Salekhard

History

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 Ob River, 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 Tsarist and Soviet periods. Among notable people who spent time here was the Doukhobor spiritual leader Pyotr Verigin and Leon Trotsky. 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 Mir mine.

On December 10, 1930, Obdorsk became the administrative center of the new Yamal (Nenets) National Okrug. 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.

In summer 2016 after temperatures as high as 95 °F (35 °C) thawed anthrax infected corpses frozen since 1941 near Salekhard anthrax spores infected reindeer herds and herders.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with one rural locality, incorporated as the town of okrug significance of Salekhard—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the town of okrug significance of Salekhard is incorporated as Salekhard Urban Okrug.

Economy

Yamal Airlines has its head office in Salekhard.

By 2015, about 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) from the airport, near the Arctic circle, authorities plan to build a large polar resort "Center of the Arctic tourism."

Transportation

The town is served by the Salekhard Airport.

The nearest railway is at Labytnangi (on the Salekhard–Igarka Railway) on the opposite side of the river Ob. A long-awaited bridge across the Ob between Labytnangi and Salekhard is being built.

As of 2010, cars and trucks can 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, regarding freight. 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." Long-distance passengers have the airport.

Climate

Salekhard has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc) with short, mild summers and severely cold winters. Precipitation is moderate, and is significantly greater in summer than in winter.

Twin towns and sister cities

Salekhard is twinned with: