Khanty people in the context of Tomsk Oblast

The Khanate of Sibir (Siberian Tatar: Себер Ҡаннығы, romanized: Seber Qannïq; Russian: Сибирское царство, Сибирский юрт, romanized: Sibirskoye tsarstvo, Sibirsky yurt) was a Tatar state in western Siberia. It was founded at the end of the 15th century, following the break-up of the Golden Horde. Throughout its history, members of the Shaybanid and Taibugid dynasties often contested the rulership over the Khanate between each other; both of these competing tribes were direct patrilineal descendants of Genghis Khan through his eldest son Jochi and Jochi's fifth son Shayban (Shiban) (died 1266). The area of the Khanate had once formed an integral part of the Mongol Empire, and later came under the control of the White Horde, and under the Golden Horde from 1242 to 1468.

The Khanate of Sibir had an ethnically diverse population of Turkic peoples – Siberian Tatars and various Uralic peoples – including the Khanty, the Mansi, and the Selkup. The Sibir Khanate was the northernmost Muslim state in recorded history. Its defeat by Yermak Timofeyevich in 1582 marked the beginning of the Russian conquest of Siberia.

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, also known as Khanty-Mansia (Khantia-Mansia), is a federal subject of Russia (an autonomous okrug of Tyumen Oblast). It has a population of 1,532,243 as of the 2010 Census. Its administrative center is located at Khanty-Mansiysk.

The peoples native to the region are the Khanty and the Mansi, known collectively as Ob-Ugric peoples, but today the two groups only constitute 2.5% of the region's population. The local languages, Khanty and Mansi, are part of the Ugric branch of the Finno-Ugric language family, and enjoy a special status in the autonomous okrug. Russian remains the only official language.

Yugra or Yugor Land (Russian: Югра, Югорский край; also spelled Iuhra in contemporary sources) was a collective name for lands and peoples in the region east of the northern Ural Mountains in modern Russia given by Russian chroniclers in the 12th to 17th centuries. During this period, the region was inhabited by the Khanty (Ostyaks) and Mansi (Voguls) peoples.

In a modern context, the term Yugra generally refers to a political constituent of the Russian Federation formally known as Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, located in the lands historically known as Ioughoria. In modern Russian, this word is rendered "Югория" (Yugoria), and is used as a poetic synonym of the region.

A chum (/tʃuːm/) is a temporary dwelling used by the nomadic Uralic (Nenets, Nganasans, Enets, Khanty, Mansi, Komi, Selkups) reindeer herders of northwestern Siberia, Russia. The Evenks, Tungusic peoples living in Russia, Mongolia and China also use chums, as do the Yeniseian-speaking Ket people. They are also used by the southernmost reindeer herders, of the Todzha region of the Republic of Tyva and their cross-border relatives in northern Mongolia. It has a design similar to a Native American tipi but some versions are less vertical. It is very closely related to the Sami lavvu in construction, but is somewhat larger in size. Some chums can be up to thirty feet (ten meters) in diameter.

The frame of a traditional chum is made of wooden poles that are organized in a circular cone. The cover around the frame may be of reindeer hides sewn together, as well as bark or felt. Modern chums may use modern materials. In the middle there is a fireplace used for heating and to keep mosquitoes away. The smoke escapes through a hole at the top of the chum. The frame and cover are usually quite heavy, but could be carried by the reindeer. The chum is still in use today as a year-round shelter for the Yamal-Nenets, Khanty and Todzha Tyvan people of Russia.