Leningrad Oblast

Infobox Russian federal subject
EnglishName=Leningrad Oblast
RussianName=Ленинградская область
Locator

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LocatorMap

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CoatOfArmsLink=Coat of arms of Leningrad Oblast

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FlagLink=Flag of Leningrad Oblast
AnthemLink="None"
AdmCtrOrCapital=Administrative center
AdmCtrName=Saint Petersburg (administratively separate)
FoundationDate=August 1, 1927
PoliticalStatus=Oblast
PoliticalStatusLink=Oblasts of Russia
FederalDistrict=Northwestern
EconomicRegion=Northwestern
CodeNumber=47
Area=84500
AreaRank=38th
Population=1669205
PopulationRank=28th
UrbanPopulation=66.4%
RuralPopulation=33.6%
LangLangs
LangList=Russian
HeadTitle=Governor
HeadName=Valery Serdyukov
PrimeTitle=First Vice-Governor
PrimeName=Sergey Kozyrev
Legislature=Legislative Assembly
ConstitutionType=Charter
ConstitutionName=Charter of Leningrad Oblast
Website=http://www.lenobl.ru

Leningrad Oblast ( _ru. Ленингра́дская о́бласть, "Leningradskaya oblast") is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1945 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad. [A previous name of Saint Petersburg in 1924–1991 in honor of Vladimir Lenin. Leningrad Oblast retained its name in 1991 after a referendum, while its namesake city was renamed back to Saint Petersburg.] Known after 1991 as Saint Petersburg, it is the administrative center of the oblast, although it constitutes a separate federal subject (a federal city) and has been administratively separate from the oblast since 1931. The first governor of Leningrad Oblast was Vadim Gustov (in 1996-1998). Since 1999 he has been succeeded by Valery Serdyukov.

Leningrad Oblast is bordered by Finland in the northwest, Estonia in the west, as well as five federal subjects of Russia: 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 on the west.

The oblast has an area of 84,500 km² and a population 1,669,205 (as of the 2002 Census); up from 1,661,173 recorded in the 1989 Census. The most populous town of the oblast is Gatchina, with 88,659 inhabitants (as of the 2002 Census).

History

pre-Leningrad Oblast

and hosts numerous archaeological remnants. [Лапшин В. А. "Археологическая карта Ленинградской области. Часть 1: Западные районы". Leningrad, 1990.] [Лапшин В. А. "Археологическая карта Ленинградской области. Часть 2: Восточные и северные районы". Saint Petersburg: Изд. СПбГУ, 1995. ISBN 5874030522.] [Лебедев Г. С. "Археологические памятники Ленинградской области". Leningrad: Лениздат, 1977.] The Volga trade route and trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks crossed the territory. Staraya Ladoga, the first capital of legendary Rurik, founded in the 8th-9th century, is situated in the east of the oblast, on the River Volkhov.

In the 12th-15th century the territory was divided between the Kingdom of Sweden and Novgorod Republic (see Swedish-Novgorodian Wars) and mostly populated by Karelians (northwest), Izhorians and Votes (west), Veps (east) and Novgorodian East Slavs (south). During 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 Ingria and in the 17th century, after most of the present-day territory of Leningrad Oblast was once again gained by Sweden with the Treaty of Stolbovo of 1617, became subject to substantial Finnish Lutheran population influx from Finnish Karelia (which included Karelian Isthmus, the northwestern part of present-day Leningrad Oblast) and Savonia. Ingrian Finns soon became the dominant ethnic group.

During the Great Northern War (1700-1721) the territory of Leningrad Oblast was captured from Sweden by Russia under Peter I, 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 the Ingermanland Governorate under Governor General Alexander Menshikov. It was renamed Saint Petersburg Governorate in 1710 (Borders of the governorate, however, differed very significantly from those of the present-day oblast). 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, Ladoga Canal was dug between the River Svir and the River Neva as part of the Volga-Baltic waterway to bypass stormy waters of Lake Ladoga. Since the advent of the rail transport in the late 19th century, the vicinity of Saint Petersburg has been a popular summer resort (dacha) place for its residents. However, while Saint Petersburg itself from the very beginning was populated mostly by Russians, it wasn't until the 20th century that its surroundings were russified.

In 1914 with the beginning of World War I the governorate was renamed Petrograd Governorate after its namesake city. After the Russian Revolution, in 1918 the capital was transferred from Petrograd (how Saint Petersburg came to be named in 1914) to Moscow, farther from the borders of the country. In 1919 during the Russian Civil War the Northwestern White Army advancing from Estonia and led by Nikolai Yudenich tried to capture Petrograd and even managed to reach its southern outskirts, but the attack against the Red Army under Leon Trotsky ultimately failed, and Yudenich retreated back. The border with Estonia was established in the Russian-Estonian Treaty of Tartu of 1920. Ingrian Finns of North Ingria attempted to secede in 1918-1920, but were incorporated back with the Russian-Finnish Treaty of Tartu, which settled the border between Finland and Soviet Russia. In 1924 Petrograd Governorate was renamed to Leningrad Governorate, again after its namesake city.

Leningrad Oblast

Leningrad Oblast was created in 1927 as a discontinuous merger of the Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Cherepovets and Murmansk Governorates, corresponding to the territories of present-day Leningrad Oblast (except most of the Karelian Isthmus and territories along the border with Estonia), Saint Petersburg, Novgorod Oblast, Pskov Oblast, parts of Vologda Oblast and most of Murmansk Oblast forming an exclave in the north (total area of 360.4 thousand km², more than four times larger than the present-day oblast). In 1929 Velikoluksky District was transferred to newly formed Western Oblast. Leningrad was administratively separated from Leningrad Oblast in December 1931. In 1935 five southernmost districts were made part of Kalinin Oblast. In 1936 some parts of the territory of Leningrad Suburban District of Leningrad was returned back 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 excluded from Leningrad Oblast in 1938.

In the fall of 1934 the Forbidden Border Zone along the western border of the Soviet Union was established, where nobody could appear without special permission issued by NKVD. It was officially only 7.5 km deep initially, but along the Estonian border it extended to as much as 90 km. The zone was to be free of Finnic and some other peoples, who were considered politically unreliable.Matley, Ian M. (1979). [http://www.jstor.org/view/00376779/di000499/00p0072z/0 The Dispersal of the Ingrian Finns] . "Slavic Review" 38.1, 1-16.] Martin, Terry (1998). [http://www.jstor.org/view/00222801/di000017/00p0286a/0 The Origins of Soviet Ethnic Cleansing] . "The Journal of Modern History" 70.4, 813-861.] Starting from the 1935, the Soviet authorities caried out mass forced transfer of the Ingrian Finnish population of the oblast, which constituted majority in many rural localities as late as in the beginning of the centurty, to the east, replacing them with people from other parts of the Soviet Union.

On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union waged the Winter War against neighboring Finland and with the Moscow Peace Treaty in 1940 gained some territories, including 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 districts of Kanneljärvi, Koivisto and Rautu) was incorporated into Leningrad Oblast, the rest being included within the Karelo-Finnish SSR.

.

-- in 1978.

Geography

Time zone

Leningrad Oblast is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).

Nature

Flora

The most taxonomically diverse vascular plant families are Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Rosaceae. By far the most diverse genus is "Carex" (68 species). The diversity in genera "Hieracium" (with "Pilosella"), "Ranunculus" (with "Batrachium"), "Alchemilla", "Galium", "Potamogeton", "Salix", "Veronica", "Viola", "Juncus", "Artemisia", "Potentilla", "Rumex", "Festuca", "Epilobium", "Poa", "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".

Rare vascular plant species listed in the local red data book are "Actaea erythrocarpa", "Agrostis clavata", "Ajuga pyramidalis", "Aldrovanda vesiculosa", "Alisma wahlenbergii", "Allium angulosum", "Allium schoenoprasum", "Allium ursinum", "Anemone sylvestris", "Armeria maritima", "Artemisia oelandica", "Asplenium septentrionale", "Asplenium trichomanes", "Astragalus arenarius", "Astragalus danicus", "Astragalus subpolaris", "Astrantia major", "Betula humilis", "Blysmus rufus", "Botrychium lanceolatum", "Botrychium matricariifolium", "Botrychium simplex", "Botrychium virginianum", "Brachypodium sylvaticum", "Calypso bulbosa", "Campanula bononiensis", "Cardamine hirsuta", "Cardamine parviflora", "Carex arenaria", "Carex bohemica", "Carex caryophyllea", "Carex davalliana", "Carex flacca", "Carex glareosa", "Carex hartmanii", "Carex heleonastes", "Carex hostiana", "Carex livida", "Carex mackenziei", "Carex paniculata", "Carex pilosa", "Carex remota", "Carex tenuiflora", "Carex tomentosa", "Carex umbrosa", "carolinum", "Caulinia flexilis", "Caulinia tenuissima", "Centaurium erythraea", "Centaurium littorale", "Centaurium pulchellum", "Centunculus minimus", "Cephalanthera rubra", "Chamaepericlymenum suecicum", "Cirsium rivulare", "Cladium mariscus", "Coeloglossum viride", "Cohlearia danica", "Colchicum autumnale", "Corydalis intermedia", "Cotoneaster integerrimus", "Cotoneaster melanocarpus", "Cotoneaster scandinavicus", "Crambe maritima", "Crepis czerepanovii", "Crepis sibirica", "Cyperus fuscus", "Cypripedium calceolus", "Dactylorhiza baltica", "Dactylorhiza traunsteineri", "Dentaria bulbifera", "Dianthus arenarius", "Diplazium sibiricum", "Dracocephalum ruyschiana", "Drosera intermedia", "Eleocharis parvula", "Empetrum hermaphroditum", "Epipactis atrorubens", "Epipogium aphyllum", "Equisetum scirpoides", "Equisetum variegatum", "Eremogone micradenia", "Eremogone procera", "Eupatorium cannabinum", "Festuca altissima", "Filipendula vulgaris", "Gagea rubicunda", "Galium hercynicum", "Galium intermedium", "Galium pumilum", "Gentiana cruciata", "Gladiolus imbricatus", "Gymnadenia densiflora", "Gymnocarpium robertianum", "Gypsophila fastigiata", "Helianthemum nummularium", "Helichrysum arenarium", "Helictotrichon pratense", "Herminium monorchis", "Hierochloe australis", "Hottonia palustris", "Iris sibirica", "Isatis tenctoria", "Isoеtes echinospora", "Isoеtes lacustris", "Jovibarba globifera", "Juncus capitatus", "Juncus squarrosus", "Juncus stygius", "Lathraea squamaria", "Lathyrus laevigatus", "Lathyrus linifolius", "Lathyrus pisiformis", "Ligularia sibirica", "Liparis loeselii", "Lithospermum officinale", "Littorella uniflora", "Lobelia dortmanna", "Lonicera caerulea", "Lunaria rediviva", "Luzula campestris", "Lycopodiella inundata", "Melampyrum cristatum", "Melica picta", "Moehringia lateriflora", "Myosotis ramosissima", "Myrica gale", "Najas major", "Najas marina", "Neottia nidus-avis", "Nymphaea alba", "Nymphaea tetragona", "Onobrychis arenaria", "Ophrys insectifera", "Orchis militaris", "Orchis ustulata", "Orobanche bartlingii", "Orobanche pallidiflora", "Oxitropis sordida", "Oxytropis pilosa", "Pedicularis sceptrum-", "Persicaria mitis", "Petasites frigidus", "Petesites spurius", "Phleum alpinum", "Phyteuma orbiculare", "Pinguicula vulgaris", "Polystichum aculeatum", "Polystichum braunii", "Potentilla crantzii", "Poterium sanguisorba", "Primula elatior", "Primula farinosa", "Pulsatilla patens", "Pulsatilla pratensis", "Pulsatilla vernalis", "Pulsatilla vulgaris", "Radiola linoides", "Ranunculus bulbosus", "Ranunculus subborealis", "Rhizomatopteris sudetica", "Rhynchospora fusca", "Rosa mollis", "Rubus humulifolius", "Ruppia brachypus", "Sagittaria natans", "Sanicula europaea", "Saussurea alpina", "Saxifraga granulata", "Saxifraga hirculus", "Saxifraga tridactylites", "Schoenus ferrugineus", "Scutellaria hastifolia", "Sedum album", "Sedum annuum", "Sedum sexangulare", "Selaginella selaginoides", "Senecio aquaticus", "Senecio paludosus", "Senecio tataricus", "Sesleria caerulea", "Silene chlorantha", "Silene rupestris", "Silene tatarica", "Steris alpina", "Swertia perennis", "Tephroseris integrifolia", "Tephroseris palustris", "Teucrium scordium", "Thymus pycnotrichus", "Tillaea aquatica", "Trichophorum cespitosum", "Tripleurospermum maritimum", "Tripleurospermum subpolare", "Tripolium vulgare", "Trisetum sibiricum", "Valeriana dioica", "Veratrum lobelianum", "Viola hirta", "Viola selkirkii", "Viola uliginosa", "Woodsia ilvensis". [http://www.paslo.ru/newimg/111.doc]

Administrative divisions

Demographics

"Population": (2002) 1,669,205.For the first half of 2007, the birth rate was 8.1 per 1000 [http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2007/0301/barom04.php]

"Ethnic groups": According to the (2002 Census) there were thirteen recognised ethnic groups of more than two thousand persons each; the 'national composition' was • Russian 89.58% • Ukrainian 2.51% • Belarusians 1.70% • Tatar 0.57% • Finnish 0.48% • Armenian 0.33% • Roma 0.27 • Azeri 0.23% • Chuvash 0.17% • German 0.14% • Mordvin 0.13% • Karelian 0.12% • Vep 0.12% • Moldovan 0.12% • Jewish 0.10% • Polish 0.10% • Georgian 0.09% • Estonian 0.08% • Bashkir 0.07% • Korean 0.06% • Uzbek 0.06% • Mari 0.06% • Udmurt 0.06% • Tajik 0.05% • Kazakh 0.05% and many other ethnic groups of less than eight hundred persons each. • A further 2.34% of residents declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire. [cite paper|url=http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/English/4-2.xls |title=National Composition of Population for Regions of the Russian Federation |accessdate=2006-07-20 |format=XLS |publisher=2002 Russian All-Population Census |date=2002]

Twin regions

*flagicon|Norway Nordland, Norway from 1987

ee also

*Ingria
*Saint Petersburg Governorate

References

Further reading

Nature

*Айрапетьянц А.Э., Стрелков П.П., Фокин И.М. "Звери". [Природа Ленинградской области] . Leningrad: Лениздат, 1987.
*Балашова Н.Б., Никитина В.Н. "Водоросли" [Природа Ленинградской области] . Leningrad: Лениздат, 1989. ISBN 5289003444
*"Биоразнообразие Ленинградской области (Водоросли. Грибы. Лишайники. Мохообразные. Беспозвоночные животные. Рыбы и рыбообразные)" / Под. ред. Н.Б.Балашовой, А.А.Заварзина. - (Труды Санкт-Петербургского общества естествоиспытателей. Серия 6. Том 2.). – Saint Petersburg: Изд-во СПб. университета, 1999.
*Бобров Р.В. "Леса Ленинградской области". Leningrad: Лениздат, 1979.
*Бродский А.К., Львовский А.Л. "Пауки, насекомые" [Природа Ленинградской области] . Leningrad: Лениздат, 1990. ISBN 528900610X
*"Иллюстрированный определитель растений Ленинградской области" / Под ред. А. Л. Буданцева, Г. П. Яковлева. Moscow: КМК, 2006. ISBN 5873172609
*Кириллова М.А., Распопов И.М. "Озера Ленинградской области". Leningrad: Лениздат, 1971.
*"Красная Книга природы Ленинградской области. Том 1. Особо охраняемые природные территории". Отв. ред. Г.А. Носков, М. С. Боч [Red Data Book of Nature of the Leningrad Region. Vol. 1. Protected Areas] . Saint Petersburg: Акционер и К, 1998. ISBN 5874010726
*"Красная Книга природы Ленинградской области. Том 2. Растения и грибы". Отв. ред. Г.А. Носков [Red Data Book of Nature of the Leningrad Region. Vol. 2. Plants and Fungi] . Saint Petersburg: Мир и Семья, 2000. ISBN 5943650016
*"Красная Книга природы Ленинградской области. Том 3. Животные". Отв. ред. Г.А. Носков [Red Data Book of Nature of the Leningrad Region. Vol. 3. Animals] . Saint Petersburg: Мир и Семья, 2002. ISBN 5943650210
*"Леса Ленинградской области: современное состояние и пути их возможного развития". Saint Petersburg, 1998. ISBN 5230104570
*Мальчевский А. С., Пукинский Ю. Б. "Птицы Ленинградской области и сопредельных территорий. История, биология, охрана". Т.1-2. Leningrad: Изд-во ЛГУ, 1983.
*Наумов Н.А. "Флора грибов Ленинградской области. Том 1. Архимицеты и фикомицеты" [The Fungus Flora of the Leningrad Region. Vol. 1. Archimycetes, Phycomycetes] . Moscow – Leningrad: Изд-во АН СССР, 1954.
*Наумов Н.А. "Флора грибов Ленинградской области. Том 2" [The Fungus Flora of the Leningrad Region. Vol. 2] . Moscow – Leningrad: Наука, 1964.
*Неелов, А.В. "Рыбы" [Природа Ленинградской области] . Leningrad: Лениздат, 1987.
*Покровская Г.В., Бычкова А.Т. "Климат Ленинграда и его окрестностей". Leningrad: Гидрометеоиздат, 1967.
*"Природа Ленинградской области и ее охрана" / Ред. Т.И. Миронова, Э.И. Слепян. - Leningrad: Лениздат, 1983.
*Пукинский Ю. Б. "Птицы" [Природа Ленинградской области] . Leningrad: Лениздат, 1988.
*Свидерская М.Д., Храбрый В.М. "Сохраним для потомков: Особо охраняемые природные территории Ленинградской области". Leningrad: Лениздат, 1985.
*Старобогатов Я.И. "Раки, моллюски" [Природа Ленинградской области] . Leningrad: Лениздат, 1988. ISBN 5289001255
*Филимонов Р.В., Удалов С.Г. "Жуки-усачи Ленинградской области. Атлас-определитель". [Longhorn Beetles of the St. Petersburg Region: An Identification Atlas] . Saint Petersburg: Петроглиф, 2001. ISBN 5902094054
*"Флора Ленинградской области" / Под ред. Б. К. Шишкина. Вып. 1-4. Leningrad: Изд. ЛГУ, 1955-1965.
*Хазанович К. К. " [http://www.zhukoff.kirishi.ru/book/home.htm Геологические памятники Ленинградской области] ". Leningrad: Лениздат, 1982.
*Черепанова Н.П., Пшедецкая Л.И. "Грибы". [Природа Ленинградской области] . Leningrad: Лениздат, 1990.

History

*Лапшин В. А. "Археологическая карта Ленинградской области. Часть 1: Западные районы". Leningrad, 1990.
*Лапшин В. А. "Археологическая карта Ленинградской области. Часть 2: Восточные и северные районы". Saint Petersburg: Изд. СПбГУ, 1995. ISBN 5874030522
*Лебедев Г. С. "Археологические памятники Ленинградской области". Leningrad: Лениздат, 1977.

External links

*en icon [http://eng.lenobl.ru/ Official website of Leningrad Oblast]
*ru icon [http://lenobl.ru Official website of Leningrad Oblast]
*en icon [http://www.itlibitum.ru/MAP/EARTH/COUNTRY/RUSSIA/LENINGRADSKAYA%20OBLAST'/MAP%20-%20EARTH%20-%20COUNTRY%20-%20RUSSIA%20-%20LENINGRADSKAYA%20OBLAST'%20-%20www.itlibitum.ru%20-%20001.jpgMap of Leningrad Oblast]
*ru icon [http://rp5.ru/aselect.php?c=3&r=70 Weather records for Leningrad Oblast]
*ru icon [http://www.around.spb.ru/maps/ Detailed and historical maps]