Volgograd Oblast Explained

En Name:Volgograd Oblast
Ru Name:Волгоградская область
Coordinates:49.7333°N 51°W
Image Coa:Coat of Arms of Volgograd oblast.svg
Coa Caption:Coat of arms
Flag Caption:Flag
Political Status:Oblast
Political Status Link:Oblasts of Russia
Federal District:Southern
Economic Region:Volga
Adm Ctr Type:Administrative center
Adm Ctr Name:Volgograd
Adm Ctr Ref:[1]
Pop 2021Census:2500781
Pop 2010Census Rank:18th
Urban Pop 2021Census:77.4%
Rural Pop 2021Census:22.6%
Pop 2021Census Ref:[2]
Area Km2:112877
Area Km2 Rank:31st
Established Date:December 5, 1936
License Plates:34, 134
Iso:RU-VGG
Gov As Of:March 2011
Leader Title:Governor
Leader Title Ref:[3]
Leader Name:Andrey Bocharov
Leader Name Ref:[4]
Legislature:Oblast Duma
Website:http://www.volganet.ru/
Date:August 2014

Volgograd Oblast (Russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть|Volgogradskaya oblastʹ) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the lower Volga region of Southern Russia. Its administrative center is Volgograd. The population of the oblast was 2,500,781 in the 2021 Census.

Formerly known as Stalingrad Oblast, it was given its present name in 1961, when the city of Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd as part of de-Stalinization. Volgograd Oblast borders Rostov Oblast in the southwest, Voronezh Oblast in the northwest, Saratov Oblast in the north, Astrakhan Oblast and the Republic of Kalmykia in the southeast, and has an international border with Kazakhstan in the east. The two main rivers in European Russia, the Don and the Volga, run through the oblast and are connected by the Volga–Don Canal. Volgograd Oblast's strategic waterways have made it a popular route for shipping and for the generation of hydroelectricity.

Volgograd Oblast was the primary site of the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II, regarded as the single bloodiest battle in the history of warfare.[5] [6] [7]

Geography

Volgograd Oblast borders with Saratov, Rostov, Astrakhan, and Voronezh Oblasts, as well as with Kalmykia of Russia and with Kazakhstan (West Kazakhstan Region). Most of Volgograd oblast is located in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. The Yergeni hills are located to the southeast. Forests cover 4% of the territory.The major rivers are:

History

Since the Middle Ages, the territory was ruled by Khazars, Cumania, the Golden Horde and Russia.

Stalingrad Oblast (Russian: Сталинградская область) was established on December 5, 1936 on the territory of former Stalingrad Krai.[8] It was the scene of the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II in 1942–1943. The oblast was given its present name on November 10, 1961.

Administrative divisions

See main article: Administrative divisions of Volgograd Oblast.

Politics

During the Soviet period, three people exercised oblast-level authority:

  1. the first secretary of the Volgograd CPSU Committee (who in reality had the most power)
  2. the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power)
  3. the chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power)

In 1991 the CPSU lost de facto power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.

The Charter of Volgograd Oblast provides the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Volgograd Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly 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, the Oblast Government, 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.

Demographics

The population of the oblast was 2,500,781 according to the 2021 Russian census, 2,610,161 in the 2010 Russian census, 2,699,223 in the 2002 Russian census, and 2,593,944 in the 1989 Soviet census.

Vital statistics for 2022:[9] [10]

Total fertility rate (2022):[11]
1.14 children per woman

Life expectancy (2021):[12]
Total — 69.96 years (male — 65.70, female — 74.14)

Ethnic groups

(shown are the ethnic groups with a population of more than 7,000 people)

Ethnic group Population (in 2010) Percent
Russians2,309,253 90
Kazakhs46,223 1.8
Ukrainians35,607 1.4
Armenians27,846 1.1
Tatars24,557 0.9
Azerbaijani14,398 0.6
Germans10,102 0.4
Chechens9,649 0.4
Belarusians7,868 0.4
Koreans7,044 0.3

Religion

According to a 2012 survey, 54.5% of the population of Volgograd Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 4% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 2% are Eastern Orthodox Christian believers who don't belong to any church or are members of non-Russian Eastern Orthodox churches, and 3% are Muslims. In addition, 18% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 12% is atheist, and 6.5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

Government

Governor of Volgograd Oblast is Андрей Бочаров (since 2014)

Both the flag and the coat of arms of Volgograd Oblast include an image of The Motherland Calls, an 85 meter tall statue located in Volgograd.

Economy

Primary branches of economics are agriculture, food production, heavy industry, gas and petroleum refining. The Volga Hydroelectric Station operates on the Volga River.

The largest companies in the region include Volzhsky Pipe Plant, Volgogradenergosbyt (a local electric power distribution company), OJSC Kaustik (caustic soda manufacturer), Volzhsky Orgsintez (a chemical plant).[14]

See also

References

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Charter of Volgograd Oblast, Article 41
  2. Web site: Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации. Federal State Statistics Service. 1 September 2022.
  3. Charter of Volgograd Oblast, Article 7
  4. Official website of Volgograd Oblast. Andrey Ivanovich Bocharov, Acting Governor of Volgograd Oblast
  5. Web site: The 5 Bloodiest Battles in History | Military History Matters. Military History. Matters. November 2, 2010. www.military-history.org.
  6. Book: Hellbeck, Jochen . Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich . PublicAffairs . 2015 . 9781610394963 . 1 . en.
  7. Liddil . Davis . 2016 . "Stalingrad is Hell": Soviet Morale and the Battle of Stalingrad . CLA Journal . 4 . 203.
  8. Volgograd Oblast. Administrative-Territorial Structure, p. 3
  9. Web site: Information on the number of registered births, deaths, marriages and divorces for January to December 2022 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20230302093910/https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Edn_12-2022_t1_2.xlsx . 2 March 2023 . 21 February 2023 . ROSSTAT.
  10. Web site: Birth rate, mortality rate, natural increase, marriage rate, divorce rate for January to December 2022 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20230302093910/https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Edn_12-2022_t1_3.xlsx . 2 March 2023 . 21 February 2023 . ROSSTAT.
  11. Web site: https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/SMD_7.1.xlsx. XLSX. ru:Суммарный коэффициент рождаемости. Total fertility rate. ru. Russian Federal State Statistics Service. 10 August 2023. 10 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230810203543/https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/SMD_7.1.xlsx. dead.
  12. Web site: Демографический ежегодник России . Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat) . 2022-06-01 . ru . The Demographic Yearbook of Russia.
  13. Web site: Перепись-2010: русских становится больше . Perepis-2010.ru . 2011-12-19 . 2012-08-13.
  14. Web site: ru:Выписки ЕГРЮЛ и ЕГРИП, проверка контрагентов, ИНН и КПП организаций, реквизиты ИП и ООО . https://sbis.ru/contragents?p=companies . СБИС . 20 October 2018 . ru.