Leningrad Oblast

Coordinates: 60°03′N 31°45′E / 60.050°N 31.750°E / 60.050; 31.750
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Leningrad Oblast
Ленинградская область
UTC+3 (MSK Edit this on Wikidata[10])
ISO 3166 codeRU-LEN
License plates47, 147
OKTMO ID41000000
Official languagesRussian[11]
Websitehttp://www.lenobl.ru

Leningrad Oblast (Russian: Ленинградская область, romanizedLeningradskaya oblast’, IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ]; Veps: Leningradan agj; Finnish: Leningradin alue) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of 84,500 square kilometres (32,600 sq mi) and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Census);[13] up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Census.[14] Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized. Its administrative center and largest city is Gatchina.[15]

The oblast was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad. In 1991, the city restored its original name, Saint Petersburg, but the oblast retains the name of Leningrad. It overlaps the historical region of Ingria, and is bordered by Finland (Kymenlaakso and South Karelia) in the northwest and Estonia (Ida-Viru County) in the west, as well as five federal subjects of Russia: the Republic of Karelia in the northeast, Vologda Oblast in the east, Novgorod Oblast in the south, Pskov Oblast in the southwest, and the federal city of Saint Petersburg in the west.

The first governor of Leningrad Oblast was Vadim Gustov (in 1996–1998). The current governor, since 2012, is Aleksandr Drozdenko.

Geography

Monrepos Park in Vyborg
The Vuoksi in Priozersk
Oredezh River near Siversky

Leningrad Oblast is located around the Gulf of Finland and south of two great freshwater lakes, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. The oblast includes the Karelian Isthmus and some islands, including Gogland in the Gulf of Finland and Konevets in Lake Ladoga.

Much of the area of the oblast belongs to the

ridgeline in Tikhvinsky District
in the eastern oblast forms part of the divide between the Baltic Sea and Caspian Sea basins.

The terrain of Leningrad Oblast is relatively flat and mostly covered with forest and swamps. An exception is the rocky

.

Leningrad Oblast contains two federally protected natural areas, the Nizhnesvirsky Nature Reserve and Mshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik, both created to protect the forest and swamp landscapes of northwestern Russia.

Flora

The most taxonomically diverse vascular plant families are

Trifolium, Campanula, Vicia, Lathyrus, Geranium is also considerable. The territory has no endemic plant taxa. Vascular plant species of Leningrad Oblast listed in the red data book of Russia are Botrychium simplex, Cephalanthera rubra, Cypripedium calceolus, Epipogium aphyllum, Lobelia dortmanna, Myrica gale, Ophrys insectifera, Orchis militaris, Pulsatilla pratensis, Pulsatilla vernalis
.

History

Early history

The fortress in Staraya Ladoga
Ivangorod fortress

The territory of present-day Leningrad Oblast was populated shortly after the end of the

Volkhov River
.

In the 12th-15th centuries, the territory was divided between the

Russo-Swedish Wars
of the 15th-17th centuries, the border moved back and forth over the land.

The central part of the territory is known as the historical region of

Finnish Karelia (which included Karelian Isthmus, the northwestern part of present-day Leningrad Oblast) and Savonia. Having faced religious pressure from Lutheran pastors and Swedish authorities, the local Orthodox population of Russian and Finnic ancestry massively fled from Ingria to neighbour Russian provinces, so Ingrian Finns soon became the dominant ethnic group.[19]

During the Great Northern War (1700–1721) the territory of what is now Leningrad Oblast was conquered from Sweden by Russia under Peter the Great, who founded Saint Petersburg amidst the land in 1703, which soon became the capital of the Russian Empire. In 1708, most of the territory was organized into Ingermanland Governorate under Governor General Alexander Menshikov. It was renamed Saint Petersburg Governorate in 1710 (the borders of that governorate, however, differed very significantly from those of the present-day oblast and included much of the areas of current Novgorod, Pskov, and Vologda Oblasts). In 1721, the territorial concessions of Sweden were confirmed with the Treaty of Nystad.

The life of the countryside was greatly influenced by the vicinity of the imperial capital, which became a growing market for its agricultural production as well as the main consumer of its mineral and forest resources. In 1719–1810,

Neva River as part of the Volga-Baltic waterway to bypass stormy waters of Lake Ladoga. Since the advent of rail transport in the late 19th century, the areas in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg had been popular summer resort destinations (dachas
) for its residents. However, while Saint Petersburg itself was populated mostly by Russians from the very beginning, it was not until the 20th century that its surrounding population was Russified.

In 1914, with the beginning of

Russian-Finnish Treaty of Tartu
, which settled the border between Finland and Soviet Russia. In 1924, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad, and Petrograd Governorate was again renamed accordingly (Leningrad Governorate).

Leningrad Oblast

Leningrad Oblast was established on 1 August 1927, by the resolutions of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee "On the Establishment of Leningrad Oblast" and "On the Borders and Composition of the Okrugs of Leningrad Oblast"[12] by merging Cherepovets, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, and Pskov Governorates. The territory of the oblast corresponded to the modern territories of the present-day Leningrad Oblast (with the exception of the Karelian Isthmus and the territories along the border with Estonia), Novgorod Oblast, Pskov Oblast, parts of Vologda Oblast, most of Murmansk Oblast, and the federal city of Saint Petersburg. The total area of the oblast was 360,400 square kilometres (139,200 sq mi);[20] more than four times larger than the modern entity. Administratively, the oblast was divided into nine okrugs (Borovichi, Cherepovets, Leningrad, Lodeynoye Pole, Luga, Murmansk, Novgorod, Pskov, and Velikiye Luki), each of which was in turn subdivided into districts.[20]

In 1929,

Kalinin Oblast. In 1936 some parts of the territory of Leningrad Suburban District of Leningrad was returned to Leningrad Oblast and divided into Vsevolozhsky District, Krasnoselsky District, Pargolovsky District and Slutsky District (renamed Pavlovsky District in 1944). Vologda Oblast, which has included the easternmost districts of Leningrad Oblast (former Cherepovets Governorate), was created in 1937. Murmansk Oblast
was split from Leningrad Oblast in 1938.

In the autumn of 1934, the

Ingrian Finnish
population of the oblast, which constituted the majority in many rural localities as late as in the beginning of the 20th century, to the east, replacing them with people from other parts of the Soviet Union.

On 30 November 1939, the Soviet Union waged the Winter War against neighbouring Finland and with the Moscow Peace Treaty in 1940 gained some territories, including the Karelian Isthmus. Their Karelian population was hastily evacuated to inner Finland and later replaced with people from other parts of the Soviet Union. A small part of the territory (the municipalities of Kanneljärvi, Koivisto and Rautu) was incorporated into Leningrad Oblast, the rest being included within the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic.

In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in

Terijoki
.

In 1953,

Uritsk was transferred from the oblast to the city of Leningrad in 1963, Krasnoye Selo and several settlements nearby—in 1973, Lomonosov
—in 1978.

After a referendum in 1991, the city of Leningrad was renamed back to Saint Petersburg, but Leningrad Oblast retained its name.[24] On 13 June 1996, Leningrad Oblast, alongside Tver Oblast and Saint Petersburg, signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.[25] This agreement would be abolished on 18 April 2002.[26]

Demographics

Life expectancy at birth in Leningrad Oblast

Population: 2,000,997 (

1989 Census).[29]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19591,244,991—    
19701,435,729+15.3%
19791,519,165+5.8%
19891,661,173+9.3%
20021,669,205+0.5%
20101,716,868+2.9%
20212,000,997+16.5%
Source: Census data

Vital statistics for 2022:[30][31]

  • Births: 12,082 (6.3 per 1,000)
  • Deaths: 25,976 (13.6 per 1,000)

Total fertility rate (2022):[32]
0.87 children per woman

Life expectancy (2021):[33]
Total — 70.17 years (male — 65.43, female — 74.94)

Ethnic composition (2021)[34]

Ethnic group Population Percentage
Russians 1,642,897 93.7%
Ukrainians 12,905 0.5%
Uzbeks 7,797 0.4%
Belarusians 7,527 0.4%
Tatars 6,805 0.4%
Armenians 6,182 0.4%
Tajiks 4,896 0.3%
Azerbaijanis 3,814 0.2%
Kyrgyz 2,004 0.1%
Others 58,019 3.6%
Ethnicity not stated 248,151
Religion
Religion in Leningrad Oblast as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[35][36]
Russian Orthodoxy
55.1%
Other Orthodox
0.6%
Old Believers
0.6%
Other Christians
4.1%
Islam
0.7%
Rodnovery
and other native faiths
0.6%
Spiritual but not religious
20.2%
Atheism and irreligion
8.5%
Other and undeclared
9.6%

According to a 2012 survey

Slavic native faith (Rodnovery), 1% are Old Believers. In addition, 20% of the population declared to be "spiritual but not religious", 8% is atheist, and 9.9% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[35]

Politics

The building of the Government and the Legislative Assembly of the region on Proletarian Dictatorship Square in Saint Petersburg

State power in the region is exercised on the basis of the Charter, which was adopted on 27 October 1994.[37]

The highest official of the region is the governor, who is elected for a term of five years. Since 28 May 2012, he has been Aleksandr Drozdenko.

The executive power in the region is exercised by the administration, which includes:

  • The government of the Leningrad Oblast is the highest executive body of state power, which includes the Governor (Chairman of the Government), vice-governors and chairmen of committees
  • sectoral, territorial and other executive authorities

Legislative power in the region is exercised by the

(4 deputies). The Chairman of the Legislative Assembly is Sergei Bebenin.

First secretaries of the Leningrad Oblast CPSU Committee

In the period when they were the most important authority in the oblast (1927 to 1991), the following first secretaries were appointed,[38]

Governors

Since 1991, governors were sometimes appointed, and sometimes elected,[39]

Administrative divisions

Administratively, Leningrad Oblast is divided into seventeen districts and one town of oblast significance (Sosnovy Bor). In terms of area, the largest administrative district is Podporozhsky (7,706 square kilometers (2,975 sq mi)), and the smallest is Lomonosovsky
(1,919 square kilometers (741 sq mi)).

Lomonosovsky District is the only district in Russia that has its

administrative center (the town of Lomonosov) located within a different federal subject. While the district is a part of Leningrad Oblast, Lomonosov is located within the federal city of Saint Petersburg
.

Economy

Industry

The oblast, particularly the areas adjacent to Saint Petersburg, is heavily industrialized. The major enterprises include the

Tikhvin industrial site
in Tikhvin.

Agriculture

The main agricultural specializations of the oblast are cattle breeding with meat and milk production and poultry production. The main agricultural lands are in the east and in the southwest of the oblast.

Transportation

DT1 multiple unit Diesel train in Veymarn

Saint-Petersburg is a major railway hub, and all railways running to it cross also Leningrad Oblast. They connect Saint-Petersburg with Moscow (

Saint Petersburg – Moscow Railway), Helsinki via Vyborg, Murmansk via Petrozavodsk, Sortavala via Priozersk, Tallinn via Kingisepp, Riga via Pskov, Vitebsk via Dno, and Veliky Novgorod. There is a network of railways at the Karelian Isthmus, in particular, connecting Vyborg and Priozersk, as well as south of Saint-Petersburg. There also railway lines connecting Veymarn with Slantsy, Veymarn with Petergof via Sosnovy Bor, Mga with Sonkovo via Kirishi, Volkhov with Vologda via Tikhvin and Cherepovets, Volkhov with Chudovo, and Lodeynoye Pole with Sortavala via Olonets
. Most of them support intensive passenger and cargo traffic.

Paved roads well cover the western and the central parts of Leningrad Oblast. The M10 highway connects Saint Petersburg with Moscow via Veliky Novgorod in the south and with the Finnish border, continuing across the border to Helsinki, in the north. It is split between European routes E18 (Saint Petersburg to Finland) and E105 (Saint Petersburg to Moscow), and much of it within the oblast is built as a dual carriageway. R21 highway (also part of E105) runs from Saint Petersburg to Murmansk via Petrozavodsk, and A180 (part of E20) connects Saint Petersburg with Ivangorod and continues across the Estonian border to Tallinn. R23 connects Saint Petersburg with Pskov; it is a part of the E95. A114 runs to Vologda via Cherepovets. A paid motorway between Saint Petersburg and Moscow and the new A121 from Saint-Petersburg to Sortavala, around the Western coast of Ladoga[41] are under construction. Roads are well served by bus traffic.

The

Mologa, which provided access from the Ladoga to the river basin of the Volga, is disused. The trans-border Saimaa Canal connects Lake Saimaa
in Finland with the Gulf of Finland, has special status, and is occasionally used for passenger navigation.

Ust-Luga, Vyborg, Vysotsk, and Primorsk are the major sea terminals on the Gulf of Finland.

There is a number of airfields in Leningrad oblast that are now used only by the general aviation. Scheduled and international flights are available exclusively from Pulkovo airport in Saint-Petersburg.[42]

Energy

Lock at the Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station.

The Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant is located in the city of Sosnovy Bor. There are four major hydroelectric plants in the oblast. The Volkhov Hydroelectric Station, on the Volkhov River, was constructed in 1921 and became the first major hydropower station in the Soviet Union. The others are the Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station and the Lower Svir Hydroelectric Station, both on the Svir River, and the Narva Hydroelectric Station on the Narva River.

Science and technology

There are many science and high-tech institutions around Saint Petersburg, some of which are located in the oblast. For example, Gatchina is the site of the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute [ru][43] and Sosnovy Bor hosts the Research Institute of Optical and Electronic Devices.

Culture and recreation

Architecture

The historical center of Vyborg
The Gimreka Ensemble

Since prehistory, the Volkhov and the Neva Rivers were constituents of major trade routes, and archaeological sites dot their banks.

pre-Mongol churches in Russia. Both of them were built in the 1160s. The Oreshek Fortress in Shlisselburg and the Koporye Fortress, both built in the 14th century, and the Ivangorod Fortress, originally built in 1492, are excellent examples of Russian fortification art. Podporozhsky District contains the best samples of wooden ecclesiastical architecture in Leningrad Oblast, some of which are collectively referred to as Podporozhye Ring: The Resurrection Church in the settlement of Vazhiny, the Saint Nicholas Church in the village of Soginitsy, the Sts Peter and Paul Chapel in the village of Zaozerye, and the Saint Athanasy chapel in the village of Posad. The two other notable wooden churches are located in the villages of Gimreka and Shcheleyki close to the Onega Lakeshore. The center of Vyborg
preserves many examples of medieval Swedish architecture, unique for Russia.

After Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703, many estates and residences were founded around the city. Some of them still stand and are listed as World Heritage sites, aggregated into the site of Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. includes, among others, estates in Gostilitsy, Ropsha, and Taytsy.

Localities in the Karelian Isthmus preserve some fine inter-war Finnish architecture. The best-known example is the Viipuri Municipal Library by Alvar Aalto.

Twin regions

References

Notes

  1. ^ Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
  2. ^ Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
  3. ^ Law #90
  4. ^ Charter of Leningrad Oblast, Article 25
  5. ^ Official website of Leningrad Oblast. Alexander Yuryevich Drozdenko Archived September 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Governor of Leningrad Oblast (in Russian)
  6. ^ Charter of Leningrad Oblast, Article 18
  7. Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography. Archived from the original
    on February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  9. Wikidata Q2624680
  10. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  11. ^ Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
  12. ^ a b Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, pp. 33–34
  13. ^
    Federal State Statistics Service
    .
  14. [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
  15. ^ "Gatchina officially became the capital of the Leningrad region". RIA (in Russian). March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  16. ^ Лапшин В. А. "Археологическая карта Ленинградской области. Часть 1: Западные районы". Leningrad, 1990.
  17. .
  18. ^ Лебедев Г. С. "Археологические памятники Ленинградской области". Leningrad: Лениздат, 1977.
  19. .
  20. ^ a b Administrative-Territorial Division of Leningrad Oblast, p. 10
  21. JSTOR 2497223
    .
  22. .
  23. ^ Ленинградская область в целом: Административно-территориальное деление Ленинградской области Archived June 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Что и почему переименовывали в Ленинградской области. Общая газета Ленинградской области (in Russian). Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  25. ^ "Newsline - June 14, 1996 Yeltsin Signs More Power-Sharing Agreements". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. June 14, 1996. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  26. ^ Chuman, Mizuki. "The Rise and Fall of Power-Sharing Treaties Between Center and Regions in Post-Soviet Russia" (PDF). Demokratizatsiya: 146.
  27. Federal State Statistics Service
    .
  28. [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
  29. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  30. ^ "Information on the number of registered births, deaths, marriages and divorces for January to December 2022". ROSSTAT. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  31. ^ "Birth rate, mortality rate, natural increase, marriage rate, divorce rate for January to December 2022". ROSSTAT. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  32. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (in Russian). Archived from the original
    (XLSX) on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  33. ^ "Демографический ежегодник России" [The Demographic Yearbook of Russia] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat). Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  34. ^ "Национальный состав населения". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  35. ^ a b c "Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia". Sreda, 2012.
  36. ^ 2012 Arena Atlas Religion Maps. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 21/04/2017. Archived.
  37. ^ "Устав Ленинградской области" [Charter of the Leningrad Oblast]. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  38. ^ Справочник по истории Коммунистической партии и Советского Союза 1898 - 1991 (in Russian). knowbysight.info. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  39. ^ Губернаторы Ленинградской области (in Russian). ProTown.ru. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  40. ^ "Medvedev Appoints Buryatia, Leningrad Region Governors". The Moscow Times. May 5, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  41. ^ Трасса А121 "Сортавала" (бывш. А129) на карте. www.rudorogi.ru (in Russian). Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  42. ^ Соколов: аэропорт Сиверский в Ленобласти может работать как порт малой авиации. ТАСС (in Russian). Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  43. ^ "Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute. National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute"". pnpi.spb.ru. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.

Sources

  • Закон №6-оз от 27 октября 1994 г. «Устав Ленинградской области», в ред. Закона №103-оз от 27 декабря 2013 г. «О внесении изменения в областной Закон "Устав Ленинградской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального публикования. Опубликован: "Вестник Правительства Ленинградской области", №1, 12 января 1995 г. (Law #6-oz of October 27, 1994 Charter of Leningrad Oblast, as amended by the Law #103-oz of December 27, 2013 On Amending the Oblast Law "Charter of Leningrad Oblast". Effective as of the official publication date.).
  • Архивный отдел Администрации Мурманской области. Государственный Архив Мурманской области. (1995). Административно-территориальное деление Мурманской области (1920–1993 гг.). Справочник. Мурманск: Мурманское издательско-полиграфическое предприятие "Север".
  • В. В. Груздев; А. Т. Русов (1973). Административно-территориальное деление Ленинградской области. Leningrad: Лениздат.

Further reading

Nature

History

External links