Salekhard (English) Салехард (Russian) Саляʼ харад (Nenets language) Пуӆңават (Khanty language) |
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- Town[1] - | |
Arctic Circle monument |
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Location of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Russia |
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Salekhard
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Coordinates: | |
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Administrative status | |
Country | Russia |
Federal subject | Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug |
Municipal status | |
Urban okrug | Salekhard Urban Okrug |
Mayor | Alexander Spirin |
Statistics | |
Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
42,494 inhabitants[2] |
Population (2002 Census) | 36,827 inhabitants[3] |
Time zone | YEKST (UTC+06:00)[4] |
Founded | 1595[1] |
Previous names | Obdorsk (until 1933)[1] |
Dialing code(s) | +7 34922[5] |
Official website |
Salekhard (Russian: Салеха́рд; Nenets: Саляʼ харад, lit. house on a peninsula) is a town and the administrative center of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is believed to be the only town in the world that is located right on a Polar Circle. Population: 42,494 (2010 Census preliminary results);[2] 36,827 (2002 Census);[3] 32,334 (1989 Census).[6]
It is served by Salekhard Airport.
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The settlement of Obdorsk (Обдорск) was founded in 1595, in the place of a Khanty settlement called Polnovat-Vozh (Полноват-вож), by Russian settlers after the conquest of Siberia. It was situated on the River Ob, and its name supposedly derives from that. The land around Obdorsk was referred to as Obdorsky krai, or Obdoriya.
The town was often used as a place of exile during the Czarist and Soviet periods. Among notable people who spent time here was the Doukhobor spriritual leader Peter Vasilevich Verigin. 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 Mirnyi.
On December 10, 1930, Obdorsk became the administrative center of the new Yamal (Nenets) National Okrug (Ямальский (Ненецкий) национальный округ). It was renamed Salekhard in 1933, and granted town status in 1938.
The nearest railway is at Labytnangi 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, claiming the lives of thousands of Gulag prisoners. The section of railway from Salekhard to Nadym 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.
As of 2010[update], cars and trucks cross the river by driving across the frozen river ice for 9–10 months a year. In the summer a ferry operates, "but twice a year, during floating of ice, Salekhard lives in a standalone mode, completely cut off from the world. Only helicopter in case of emergency. Native people always build safety stock of food at home, in the shops, in the market for this period, but they still have seasonal price increasing."[7]
Climate data for Salekhard | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | −20.1 (−4.2) |
−18.7 (−1.7) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
2.0 (35.6) |
12.3 (54.1) |
19.4 (66.9) |
15.3 (59.5) |
8.6 (47.5) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−11.7 (10.9) |
−16.3 (2.7) |
−2.23 (28.00) |
Average low °C (°F) | −29.7 (−21.5) |
−28.2 (−18.8) |
−21.3 (−6.3) |
−15.2 (4.6) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
3.7 (38.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.5 (43.7) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
−20.2 (−4.4) |
−25.6 (−14.1) |
−11 (12.20) |
Precipitation mm (inches) | 21.5 (0.846) |
18.0 (0.709) |
18.8 (0.74) |
23.7 (0.933) |
32.1 (1.264) |
51.5 (2.028) |
69.5 (2.736) |
61.6 (2.425) |
49.7 (1.957) |
39.1 (1.539) |
27.5 (1.083) |
24.5 (0.965) |
437.5 (17.224) |
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 7.2 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 10.1 | 8.7 | 8.1 | 93.9 |
Sunshine hours | 3.1 | 47.6 | 136.4 | 210.0 | 232.5 | 270.0 | 306.9 | 186.0 | 96.0 | 55.8 | 18.0 | 0 | 1,562.3 |
Source no. 1: Гидрометцентр России = Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia | |||||||||||||
Source no. 2: Hong Kong Observatory |
Salekhard is twinned with:
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