Nenets Autonomous Okrug

The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a federal subject of Russia and an autonomous okrug of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Its administrative center is the town of Naryan-Mar. It has an area of and a population of 42,090 as of the 2010 Census, making it the least populous federal subject. A plan to merge the autonomous okrug with Arkhangelsk Oblast was presented by the governors of both federal subjects on 13 May 2020, with a referendum planned for September, but was met with opposition by locals, leading to the merger process being scrapped completely. Geography The arctic ecology of this area has a number of unique features derived from the extreme temperatures and unique geologic province. Polar bears are found in this locale; in fact, the sub-population found here is a genetically distinct taxon associated with the Barents Sea region. The autonomous okrug has a size of approximately 177,000 km2, more than four times the size of Switzerland or around the same size as the U.S. state of Missouri. The district is around 320 km from north to south and around 950 km from east to west, stretching from Mys Bolvansky Nos in the north to the source of the Oma River in the south and Cape Kanin Nos in the west to the banks of the Kara River in the east.