Yamal Russia-photographer Sergey Anisimov
The Yamal Peninsula, located in Yamal-Nenets autonomous district of northwest Siberia, Russia, extends roughly 700 km and is bordered principally by the Kara Sea, Baydaratskaya Bay on the west, and by the Gulf of Ob on the east. In the language of its indigenous inhabitants, the Nenets, "Yamal" means "End of the World".
The Yamal Peninsula is a strategic oil- and gas bearing region of Russia. Commercial development of fields onshore and offshore Yamal is crucial for securing Russia's gas production build-up beyond 2010.
The Yamal peninsula in Arctic Russia contains the biggest gas reserves on the planet. Their exploitation will release millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and, on the peninsula itself, pose a grave threat to the Nenets reindeer herders and their ancient way of life.
