Nizhnevartovsk, city in northeastern Russia, in western Siberia. Nizhnevartovsk is part of Khantia-Mansia, an autonomous okrug within Tyumen' Oblast, and is located along the Ob' River. The city grew in economic importance in the 1970s as a service center for the local oil industry. The Samotlar oil basin, an important source of oil, is located in the region, and oil and natural gas pipelines cross the city. Additional industry in the city includes timber, construction materials, and food. Transportation to the city is limited, although there is a railroad station. There is a regional history museum in Nizhnevartovsk.
During the time of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Soviet central planners concentrated resources in several cities, including Nizhnevartovsk and Surgut, to promote the growth of the Siberian oil industry. The labor intensive nature of oil production during the Soviet period spurred dramatic population growth in the city. In 1970, prior to the birth of the industry, the population of the city was only 16,000. By the end of the decade the city had grown to 109,000, and by the end of the 1980s the city had again more than doubled, to 242,000. By 1979 the city had grown to more than three times the size Soviet planners had expected, causing serious housing and infrastructure shortages. The population of the city is currently declining, most likely due to economic difficulties in the oil industry. Population (1995) 279,193.
