Vladimir Oblast (russian: Влади́мирская о́бласть, ''Vladimirskaya oblast'') is a

federal subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (russian: субъекты Российской Федерации, subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (russian ...

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-eig ...

(an

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

). Its closest border 66 km east of central

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, the

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 ...

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

, which is located east of

. As of the 2010 Census, the oblast's population was 1,443,693. The

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

includes the 12th-century cathedrals of

, Suzdal, Bogolyubovo, and

Kideksha Kideksha (russian: Кидекша) is a village ('' selo'') in Seletskoye Rural Settlement, Suzdalsky District of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kamenka and Nerl Rivers, east of Suzdal. The settlement was founded b ...

Geography

Vladimir Oblast borders

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...

, Ivanovo,

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

, and

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,5 ...

s. The

is situated in the center of the

East European Plain The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountaina, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, an ...

. The

Klyazma The Klyazma (, ''Klyaz'ma''), a river in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo and Vladimir Oblasts in Russia, forms a left tributary of the Oka.Oka are the most important rivers. There are approximately three hundred lakes. The oblast is situated in a zone of

mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These fo ...

Fauna

The oblast's

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 (ecology ...

currently includes more than fifty species of mammals (some examples including elk,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...

, lynx, wolf, squirrel, rabbit, marten, fox, weasel, badger and other fur-bearing animals), five species of reptiles, and ten species of amphibians. The semiaquatic

Russian desman The Russian desman (''Desmana moschata'') (russian: выхухоль ''vykhukhol'') is a small semiaquatic mammal that inhabits the Volga, Don and Ural River basins in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It constructs burrows into the banks of pond ...

is listed in the Russian Red Book of endangered species. The region is inhabited by 216 species of birds, among which are the capercaillie,

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

, grouse, partridge, woodcock, goose, duck, etc. The

lesser white-fronted goose The lesser white-fronted goose (''Anser erythropus'') is a goose closely related to the larger white-fronted goose (''A. albifrons''). It breeds in the northernmost Palearctic, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction sc ...

is listed in the Red Book. Hunting season runs from October to February with the following license and permit restrictions: *Elk, wild boar, red deer, and sika deer from mid-November through mid-January *Hare from October through January *Grouse, black grouse, woodcock, duck and goose for 10 days in April. Bodies of water in the region are rich in numerous species (about 40) of fresh-water fish (e.g.

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

, roach,

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...

, rudd, and sturgeon in the Klyazma River), which support

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longe ...

in winter. Additionally, the oblast has several hunting farms.

Hydrography

The total expanse of the oblast's surface waters is 32.9 hectares. The region has hundreds of rivers with a total length of more than 8.6 million kilometers—there are 560 rivers and streams throughout the oblast. The Klyazma River flows into the Oka River on the south-eastern edge of the oblast's border with the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The Klyazma River's major tributaries in the Vladimir Region are the

Sherna The Sherna (russian: Ше́рна) is a river in Vladimir and Moscow Oblasts in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Klyazma. It has a length of 89 km, and a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surfac ...

(with the Molokcha flowing into it), the Kirzhach (with its own tributaries being the Big and Small Kirzhach), the Peksha, the Koloksha, the Nerl, the Sudogda, the Uvod, the Lukh and the Suvorosch. Tributaries of the Oka within Vladimir oblast are the Gus,

Unzha The Unzha (russian: Унжа) is a river in the Vologda Oblast and Kostroma Oblast in Russia, a tributary of the Volga. It is long, and its basin covers .

, and Ushna rivers. The Dubna River, a tributary of the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...

, originates near the town of Alexandrov. The Oka River is navigable throughout the region (157 km). The rivers in the region are characterized by their flat currents, broad valleys and meandering channels. Water levels are characterized by their high spring tides, low water periods over summer-autumn with occasional flooding during heavy rains, and stable/low levels throughout the winter. There are about three hundred lakes covering an area of five thousand hectares. Most of them are small and undrained and many are overgrown with a peat layer. The origin of the lakes varies. Numerous oxbow lakes are scattered along the river valleys. The largest of them are Lake Urvanovskoe (12 km long) and Lake Visha (length about 10 km). In the Meshchera Lowlands and in the northwest of the oblast are lakes of ancient alluvial valleys: Isikhry, Svyatoe and others. Lakes of karst origin, located in the lower reaches of the Klyazma and in the center of Vyaznikovsky District (a northeastern district in the oblast), have highly mineralized water and are associated with underground watercourses. The largest and deepest of them is Lake Kshchara. In the districts of Alexandrov and Yuryev-Polsky glacial lakes are small in size. The main masses of wetlands in the region (total area of 37.4 thousand hectares) occur in Meshchera and Balakhna (in the northeast of the oblast) lowlands.

History

The territory of modern Vladimir Oblast has been populated since ancient times. The oldest known traces of human settlement date to the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

. A settlement of Homo Sapiens dating back to between 32,050 BC and 28,550 BC was discovered in the area of

Sungir Sungir (, sometimes spelled Sunghir) is an Upper Paleolithic archaeological site in Russia and one of the earliest records of modern ''Homo sapiens'' in Eurasia. It is situated about two hundred kilometres east of Moscow, on the outskirts of Vlad ...

, located around 200km east of

. The region of Vladimir were inhabited by different people like Slavs, Tatars, Finno-Ugrics and Balts. The East Slavic tribe of the

Buzhans The Buzhans () were one of the tribal unions of Early Slavs, which supposedly formed East Slavs in Southern Russia and Volga region. They are mentioned as ''Buzhane'' in the Rus' Primary Chronicle. Several localities in Russia are claimed to be co ...

originated in the Vladimir region. Archaeological excavations of Volga Finn settlements document also the Finno-Ugric roots of this land. Merya, Muromian, and Meshchera are inhabited territory of the region during this period. Since the 10th century AD, Slavic colonization of the area began in

Murom Murom ( rus, Муром, p=ˈmurəm; Old Norse: ''Moramar'') is a historical city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls along the left bank of the Oka River. Population: History In the 9th century AD, the city marked the easternmost settle ...

and Suzdal. The current territory of Vladimir Oblast became was part of

Kievan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern Europe, Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Hist ...

. After the breakdown of the authority of Kievan Rus, the region became part of the Rostov-Suzdal principality in the 11th century and then the Vladimir-Suzdal principality in the 12th century. The Vladimir region rapidly developed in the mid-12th century during the rule of

Yuri Dolgorukiy Yuri I Vladimirovich ( rus, Юрий Владимирович, Yuriy Vladimirovich), commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm ( rus, Юрий Долгорукий, Yuriy Dolgorukiy, meaning "Far-Reaching", c. 109915 May 1157) was a Ru ...

and

Andrey Bogolyubsky Andrew I (died 28 June 1174), his Russian name in full, Andrey Yuryevich Bogolyubsky "Andrew made Vladimir the centre of the grand principality and placed a series of his relatives on the now secondary princely throne of Kiev. Later he also com ...

. New townships arose— Yuriev-Polsky, Yaropolch-Zalessky, Gorokhovets,

Starodub-on-the-Klyazma Starodub-on-the-Klyazma ( rus, Староду́б-на-Кля́зьме, p=stərɐˈdub nə ˈklʲæzʲmʲɪ) was a prominent urban centre of Russian Opolye from the 12th until the 14th century. Like so many towns in the vicinity, it was named b ...

Mstislavl Mstislaw or Mstislavl ( be, Мсціслаў, [], russian: Мстиславль [msʲtʲɪˈslavlʲ], pl, Mścisław, lt, Mstislavlis) is a town in the Mogilev Region, Eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mstsislaw District ...

—along with princely residences in

and Bogolyubovo. The Vladimir Highway, a pre-modern civilian road that has been in use since atleast the 14th century, traverses the region, bringing people between Moscow and

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. Most, if not all, of modern Vladimir, during the Soviet period, seems to have been part of Ivanovo Oblast until it became a separate

Federal Subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (russian: субъекты Российской Федерации, subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (russian ...

in 1944.

Politics

During the

Soviet 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 nation ...

period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Vladimir CPSU Committee (who in reality had the greatest 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 Vladimir Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Vladimir 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 The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication, and abolished the Soviet system of gov ...

Administrative divisions

Economy and transportation

The largest companies in the region include the local branches of

Mondelez International Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26 billion and operates in ...

(revenues of $ million in 2017) and

Ferrero SpA Ferrero SpA (), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba, Italy. manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second biggest chocolate produc ...

($ million), Treyd Servis (baby food manufacturer, $ million), Starodvorskiye Kolbasy (sausage producer, $ million). The Gusevskoye peat narrow gauge railway for hauling

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

operates in the

Gus-Khrustalny District Gus-Khrustalny District (russian: Гусь-Хруста́льный райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #130-OZ and municipalLaw #69-OZ district (raion), one of the sixteen in Vladimir Oblast, Russia. It is located in the south of the oblast. Th ...

Demographics

Population: 1,443,693 ( 2010 Census); *Births (2012): 16 445 (11.5 per 1000) *Deaths (2012): 23 733 (16.6 per 1000) *Total fertility rate: 2009 - 1.46 , 2010 - 1.46 , 2011 - 1.50 , 2012 - 1.62 , 2013 - 1.59 , 2014 - 1.64 , 2015 - 1.73 , 2016 - 1.72(e) Ethnic composition (2010): *

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

: 95.6% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

: 0.9% *

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

: 0.5% *

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

: 0.5% * Belarusians: 0.3% *Others: 2.2% *95,410 people were registered from administrative databases, and did not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.

Settlements

Religion

According to a 2012 survey 42.3% of the population of Vladimir 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 ...

, 5.1% are unaffiliated

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, 1.2% are Eastern Orthodox Christian believers who don't belong to the church or belong to other (non-Russian)

Eastern Orthodox church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

es, and 0.5% of the population are adherents of the

Slavic native faith The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery * bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie * bs, Rodnovjerje * mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie * cz, Rodnověří * hr, Rodnovjerje * pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...

(Rodnovery). In addition, 32% of the population declares to be " spiritual but not religious", 13.9% is atheist, and 4.8% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

Notable people

* Edward Shatov (born 1973), Russian Catholic priest, director of Center for Family of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow

References

Notes

Sources

External links

* {{Use mdy dates, date=March 2013 States and territories established in 1944 Oblasts of Russia