Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Administrative region in northwestern Siberia, Russia.
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is an administrative territory in northwestern Siberia covering arctic tundra, taiga forests, and the northern Urals. The landscape shifts from flat moss-covered plains in the north to forested hills and rocky mountain ridges along the western border.
The region gained its autonomous status as an administrative unit to protect the rights of the Nenets, who had raised reindeer here for centuries. In the following decades, oil and gas discoveries transformed the territory and brought many new settlers.
The Nenets live as nomadic reindeer herders in the tundra, following age-old migration routes with their herds. In small settlements you can see their traditional conical tents, called chums, and watch them process hides and dry fish.
Most locations are far apart and accessible only by paved roads that remain open longer in winter. The climate stays cold almost year-round, with air warming briefly to mild temperatures in summer.
Salekhard, the capital of the territory, sits exactly on the Arctic Circle and is the only larger city worldwide in this position. During the summer solstice the sun remains above the horizon all day, and it disappears for weeks in winter.
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