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Belgorod Oblast (russian: Белгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Belgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
(an oblast). Its
administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
is the
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of Belgorod. Population:


History

At the turn of the 17th century, a solid line of military fortifications was built in the area, stretching for almost . Ukrainian Cossacks, who moved here because of the nobility and the tax burden, were in charge of the line defenses. Even more Cossacks moved to the area during the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1657) and the internecine wars in the
Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate ( uk, Гетьманщина, Hetmanshchyna; or ''Cossack state''), officially the Zaporizhian Host or Army of Zaporizhia ( uk, Військо Запорозьке, Viisko Zaporozke, links=no; la, Exercitus Zaporoviensis) ...
(1659–1679). Belgorod became the military and administrative center, after originating as an outpost on the southern borders of Russia. Following the
Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeat ...
,
Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...
granted to soldiers of Greater Belgorod the regiment flag. From 1708 to 1727, the territory of the modern Belgorod Oblast was part of Kiev and Azov Governorates. In 1727, Belgorod Governorate was established from parts of Kiev Governorate. The governorate lasted until 1779. This territory was much greater than that of today, and the governorate incorporated territories of modern Kursk, Oryol, and parts of Bryansk and
Kharkiv Oblast Kharkiv Oblast ( uk, Харківська́ о́бласть, translit=Kharkivska oblast), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna ( uk, Ха́рківщина), is an oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luh ...
s. The
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
of the then-Governorate is still used by the modern Belgorod Oblast. In 1775–1779, the territory of Belgorod Governorate was abolished and divided between the newly formed governorates and vice-royalties. The city of Belgorod and the area around it became a part of Kursk Vice-Royalty, while the southeastern uyezds became a part of Voronezh Governorate. During the 19th century and up until 1928 the territory of modern Belgorod Oblast remained part of Kursk and Voronezh Governorates. After the signing of the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers ( Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russi ...
in April 1918, in January 1919 the territory was incorporated into the Ukrainian State under
hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...
Pavlo Skoropadskyi. The current administrative-territorial boundaries of Belgorod Oblast were formed by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 6 January 1954. The oblast was formed from several districts of Kursk and Voronezh Oblasts. For the courage and resilience shown by the people of Belgorod Oblast in defense of the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, and for progress in reconstruction and development of national economy. On 4 January 1967, Belgorod Oblast was awarded the
Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...
, and in 1980 the city of Belgorod was awarded the
Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...
, first degree. In 2007, the city of Belgorod received the honorary title of the
City of Military Glory The City of Military Glory (russian: «Город воинской славы») is an honorary title bestowed upon the citizenry of Russian cities, where soldiers had displayed courage and heroism during the Second World War. The award, which to d ...
.


Geography

Belgorod Oblast is part of the Central Black Earth economic region and the Central Federal District. It borders with Luhansk,
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
, and
Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast ( uk, Сумська́ о́бласть, translit=Sumska oblast; also referred to as Sumshchyna – uk, Су́мщина) is an oblast (province) in the northeastern part of Ukraine. Population: The oblast was created in its most ...
s of
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
in the south and west,
Kursk Oblast Kursk Oblast ( rus, Курская область, r=Kurskaya oblast, p=ˈkurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kursk. As of the 2010 Census, Kursk Oblast has a populati ...
in the north and northwest, and Voronezh Oblast in the east. The total length of its borders is about , of which are on the border with Ukraine. The area of the oblast is ; the oblast stretches for about from north to south and for about from east to west. The oblast is located in the southwestern and southern slopes of the Central Russian Upland in the
Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...
and Don River
basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), a ...
, in the
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate gras ...
zone of elevated hilly plain with an average height of above the sea level. The highest point is above sea level, in
Prokhorovsky District Prokhorovsky District (russian: Про́хоровский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Belgorod Oblast, Russia.Law #248 Municipally, it is incorporated as Prokhorovsky Municipal District.Law #159 I ...
. The lowest point is located at the bottom of the Oskol and Seversky Donets River valleys.


Climate

The
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
of Belgorod Oblast is temperate continental with a relatively mild winter with some snowfall and long summers. Average annual air temperature varies from to , being warmer on average in the southeast than the north. The coldest month is January and the frost-free period is 155–160 days, with an average of 1800 hours of sunshine. Rainfall is uneven by year and season, with an average of 540–550 mm although rainfall can dramatically differ between the western and northern areas and the warmer, drier eastern and southeast where some years lows of around have been recorded.


Natural resources

Over 40% of known iron ore reserves of Russia are concentrated in the oblast. Deposits are confined to the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly area. Among them are Korobkovsky, Lebedinskoye, Stoylenskoye, and prospective Prioskolskoye iron ore deposits in Stary Oskol District, Bolshetroitskoye in
Shebekinsky District Shebekinsky District (russian: Шебекинский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Belgorod Oblast, Russia.Law #248 As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Shebekinsky Municipal District.Law ...
, as well as Yakovlevskoye and Pogremetskoye fields. Identified and explored in varying degrees are the large deposits of
bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...
s, apatites, underground mineral waters, and numerous deposits of construction materials such as
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...
,
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...
,
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
, and more. There are also known occurrences of
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
,
graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on la ...
, and other rare metals. Geographical features make the oblast likely to have deposits of platinum,
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...
s, and other minerals.


Hydrography

Rivers, lakes, and marshes occupy about 1% of the oblast's territory. There are more than 480 small rivers and streams. The largest of them are in the northwest — the Seversky Donets, Vorskla, Vorsklitsa, Psyol, and in the eastern regions — the Oskol, Tikhaya Sosna, Chyornaya Kalitva, Valuy. The total length of the river network is roughly , and in addition, there are 1,100 ponds and four artificial reservoirs.


Wildlife

The
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...
of Belgorod Oblast is predominantly of the meadow-steppe variety and comprises, by various estimates, from ten to fifteen thousand species. About 10% of the animal species are in need of special protection. Fifty species are included in the
IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolo ...
. There are about 279 species of birds, including 152 which breed in the oblast. The richest bird populations include sparrows (111 species); waders (45 species); geese (up to 30 species); day predators (21 species). The richest bird populations include sparrows (111 species); waders (45 species); geese (up to 30 species); day predators (21 species). The numbers of game animal species are as follows: moose – 387; deer – 501; roe deer – 4474; boar – 2574; hare – 18361; fox – 3856; marten – 2025; polecat – 1120; wolf – 36. The annual number of game animals remains stable.


Vegetation

Vegetation in Belgorod Oblast reflects the features of the northern forest-steppe, characterized by the alternation of forests with the meadow steppes. It is chiefly represented by two types of vegetation — the zonal and extrazonal. In all, there are 1,284 flora species. Woodlands cover 9.8% of the total area, of which over 800 hectares are classified as protected areas because their rare species of plants and habitats of animals are on the IUCN red list.


Culture

The Belgorod region played a significant role in the evolution of Russian culture. It was inhabited by different tribes besides
East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert ...
and was one of the earliest Rus' principalities. Belgorod region played an important role in the Russian wedding tradition of the
Rushnyk A rushnyk or rushnik (russian: рушник, ручник, uk, рушник, be, ручнік, ručnik, rue, ручник) is a decorative and ritual cloth. Made of linen or cotton it usually represents woven or embroidered designs, symbols ...
. Belgorod is also famous for its wood carving. File:Ложкарь Ракитянский 12.JPG, Wood carving of Belgorod File:Женские наряды Белгородчины 01.JPG, Traditional folk costumes of Belgorod File:Акулиновка 25.jpg, Belgorod bread. Belgorod region was one of the Old Russian regions from which the
Bread and Salt Bread and salt is a welcome greeting ceremony in some Slavic, Nordic, Baltic, Balkan and other European cultures as well as in Middle Eastern cultures. It is also shared with some non-Slavic nations—Lithuanians, Latvians (both Baltic), Rom ...
tradition spread


Politics

During the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Belgorod 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 Belgorod Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Belgorod 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 A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia. The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Yevgeny Savchenko, was first appointed to this position in 1993 and subsequently re-elected in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2012 and 2017. In the 1999 election, his rival was Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Savchenko holds the title of longest-serving governor in post-Soviet Russia, being in office for 27 years. Since November 2020,
Vyacheslav Gladkov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Gladkov (russian: Вячеслав Владимирович Гладков; born 15 January 1969) is a Russian statesman and politician. He became the governor of the Belgorod Region on 27 September 2021, after serving a ...
is the governor of Belgorod Oblast. On 13 September 2020, elections to the 7th Belgorod Oblast Duma were conducted. The United Russia Party has won 44 out of 50 seats, 4 seats were won by the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
, 1 by the LDPR, and 1 by the Russian Party of Pensioners for Social Justice.


Demographics

In terms of area, the oblast is in the 67th place among the federal subjects of Russia; while in terms of population it is 28th (as of the results of the 2010 Census, up two places compared to the 2002 Census results. According to the results of the 2010 Census, the population of the oblast was 1,532,526, with the urban population of 66.1% and the rural population of 33.9%. This is up from 1,511,620 recorded in the 2002 Census, and 1,380,723 recorded in the 1989 Census. Population density in 2008 was 56.1 persons per 1 km2.Оценка численности постоянного населения Российской Федерации
/
Федеральная служба государственной статистики
The average age is 38.5 years—35.6 for men and 41 for women; 46% of the population are economically active. As in other regions of the European part of Russia, since the dissolution of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
there has been a natural population decrease (about -5 per 1,000 of the population). In recent years, there has been some reversion of this decline as a result of growth of fertility and mortality. Nevertheless, despite the negative trend of growth, the population of the area has remained relatively stable because of immigration. Belgorod, even in Soviet times, attracted retirement workers from the Far North and Ukraine. This trend has increased since 2005 and now cancels out the natural decline in population. Worker migrants also arrive in Belgorod from
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
; though unlike Ukrainian immigrants, Muslim migrants face discrimination on a daily basis, and choose to leave.


Settlements


Ethnic composition

Russian is the only official language of the oblast. *44,012 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.


Religion

According to a 2012 survey 50.5% of the population of Belgorod Oblast adheres to the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
, 8.1% are nondenominational Christians (excluding Protestant churches), 1.7% are Orthodox Christians who don't belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. In addition, 22.2% of the population declares to be
spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable ...
, 10.5% is atheist or irreligious, and 7% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.


Administrative divisions

Belgorod Oblast is administratively divided into twenty-one districts (''
raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...
s''), which are further divided into 335 rural okrugs. There are ten cities/towns in the oblast, as well as twenty urban-type settlements and 1,592 rural-type settlements.


Economy

Belgorod Oblast is a highly developed industrial-agrarian region, whose economy relies on its enormous wealth of mineral resources and the unique black soils. Belgorod Oblast has traditionally had and still has strong ties with the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine. Despite its relatively small size, the oblast accounts for one fifth of the trade turnover between Russia and Ukraine. Some 2,713.4 thousand hectares is dedicated to agriculture, over 70% of which are chernozems. Per capita, there are an average of 1.43 hectares of pastoral land, and 1.1 hectares of arable land. Natural forests and forest plantations occupy 248.3 thousand hectares, or 12.5% of the oblast's area. Total timber reserves are estimated to be 34.3 million m3.


Transport

Important railways and highways of regional significance cross the oblast's territory, connecting Moscow with the southern and western regions of Russia and Ukraine. Of major importance is the Crimea Highway, or federal highway M-2 Crimea, and the Moscow-
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
- Sevastopol railway line. The length of railways for general use is 694.6 km; the length of paved roads is 8,500 km; roughly 87% of the total road surface in the oblast.


References


Notes


Sources

*


External links


Official website of Belgorod Oblast

Belgorod Oblast sceneries photos
{{Authority control States and territories established in 1954 Oblasts of Russia