With the support of Rosneft’s enterprises in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District — Yugra and the Tyumen Region, the indigenous Khanty and Mansi people celebrated the most revered spring holiday — Crow Day (Vorna Khatl).

Samotlorneftegaz, one of Rosneft’s largest producing assets, organised a celebration in Nizhnevartovsk, the «capital of Samotlor». About three thousand people from different districts of Ugra came to the tourist centre Ecoethnopark for the symbolic meeting of spring. Five thematic platforms worked for the visitors.

In the Ethno Park there was a camp with a raw hide tent, a lean-to, a parking place for sledges, fishing equipment and rowing boats — oblas. In an authentic atmosphere, folk craftsmen held master classes for everyone to make dolls and souvenirs dedicated to the holiday.

Experienced mushers took guests on reindeer sledges along specially laid tracks. Outdoor enthusiasts competed in games of the northern peoples — jumping over sledges, archery, tug-of-war on reindeer skins. Folklore bands added to the festive atmosphere. Guests were treated to northern delicacies, an exhibition of wild fruit, exclusive fur products and handmade souvenirs.

In Tyumen, the traditional venue for the celebrations is the House of the Northern People (Uvas Mir Khot) ethno-cultural centre, which was created and is being developed with the support of Rosneft’s RN-Uvatneftegaz. The festival began with the traditional rituals of welcoming spring — tying colourful ribbons to the branches of birch trees and fumigating the guests with smoke. The rich concert programme consisted of vocal and choreographic performances, accompanied by the national musical instruments — the flute and the tambourine. In the year of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, much of the concert was devoted to patriotic works.

Competitions in national sports were organised for the adult guests. Masters of traditional handicrafts showcased beadwork and furs at the fair. The culmination of the Raven Day was a tasting of national cuisine — northern fish soup, porridge, tea with taiga herbs, berries and nuts.

One of the key areas of Rosneft’s social policy is the preservation of the national culture of the indigenous peoples of the North and their traditional way of life. The Company’s enterprises implement numerous projects in their regions of operation, developing infrastructure in northern villages, supporting reindeer herding families, and improving the material and technical base of educational institutions and social facilities in the ancestral homelands of indigenous minorities.

Samotlorneftegaz implements projects aimed at improving the quality of life of the indigenous peoples of the North under an agreement between Rosneft and the Government of the region. Since 2020, the enterprise has been supporting a unique programme to equip national herds with modern information and communication technologies. The project currently covers more than 3.6 thousand people — over 70% of the indigenous people of Yugra, who live a traditional lifestyle. With the support of the enterprise, an annual reindeer herding competition is held in Yugra. This year, more than 1.5 thousand people attended the major event in the district capital.

RN-Uvatneftegaz supports representatives of the Khanty, Mansi and Evenk peoples of the Tyumen region, providing comprehensive assistance in preserving their distinctive culture and way of life. In recent years, the enterprise has donated more than 160 items of equipment — snowmobiles, boat motors, petrol generators — to Khanty families.

The enterprise supports the Uvat Taiga festival to preserve the culture and traditions of northern peoples. The winter festival began as an arts and crafts fair, but with the support of oil industry workers, it has taken on the format of a cultural festival. This year it was the biggest ever — about 1.5 thousand guests from all the taiga settlements of the Uvat district visited it.

Department of Information and Advertising
Rosneft
April 7, 2025