Kirov Oblast

Kirov Oblast
Кировская область (Russian)
—  Oblast  —
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 58°46′N 49°50′E / 58.767°N 49.833°E / 58.767; 49.833Coordinates: 58°46′N 49°50′E / 58.767°N 49.833°E / 58.767; 49.833
Political status
Country	Russia
Federal district	Volga[1]
Economic region	Volga-Vyatka[2]
Established	December 7, 1934
Administrative center	Kirov
Government (as of August 2010)
- Governor[3]	Nikita Belykh[4]
- Legislature	Legislative Assembly[3]
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)[5]
- Total	120,800 km2 (46,641.1 sq mi)
Area rank	30th
Population (2010 Census)[6]
- Total	1,341,312
- Rank	35th
- Density[7]	11.1 /km2 (29 /sq mi)
- Urban	74.0%
- Rural	26.0%
Time zone(s)	MSK (UTC+04:00)[8]
ISO 3166-2	RU-KIR
License plates	43
Official languages	Russian[9]
Official website

Kirov Oblast (Russian: Ки́ровская о́бласть, Kirovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: 1,341,312 (2010 Census).^[6]

History [edit]

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vyatka remained a place of exile for opponents of the tsarist regime, including many prominent revolutionary figures. In 1920, a number of small southern and eastern districts (volosti) and villages were shifted from Vyatka as a result of the formation of the Tatar Autonomous Republic and the Mari and Votskaya [now the Udmurt Republic] autonomous regions.

The territory did not escape the Civil War and intervention of 1918-1921. Then in 1921-1922, it was hit by famine, followed by a typhus epidemic in late 1922. The death rate doubled during those years. The postwar period was accompanied by rebuilding of the province on the basis of the New Economic Policy (NEP), which consisted of free trade, entrepreneurship, and private sector stimulation. However, the basic principles of the NEP never really took hold in agriculture, where the only effect was to reduce all the peasants to the same level, or in industry.

The country's first office of the International Organization for Aid to Fighters of the Revolution (IOAR) began operations here in January 1923.

The administrative and territorial reforms of 1929 eliminated the old division of the country into provinces and districts (uezdy, volosti) and introduced a new system of division into regions, territories, and districts (raiony). Vyatka Province was abolished, and its territory became part of Nizhny Novgorod Territory. The city of Vyatka became a district center.

On December 5, 1934, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) passed a resolution renaming the city from Vyatka to Kirov, and Kirov Territory was formed on December 7. It included the Udmurt Autonomous Region, 37 districts (raiony) of Gorki Region (which had formerly been part of Vyatka Province), as well as Sapapulsky and Votkinsky districts of Sverdlovsk Region. Following the adoption of the new Constitution in 1936, Kirov Territory was transformed into Kirov Region and the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) was separated from it.^[10]

Kirov residents played an important role during the Second World War. Red Army units were quickly mobilized, and infantry divisions were formed. The people of Kirov not only worked heroically in industry and agriculture to bring about a speedy victory, but also rendered all possible assistance to the front. In the postwar years, the successes of Kirov residents in communal livestock farming and in fulfilling their socialist obligations to the state often received high praise from the Soviet government.^[10]

On June 25, 1974, the region was awarded the Order of Lenin for achievements in economic and cultural development, and the city of Kirov received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. The economic reforms and political transformations that took place during the perestroika years led to a deterioration of the region's socioeconomic situation.

Politics [edit]

Flag of the oblast on a building of the local government

During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Kirov 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 Kirov Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Kirov 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 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.

Geography [edit]

The main rivers are the Vyatka and Kama, which are part of the Volga Basin. The region borders on Tatarstan and the Republic of Mari El in the south, Kostroma Region in the west, Arkhangelsk Region and the Komi Republic in the north, the Perm Kray in the northeast, and the Udmurt Republic in the southeast, which ensures stable internal and foreign economic ties. The main topographical features are the Vyatskie Ridges in the central part of the region, the Verkhnekamskaya Upland (elevations to 337 m) in the northeast, and the Northern (Severnye) Ridges in the north.^[10]

Administrative divisions [edit]

Kirov Oblast was formed on December 7, 1934. It is divided administratively into 39 districts, 6 cities under oblast jurisdiction, 13 town under district jurisdiction, 58 urban-type settlements, and 580 selsoviets.^{[citation needed]}

Economy [edit]

Kirov Oblast is part of the Volga-Vyatka economic district located in the central part of European Russia in the Volga and Vyatka river basins. Its economic complex had already begun forming and developing before the Revolution, in large part because of the transfer points and trading posts located in Vyatka, which later led to the formation of large trading centers. Agriculture was the priority sector at first, but starting in 1940, there was an upsurge in development of an industrial complex, especially the engineering, metalworking, and chemical industries.^[10]

Kirov Oblast is part of the Volga-Vyatka agricultural zone, where more than half of the area sown in grain is located in Kirov Oblast itself. Agricultural land occupies 27% of the region's territory. The most important grain crops are winter and spring wheat and rye. Barley and oats are grown for fodder. Increased specialization in the production of more promising fodder crops like winter rye, barley, oats that are most suited to the Oblast's climatic conditions is anticipated in the future. Potatoes are also extensively cultivated.^[10]

Transportation [edit]

• Gorokhovskoe peat narrow gauge railway is located in the of Kotelnichsky District
• Pischalskoe peat narrow gauge railway is located in the of Orichevsky District

Demographics [edit]

Population: 1,341,312 (2010 Census);^[6] 1,503,529 (2002 Census);^[11] 1,692,655 (1989 Census).^[12]

2007

• Birth Rate: 10.6 per 1000 in 2007
• Death Rate: 16.8 per 1000 in 2007^[13]

2008

• Births (2008): 15,906 (11.3 per 1000)
• Deaths (2008): 24,081 (17.1 per 1000)^[14]

Vital statistics for 2012

• Births: 16 907 (12.7 per 1000)
• Deaths: 20 500 (15.5 per 1000) ^[15]
• Total fertility rate: 1.79(e)

Note: Data for Total fertility rate (2012) is estimate based on age and sex structure of Kirov oblast at the beginning of 2012, number of births in 2012 and fertility structure in previous years.^[16][17]

2010

Ethnic Composition (2010):^[6]

• Russians - 91.9%
• Tatars - 2.8%
• Mari people - 2.3%
• Udmurts - 1%
• Ukrainians - 0.6%
• Others - 1.4%
• 35,385 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.^[18]

Religion [edit]

Religion in Kirov Oblast (2012)^[19][20]

  Russian Orthodox (40.1%)

  Unaffiliated Christian (5%)

  Other Orthodox (1%)

  Muslim (1%)

  Old Believers (1%)

  Spiritual but not religious (33%)

  Atheist (13%)

  Other or undeclared (5.9%)

According to a 2012 official survey^[19] 40.1% of the population of Kirov Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 5% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% adheres to other Orthodox Churches, 1% to Islam, 1% to the Old Believers. In addition, 33% of the population deems itself to be "spiritual but not religious", 13% is atheist, and 5.9% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.^[19]

See also [edit]

• List of Chairmen of the Kirov Oblast Duma

References [edit]

Sources [edit]

• Кировская областная Дума. №12-ЗО 27 марта 1996 г. «Устав Кировской области Российской Федерации», в ред. Закона №408-ЗО от 30 июля 2009 г. «О внесении поправок в Устав Кировской области». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней со дня официального публикования, за исключением пункта 1 статьи 34 в части срока полномочий областной Думы и пункта 2 статьи 35, которые вступили в силу после избрания областной Думы нового созыва. Опубликован: "Вятский край", №66 (1314), 9 апреля 1996 г. (Kirov Oblast Duma. #12-ZO March 27, 1996 Charter of Kirov Oblast of the Russian Federation, as amended by the Law #408-ZO of July 30, 2009 On Amending the Charter of Kirov Oblast. Effective as of the date ten days after the official publication date, with the exception of item 1 of Article 34, where it concerns with the duration of the authority of the Oblast Duma, and item 2 of Article 35, both of which took effect after the consequent elections of the Oblast Duma members.).

External links [edit]

• Media related to Kirov Oblast at Wikimedia Commons
• (Russian) Wiki of the Vyatka region