Description : Surgut (Russian: Сургу́т, IPA: ) is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the few cities in Russia to be larger than the capital or the administrative center of its federal subject in terms of population, economic activity, and tourist traffic. Population: 373,940 (2019); 306,675 (2010 Census); 285,027 (2002 Census); 247,823 (1989 Census). The name of the city, according to one tradition, originates from the Khanty words "sur" (fish) and "gut" (hole, pit). It was founded in 1594 by order of Tsar Feodor I. Surgut at the end of the 16th century was a small fortress with two gates and five towers, one of which had a carriageway. In 1596 the Gostiny Dvor was built. In the 17th-18th centuries - one of the centers of the Russian development of Siberia. The fortification, built of strong wood, was located on the cape, so that it was impossible to approach it unnoticed either from the river or from the land. In the central square of the ancient settlement there was a cult place. Throughout the perimeter, the fortress was surrounded by a moat, which was blocked by the structures of the defensive system. Outside the village there were special buildings - handicraft workshops, in particular, a smithy. By the name list of 1625 there were 222 servicemen living here. Subsequently, due to high mortality, the population of Surgut gradually decreased. In 1627, 216 people lived, in 1635-200 people, in 1642-199. In the second half of the 17th century the population fluctuated around 200 people, by the end of the century there were 185 inhabitants in Surgut.
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