Leningrad Oblast (Leningrad Oblast)
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The oblast overlaps the historic 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.
The oblast has an area of 84500 sqkm and a population of 1,716,868 (2010 Census); up from 1,669,205 recorded in the 2002 Census. Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized.
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 drainage basin of the Neva, which is the only outflow of Lake Ladoga. The Neva, which flows to the Gulf of Finland (the city of Saint Petersburg is located in its river delta) is relatively short, but its drainage basin is very large, including Lake Onega and Lake Ilmen. The Svir and the Volkhov flow from Lake Onega and Lake Ilmen, respectively, to Lake Ladoga. Other major tributaries of Lake Ladoga include the Vuoksi and the Syas. Rivers in the western part of the oblast flow to the Gulf of Finland; the two biggest rivers there are the Luga and the Narva, which forms the border of Russia and Estonia. Small areas in the east of the oblast lie within the river basin of the Chagodoshcha, a tributary of the Mologa, and of the Suda, both within the Volga basin. A 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 Karelian Isthmus, which contains a lake district, as well as the Vepsian Upland in the east. The biggest lakes on the isthmus are Lake Vuoksa, Lake Sukhodolskoye, and Lake Otradnoye.
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.
Map - Leningrad Oblast (Leningrad Oblast)
Map
Country - Russia
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| Flag of Russia | |
The East Slavs emerged as a recognisable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Rus' ultimately disintegrated, with the Grand Duchy of Moscow growing to become the Tsardom of Russia. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and replaced by the Russian SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union (with three other Soviet republics), within which it was the largest and principal constituent. At the expense of millions of lives, the Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialization in the 1930s, and later played a decisive role for the Allies of World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for global ideological influence; the Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| RUB | Russian ruble | ₽ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| CE | Chechen language |
| CV | Chuvash language |
| KV | Komi language |
| RU | Russian language |
| TT | Tatar language |
