Astrakhan Oblast (; ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southern Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,010,073.
Geography
Astrakhan's southern border is the
Caspian Sea, eastern is
Kazakhstan (
Atyrau Region and West Kazakhstan Region), northern is
Volgograd Oblast, and western is
Kalmykia.
It is within the Russian Southern Federal District.
File:Narimanovsky District, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia - panoramio (3).jpg|Semi-desert in Narimanovsky District
File:Богдо4.jpg|Bogdo-Baskunchak Nature Reserve
History
Since the
Middle Ages, the territory has been ruled by
Khazars,
Cumania, the Mongol-Tatar
Golden Horde, the Tatar Astrakhan Khanate, and Russia.
Astrakhan region is the homeland of the Buzhans, one of several Slavic tribes from which modern Russians evolved;
In the 16th century, Indians began moving to the region, bringing Indian influence.[ Индийское подворье в Астрахани www.indostan.ru]
From August - December 1942, the German invaders reached the border of Astrakhansky Oblast, crossing into the region: the Abwehr from 1942 to 1943, Nazi Army stragglers 1941–44. Buzan oblast was created on 27 December 1943, on parts of the territories of the abolished Kalmyk ASSR and Astrakhan Okrug of Volgograd Oblast.
Project Vega
From 8 October 1980 to 27 October 1984, and under the leadership of
Nikolai Baibakov, the USSR held fifteen deep underground nuclear tests for Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy at the site
Vega in the
Ryn Desert in the east of the oblast less than 50 km from downtown Astrakhan to create reservoirs for
natural gas storage.
[ U. S. Department of Energy contract no.: W-7405-Eng48.] Because of the detonation depth (975 to 1,100 meters) and relatively low yield (3.2 to 13.5
), no radiation was released to the environment.
[ These blasts had lower yields than the Project Sapphire blasts, which were 40 km south-southwest of Orenburg, to reduce any possible seismic destruction to nearby towns in the Volga delta including Astrakhan.]
Modern history
On 30 October 1997, Astrakhan, alongside Kirov Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Ulyanovsk Oblast, and Yaroslavl Oblast signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy.
Politics
During the Soviet Union period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Astrakhan 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 Astrakhan Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Astrakhan 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 Administration, 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.
Legislature
The representative authority of the Astrakhan Oblast is the Duma of Astrakhan Oblast. Between 1994–2001, it was called the Astrakhan Regional Representative Assembly.
The Duma of Astrakhan Oblast has the following structure:
-
Chairman of the Duma of Astrakhan Oblast;
-
First Deputy Chairman of the Duma of Astrakhan Oblast;
-
Deputy Chairman of the Duma of Astrakhan Oblast;
-
Office of the Duma of Astrakhan Oblast;
-
Committees and political factions.
Since 2006, the chairman of the regional legislative body has been the head of the regional branch of the United Russia party, Alexander Klykanov, whose candidacy was considered in 2009 for the post of governor of the Oblast.
Executive
The governor is the highest official of the Astrakhan Oblast and heads the executive branch.
Governors of Astrakhan Oblast:
-
Anatoly Guzhvin — 1991–2004;
-
Alexander Zhilkin — 2004–2018;
-
Sergey Morozov — acting, 26 September 2018 — 5 June 2019;
-
Igor Babushkin — 5 June 2019 — present.
From 1991 to 2004, Anatoly Guzhvin, who won elections in 1996 and 2000, was the governor of the Oblast. After Guzhvin's death in August 2004, the early elections of the head of the Astrakhan Oblast on 5 December 2004 was won by the acting head of the region Alexander Zhilkin, enjoying the support of United Russia. The Governor supervises the work of the executive authorities of the region and the Government of the Astrakhan Oblast. From 2004 to 2017, Konstantin Markelov was the Chairman of the Government of the Astrakhan Oblast. Since 2017, Rasul Sultanov has been the Chairman of the Government of the Astrakhan Oblast.
Administrative divisions
Demographics
Vital statistics for 2024:
-
Births: 9,199 (9.7 per 1,000)
-
Deaths: 11,485 (12.1 per 1,000)
Total fertility rate (2024):
1.62 children per woman
Life expectancy (2021):
Total — 69.90 years (male — 65.86, female — 73.87)
Settlements
Ethnic groups
According to the 2021 Census, the ethnic composition was:
(shown are the ethnic groups with a population of more than 5,000 people)
-
144,459 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.
Languages
The local group of Russian varieties is known as Astrakhan Russian and refers to several dialects spoken in and around the Astrakhan Oblast.
Religion
According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people
Smaller religious communities not represented in the poll cited above but present in the region include Hindus, Jews and Buddhists, each having one temple in Astrakhan Oblast.
See also
-
Astrakhan Khanate
-
Music of Astrakhan
-
Elections in Astrakhan Oblast
-
List of Chairmen of the Astrakhan Oblast Duma
-
Hinduism in Russia
Notes
Sources
External links
