Naryan-Mar (Finn. Narja) is a large town in Uralica that sits in the delta of the Pechora River. Despite being right on the Arctic Ocean, its use as a port is limited to use from April to October due to the freezing over of the Ocean. It is the county seat of, and by far the largest settlement in, Nenetsia-North Uralica, containing nearly 80% of the county's entire population, due to the desolation and frigidity of the area. It is also the location of the head office of the Nenets Tribal Board. It is the northern terminus of Highway UH-31, which starts in the town of Khalmer-Yu.
Naryan-Mar has had a history of being a one-industry city, first with forestry, then with oil. Because of its location, only ice-breaking vessels are capable of reaching the area for much of the year, with temperatures above freezing only lasting from late May to mid-September. And yet, the city is bigger than it has ever been, due to massive quantities of iron found in the North Urals area and the need for metallurgy all throughout Uralica.
However, surprisingly, this is not the largest sector of the economy. Tourism trumps all in the area, especially eco-tourism, with two major national parks within five kilometres of the city - Polar Bear National Park and Pechora Delta National Park.
Culture[]
Naryan-Mar is one of few cities in Uralica where the largest majority is a minority ethnic group, in this case the indigenous Nenets. About half the city's population is indeed ethnic Nenets, with the remainder comprising Russians, Finns, Samoyedics, and Komi.
Although the present-day city was only first settled in 1929 and "officially founded" in 1935, the cultural history of the area goes back far longer. The once-thriving town of Pustozyorsk, which is located roughly 20 kilometres southwest, was founded as a military fort in 1499, intended to guard the northern parts of Muscovy, and later, the Russian Empire. Although this town served as the head city of the Pechora Krai for nearly 300 years, it eventually lost this status once a more convenient route around/over the Urals was found, and the city began a slow decline - it would have its fortress dismantled in 1762, lose its Krai-seat status to newly-founded Mezen' in 1780, and finally, be stripped of its city status in 1924. The last resident of Pustyozorsk left in 1962. The area of the old town is now under Naryan-Mar jurisdiction.
There is a great deal in the city to do with the culture of the indigenous Nenets people, though. The historical museum in Naryan-Mar doubles as an ethnographic museum. Uralica can also boast the only Nenets-language feature film ever made, which is the subtitled comedy Paräna ("Burnt"), and this was filmed in Naryan-Mar.
Sport[]
Football (Soccer)[]
All Naryan-Mar teams play on artificial turf. In spite of its frigid climate, though, there are no fewer than two dozen football pitches in the town, most of them small, and all of them indoors.
Kakkonen[]
- FK Naryan-Mar
- Nenets FK
Nelonen[]
- Polyarny Naryan-Mar
Other Pro/Semi-Pro[]
- Spartak Naryan-Mar
- Dinamo Naryan-Mar
- Torpedo Naryan-Mar
- Zenit Naryan-Mar
- Severnaya Zvezda Naryan-Mar
- Gornyak Naryan-Mar
- Zheleznik Naryan-Mar
- UralTek Naryan-Mar
- Lokomotiv Naryan-Mar
- Delta Naryan-Mar
- Progress Naryan-Mar
- Transit Naryan-Mar
Neighbourhoods And Suburbs[]
- Ugol'nyy
- Iskateley
- Telviska (subordinate village)
- Kharitonova (subordinate village)
- Dedkovo (subordinate village)
- Pustozyorsk (subordinate historical monument)
- Ustye (subordinate village)