When taiga music flows around

You’re whether covered with white snow

Or in green leaves you’re fully drowned

Lyubov Milyaeva

The city of sport achievements and hopes, the space for creative thought, the flight of modern art, the impulse of innovations, the value of national culture and the majestic beauty of harsh northern nature.

Khanty-Mansiysk is a capital of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, the territory of which equals 338 square kilometers. The city is located on the West Siberian Plain, at the right bank of the river Irtysh, 20 kilometers away from its confluence with the river Ob. The city’s time zone is +6:00. The time difference between Khanty-Mansiysk and Moscow is +2 hours. Presently, the population of the Ugra capital is 76100 people.

Comfort and culture of “The Green Island”

Khanty-Mansiysk is built on seven hills and is washed by the river Irtysh and its tributaries from all sides. Residential areas are scattered across the territory of the natural park “Samarovsky Chugas”, that is why the city is known as “The Green Island”. Cedar woods that occupy almost a half of the wood covered lands are the pride and joy of the park. Because of the landscape and climate peculiarities, unique in their beauty natural complexes have formed on the territory of the natural park “Samarovsky Chugas”. A combination of water meadows and steep banks, covered with taiga, great number of small lakes and reach in berries swamps create a picture of the West Siberian nature, unsurpassed in its beauty.

The territory of the park equals 6621 hectares. Moreover, “Samarovsky Chugas” includes three natural and three archeological monuments, open air ethnographical museum “Torum Maa”, ski complexes “Khvoyny Urman” and “Kedrovy”, ski courses of the Children’s and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve “Dolina Ruchyev”, tubing track and the Winter Sports Centre named in honour of A. Filipenko.

A unique Park of Slavic Culture and Writing shines with sophisticated combination of architectural design and historical recollection in the heart of the city. Inside the park small architectural forms on the topic of Ten Commandments appear before your eye.

“The Brass Band of Ugra” was found in 2010 and maintains an active concert schedule, amazing the audience by their enchanting music. House Museum of V. Igoshev, Museum of Geology, Oil and Gas, Man and Nature Museum and Art Galley of the Ugra Generation’s Fund introduce bright ideas of enlightenment in the city’s portrait.

One of the most interesting sights in Khanty-Mansiysk is “Archeopark” – geological monument, archeological monument “Samarov Gorodok” and a whole park of sculptures depicting animals of the Pleistocene time and Paleolithic people.

Annual festivals of diverse kinds are always held in Siberia.

The City is developing day by day. Khanty-Mansiysk is the place where creative modern infrastructure harmonizes with the progress of thought and responsiveness of the spiritual culture.

Northern corner of chess battles

Speaking of Khanty-Mansiysk it is worth mentioning that the city plays an important role in developing chess as a sport. Schools in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug organize special chess lessons, internet-centres of chess mastery are constantly opening in the cities. The spreading of chess culture in the Okrug is also encouraged by Championships and Tournaments of the highest level.

Soon Ugra will hold the FIDE World Women’s Chess Championship and in the next year the Ugra Chess Academy will become the host of the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2013.

The World Centre of ski sport

It was here that the World Cup Biathlon took place in 2000, 2005 and starting from 2007 to 2012. In 2002, 2004 and 2006 the city hosted IBU Grand Prix.

In 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk for the first time in history of Russia hosted the IBU Biathlon World Championships, and in 2011 – the second one. In 2005 and 2010 two Championships in Mixed Relay took place in Khanty-Mansiysk. In 2000 the city held Summer Biathlon World Championships and a year later – Biathlon Junior World Championships.

The capital of Ugra cordially hosted lots of international competitions in skiing. For example, the final stage of Grand Prix “Sprint-tour 2008” took place in Khanty-Mansiysk in April 2008.

Moreover, Khanty-Mansiysk has its own professional hockey club “Ugra”. Twice it became the Champion of Russian Major Hockey League and now represents the city in Kontinental Hockey League.

“Ugra” club became a real discovery for the Russian hockey history, because the achievements of the team are growing rapidly and constantly.

The particular liking of the city dwellers to the winter sports is not an accidental matter: the climate and location have predetermined it historically. Snow falls through one third of the year and its height reaches one meter. At low humidity level (approximately 80%) the thermometer can go down as low as -40 C. The average temperature varies from -20 to -25.

Source: “UgraMegaSport” Press center