| En Name: | Kurgan Oblast |
| Ru Name: | Курганская область |
| Coordinates: | 55.5667°N 109°W |
| Image Coa: | Coat of arms of Kurgan Oblast.svg |
| Coa Caption: | Coat of arms |
| Flag Caption: | Flag |
| Political Status: | Oblast |
| Political Status Link: | Oblasts of Russia |
| Federal District: | Ural |
| Economic Region: | Ural |
| Adm Ctr Type: | Administrative center |
| Adm Ctr Name: | Kurgan |
| Adm Ctr Ref: | [1] |
| Pop 2021Census: | 776661 |
| Pop 2021Census Rank: | 59th |
| Urban Pop 2021Census: | 63.9% |
| Rural Pop 2021Census: | 36.1% |
| Pop 2021Census Ref: | [2] |
| Pop Latest: | 874100 |
| Pop Latest Date: | June 2014 |
| Area Km2: | 71488 |
| Area Km2 Rank: | 43rd |
| Established Date: | February 6, 1943 |
| Established Date Ref: | [3] |
| License Plates: | 45 |
| Iso: | RU-KGN |
| Gov As Of: | April 2014 |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Title Ref: | [4] |
| Legislature: | Oblast Duma |
| Legislature Ref: | [5] |
| Website: | http://www.kurganobl.ru/ |
| Date: | February 2014 |
Kurgan Oblast (Russian: Курга́нская о́бласть|Kurganskaya oblast') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kurgan. According to the 2021 Census, the population was 776,661, down from 910,807 recorded in the 2010 Census.
Formed by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 6, 1943. The region included 32 districts of the eastern part of the Chelyabinsk region and 4 districts of the Omsk region with a total population of 975,000. Recipient of the Order of Lenin (1959).
Kurgan Oblast is located in Southern Russia and is part of the Urals Federal District. It shares borders with Chelyabinsk Oblast to the west, Sverdlovsk Oblast to the north-west, Tyumen Oblast to the north-east, and Kazakhstan (Kostanay and North Kazakhstan Region) to the south. Lakes Medvezhye and Filatovo are located in the district.[6]
The oblast has a severe continental climate with long cold winters and warm summers with regular droughts. The average January temperature is, and the average temperature in the warmest month (July) is . Annual precipitation is about 400mm.[7]
See also: Governor of Kurgan Oblast.
During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Kurgan CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.
The Charter of Kurgan Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Kurgan Oblast Duma is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Oblast Duma consists of 34 members and exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.
After the last elections held in 2015 the United Russia Party currently holds the majority of seats in the Oblast Duma. Elections of deputies of the Kurgan Regional Duma of the VII convocation are scheduled for 2020.
See main article: Administrative divisions of Kurgan Oblast.
Kurgan Oblast borders on the oil- and gas-bearing districts of Tyumen Oblast and is also close to similar districts in Tomsk Oblast. Large oil and gas pipelines pass through its territory, and Ural and Siberian oil refineries are fairly close. The main industrial centers are Kurgan, and Shadrinsk.[7]
The oblast does not have large economic mineral reserves; therefore, it has developed mainly on the basis of subindustries associated with processing of agricultural production and assembly and packaging of finished products. The food industry is well developed here, with meat-packing plants, mills, creameries, and powdered milk factories.[7]
Modern large-scale industry began developing during World War II, when sixteen enterprises from western regions of the country were evacuated here in 1941–1942.
Population:
Russians (823,722) are the largest ethnic group in the Kurgan Oblast, making up 92.5% of the population. Other prominent ethnic groups in the oblast include Tatars (17,017) at 1.9%, Bashkirs (12,257) at 1.4%, Kazakhs (11,939) 1.3%, and Ukrainians (7,080) at 0.8%. Other ethnicities are 2.1%. Additionally, 20,017 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[8]
Vital statistics for 2022:[9] [10]
Total fertility rate (2022):[11]
1.68 children per woman
Life expectancy (2021):[12]
Total — 68.29 years (male — 63.29, female — 73.48)
According to a 2012 survey 28.4% of the population of Kurgan Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 6% are nondenominational Christians (with the exclusion of such-defined Protestant churches), 2% are adherents of Islam, 1% are adherents of the Slavic native faith (Rodnovery), and 0.4% are adherents of forms of Hinduism (Vedism, Krishnaism or Tantrism). In addition, 36% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 14% is atheist, and 12.2% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.
