Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

History

In 1499 Princes Semyon Kurbsky and Pyotr Ushaty founded Pustozersk on the Pechora, the first Russian town north of the Arctic Circle. In 1682 the Old Believer leader Archpriest Avvakum was burned at the stake there, and a carved wooden cross marks the spot. The town faded as trade moved to a more convenient route across the Urals, and its last residents left in 1962. Naryan-Mar was founded in 1930, during the first five-year plan; its Nenets name means 'red town'.

Culture & traditions

The Nenets are a Samoyedic people whose language belongs to the Uralic family; they make up about a fifth of the okrug's residents. For centuries nomadic reindeer herding was the basis of their life: reindeer gave food and transport across the tundra, supplemented by fishing and hunting. The traditional home is a conical tent called mya, and beliefs centre on sacred places and respect for nature. Today the Nenets language is considered endangered, and keeping the culture alive matters. The wooden Church of the Transfiguration from Pustozersk has been moved to the nearby village of Ustye.

Nature

The okrug runs 950 km along the Arctic from west to east, with the Kanin and Yugorsky peninsulas and the large islands of Kolguyev and Vaygach. The Pechora reaches the sea through a wide delta. The Nenets Nature Reserve, founded in 1997, protects the Barents Sea coast and the Pechora delta, where more than 125 waterfowl species stop over; its symbol is the Bewick's swan. On Matveyev Island scientists have counted over 600 walruses at a breeding ground.

Sport

The main sporting pastime on the edge of the Arctic is fishing. Naryan-Mar, on the Pechora 110 km from the sea, offers good opportunities for sport fishing.

Food & drink

Traditional Nenets food is what reindeer, rivers and hunting provide: reindeer meat, fish and game. For centuries the reindeer has been the tundra dwellers' main source of food.

Practical information

The only practical way in is by air: Naryan-Mar Airport has flights to Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Arkhangelsk, and in summer freight travels along the Pechora. There is no railway and no year-round road to the rest of Russia. The okrug is on Moscow time. The climate is harsh, with January around −17 °C and July around 14 °C, and the midnight sun lasts from late May to mid-July. The best time to visit is the short northern summer.

What to see

• Naryan-Mar — the 'red town' on the Pechora, with its local museum
• Pustozersk — site of the first Russian town above the Arctic Circle, with a cross in memory of Avvakum
• Pechora delta — a bird kingdom in the Nenets Nature Reserve
• Matveyev Island — a walrus breeding ground in the Barents Sea
• Reindeer herders' tundra — the home of nomadic Nenets culture

Cities on the map

• Naryan-Mar 24,056