Smolensk Oblast

Smolensk Oblast (Russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, Smolenskaya oblast; informal name — Smolenschina (Russian: Смоле́нщина))^[12] is a federal subject of Russia. Specifically, it is an oblast. Its administrative centre is the city of Smolensk. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 985,537.^[13]

Smolensk Oblast Смоленская область (Russian)
—  Oblast  —
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 55°00′N 33°00′E
Political status
Country	Russia
Federal district	Central[1]
Economic region	Central[2]
Established	September 27, 1937[3]
Administrative center	Smolensk
Government (as of November 2014)
• Governor[4]	Alexey Ostrovsky[5]
• Legislature	Oblast Duma[6]
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)[7]
• Total	49,800 km2 (19,200 sq mi)
Area rank	53rd
Population (2010 Census)[8]
• Total	985,537
• Rank	53rd
• Density[9]	19.79/km2 (51.3/sq mi)
• Urban	72.7%
• Rural	27.3%
Population (January 2014 est.)
• Total	967,900[10]
Time zone(s)	MSK (UTC+04:00)
ISO 3166-2	RU-SMO
License plates	67
Official languages	Russian[11]
[admin-smolensk.ru Official website]

Geography

Roslavlsky old tract, the village of Boreshino

The oblast was founded on 27 September 1937.^[3] It borders Pskov Oblast in the north, Tver Oblast in the northeast, Moscow Oblast in the east, Kaluga Oblast in south, Bryansk Oblast in the southwest, and Mogilev and Vitebsk Oblasts of Belarus, in the west and northwest, as part of the Belarus–Russia border.

The main river of the region is the Dnieper River and its tributaries, Desna, Vop, Vyazma. By the rivers of the Volga basin and its tributary Vazuza Gzhat and tributary of the Oka river, Ugra.

Administrative divisions

Smolensk Oblast is divided into 25 districts (raions) and two cities of oblast significance.

Demographics

Population: 985,537 (2010 Census);^[8] 1,049,574 (2002 Census);^[14] 1,158,299 (1989 Census).^[15]

Ethnic groups: According to the 2010 Census, the ethnic groups of the oblast were:^[8]

• Russians: 94.6%
• Ukrainians: 1.3%
• Belarusians: 1.3%
• Armenians: 0.5%
• Others: 2.3%

Notable people

• Isaac Asimov (1920–1992), an American writer and professor of biochemistry, born in Petrovichi
• Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968) a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, born in Klushino
• Shmuel Schneersohn (1834–1882) an Orthodox rabbi, born in Lyubavichi
• Ivan Sidorenko (1919–1994) a Red Army officer and sniper, born in Glinkovsky District
• Andrey Nikolayevich Tikhonov (1906–1993) a Russian mathematician and geophysicist, born in Gagarin
• Mikhail Tukhachevsky (1893–1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, a Soviet general

Administrative divisions of Smolensk Oblast

References

1. Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
2. Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
3. Исполнительный комитет Смоленского областного совета народных депутатов. Государственный архив Смоленской области. "Административно-территориальное устройство Смоленской области. Справочник", изд. "Московский рабочий", Москва 1981. Стр. 8
4. Charter of Smolensk Oblast, Article 33
5. Official website of Smolensk Oblast. Members of the Administration of Smolensk Oblast Archived 2014-12-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
6. Charter of Smolensk Oblast, Article 23
7. Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Территория, число районов, населённых пунктов и сельских администраций по субъектам Российской Федерации (Territory, Number of Districts, Inhabited Localities, and Rural Administration by Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation)". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
8. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
9. The density value was calculated by dividing the population reported by the 2010 Census by the area shown in the "Area" field. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox is not necessarily reported for the same year as the population.
10. Smolensk Oblast Territorial Branch of the Federal State Statistics Service. Численность населения Смоленской области (на начало года) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
11. Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
12. Смоленская область – Детальная интерактивная карта Смоленской области. Центральный ФО, Россия – регионы Есоседи. ru.esosedi.org (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-06-03.
13. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
14. Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. May 21, 2004. Retrieved 9 Feb 2012.
15. Demoscope Weekly (1989). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров. [All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989) (in Russian). Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. Retrieved 9 Feb 2012.

Other websites

• Kropotkin, Peter Alexeivitch; Bealby, John Thomas (1911). "Smolensk (government)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). pp. 277–278.
• Official website of Smolensk Oblast Archived 2022-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
• (In Russian) Official website of Smolensk Oblast Archived 2011-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
• (In Russian) News of Smolensk Oblast