Surgut

Coat of arms of Surgut

Transfiguration Cathedral in Surgut

Surgut in the winter

Surgut (Russian: Сургу́т) is a city in Russia, the largest in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and second largest in Tyumen Oblast. Its population according to the 2002 Census was 285,027 (291,800 in 2005).

Surgut is one of the oldest Siberian cities. It was founded in 1594 by order of Tsar Feodor I.

The name of the city, according to one tradition, originates from the Khanty words "sur" (fish) and "gut" (hole, pit).

The urbanization of Surgut took place in the 1960s, when it became a center of oil and gas production. On June 25, 1965 the working settlement of Surgut was reorganized into a city. The city's birthday is celebrated yearly on June 12.

The current mayor of Surgut is Alexander Leonidovich Sidorov (since 1996). He oversaw the construction of the Surgut Bridge, the longest one-tower cable-stayed bridge in the world.
Also Surgut well known as Oil Capital of Russia

Economy

Surgut's economy is tied to oil production and the processing of natural gas. The most important enterprises are the oil firm Surgutneftegaz (often known as Surgut) and Surgutgazprom (a unit of Gazprom). Surgut electric plants GRES-1 and GRES-2 produce over 7200 megawatts and supply most of the region with relatively cheap electricity.

Sport

• Universitet Surgut - basketball team in the Russian Basketball Super League

Transport

The city is served by Surgut Airport, which offers flights to Moscow, Dubai, Saint Petersburg, Irkutsk, and a number of other cities.

The city is also a stop on the Tyumen–Novy Urengoy railway line. Going towards Tyumen, the next station is Salym, where Royal Dutch Shell has a substantial development. This section of the route takes about six hours. Also city located on Russian Route 404.

Sister cities

• Katerini, Greece.
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States.
• Zalaegerszeg, Hungary.

External links

• Surgut Information Portal Template:Ru icon
• City info on KhMAO web-site
• Surgut without its gilding of black gold. Some anti-myths about the oil Eldorado