 Taimyrsky national okrug ("autonomous" according to the Constitution of the USSR of 1977) was formed, as well as the majority of other okrugs, by the decree of the All-Soviet Central Executive Committee on December 10, 1930. Uniqueness of the okrug is that there is the enclave Norilsk industrial region subordinate to Krasnoyarsk and its population exceeds that of the okrug five and a half times more. Besides the okrug includes the archipelago of Northern Land.
Its administrative centre is Dudinka which developed in the end of 30s due to building of the Norilsk industrial district. Through the Northern sea route Dudinka is connected with Murmansk and Arkhangelsk all the year round, and during the navigation period along the Yenisei - with the largest part of Krasnoyarsky krai and Krasnoyarsk. The highway and the unique northernmost hundred-kilometer electrified railway connect Dudinka with Norilsk and the airport Alykel. All the territory of the okrug lies within the Polar circle.
Taimyrsky AO borders upon Yamalo-Nenetsky okrug, YakutiaYakutia, Evenkiysky AO. The coast is washed by the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. There is the northernmost point of Russia - Cape Chelyuskin. Taimyr is the biggest okrug in Russia. Its area is about 900 thousand sq. km. that almost corresponds to that of Norway, Sweden and Portugal taken together.
The climate is very severe. The influence of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is not felt here at all. Winters are long and cold, summers are short and cool. Strong gusty winds blow here, and clear days are few. Atmospheric temperature is low. Mid-annual temperature in Cape Chelyuskin is -14,1 degrees centigrade, in Dudinka -10,1 and in Khatanga -13,2 degrees.
There are a lot of rivers and lakes in Taimyr. Many of them are navigable. The rivers belong to the basin of the Yenisei, the Pyasina, the Taimyr and the Khatanga. All of them, as a rule, flow to the north and fall into the Arctic Ocean.
Large tributaries of the Yenisei are the Small and Big Kheta, the Yara, the Tanama, the Khantayka and the Dudinka. The river Khatanga is formed as a result of confluence of two rivers - the Kotuy and the Kheta. In tundra and forest-tundra there are lots of rivers and lakes. Largest of them are the Pyasina, the Lama, the Melkoye, the Glubokoye, the Keta and the Khantayskoye.
For the time of foundation of autonomous okrug there were only three schools for 70 children in Taimyr. Nowadays there are 31 general educational establishments for 7700 pupils.
The ancient peoples of Taimyr the Nganasans and the Dolgans now have their own national written language, abc-books, own national culture.
The public authorities and institutions of local governing take measures to preserve the national culture and language of the aboriginal peoples. In elementary schools of the okrug pupils learn native languages of the North. In 2000 the abc-book in the Nganasan language, reading books in the Nenets and Dolgan languages were issued.
|
State 