutin’s family fished and wandered the tundra, and now Fyodor meets guests, takes them on hikes and boat rides along Pechora, and most importantly, organizes hunting and fishing.

Vaygach Island - a sacred place of the Nenets people

Climate

Naryan-Mar has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification DFC

) with short, mild summers that can exceed +25 °C (77 °F) and very cold winters. There is slightly more precipitation in summer than in winter.

What should I bring?

The NAO Business Development Center recently updated the “Made in NAO” brand and opened a store of the same name in the Arctic Tourism Center . There you can buy home textiles in the northern style, items made from deer fur, ceramics (cups with imprints of local wild plants are especially beautiful), souvenirs made using the bone carving technique, national Nenets clothing and even deer treats for pets. This original product is produced by. The treats are prepared from deer offal, bones, antlers, tails and hooves - 50 items in total.

If you need 100% authenticity, buy a tambourine created by Valery Gudyrev. The tambourine is the shaman’s constant companion. With due respect for tradition, Valery creates tambourines by hand in a real chum, using aspen, linden, pine, birch and, of course, deer skin.

Nenets souvenirs made using bone carving technique

For those who love edible souvenirs, there are chocolate bars created on a 3D printer. The chocolate and the printer are Belgian, the theme of the images and the idea are local. Its author is Nikita Yanchev, a resident of Naryan-Mar. Now he mainly creates 3D cloudberries and 3D chums, but soon chocolate with freeze-dried tundra berries will appear in the store.

Without asking

About 7.5 thousand Nenets live in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, so every sixth resident of the region is an indigenous people. About 500 representatives of indigenous peoples live in the Arkhangelsk region, their share of the total population is less than 1 percent.

Why are residents of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug afraid of uniting their region with the Arkhangelsk region? There may be several reasons for this. As regional policy expert Vitaly Ivanov told Kommersant, residents of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug understand that “deprivation of the district’s status as a subject means a reduction in government and budget structures, the loss of jobs and income for many residents, a reduction in investments in social infrastructure, an increase in all kinds of costs associated with the need for there are many reasons to travel to Arkhangelsk.”

Another obstacle is that the Nenets Okrug is separated from the Arkhangelsk region. There is not a single road or railway between them. The NAO is connected to the mainland only by sea and airplanes. And yet, probably the main reason: the residents of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and, first of all, the indigenous peoples of the north were not asked whether they would unite. Everything was decided without them. But they want to maintain their special status. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is the smallest region in terms of population, and very rich in oil and gas. That's why they defend their independence.

Meanwhile, there are every opportunity for cooperation in the development of the Arctic territories of Russia. The authorities of the Arkhangelsk region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug have already announced the creation of a program for the socio-economic development of the regions. The decision was made following a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev with the participation of Acting Governor Alexander Tsybulsky and Acting Head of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug Yuri Bezdudny, who noted that the economies of the two entities complement each other. In turn, Alexander Tsybulsky believes that in the future it is possible to avoid unnecessary regional competition between similar projects, which in turn will improve the lives of people in both regions.