Nizhnevartovsk

About Nizhnevartovsk

Nizhnevartovsk is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia. Since the 1960s, the Western Siberian oil boom has led to Nizhnevartovsk's rapid growth from a small settlement to a city due to its location beside the Samotlor oil field along the right bank of the Ob River, 30 kilometers (19 mi) from the border with Tomsk Oblast, and the presence of the petroleum industry has made it one of the wealthiest cities in Russia.

Nizhnevartovsk is one of the few cities in Russia that exceeds the population of the administrative center of its federal subject. Population: 283,256 (2021 census); 251,694 (2010 census); 239,044 (2002 census); 241,457 (1989 Soviet census).

The name Nizhnevartovsk comes from a section of the Ob river bank suitable for building a pier, which was called Vartovsky Yar (Вартовский Яр). This name, in turn, came from the Vartovskiye yurts of the Khanty people, known since the second half of the 18th century. The prefix "Нижне-" 'Nizhne-', lit. 'Lower' was used because 180 versts upstream along the Ob there was another yar with the same name near the river Vartovskaya. To distinguish it from thе...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.