Nenets Autonomous Okrug


The Nenets Autonomous Okrug also known as Nenetsia is a federal subject of Russia and an autonomous okrug of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Its administrative center is the town of Naryan-Mar. It has an area of and a population of 42,090 as of the 2010 Census, making it the least populous federal subject. It is the only federal subject of Russia that is divided into only one district.
A plan to merge the autonomous okrug with Arkhangelsk Oblast was presented by the governors of both federal subjects on 13 May 2020, with a referendum planned for September, but was met with opposition by locals,
leading to the merger process being scrapped completely.

Geography

The arctic ecology of this area has a number of unique features derived from the extreme temperatures and unique geologic province. Polar bears are found in this locale; in fact, the sub-population found here is a genetically distinct taxon associated with the Barents Sea region. The autonomous okrug has a size of approximately 177,000 km2. The district is around 320 km from north to south and around 950 km from east to west, stretching from Mys Bolvansky Nos in the north to the source of the Oma River in the south and Cape Kanin Nos in the west to the banks of the Kara River in the east.
The okrug has a number of peninsulas – from west to east these are: Kanin Peninsula, Svyatoy Nos Peninsula, Russkiy Zavorot Peninsula and the Yugorsky Peninsula. There are a number of islands off the Nenets coast – from west to east the most important are Kolguyev Island,, Dolgiy Island, the, Lovetskiy Island, Pesyakov Island, Dolgy Island, Bolshoy Zelenets Island, Vaygach Island, Oleniy Island and Mestnyy Island. Of these, Kolguyev and Vaygach are by far the largest, being the 119th and 156th largest islands in the world.

Administrative divisions

The okrug is administratively divided into one district and one town of okrug significance. The district is further divided into selsoviets. Municipally, the town of Naryan-Mar is incorporated as Naryan-Mar Urban Okrug, while the district is incorporated as Zapolyarny Municipal District.

Politics

Deputies in the State Duma

  • Artur Chilingarov – Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia of the I, II, III, IV, and V convocations in the Nenets single-mandate constituency No. 218.
  • Vladimir Pekhtin – Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia of the VI convocation, elected on the regional list of the United Russia party. On 20 February 2013, Pekhtin voluntarily resigned as a deputy of the State Duma in connection with allegations of concealing income and real estate.
  • Elena Vtorygina – Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia of the VI convocation. Elected on the regional list of the United Russia party.
  • Irina Chirkova – Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia of the VI convocation (in 2011 she was elected on the regional list of Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.
  • Sergey Kotkin – Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia of the VII convocation in the Nenets single-mandate constituency No. 221.

    History

Early history

The first recorded mention of the Nenets people is found in the 11th-century Primary Chronicle, a chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113 by Nestor the Chronicler. At the time, Kievan Rus was under the influence of Novgorod, as was the whole of the North Eastern territories of Kievan Rus'. By the end of the fifteenth century, Novgorod's influence was waning and the area fell under the control of Muscovy and in 1499, they established, Pustozyorsk, and it became a military, commercial, cultural and administrative hub for the area.
By the 18th century, the area was part of Mezensky Uyezd. In 1891, Pechorsky Uyezd was established and in 1896, so was Neskaya Volost. Prior to the formation of the autonomous okrug, this area belonged in part to Mezensky Uyezd in Arkhangelsk Oblast and partly to Izhmo-Pechorsky Uyezd in Komi Oblast.

Soviet history

The area now known as Nenets Autonomous Okrug was officially created on July 15, 1929, and at that time included Kanino-Timansky District, Peshsky and Omsky Selsoviets, Mezenskaya Volost and Mezensky Uyezd, Telvisochno-Samoyedsky District, Pechorsky Uyezd, and Izhmo-Pechorsky Uyezd of Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast. At this time, two administrative districts, Canino-Timansky and Bolshezemelsky were founded. In December 1929, further additions were made to the District's area, namely Pustozyorskaya Volost, Pechora District and a number of offshore islands. In 1934, a number of islands, including Vaygach Island were subsumed into the district. Naryan-Mar was elevated to town status in 1935. In July 1940, a third administrative district was formed, Amderminsky, with its administrative headquarters in Amderma. However, on November 23, 1959, all administrative districts were abolished and a number of areas, including the administrative area for Vorkuta, were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Komi Republic and the region took the shape that it still holds today.

Recent history

, one of the youngest districts in Russia, was formed in 2006. Zapolyarny translates as "beyond the polar ", and the district was given this name because the vast majority of the district's area lies north of the arctic circle.

Demographics

Population:

Vital statistics

Average population Live birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Total fertility rate
19704080029550520.07.412.6
19754489438950520.38.811.5
19804894138755419.68.111.5
1985531 04937167819.87.012.8
19905291738653117.77.410.2
19915185237647616.77.49.3
19924972543129414.78.86.0
1993475885315712.411.21.2
19944665352812514.311.62.7
1995446025703213.713.00.7
1996435364815512.511.21.3
19974254642711913.010.12.8
19984256743513213.610.43.2
1999415184338512.510.52.1
2000415415311013.212.90.2
2001415985603814.613.70.9
2002416065406614.713.11.6
2003426655907515.914.11.8
2004425955197614.312.41.81.81
2005426075139414.612.32.31.81
2006425875404714.112.91.11.71
20074265352812515.612.73.01.88
20084269153715416.512.83.72.02
20094269549520016.611.84.82.05
20104269950019916.611.94.72.11

Ethnic groups

According to the 2021 Census, the ethnic composition was:
  • Russians: 69.6%
  • Nenets: 18%
  • Komi: 6.5%
  • Others: 5.9%
Historical figures are given below:
Ethnographic maps shows the Nenets living throughout the Okrug, with the east-central section of the okrug, along the Komi Republic border, showing mixed Nenets-Komi population.

Economy

Oil and gas

The economy of Zapolyarny district is dominated by oil and gas, constituting around 99% of all industrial activity within the whole Okrug. In 2021, 99.9% of all exports from the Okrug were of crude petroleum, with the remaining 0.01% comprising fresh fish. The dominance of oil and gas exploration within the Okrug has seen associated revenues increase dramatically, with €190 million generated in 2007 compared to only €6.7 million ten years prior, with fuel industry's share of the districts GRP increasing from 65% in 2001 to 80% in 2005. This increase in revenue has resulted from a marked increase in investment in the area by the parent companies of the concerns operating in the District, such as Rosneft, Lukoil, Total, Surgutneftegas and TNK-BP, whose input equates to approximately 90% of the total annual investment in the district. This investment has included the construction of an oil terminal in the Barents Sea at a cost of approximately €700 million by an independent company especially created to oversee the construction and administration of the terminal, a pipeline to connect the terminal to the ZPS Southern Khylchuyu oilfields at a cost of around €250 million, the completion of the Kharyaga-Indiga pipeline and a gas plant near Khumzha. This allows the transportation of oil and gas throughout the region and into the general Russian pipeline network. There are currently more than 80 separate oil and gas sites of exploration, and it is estimated that there is around 5 billion tons of oil and around 500 billion cubic meters of gas in the district.
In the first quarter of 2009, industrial production grew by 34.7% compared with the same period last year However, investments in industrial and housing construction decreased by 60.6% and 90.9% respectively, in the first three months of 2009, oil production totaled 4,419 million tons, an increase of over 35% on the same period in the previous year