autonomous okrug (district), in western Siberia, north-central Russia. It was established in 1930 as an autonomous okrug for the Nenets, or Samoyed, people, although by the late 20th century they constituted only about one-tenth of the population. The okrug covers the northern part of the West Siberian Plain. Apart from the narrow chain of the northern Urals in the west, it is a huge, level plain, covered by extensive swamps and barren tundra; in the south is stunted forest. The climate is extremely severe. Reindeer herding and fishing were the only occupations until the early 1970s, when exploitation of natural-gas (natural gas) deposits began. The natural-gas fields in the okrug are some of the world's largest. Among the many deposits, the Urengoy and Medveshye fields are large producers. Salekhard is the administrative centre. Area 289,700 square miles (750,300 square km). Pop. (2002) 507,006.