Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

Sparsely populated district in the Tyumen oblast (region) of the Russian Federation, in western Siberia; area 523,100 sq km/201,969 sq mi; population (1996) 1,331,000 (91%) (66% Russian, 1% Khanty, 0.5% Mansi). The capital is Khanty-Mansisk and Berezovo is another town. The district features swampy lowland with major oil and natural-gas deposits, and taiga coniferous forest. The middle course of the River Ob crosses the district. Industries include oil and natural gas extraction and lumbering; fishing, fur trapping and farming, reindeer herding, and grain and potato cultivation.

History The area was inhabited by the nomadic, Finno-Ugric speaking Khantys (or Ostyaks) and Mansis (or Voguls) from early times. Explorers from Novgorod encountered these indigenous peoples in the 11th century and exacted tribute of fur pelts. The area was part of the Siberian Khanate during the Middle Ages, and was annexed by Russia in the 16th century. The Ostyak-Vogul National Region of the USSR came into being in late 1930. As the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, it became part of independent Russia in 1991.