Naryan-Mar

Naryan-Mar is the capital of Nenetsia, located on the Pechorin River well beyond the Arctic Circle. It is the largest town in Nenetsia and serves as a "hub" for the surrounding area as well as a principal river port, sea port, and airport. Due to its strategic location and booming oil business, the city developed rapidly in the early 2010s and reached some of the highest living standards in Russia. Still, Naryan-Mar retains many features of a true frontier town.

Understand


Naryan-Mar is on the Pechora River, 110 km from its mouth on the Barents Sea. An important transport hub of the region, it is connected by its airport and river port to settled points along the Northern Sea Route and south into the Komi Republic.

4 km down the Pechora river from Naryan-Mar is the village of Iskateley (Russian: Искателей, Nenets: Iskatel), which is functionally almost a neighborhood of Naryan-Mar, though it is administratively separate.

Get in
The distance to Arkhangelsk is 650 km; along the waterway through the White Sea and Barents Sea 1100 km.

By boat
When the Pechora River is not frozen (mid-July to mid-October), passenger ships run between Pechora in the Komi Republic and Naryan Mar.

By plane
Naryan-Mar Airport (IATA: NNM) is the main port of entry here, with flights from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Usinsk. and Syktyvkar. The airport also operates local flights to most settlements of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

Get around
Naryan-Mar may be the largest town in Nenetsia, but that just is not that big — all that there is to see can be seen easily on foot within an hour or two.

See

 * An Orthodox Church
 * WWII memorial
 * The town harbor
 * The town harbor

Buy
Being an oil hub and the associated development has led to a price-hike; prices are well above average compared to other Russian towns.