Narta

The name of the village ( Kalm. Narta - sunny) can be translated from Kalmyk as sunny; illuminated by the sun ^[3] .

Until the 1950s, the terrain along the right bank of the Bolshaya Mergen 'River was uninhabited ^[4] . Narta was first marked on the 1964 USSR map ^[5] . In this regard, we can assume that the village of Narta arose in the late 1950s - early 1960s.

In the Soviet period, Narta State Farm was located in Narta. In 1985, a typical two-storey school building was opened in Narta, where more than 300 students moved from the adapted buildings. In the 1990s, the local state farm fell into disrepair, the village fell into neglect ^[6]

The settlement is located in the south of the Yergenin upland, which is part of the East European Plain , on the right bank of the Bolshaya Mergen river ^[7] . The average height above sea level is 52 m ^[1] . The terrain is flat ^[7] .

By road, the distance to the capital of Kalmykia , Elista, is 48 km, to the district center of the village Priyutnoye - 33 km. The nearest settlement Bugu is located 8.5 km south of Narta ^[8] . To the village there is an access from the federal highway Elista - Stavropol R216 (7.5 km).

According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, the climate type is humid continental with moderately cold winters and hot summers. The average annual air temperature is 9.9 ° C, the amount of precipitation is 347 mm ^[1] .

In the late 1980s, about 300 inhabitants lived in Narta ^[7] .

National composition

According to the results of the 2002 census, the majority of the population of the village were Kalmyks (90%) ^[11]

There is a country club and a library in Narta. Medical care for the residents of the village is provided by the local medical attendant and midwifery center and Priyutnensky central regional hospital. Residents receive secondary education at the Nartinskaya Secondary School ^[12] .

The village is electrified and gasified, but there are no centralized water supply and drainage systems ^[12] .

In the middle of the last century, geological exploration in Kalmykia discovered as many as six so-called ore fields, including Stepnovskoye. Kalmyk reserves of phosphorus-rare-earth-uranium ores were evaluated as a raw material for the production of phosphate fertilizers and the production of rare earths , scandium and yttrium . For several decades uranium-bearing clay was mined under Nartha, but in the mid-1970s, it was decided to close the mine due to the unprofitability of the deposit. Some equipment was removed outside, the shaft was poured with concrete. Currently the mine is abandoned ^[13] .

The Republican Department of Rospotrebnadzor states that neither the mine nor the soil in the surrounding area represents a radiation threat. However, the situation is of concern to the locals.