Oblasts of Russia

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Oblast
CategoryFederated state
LocationRussian Federation
Number46 (48 if counting Kherson and Zaporozhye oblasts, which are internationally recognised as a part of Ukraine)
Populations156,996 (Magadan Oblast) – 7,095,120 (Moscow Oblast)
Areas15 100 km2 (Kaliningrad Oblast) - 767 900 km2 (Irkutsk Oblast)
GovernmentOblast Government, Oblast Duma
SubdivisionsRaion, City of oblast significance, Selsoviet, Okrug, Urban-type settlement

An oblast (Russian: область) is a type of federal subject of the Russian Federation.

Politics[change | change source]

Oblasts are political entities in a federal union. They have representation in the Federation Council. They serve as a first-level administrative division. Each oblast has a state government. It has control over its territory. They have a state legislature, the Oblast Duma. It is democratically elected. The Governor is the highest executive position of an oblast. He/she is elected by its people.

Subdivisions under oblasts[change | change source]

Oblasts are divided into raions (districts), cities of oblast significance (district-equivalent independent cities), and autonomous okrugs. These are legally federal subjects equal to an oblast but are different from others. Two oblasts have autonomous okrugs: Arkhangelsk Oblast (Nenets Autonomous Okrug) and Tyumen Oblast (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug).

Naming[change | change source]

The term oblast can be translated into English as "province" or "region". There are currently 46 oblasts (48 if counting Kherson and Zaporozhye oblasts, which are internationally recognised as a part of Ukraine). It is the most common type of the 85 federal subjects of Russia. Most oblasts are named after their administrative center. It is the official term for a capital city in an oblast, which is usually the largest city. Exceptions to this include Leningrad Oblast and Moscow Oblast, which have no official capital. Sakhalin Oblast is named after an island. Leningrad Oblast and Sverdlovsk Oblast keep the old names of Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

Demographics[change | change source]

Oblasts are usually areas that are mostly populated by ethnic Russians and native speakers of the Russian language. They are mostly located in European Russia.

Statistics[change | change source]

The largest oblast by size is Tyumen Oblast at 1,435,200 km2 (when excluding autonomous okrugs Irkutsk Oblast is the largest at 767,900 km2) and the smallest is Kaliningrad Oblast at 15,100 km2. The most populous oblast is Moscow Oblast at 7,095,120 and the least populous is Magadan Oblast at 156,996.

History[change | change source]

In the Russian Empire, oblasts were a third-level administrative division. It was created in 1849. Oblasts split the larger guberniyas (governorates) within the first-level krais.

Soviet era[change | change source]

After the many changes during the Soviet era, the number of oblasts went up as they became the top-level administrative divisions of the Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs). These oblasts held very little autonomy or power.

Post Soviet era[change | change source]

When the Soviet Union dissolved into sovereign states along the lines of the SSRs, they became the first-level administrative divisions. The oblasts of the Russian SFSR, which turned into the Russian Federation, became the first-level administrative divisions of the new country. They received greater devolved power.

On September 30, 2022, Russia annexed the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts of Ukraine after a controversial referendum.[1] These four regions are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.[2]

List of Russian oblasts[change | change source]

  1. Amur Oblast Amur
  2. Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk
  3. Astrakhan Oblast Astrakhan
  4. Belgorod Oblast Belgorod
  5. Bryansk Oblast Bryansk
  6. Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk
  7. Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk
  8. Ivanovo Oblast Ivanovo
  9. Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad
  10. Kaluga Oblast Kaluga
  11. Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo
  12. Kirov Oblast Kirov
  13. Kostroma Oblast Kostroma
  14. Kurgan Oblast Kurgan
  15. Kursk Oblast Kursk
  16. Leningrad Oblast Leningrad
  17. Lipetsk Oblast Lipetsk
  18. Magadan Oblast Magadan
  19. Moscow Oblast Moscow
  20. Murmansk Oblast Murmansk
  21. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod
  22. Novgorod Oblast Novgorod
  23. Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk
  24. Omsk Oblast Omsk
  25. Orenburg Oblast Orenburg
  26. Oryol Oblast Oryol
  27. Penza Oblast Penza
  28. Pskov Oblast Pskov
  29. Rostov Oblast Rostov
  30. Ryazan Oblast Ryazan
  31. Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin
  32. Samara Oblast Samara
  33. Saratov Oblast Saratov
  34. Smolensk Oblast Smolensk
  35. Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk
  36. Tambov Oblast Tambov
  37. Tomsk Oblast Tomsk
  38. Tver Oblast Tver
  39. Tula Oblast Tula
  40. Tyumen Oblast Tyumen
  41. Ulyanovsk Oblast Ulyanovsk
  42. Vladimir Oblast Vladimir
  43. Volgograd Oblast Volgograd
  44. Vologda Oblast Vologda
  45. Voronezh Oblast Voronezh
  46. Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "U.S. imposes new sanctions over Russia's illegal annexation". The Washington Post. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Putin recognizes independence of 2 Ukrainian regions amid furor over annexation plans". CBC. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
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