Chelyabinsk Oblast is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the city of Chelyabinsk.
History During the Middle Ages, Bashkir tribes inhabited the Southern Urals; they formed part of the Golden Horde, Nogai Horde, and smaller Bashkir unions. The Tsardom of Russia incorporated the area in the late 16th century. However, Russian colonization of the region only began in the 18th century, with the establishment of a system of fortresses and trade posts on the then-Russian border by the in 1734. Many cities of Chelyabinsk Oblast, including the city of Chelyabinsk itself, trace their history back to those forts.
In 1743 the Chelyabinsk fortress became a center of the , a constituent part of the Orenburg Governorate (a direct successor of the Orenburg Expedition). The period from the 1750s to the 1770s saw the emergence of industrial enterprises in the Southern Urals when the first factory-centered towns like Miass, Kyshtym, and Zlatoust were founded. After the Southern Urals recovered from the Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–1775, the territory of modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast started to attract more people from the European part of Russia. By the mid-19th century Chelyabinsk was a major trade center in the Urals, and after the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in the 1890s, it became an important transport hub that connected Siberia to the rest of the Russian Empire.
In 1919, Chelyabinsk became the regional capital of the newly formed Chelyabinsk Governorate of the Russian SFSR, which combined eastern portions of the Orenburg Governorate with Kurgan of the Tobolsk Governorate. At this time, the population of the new region has already exceeded one million people. In 1923, together with the Perm, and Tyumen governorates, it merged into a single Ural Oblast that lasted only ten years, until 1934. On 17 January 1934, Chelyabinsk Oblast was finally established. Its current boundaries were formed when Kurgan Oblast was detached from it in 1943.
Soviet industrialization During the 1930s the regional economy and industrial output grew as Chelyabinsk Oblast became a key focus of the First Five-Year Plan. Key factories and enterprises that formed the core of the modern Chelyabinsk economy, including the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant and the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, originated at this time. The economy continued to grow after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, as industries evacuated from the western parts of the Soviet Union to the Urals, and to Chelyabinsk Oblast in particular. During the war, Magnitogorsk alone produced one third of all Soviet steel, while the city of Chelyabinsk became the main center of Soviet tank production, earning the nickname "Tankograd" (Tank City).
Nuclear research Chelyabinsk Oblast has been home to top-secret nuclear research since the 1940s. While there are no nuclear power stations in Chelyabinsk, a number of production reactors were located there starting with the early Cold War. A serious nuclear accident occurred in 1957 at the Mayak nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, north-west of the city, which led to evacuations and fatalities throughout the oblast, although not in Chelyabinsk city. The province was closed to all foreigners until 1992, with the sole exception of allowing a British medical team in following a two-train rail explosion in the mid-1980s.
Sławomir Grünberg has made the documentary Chelyabinsk: The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet (1994) about the unsafe dumping of radioactive waste in the Techa River and in Lake Karachay.
Recent history On 4 July 1997, Chelyabinsk, alongside Bryansk, Magadan, Saratov, and Vologda signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy. The agreement would be abolished on 2 February 2002.
On 15 February 2013, a 10,000 ton meteoroid entered the Earth's atmosphere over Russia at about 09:20 YEKT (03:20 UTC). It passed over the southern Ural region and exploded in a meteor air burst over Chelyabinsk Oblast. About 1,500 people were reported injured, including 311 children. Health officials said 112 people had been hospitalized, mainly from injuries caused by glass from windows shattered by a shock wave; two were reported to be in serious condition. As many as 3,000 buildings in six cities across the region were damaged by the explosion and impacts. The meteor created a dazzling light as it air burst, bright enough to cast shadows during broad daylight in Chelyabinsk.
Geography Chelyabinsk Oblast is at the eastern end of the slope just under the Southern Urals, and the other part of the territory to the west is on the western slopes of the Southern Urals.
Chelyabinsk Oblast is situated in the Southern Urals, near Kurgan and Sverdlovsk oblast. Most of the Oblast is located at the eastern end of the Ural Mountains, which form the continental boundary between Europe and Asia. This boundary is marked by a stone pillar. In the Sverdlovsk Oblast, north of Chelyabinsk, there is a famous pillar separating the two continents, which has "Europe" written on one side and "Asia" on the other. In Chelyabinsk Oblast, Zlatoust city, Katav-Ivanovsk, Satka, Chelyabinsk, Troitsk, and Miass are in Europe. Magnitogorsk is located on both continents.
The area of Chelyabinsk Oblast is . The total length of its external border is , and the Oblast measures from north to south and from west to east.
The highest point of Chelyabinsk Oblast, reaching above sea level, is located in the Nurgush, a long mountain range rising near lake Zyuratkul.
It also borders the country of Kazakhstan, specifically the Kostanay Region.
Relief Chelyabinsk Oblast has a very diverse landscape, ranging from lowlands and hilly plains to mountain ranges with peaks exceeding 1,000 m, including Nurgush mountain (1406 m). The mountainous area has several ski resorts.
The West Siberian Plain is bounded on the west horizontal (elevation 190 m above sea level), which passes through the village of Bagaryak, Kunashak and continues through Chelyabinsk to the south. The lowlands are located in the northeast, and the elevation drops to 130 m in the eastern border region.
Hydrology Numerous rivers originate within the region, within the basins of the Kama, Tobol, and Ural rivers. The region is home to 348 rivers longer than (totaling in length), 17 of which are over in length. Seven rivers, the Miass, Uy, Ural, Ay, Ufa, Uvelka, and Gumbeyka, pass through the area and are longer than .
Chelyabinsk Oblast is also home to more than 3,748 lakes, mostly located in the north and east and covering a total area of . Many of the lakes in this area, including Lake Turgoyak, Zyuratkul, and Lake Itkul, are famous for their clear waters and attract tourism. Some of the lakes in the eastern foothills have tectonic origins as water accumulated in tectonic failures (basins), resulting in very deep lakes that can reach .
Administrative divisions
As of 2015: Number of districts(районы) 27 Number of cities/towns(города) 30 Number of urban-type settlements(посёлки городского типа) 13 Number of selsovets(сельсоветы) 242As of 2002:Results of the 2002 Russian Population Census—Territory, number of districts, inhabited localities, and rural administrations of the Russian Federation by federal subject Number of rural localities(сельские населённые пункты) 1,260 Number of uninhabited rural localities(сельские населённые пункты без населения) 24
Administrative and municipal divisions
Division Structure OKATO OKTMO Urban-type settlement/district-level town* Rural(selsovet)AdministrativeMunicipal Tryokhgorny (Трёхгорный) city urban okrug 75 507 75 707 Ozyorsk (Озёрск) city urban okrug 75 543 75 743 Snezhinsk (Снежинск) city urban okrug 75 545 75 746 Lokomotivny (Локомотивный) urban-type settlement urban okrug 75 558 75 759 Chelyabinsk (Челябинск) city urban okrug 75 401 75 701 ↳ Kalininsky (Калининский) 75 401 ↳ Kurchatovsky (Курчатовский) 75 401 ↳ Leninsky (Ленинский) 75 401 ↳ Metallurgichesky (Металлургический) 75 401 ↳ Sovetsky (Советский) 75 401 ↳ Traktorozavodsky (Тракторозаводский) 75 401 ↳ Tsentralny (Центральный) 75 401 Asha (Аша) city 75 403 75 636 Verkhny Ufaley (Верхний Уфалей) city urban okrug 75 406 75 706 Yemanzhelinsk (Еманжелинск) city 75 409 75 619 Zlatoust (Златоуст) city urban okrug 75 412 75 712 Karabash (Карабаш) city urban okrug 75 415 75 715 Kartaly (Карталы) city 75 418 75 623 Kasli (Касли) city 75 421 75 626 Katav-Ivanovsk (Катав-Ивановск) city 75 424 75 629 Kopeysk (Копейск) city urban okrug 75 428 75 728 Korkino (Коркино) city 75 431 75 633 Kyshtym (Кыштым) city urban okrug 75 434 75 734 Magnitogorsk (Магнитогорск) city urban okrug 75 438 75 738 ↳ Leninsky (Ленинский) 75 438 ↳ Ordzhonikidzevsky (Орджоникидзевский) 75 438 ↳ Pravoberezhny (Правобережный) 75 438 Miass (Миасс) city urban okrug 75 442 75 742 Plast (Пласт) city 75 445 75 648 Satka (Сатка) city 75 448 75 649 Troitsk (Троицк) city urban okrug 75 452 75 752 Ust-Katav (Усть-Катав) city urban okrug 75 455 75 755 Chebarkul (Чебаркуль) city urban okrug 75 458 75 758 Yuzhnouralsk (Южноуральск) city urban okrug 75 464 75 764 Agapovsky (Агаповский) district 75 203 75 603 10 Argayashsky (Аргаяшский) district 75 206 75 606 12 Ashinsky (Ашинский) district 75 209 75 609 Minyar (Миньяр) town* Sim (Сим) town* Kropachyovo (Кропачёво) 5 Bredinsky (Брединский) district 75 212 75 612 11 Varnensky (Варненский) district 75 214 75 614 13 Verkhneuralsky (Верхнеуральский) district 75 217 75 617 Verkhneuralsk (Верхнеуральск) town* Mezhozyorny (Межозёрный) 8 Yemanzhelinsky (Еманжелинский) district 75 219 75 619 Krasnogorsky (Красногорский) Zauralsky (Зауральский) Yetkulsky (Еткульский) district 75 220 75 620 12 Kartalinsky (Карталинский) district 75 223 75 623 10 Kaslinsky (Каслинский) district 75 226 75 626 Vishnyovogorsk (Вишнёвогорск) 9 Katav-Ivanovsky (Катав-Ивановский) district 75 229 75 629 Yuryuzan (Юрюзань) town* 7 Kizilsky (Кизильский) district 75 232 75 632 14 Korkinsky (Коркинский) district 75 233 75 633 Pervomaysky (Первомайский) Roza (Роза) Krasnoarmeysky (Красноармейский) district 75 234 75 634 15 Kunashaksky (Кунашакский) district 75 236 75 636 9 Kusinsky (Кусинский) district 75 238 75 638 Kusa (Куса) town* Magnitka (Магнитка) 3 Nagaybaksky (Нагайбакский) district 75 242 75 642 Yuzhny (Южный) 9 Nyazepetrovsky (Нязепетровский) district 75 244 75 644 Nyazepetrovsk (Нязепетровск) town* 4 Oktyabrsky (Октябрьский) district 75 247 75 647 13 Plastovsky (Пластовский) district 75 248 75 648 4 Satkinsky (Саткинский) district 75 249 75 649 Bakal (Бакал) town* Berdyaush (Бердяуш) Mezhevoy (Межевой) Suleya (Сулея) 3 Sosnovsky (Сосновский) district 75 252 75 652 16 Troitsky (Троицкий) district 75 254 75 654 25 Uvelsky (Увельский) district 75 255 75 655 10 Uysky (Уйский) district 75 256 75 656 11 Chebarkulsky (Чебаркульский) district 75 257 75 657 9 Chesmensky (Чесменский) district 75 259 75 659 11
Politics
During the Soviet period, the highest authority in the Oblast was shared between three positions: the First Secretary of the Chelyabinsk CPSU Committee (who held the most power), the Chairman of the Oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the Oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the CPSU lost its monopoly on power.