The Mansi. Surrounding Society and the Main Economic Activity of the Region 

The Mansi mostly live in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous area (historically called Yugra) established on December 10, 1930. The Khanty-Mansi autonomous area is part of the Ural Federal District. The area includes 106 municipalities; the city of Khanty-Mansiysk is its administrative center. It has an area of 534.800 square km with a permanent population of 1.520.000 people. The autonomous area includes 13 municipalities (the cities of Kogalym, Langepas, Megion, Nefteyugansk, Nizhnevartovsk, Nyagan, Pokachi, Pyt-Yakh, Raduzhny, Surgut, Uray, Khanty-Mansiysk, Yugorsk); nine municipal districts (Beloyarsky Beryozovo, Kondinsky, Nefteyugansk, Nizhnevartovsk, Oktyabrskoye, Sovetsky, Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk); 26 urban-type settlements, and 58 villages. 

The Khanty-Mansi autonomous area – Yugra is home to the majority of Russia’s oil and gas deposits and one of the world’s largest oil-producing regions. It is one of Russia’s donor regions that demonstrates top economic indicators: first place in oil production, in power generation, in industrial production; second place in gas production, in investment into core assets, as well as taxes paid into the treasury. Oil and gas are its principal natural resources. Samotlor, Fyodorovskoe, Mamontovskoye, and Priobskoye are the principal oil and gas deposits. The area also has placer gold mines, gangue quartz quarries, and mineral resources. Brown and stone coal deposits have been discovered, as well as deposits of ferrous ores, copper, zinc, lead, niobium, tantalum, bauxites, etc. Preparations are underway for mining decorative stone, keramzite clays, and construction-grade sand.

Construction in Yugra is picking up pace. In 2013, the area built 1.044.2 million square meters of housing. Mortgage lending is developing rapidly: Yugra ranked second among Russia’s regions in the number of mortgagers per a thousand people, as well as the number of mortgages per capita. 

A large network of state-of-the-art highways, railways, and waterways, many flights to and from Russian and foreign cities is one of the factors that determine the efficient development of economic ties. Two out of Russia’s 18 principal highway corridors run through Yugra: the Northern Route (Perm – Serov – Ivdel – Khanty-Mansiysk – Nefteyugansk – Surgut – Nizhnevartovsk – Tomsk) and the Siberian Corridor (Tyumen – Surgut – Novy Urengoy – Nadym – Salekhard). The Khanty-Mansi autonomous area – Yugra’s economy is export-oriented with exports accounting for 95.6% of its foreign trade, and imports accounting for 4.4%. Innovations hold a special place in Yugra’s economy. In order to support innovations, the area established an autonomous institution of the Khanty-Mansi autonomous area “Hi-Tech Science Park,” non-profits “Yuga Entrepreneurship Support Foundation,” “The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra Development Foundation,” “The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra Microfinancing Foundation.” One hundred and thirty innovative companies operate in the region, and most of them are residents of the science park.