Ukhta
En nameUkhta
Ru nameУхта
Loc name 1Уква
Loc lang 1Komi
Coordinates63°34′N 53°42′E
Federal subjectKomi Republic
Adm inhabloc jurtown of republic significance of Ukhta
Adm ctr of 1town of republic significance of Ukhta
Inhabloc catTown
Urban okrug jurUkhta Urban Okrug
Mun admctr of 1Ukhta Urban Okrug
MayorGrigory Konenkov
Pop 2010census99591
Pop 2010census rank166th
Established date1929
Current cat date1943
Postal codes169300
Dialing codes8216
Websitehttp://mouhta.ru

Ukhta (Russian: Ухта́; kv: Уква, Ukva) is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population:

It was known as Chibyu until 1939.

History

Oil springs along the Ukhta River were already known in the 17th century. In the mid-19th century, industrialist M. K. Sidorov started to drill for oil in this area. It was one of the first oil wells in Russia. There was homecraft oil field in 1920–1921 in Ukhta. Lying on the river of the same name, the settlement was founded as the village of Chibyu in 1929, but in 1939 it was renamed Ukhta.[citation needed] It was granted town status in 1943 when it was linked to the Pechora Railway.[citation needed] To the east of the town is Sosnogorsk, and to the southwest Yarega. In addition to the rail link, there is Ukhta Airport.

The town expanded in the 1940s and 1950s by use of political prisoners' forced labor (see: gulag).

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with four urban-type settlements (Borovoy, Vodny, Shudayag, and Yarega) and thirteen rural localities, incorporated as the town of republic significance of Ukhta—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.[1] As a municipal division, the town of republic significance of Ukhta is incorporated as Ukhta Urban Okrug.[2]

Economy

Ukhta lies within the Timan-Pechora Basin, an important oil and gas-producing region. The oilfields lie just south of the city. Some of the Ukhta's oil is refined locally; most is piped to oil refineries between St. Petersburg and Moscow. There have been a few gas pipeline explosions eight kilometres (five miles) from the town since the 1990s.

Climate

Ukhta has a continental subarctic climate[3] (Dfc) with long, very cold winters and short, warm summers. Compared with areas at a similar latitude in Siberia, winters are less extreme, but still much longer than summer and bitterly cold by European standards.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19392,700—
195936,154+1239.0%
197062,923+74.0%
197987,467+39.0%
1989110,548+26.4%
2002103,340−6.5%
201099,591−3.6%
202179,899−19.8%

Source: Census data

Notable people

References

Notes

  1. ^ Law #16-RZ
  2. ^ Law #11-RZ
  3. ^ "Ukhta, Russia Climate Summary". Weatherbase. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.