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

Post Office building in Naryan-Mar

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

• 1 Naryan-Mar post office. The town's symbol is a large and beautiful, almost Victorian-looking, wooden post office. 
• An Orthodox Church
• WWII memorial
• The town harbor
• 2 Museum-Reserve "Pustozersk" (Музей-заповедник "Пустозерск"), Ulitsa Tyko Vylki, 4, ☏ +7 818 534 50 99. Tu-F 09ː00-17ː00, Sa 11ː00-17ː00, closed Su & M. Offers insights into the first Russian town claimed to be built in the Arctic. (updated Apr 2021)
• 3 Krayevedcheskiy Muzey (Краеведческий Музей), Ulitsa Pobedy, 5 (just a half block away from the Pustozersk reserve museum), ☏ +7 818 534 20 60. Tu-Sa 10ː00-18ː00. The local history museum pertaining to Naryan-Mar and Nenetsia. (updated Apr 2021)

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.

Eat

• 1 Restaurant Museum Timan, Ulitsa Lenina (at intersection of Ul. Lenina and Ul. Pervomayskaya), ☏ +7 911 066 55 55. daily Noon-Midnight. A museum-themed eatery. Maybe not for those who are not into taxidermy much though. (updated Apr 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Zapolyarnaya Stolitsa or Polar Capital (Заполярная столица), ul. Lenina 33B, ☏ +8 81853 49900, info@zsthotel.ru. Business hotel with nice rooms and on-site restaurant serving hearty Russian cuisine. Rooms from 5400 руб. (updated Jul 2014)
• 2 67 parallel (Гостиница 67 параллель), Polyarnaya st. 7 (five-minute walk from the centre), ☏ +7 81853 46954, 67parallel@inbox.ru. Magnificent view to Naryan-Mar. The hotel has own parking. Rooms from 3000 руб. (updated Feb 2015)