Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area is 95!

On 10 December, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra celebrates its 95th anniversary. The region was established by a resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee dated 10 December 1930, "On the Organisation of National Associations in Areas Inhabited by Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North", and was part of the Ural region. Its first official name was the Ostyak-Vogul National Area.

"Our region is a harsh yet hospitable land, where traditional settlements stand alongside oil and gas fields and modern cities. It is a land where the frost and blizzards forge inner strength, and where the riches of the subsoil reward patience and dedication. This is our shared homeland — mighty and beautiful, with its deep rivers, endless taiga, wide-open landscapes and resilient people," said the Governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra, Ruslan Kukharyuk.

He noted that the region’s history is inseparable from the courage and labour of many generations. According to him, pioneers charted their paths here and opened new territories for the Russian state. Today, Ruslan Kukharyuk continued, in the year marking the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, the region gratefully remembers those who went to the front and those who forged Victory on the home front.

"Our land has raised exceptional people — reliable, steadfast, with generous hearts and a noble spirit <…> We are justly proud of our region’s outstanding achievements, but true victory is not only measured in tonnes of extracted oil or industrial records. It is the stability and confidence in tomorrow for every resident of our land; it is strong families who pass on their love for their homeland from generation to generation," he added.

Today, about 1.8 million people live in Yugra. Among them more than 32,000 belong to the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North — the Khanty, the Mansi and the Nenets, half of whom maintain a traditional way of life.

The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area is among the leading regions of the Russian Federation in industrial production, electricity generation and oil and gas extraction. Yugra is Russia’s key oil- and gas-producing region, accounting for 4.8% of global and 40% of national oil production.

Visitors can learn more about the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area and the Ural Federal District by visiting the "Journey Across Russia" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA. Registration for guided tours is available on russia.ru in the "Events" section.

In addition, the opening of the regional branch of the National Centre RUSSIA in Yugra will take place in mid-December 2025 in Khanty-Mansiysk. More information is available on the official website of the National Centre RUSSIA and on social media.