Smolensk Oblast

Smolensk Oblast (Russian: Смоленская область, romanized: Smolenskaya oblast), informally also called Smolenschina (Смоленщина),[12] is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 888,421.[13]

Smolensk Oblast
Oblast
Смоленская область
Flag of Smolensk Oblast
Flag
Coat of arms of Smolensk Oblast
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 55°00′N 33°00′E
CountryRussia
Federal districtCentral[1]
Economic regionCentral[2]
Administrative centerSmolensk[3]
Government
 • BodyOblast Duma[4]
 • Governor[5]Vasily Anokhin (acting)[6]
Area
[7]
 • Total49,779 km2 (19,220 sq mi)
 • Rank53rd
Population
 (2021 Census)[8]
 • Total888,421
 • Estimate 
(2018)[9]
949,348
 • Rank57th
 • Density18/km2 (46/sq mi)
 • Urban
72.6%
 • Rural
27.4%
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK Edit this on Wikidata[10])
ISO 3166 codeRU-SMO
License plates67
OKTMO ID66000000
Official languagesRussian[11]
Websiteadmin-smolensk.ru

Geography
Roslavlsky old tract, the village of Boreshino

The oblast was founded on 27 September 1937.[14] It borders Pskov Oblast in the north, Tver Oblast in the northeast, Moscow Oblast in the east, Kaluga Oblast in south, Bryansk Oblast in the southwest, and Mogilev and Vitebsk Oblasts of Belarus, in the west and northwest, as part of the Belarus–Russia border.

Hydrography

The main river of the region is the Dnieper River and its tributaries, Desna, Vop, Vyazma. By the rivers of the Volga basin and its tributary Vazuza Gzhat and tributary of the Oka river, Ugra. To the north-west flows a short section of the Western Dvina River and its tributary river Kasplya .

Among the major reservoirs supplying water are Moscow Vazuzssky Yauza and reservoirs in the north-east, as well as cooling power plants, Smolensk reservoir in the north near the village of Lake and Desnogorsk Reservoir in the south area of the city near the Desnogorsk .

Climate

The climate of Smolensk Oblast is humid continental, similar to the climate of Moscow Oblast, but slightly warmer in winter due to being located further west. Summers are short, warm and rainy, while winters are long, cold and snowy. Average temperatures range from −9 °C (16 °F) in January to 17 °C (63 °F) in July (although in the south it ranges from −8 °C (18 °F) in January to 18 °C (64 °F) in July). Annual precipitation varies from 630 to 730 mm (25 to 29 in) per year.

Politics
Building of the Oblast Administration

During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Smolensk 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 Smolensk Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Smolensk 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. From July 1941-September 1943 part of region fell to Germany.

Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of Smolensk Oblast
Administrative divisions of Smolensk Oblast

Smolensk Oblast is divided into 25 districts (raions) and two cities, which are further divided into 15 towns, 12 urban-type settlements, and 302 rural okrugs.

Demographics

Population: 888,421 (2021 Census);[13] 985,537 (2010 Census);[15] 1,049,574 (2002 Census);[16] 1,158,299 (1989 Census).[17]

Vital statistics for 2022:[18][19]

  • Births: 5,478 (6.1 per 1,000)
  • Deaths: 14,825 (16.4 per 1,000)

Total fertility rate (2022):[20]
1.08 children per woman

Life expectancy (2021):[21]
Total — 68.00 years (male — 63.28, female — 72.83)

Ethnic composition (2010):[15]

  • Russians: 94.6%
  • Ukrainians: 1.3%
  • Belarusians: 1.3%
  • Armenians: 0.5%
  • Others: 2.3%
  • 41,457 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.[22]

Religion
Religion in Smolensk Oblast as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[23][24]
Russian Orthodoxy
 
 29%
Other Orthodox
 
 1.9%
Old Believers
 
 1.5%
Roman Catholic
 
 0.6%
Protestantism
 
 0.5%
Other Christians
 
 6.6%
Spiritual but not religious
 
 36.9%
Atheism and irreligion
 
 14%
Other and undeclared
 
 9%

According to a 2012 survey[23] 19.5% of the population of Smolensk Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 7% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 3% are Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to church or belong to other (non-Russian) Orthodox churches, 2% are Old Believers, 1% are adherents of the Slavic native faith (Rodnovery) movement, 0.4% are members of the Catholic Church. In addition, 45% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 13% is atheist, and 9.1% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[23]

Notable people

See also

References

Citations
  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. Charter of Smolensk Oblast, Article 17
  4. Charter of Smolensk Oblast, Article 23
  5. Charter of Smolensk Oblast, Article 33
  6. "Putin dismissed the governor of the Smolensk region". Novaya Gazeta Europe (in Russian). March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  7. "Сведения о наличии и распределении земель в Российской Федерации на 01.01.2019 (в разрезе субъектов Российской Федерации)". 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. "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  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. Смоленская область – Детальная интерактивная карта Смоленской области. Центральный ФО, Россия – регионы Есоседи. ru.esosedi.org (in Russian). Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  13. Russian Federal State Statistics Service. Всероссийская перепись населения 2020 года. Том 1 [2020 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1] (XLS) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
  14. Исполнительный комитет Смоленского областного совета народных депутатов. Государственный архив Смоленской области. "Административно-территориальное устройство Смоленской области. Справочник", изд. "Московский рабочий", Москва 1981. Стр. 8
  15. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
  16. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [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).
  17. 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.
  18. "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.
  19. "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.
  20. Суммарный коэффициент рождаемости [Total fertility rate]. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (in Russian). Archived from the original (XLSX) on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  21. "Демографический ежегодник России" [The Demographic Yearbook of Russia] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat). Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  22. "ВПН-2010". www.perepis-2010.ru. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  23. "Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia". Sreda, 2012.
  24. 2012 Arena Atlas Religion Maps. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 21/04/2017. Archived.

General sources
  • Смоленская областная Дума. Областной закон №37-з от 15 мая 2001 г. «Устав Смоленской области», в ред. Областного закона №162-з от 26 ноября 2015 г. «О поправке к уставу Смоленской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Рабочий путь", №116–117, 24 мая 2001 г. (Smolensk Oblast Duma. Oblast Law #37-z of May 15, 2001 Charter of Smolensk Oblast, as amended by the Oblast Law #162-z of November 26, 2015 On the Amendment to the Charter of Smolensk Oblast. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
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