The Volga region is one of the largest geographical objects of the Russian Federation. It is located along the banks of the Volga River. The economy is well developed here. A navigable river, railway lines crossing the Volga region up and down provide local residents with everything necessary for a full-fledged existence. There is access to the sea along the Volga, which also favorably affects the economic and geographical position of the region.
The Volga region is famous for its mineral reserves. Among them are especially appreciated:
- oil;
- sulfur;
- salt.
In addition, there are enough raw materials for the manufacture of high-quality building materials.
The population of the Volga region
The Volga region is a multinational region. The history of the formation of the modern population began many centuries ago. The original inhabitants were Mari, Chuvash and Mordovians. Over time, other peoples also migrated here.
Today, the Volga region is the most populated and developed. The annual population growth is due to the active migration of people from other areas. Thanks to rich resources, the issue of employment is not so acute here. The main part of the population occupies the capitals of the national republics and large industrial cities, where unemployment is practically excluded.
Now the structure of the population of the Volga region is mainly Russians and Tatars. Some of the most populated cities are Volgograd, Saratov, Samara and Kazan.
The indicator of the standard of living of the population of the Volga region is low. Now the main priority task and goal for the Volga region is to improve the living conditions of local citizens.
Industry of the Volga region
The Volga region is known to many as the center of the machine-building industry. Mechanical engineering in the Volga region includes the production of a wide range of equipment and machines, for example, cars, machine tools, computers and devices, bearings, electrical products, motors for special equipment, etc.
An important place in this industry is given to the production of aircraft, trucks and cars, buses and trolleybuses, ships, as well as bicycles and other small vehicles.
Samara and Saratov specialize mainly in the aviation industry, which dates back to the war. Now the factories of these cities produce turbojet aircraft.
The oil industry is developing in connection with the needs of the local population. Mechanical engineering and the production of equipment and parts are in great demand among residents of nearby regions.
Due to the rich mineral resources such as oil and gas, there are several gas and oil refineries in the Volga region. The leading regions for oil production are the Republic of Tatarstan and Samara.
The Volga, Nizhnekamsk, Volgograd and Saratov regions are distinguished among others by the productive operation of the largest hydroelectric power plants.
Agriculture of the Volga region
The agro-industrial complex of the Volga region is effectively developing to this day. Favorable climatic conditions and soft fertile soil make the Volga region the main supplier of grain crops throughout almost all of Russia. Wheat, rice, millet, corn and buckwheat are grown here. In addition, vegetables and melons, such as tomatoes and watermelons, grow well on the soils of the Volga region.
The warm humid climate promotes good growth of rice, barley, sunflower and other moisture and light-loving crops.
Numerous winter pastures contribute to the active development of animal husbandry. Thanks to this, the Volga region supplies the Russian regions not only with grain and vegetables, but also with wool, meat and milk. The most common animals on local farms are pigs and sheep. Birds are raised here mainly for their down. For the further expansion of livestock farms, the inhabitants of the rural areas of the Volga region face important tasks:
- improvement and expansion of fields for growing fodder crops necessary for livestock;
- increase and improvement of farms and paddocks;
- landscaping and moistening of natural areas where animals graze.
Residents of the coastal regions of the Volga region are effectively engaged in fishing. This type of activity is especially relevant in the Astrakhan region. Here, special attention is paid to the cleanliness of reservoirs. To this end, all industrial enterprises, plants and factories are under careful control. New treatment facilities are being built at a fast pace and existing ones are being improved. Currently, plants and factories are being built for the processing, breeding and keeping of fish, especially the sturgeon family.
Due to the variety of grain crops and sunflowers, there are many oil mills in the Volga region. The largest of them are located in the Saratov and Volgograd regions.
Most of the content of the granaries is sent to the milling of flour. Some of the largest and most developed flour and cereal enterprises are located on the territory of Samara, Saratov and Volgograd.
This activity brings a significant profit to the entire Volga region, which makes it possible to raise the standard of living of the population from year to year.
Posted Sun, 15/01/2017 - 08:41 by Cap
Volga. It is difficult to find another such toponym that would be so strongly associated with Russia. Russian megacities and small cozy towns have found a place for themselves on the banks of this amazing river. Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Astrakhan, Volgograd - these are the main places you can visit during a cruise on the Volga.
Hundreds of large and small towns are combined along the banks of the Volga into one region - the Volga region. The Volga region today has every chance of becoming a landmark place on the tourist map of Russia. Even now, a cruise on the Volga is an exceptionally popular tourist service for those wishing to admire the beauties of the Volga.
A mixture of cultures, peoples, religions and different traditions! The beautiful Kremlin, churches and monasteries interspersed with mosques and minarets. The old corners of this ancient city are preserved.
The city attracts many visitors and tourists.
The Kazan Kremlin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The city has a registered brand "the third capital of Russia". Unofficially and semi-officially, it is called the "capital of Russian federalism" and "the capital of all the Tatars of the world."
In 2005, the millennium of Kazan was celebrated.
The length of the city from north to south is 29 km, from west to east - 31 km. The city in the western, central and southwestern parts overlooks the Volga River for about 15 km. In Kazan, there is one bridge across the Volga - at the extreme western border of the city.
The Kazanka River flows from northeast to west through the middle of the city and divides Kazan into two parts comparable in territory - the historical one to the south of the river and the newer beyond the river to the north. The two parts of the city are connected by five dams and bridges, as well as a subway line. 
The relief of the city is flat and hilly.
In the central part of the city there are low-lying plains Zabulache, Predkabanye, Zakabanye, the elevated plain Arskoye Pole and separate hills stand out - the Kremlin (Kremlin-Universitetsky), Marusovsky, Fedoseevsky, First and Second Mountains, Ametyevo, Novo-Tatarskaya Sloboda, etc. In the direction of southeast and east, the territory of the city as a whole gradually rises, and large residential areas of Gorki, Azino, as well as Nagorny, Derbyshki are located at isoheights of 20-40 meters and higher than part of the historical center, southwestern regions and Zarechye. Zilantova Gora stands out in the District, as well as hills of settlements in the north of the city. In different places there are ravines and similar local elongated depressions in the terrain.
The territory of the city is characterized by a very significant proportion of water surfaces. A strip of a part of the Volga water area more than 2 km wide (along the western border of the city), as well as a predominantly shallow end and a new mouth of the Kazanka River about 1.5 km wide (completely inside the city) were formed when the Kuibyshev reservoir appeared in the middle of the 20th century instead of many times more narrow natural widths of rivers.
Kazan is one of the largest cultural centers of Russia, preserving the classical achievements, and also contributing to the development of modern, avant-garde trends in many areas of culture. The capital of Tatarstan is traditionally called "multicultural", meaning the mutually beneficial enrichment of the peacefully coexisting Russian and Tatar cultures. With the support of UNESCO, the world's first Institute for the Culture of Peace was established in Kazan.
SHAMIL'S HOUSE - GABDULLA TUKAY MUSEUM 
Kazan annually hosts international festivals of Shalyapinsky’s opera, Nurievsky’s ballet, Rachmaninovsky’s classical music, Kazan Autumn open air opera, Concordia contemporary music, Creation of the World folk and rock music, literary Aksyonov Fest, and Muslim cinema. "Golden Minbar" (since 2010 - Kazan International Muslim Film Festival), role-playing games "Zilantcon", numerous festivals and competitions at the federal and republican levels. The only Kazan film studio in the Volga region operates in the city.
Starting from the 9th century, there was a gradual peaceful colonial movement of the Slavs along the upper Volga to the lands inhabited by the Finno-Ugric peoples. By the end of the 11th century, Russia owned the entire upper Volga almost to the mouth of the Oka. The borders of the Volga Bulgaria began a little lower, and the right bank of the Volga up to the mouth of the Sura was inhabited by the Erzya. At the same time, Gorodets was the “last” Slavic city on the Volga until 1221.
In 1221, Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka, founded a stronghold for the defense of the borders of the Vladimir principality from the Moksha, Erzi, Mari and Volga Bulgars called Novgorod of the Nizovsky land (the Novgorodians called the Vladimir principality the Nizovsky land) - later this name was transformed into Nizhny Novgorod , and remained in the imperial title until 1917.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD KREMLIN - MILITARY EXHIBITION 
There are more than 600 unique historical, architectural and cultural monuments in the city. The main one is the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. Until 2010, Nizhny Novgorod had the status of a historical settlement, however, by Order of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation dated July 29, 2010 N 418/339, the city was deprived of this status.
In total, there are about two hundred cultural institutions of regional and municipal significance in Nizhny Novgorod. Among these institutions are 13 theaters, 5 concert halls, 97 libraries, 17 cinemas, 25 children's clubs, 8 museums, the digital Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium, 8 enterprises that ensure the functioning of parks.
There are three academic theaters in Nizhny Novgorod (drama, opera and ballet named after A. S. Pushkin and a puppet theater), theaters of comedy, a young spectator, etc.
There are 3 regional and 92 public municipal libraries in Nizhny Novgorod. There are also libraries at organizations, educational institutions and enterprises of the city.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD KREMLIN - VIEW FROM THE VOLGA 
One of the largest is the Nizhny Novgorod State Regional Universal Scientific Library. V. I. Lenin, opened in 1861. A legal information center has been established on its basis.
On the territory of the city there is a museum of A. M. Gorky, which includes the Literary Museum; the scene of the autobiographical story "Childhood" Kashirin's House; a museum-apartment in which work was carried out on several works of the writer. The city also houses the only museum in Russia of N. A. Dobrolyubov in the former apartment building of the Dobrolyubov family, as well as a house-museum in the wing of the Dobrolyubov estate, where the critic spent his childhood and youth; Museum of A. S. Pushkin; museum-apartment of A. D. Sakharov, Russian Museum of Photography.
A rare cruise along the Volga is not complete without a visit to the South Russian river port in Astrakhan. Astrakhan is a famous city in the south of Russia, one of the largest and most interesting places on the Volga.
Astrakhan is a city in Russia, the administrative center of the Astrakhan region, 1500 km southeast of Moscow. The city is located on 11 islands of the Caspian lowland, in the upper part of the Volga delta.
There are about 38 bridges in the city. The main part of the city is located on the left bank of the Volga, about 20% of the city's inhabitants live on the right bank.
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Both parts of the city are connected by two bridges across the Volga.
The total area of the city is about 500 km². The length of the city along the Volga is 45 km. On two coasts it is over 45 km. The city is divided into 4 administrative districts; in the future, due to the large area of its districts, comparable to the Moscow districts, it is planned to be divided into 7 administrative districts. Astrakhan is assigned to the same time zone as Moscow, although local real time is ahead of Moscow by 42 minutes. The flight time to Moscow is a little over 2 hours, up to 7 flights fly daily, the train to Moscow takes from 27.5 hours (No. 85/86 Makhachkala-Moscow) and more (including fast branded train No. as well as transit trains to Baku.
Up to 5 trains leave Moscow for Astrakhan daily. By bus from Astrakhan to Moscow can be reached in about 24 hours. Traveling along the Volga by boat takes 8 days to Moscow (with stops in the cities). Astrakhan has 21 large and small ports, 15 shipbuilding and ship repair yards. .jpg)
the building of the former Azov-Don Bank, and now the building of the State Bank of Russia for the Astrakhan Region, 1910, architect Fyodor Ivanovich Lidval
Gubin's mansion, late 19th century;
the hipped tower of the fence of the Transfiguration Monastery (beginning of the 18th century) with inserts of polychrome tiles;
Demidov Compound (XVII-XVIII centuries); Church of St. John Chrysostom (1763; “octagon on a quadrangle” with rich sculptural decoration; rebuilt in the 19th century);
cathedral of st. Vladimir, 1895-1904 (in Soviet times, the building housed a bus station, in 1999 the temple was transferred to the Orthodox Church);
house of the Astrakhan Cossack army, 1906 (architect V. B. Valkovsky); cinema "October" with a unique winter garden-arboretum;
Indian trading compound; wooden houses in the "Russian" or "Ropetov" style;
Regional Scientific Library named after N. K. Krupskaya;
Swan Lake in the city center;
White Mosque; Black Mosque; Red Mosque; Persian mosque;
Monument to the Turkmen poet Magtymguly Fragi Monument to Kurmangazy
Illuminated tower of the Astrakhan television center
On the right bank of the Volga between Kostroma and Kineshma, a small town nestled - Plyos. He knew the days of the highest rise of his fame - and experienced the streaks of complete oblivion.
Plyos was known not only here, but also in the West. It was the time (80-90s) when Plyos accidentally entered the history of art and became, as it were, the spokesman for the sentiments of a part of the Russian intelligentsia. This, however, will be discussed in more detail below.
Plyos, first of all, is beautiful. The beauty of Plyos is special, original and multifaceted. The stretch is beautiful as a whole, like an amazing panorama, beautiful in every detail, in every bend, in every nook and cranny. Walking through the hills of the city, you come across new and new effects that amaze and enchant you.
Almost four and a half centuries ago, the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsar Fedor Ioannovich, decided to protect himself from foreign surprises of a military format and began to build up the Volga with fortress cities. This is how Samara and Tsaritsyn (Volgograd) appeared. And in 1590 between these two cities, Saratov was erected by the princely hand of Grigory Zasekin.
This city received many harsh lessons - it burned down several times, it was rebuilt, it was ruined by Pugachev, it was plundered by Kalmyks and Kubans ... It was tested by the diabolical power of Russian history, which was rarely merciful to its latitudes.
But the times of aggression and chaos died down. Legality was strengthened, the city began to rebuild. Schools, hospitals, printing houses, theatres, cathedrals, offices - Saratov was filled with its infrastructure, philosophy, great geniuses. The merchant center of the Volga region developed rapidly, carving many victories on the massive plates of personal biography. And now the emotional outcry in Griboedov's play has ceased to have any basis. .jpg)
in which the thirst for activity boils like hot lead. Here is one of the best universities in the country, offering an innovative education, and at the same time, carefully preserving its research heritage. In total, there are more than a dozen higher educational institutions in the city.
The streets of the central part of the city enthusiastically represent all the diversity of architectural styles and forms of old Russia. From 17th century cathedrals to neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau. From the Stalinist baroque to the configurations of modern fantasies. Behind the windows of each house are hidden mystical stories about time and fate, which so often change the real course of things.
Museum spheres absorb real masterpieces of art. There is always a chance to admire the finest work of French masters on Sèvres porcelain of the 18th century. The best collection of paintings and drawings in the country by A.P. Bogolyubova has long attracted lovers of fine art. As well as the works of world-famous masters: V.E. Borisov-Musatov, P.N. Kuznetsova, K.S. Petrov-Vodkin.
You can talk about the natural beauty of the Saratov region for a very long time. But only by feeling its invisible atmosphere of peace, you can fully indulge in spiritual rest. Saratov. .jpg)
Upper Volga (from the source to the mouth of the Oka) - Tver, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo and Nizhny Novgorod regions;
Middle Volga (from the right tributary of the Sura to the southern edge of the Samara Luka) - Chuvashia, Mari El, Tatarstan, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions;
The Lower Volga (from the confluence of the Kama [officially, but not hydrologically] to the Caspian Sea) - the Republic of Tatarstan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd regions, the Republic of Kalmykia and the Astrakhan region.
After the construction of the Kuibyshev reservoir, the boundary between the middle and lower Volga is usually considered to be the Zhigulevskaya HPP upstream of Samara.
Attractions
Almost all regional and capital cities located on the Volga are major centers of educational tourism: Kostroma with the magnificent Ipatiev Monastery; rapidly developing Nizhny Novgorod with a complex of buildings of the medieval Kremlin, with a unique monument to Valery Chkalov and a permanent exhibition of Russian weapons produced during the war years; the capital of Chuvashia, Cheboksary, where everyone will be shown a monument and a house-museum to the legendary V. I. Chapaev; ancient Kazan, the capital of now sovereign Tataria; the birthplace of the organizer-inspirer of the October Revolution, V. I. Lenin, is the city of Ulyanovsk, where the largest memorial and museum complex still operates.
Tourists will also remember the magnificent embankments of Samara, the longest pedestrian street in Russia in Saratov, and the well-preserved Astrakhan Kremlin. It is impossible to walk past the majestic monument to the Motherland on Sapun Gora in the hero city of Volgograd without heart trepidation.
There are many places in the Volga region associated with the names of I. A. Goncharov, N. G. Chernyshevsky, A. M. Gorky, I. I. Shishkin, A. D. Sakharov and other prominent people of the Russian state.
Geographic Information
Volga basin
The Volga originates on the Valdai Upland (at an altitude of 228 m), flows into the Caspian Sea. The mouth lies 28 m below sea level. The total fall is 256 m. The Volga is the world's largest river of internal flow, that is, it does not flow into the oceans.
The river system of the Volga basin includes 151 thousand watercourses with a total length of 574 thousand km. The Volga receives about 200 tributaries. The left tributaries are more numerous and more abundant than the right ones. There are no significant tributaries after Kamyshin.
The Volga basin occupies about 1/3 of the European territory of Russia and extends from the Valdai and Central Russian Uplands in the west to the Urals in the east. The main, feeding part of the Volga drainage area, from the source to the cities of Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, is located in the forest zone, the middle part of the basin to the cities of Samara and Saratov is in the forest-steppe zone, the lower part is in the steppe zone to Volgograd, and to the south - in the semi-desert zone . It is customary to divide the Volga into 3 parts: the upper Volga - from the source to the mouth of the Oka, the middle Volga - from the confluence of the Oka to the mouth of the Kama, and the lower Volga - from the confluence of the Kama to the mouth.
The source of the Volga is the key near the village of Volgoverkhovye in the Tver region. In the upper reaches, within the Valdai Upland, the Volga passes through small lakes - Small and Big Verkhity, then through a system of large lakes known as the Upper Volga lakes: Sterzh, Vselug, Peno and Volgo, united in the so-called Upper Volga reservoir.
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The Volga economic region is one of 12 similar regions of Russia. It is one of the largest regions of the country, which is part of the Center-Ural-Volga region axis.
Composition of the district
The Volga region includes 8 subjects of the Central part of the state:
- 2 republics – Tatarstan and Kalmykia;
- 6 regions - Penza, Saratov, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Volgograd and Astrakhan.
Rice. 1 Volga region. Map
Location
If you follow the map, then the location of the Volga economic region is as follows:
- Middle Volga ;
- Lower Volga region ;
- Sura river basin (Penza region);
- Prikamye (most of Tatarstan).
Its area is about 537.4 thousand km². the central geographical (and economic) axis is the Volga River.
Rice. 2 Volga
The area is bordered by:
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- Volga-Vyatka region (north);
- Ural region (east);
- Kazakhstan (east);
- Central Black Earth region (west);
- North Caucasus (west).
The region has access to the internal Caspian Sea, which allows it to conduct successful trade and carry out maritime transport communications with such countries as Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan. Through a system of canals, the region has access to the Black, Azov, Baltic and White Seas. Through these seas, the region establishes ties with the states of Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
The district includes 94 large cities, three of which are millionaires: Kazan, Samara, Volgograd. Also large cities are Penza, Tolyatti, Astrakhan, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Engels.
From a geographical point of view, the region occupies vast areas
- forests (north);
- semi-deserts (southeast);
- steppes (east).
Population of the Volga economic region
The population of the district is 17 million people, that is, almost 12% of the total population of the Russian Federation (with a population density of 1 person per 25 square meters). 74% of the population lives in cities, so the share of urbanization is significant. Ethnic composition of the population:
- Russians ;
- Tatars ;
- Kalmyks ;
- small ethnos s: Chuvash, Mordovians, Mari and Kazakhs (the latter are most in the Astrakhan region).
Specialization of the Volga region
The Volga region is characterized by a developed industrial and agricultural sector. Industrial specialization:
- oil production and refining (Samara region and Tatarstan, Caspian shelves);
- gas production (shelves of the Caspian Sea and the Astrakhan region; according to world statistics, the Astrakhan region contains 6% of the world's gas reserves);
- chemical industry (extraction and processing of shale, bromine, iodine, manganese salt, native sulfur, glass sand, gypsum, chalk);
- salt mining and salt processing (the lakes of the Caspian lowland contain more than 2 million tons of natural salt, which is 80% of all Russia's reserves);
- mechanical engineering (in particular, the automotive industry: VAZ in Togliatti, KAMAZ in Naberezhnye Chelny, UAZ in Ulyanovsk, a trolleybus plant in the city of Engels; shipbuilding: in Volgograd and Astrakhan; aircraft building: Kazan, Penza, Samara).
Figure 3. VAZ in Togliatti
In industrial terms, the Volga region is divided into two large areas (industrial zones):
- Volga-Kama (Tatarstan, Samara and Ulyanovsk regions) - center in Kazan;
- Nizhnevolzhskaya (Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Penza, Saratov and Volgograd regions) - the center is in Volgograd.
According to statistics, the Volga region ranks fourth in Russia in terms of industrial output, second in oil production and processing, and second in engineering. As for oil refining, it is in the Volga region that such world giants as LUKoil, YUKOS and Gazprom, which develop the northern shelves of the Caspian Sea, have concentrated their main capacities.
Rice. 4 Oil production in the Caspian Sea
Agricultural specialization:
- cultivation of oil crops;
- growing grain crops;
- cultivation of vegetable and gourd crops;
- animal husbandry (dairy cattle breeding, sheep breeding, pig breeding);
- fishing industry (Volgograd and Astrakhan).
A special role in the agricultural life of the region is played by the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain with powerful river "pumps" that create favorable conditions for the development of all types of agriculture.
The main economic center of the region is the city of Samara.
What have we learned?
The characteristics of the Volga economic region are quite complex. This is due to the fact that it is a link between the center of Russia and its Asian part. The region includes such large and rapidly developing entities as the Republic of Tatarstan (the titular nation in which are the Tatars). The area is developed both industrially and agriculturally. The main transport, economic and geographical axis is the Volga River.
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We attributed the completely non-Volga Kalmykia. From the former Volga-Vyatka region, the Kirov region and all 3 republics (Mordovia, Chuvash, Mari) are included in the Volga region. Thus, the Volga region, which we further characterize, includes all regions located on the Volga (south of Nizhny Novgorod), Kirov Oblast, which occupies the basin of the Vyatka (a tributary of the Kama), and does not go to the Volga, but has much in common with the neighboring republics of Mordovia.
Our reasoning about what the Volga region is and what its boundaries are helps to feel the complexity of such work as zoning a territory. In this case, the area that we are studying would be easiest to identify with "unlimited" zoning, that is, one where the core of the area is clearly distinguished, and its boundaries are unclear. In the case of the Volga region, we have a clear core, the main axis of the region is the Volga River. Undoubtedly, the Volga region is those territories whose centers are strung on the Volga below Cheboksary: Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan. It is these 6 regions that are the core of the Volga region, and the rest are its periphery, transitional territories to other regions.
To better understand the essence of the "Volga core", let's first consider its periphery.
Kirov region
The Kirov region is a transition zone between the Volga and the Urals. Its location in the forest zone, the development of logging and woodworking, and various crafts make it related to the North. With the Urals - the development in the past of ferrous metallurgy on local ores and charcoal, and now - rolling production and metalworking. With the Volga region - the development of the chemical industry (including the military - the production of fuel and others) and the features of historical development (the evacuation of military factories during the Great Patriotic War). A feature common to both the Volga region and the Urals is the predominance of the military-industrial complex in the structure of mechanical engineering (the production of weapons in the city of Vyatskiye Polyany, in Kirov - aviation equipment and instruments).
Mordovia
According to its natural conditions, Mordovia belongs to the black earth belt and is similar to the Central Chernozem Region, but its settlement by Russians took place under different conditions: Russian villages appeared among Mordovian ones. As a result, out of 1 million population of Mordovia, Mordovians make up only 1/3, and 2/3 are Russians. Here is how the Mordovians were described at the beginning of the 20th century:
The region, in which the Mordovian tribe lived from time immemorial, compares favorably with the swampy areas along the left bank of the Volga, occupied by other Finnish tribes, by its relatively high position (Volga Upland) and rich black earth soil. Previously, they were almost completely covered with dense deciduous forests, teeming with various forest animals: wild boars, goats, elks, foxes and beavers. Now only small islands have survived from these forests. The inhabitants of this rich land differ from their fellow tribesmen, who settled in the swamps and forests north of the Volga, by their taller stature, massive, strong physique, fair skin and considerable strength, not inferior to the strength of the Russian population. Despite their sluggishness, they show self-confidence and in speech and in movements. Mordva has already become very Russified and in some places completely merged with the Russian population. In general, the Mordovians live richer than their neighbors - Russians, Tatars and Chuvashs - they are more provided with land, they are distinguished by great industriousness and thriftiness.
The industry of Mordovia developed almost exclusively in its capital - Saransk (where 1/3 of the population of the republic is concentrated - 320 thousand people) and is represented mainly by the electrical industry (electric lamps, cables, electric rectifiers, and so on), instrumentation and the production of medicines.
The Mordovian settlement area is from the Ryazan region to Bashkiria: only 1/3 of the entire Mordovians live outside the territory of the Mordovian Republic, and the rest live mainly in adjacent regions (Ulyanovsk, Samara, Penza) and in Bashkiria.
So, according to the natural prerequisites for development and the nature of agriculture, Mordovia is similar to the Central Chernobyl Region, and in terms of the nature of industry (labor-intensive engineering), the history of settlement and modern problems, it is similar to the neighboring Chuvash and Mari republics.
Chuvashia
Chuvashia is the only one of the republics of the Ural-Volga region where the indigenous population absolutely predominates (out of 1.3 million inhabitants, almost 70% are Chuvashs, 1/4 are Russians). Chuvashia is one of the densely populated regions of European Russia, much less urbanized (like Mordovia) than its neighbors, with a large natural increase that has survived until recently and a high proportion of children in the population.
The specialization of agriculture is almost the same as in the CCR; the abundance of labor resources in the countryside makes it possible to grow such a labor-intensive crop as hops; sugar beet crops are expanding.
The industry of Chuvashia is mechanical engineering (electrical engineering, production of industrial tractors), chemical industry (including military), textile and food industries. The largest city of Cheboksary (420 thousand inhabitants), together with the city of Novocheboksarsk (120 thousand inhabitants), which arose 20 kilometers away from the construction of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station on the Volga, concentrate more than 1/3 of all the inhabitants of the republic and most of its industry.
Unlike the peoples of the Finnish language group, which are easily assimilated (especially the Mordovians), the Chuvash, like other Turkic peoples, are ethnically much more stable (but among the Tatars and Bashkirs this could be explained by religious differences from the Russians, and the Chuvashs are Orthodox, therefore, apparently, the matter is not in the difference of religions).
Of the 1.8 million Chuvashs, about half live on the territory of Chuvashia itself, the rest are mainly in adjacent regions.
Mari Republic
The Mari Republic (Mari El), according to natural and cultural characteristics, is sharply divided into 2 parts - on the right high (mountainous) bank of the Volga and on the left lowland, forested. On the right bank live "mountain" Mari, on the left - "meadow" (in language and culture are very close to each other). In economic terms, the right bank is very similar to Chuvashia, and the left bank - to the Kirov region and the Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga region: it is covered with forests (about half of the territory), agricultural land makes up less than 1/3; logging, woodworking and the pulp and paper industry are developed.
The capital - Yoshkar-Ola, with a population of 250 thousand inhabitants (1/3 of the population of the republic) concentrates almost all mechanical engineering, mainly military (radio factories, instrumentation), as well as electrical engineering. Thus, labor-intensive mechanical engineering is concentrated in the capital in this republic as well.
Of the 750,000 inhabitants of the republic, Mari make up 43%, Russians - 48%. Of the total number of Maris (670 thousand people), only about half live in the Mari Republic, the rest are scattered in many other regions of the Ural-Volga region.
We see that in all 3 republics we have considered, there is much in common. In economic terms, the concentration in their capitals (concentrating 1/3 of all inhabitants) of labor-intensive engineering. From the point of view of ethnogeography - that they concentrate within their borders from 1/3 to 1/2 of their ethnic group, and its rest is scattered. All these peoples were converted to Orthodoxy by Russian missionaries, even the Turkic-speaking Chuvash. Everywhere the proportion of Russians is large - 2/3 in Mordovia, 1/3 in Mari El, 1/4 in Chuvashia. Chuvashia is distinguished by a much larger share of the indigenous population and its resistance to assimilation.
Let us now turn to the consideration of the Volga region proper - its core, stretching along the Volga from Kazan to Astrakhan.
The natural conditions of such a large region, stretching from north to south for more than a thousand kilometers, are very diverse. Tataria is located mainly in the zone of mixed forests (mostly cut down; agricultural land occupies about 2/3 of the territory); The Ulyanovsk and Samara regions are in the forest-steppe zone (where there is also little left of the forests), the Saratov and Volgograd regions are in the steppe zone, and the Astrakhan region is already halfway in the semi-desert zone. (Usually Tataria, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions are called the Middle Volga region, and Saratov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions are called the Lower Volga region.)
The right bank of the Volga along its entire length is usually high, the left bank is low. Along the right bank for a long distance (from Cheboksary to Volgograd) stretches the Volga Upland. The main mineral reserves were found in sedimentary rocks on the left bank, these are primarily oil and gas fields: the southeast of Tataria (Almetyevsk region) and the west of the Samara region. The Saratov and Volgograd regions are also promising for gas production, where geological exploration is currently being actively carried out. Among other minerals, lakes Baskunchak and Elton (“All-Russian Salt Cellar”) deserve mention.
The climate of the region is sharply continental. Average January temperatures vary from -14° in Kazan to -6° in Astrakhan, and July temperatures at the same points +20° and +25° (the last figure is the highest for European Russia). Precipitation brought by western winds falls on the western slopes of the Volga Upland (up to 500 mm per year), and on the low left bank (where they heat up, moving away from the saturation point) - much less, in Tatarstan about 400 millimeters, and in the Saratov Trans-Volga region and to the south - less than 300 millimeters. Thus, the dryness of the climate increases from the northwest to the southeast, and the specialization of agriculture changes accordingly. In the Middle Volga region, especially on the right bank, it is similar to the CCR: grain farming, meat and dairy farming and pig breeding, sugar beet and hemp crops. On the right bank in the Saratov and Volgograd regions, sugar beet and pig breeding almost disappear, sunflower and mustard appear. In the Saratov Trans-Volga region - grain crops, beef cattle breeding and sheep breeding, and even to the south - sheep breeding on dry steppe and semi-desert pastures with grain crops only on irrigated lands.
The Trans-Volga region is characterized by anticyclonic weather, which causes droughts in summer. They are especially dangerous if accompanied by hot and dusty southeasterly dry winds or dust storms; in these cases, grain plants can either die completely, or the grain in them dries up.
Over the past 70 years, droughts in the Volga region were twice accompanied by a terrible famine - in 1921 and 1933-1934, and each time the damage from the elements was aggravated by social factors: in the first case, the supply of food was complicated by the devastation of transport (but also by the refusal of the Bolsheviks to cooperate with other parties even in such a case as helping the starving), and in the second, the famine was greatly intensified by the fact that all grain reserves from the peasants were taken away “for state needs” (including for export, to pay for purchased industrial equipment).
In the economic development of the Volga region, the following stages can be distinguished (We single out these stages from the point of view of the Russian state; apparently, from the point of view of the history of Tatarstan or Chuvashia, the stages may be different):
1. Prior to the annexation of the Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates to Russia, the Volga was used by the Russian state only as a transit transport artery for not very intensive trade - first with the Golden Horde, then with these khanates.
2. After the annexation of these khanates to Russia, Astrakhan becomes the main southern port of Russia, the "gateway to the East" - a kind of southern analogue of Arkhangelsk. At the end of the 16th century, between Kazan and Astrakhan, at approximately equal distances from each other (about 450 km), the guard cities of Samara, Saratov (its name is of Turkic origin: Sarytau is “yellow mountain”), Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) arise. The right bank begins to be populated by landlord peasants.
3) In the 19th - early 20th centuries, the Volga region became a large area for the production of marketable grain and the flour-grinding industry. The colonization of the Trans-Volga region begins - no longer landowners, but peasants, especially after the abolition of serfdom. (True, even before that, in the 1760s, several tens of thousands of German colonists were resettled in the Trans-Volga region; the centers of their territories were Pokrovskaya Sloboda - the current Engels, opposite Saratov, and Ekaterinenstadt - the current Marx). The transport significance of the Volga (which is becoming the “main street of Russia”) is increasing, not only grain is transported along it, but also oil cargo (coming from Baku), timber is rafted to the southern regions, including the Donbass mines (and in Tsaritsyn the most powerful sawmills in Russia).
4) The policy of industrialization during the years of the pre-war five-year plans (for example, the construction of a tractor plant in Volgograd) and especially the evacuation of defense enterprises in 1941-1942 dramatically changed the economic profile of the Volga region, made it from agrarian to industrial and from “flour-grinding” to machine-building. Since then, the Volga region has become a deeply militarized region. The military industry is located mainly in large cities - Kazan, Ulyanovsk Samara, Saratov, Volgograd.
5) In the post-war period, especially in the 1950s-1960s, the construction of large Volga hydroelectric power stations was completed: Volgogradskaya, Saratovskaya (with a dam near Balakovo) and Samara (with a dam near Tolyatti), as well as Nizhnekamskaya (near the city of Naberezhnye Chelny); The Volga region becomes for two decades the main region of oil production, oil refining and petrochemistry. This further complicated the structure of the region's economy, made it even more industrial, including due to the flooding of floodplain lands, where more than half of Russian hay was harvested on the famous Volga flood meadows, a lot of vegetables and fruits were collected, and much more. In the total area of the Volga region, those flooded by reservoirs occupy a small share, but these lands were much more valuable than the watershed territories, and their loss sharply worsened the food supply of the Volga cities.
Partially, this loss was compensated for by irrigating the dry steppes of the Trans-Volga region (especially in the Saratov region), however, due to poor-quality reclamation work and due to non-compliance with irrigation technology, many irrigated lands became saline. This is one of the clearest examples of extreme disinterest in work, when it is done not for oneself, but for someone (“for an uncle”): none of the builders and operators was vitally interested in the fact that reclamation systems were built and operated with high quality, with observance of all the rules: the personal well-being of workers did not depend on this in any way.
At present, the main branches of specialization of the Volga region are mechanical engineering and petrochemistry. Mechanical engineering is represented mainly by military-industrial complex enterprises, but it also produces civilian products: cars (Tolyatti, Ulyanovsk, Naberezhnye Chelny), aircraft (Saratov, Ulyanovsk), tractors (Volgograd), machine tools, instruments and much more. Oil production is declining, but oil refining and petrochemistry are switching to Siberian oil; The Volga region is the largest producer of plastics, chemical fibers, synthetic rubber and tires, mineral fertilizers, and so on.
Environmental problems are very acute in the Volga region. The creation of the Volga reservoirs disrupted the processes of self-purification of river waters (in the "stagnant" reservoirs, these processes are much slower). At the same time, the development of petrochemistry on the banks of the Volga, with a chronic lack of capacity of treatment facilities (or their absence), has sharply increased the discharge of wastewater into the Volga and its tributaries. As a result, in its lower reaches, the Volga water is extremely polluted and sometimes unsuitable even for irrigation. Correcting this situation requires concerted action throughout the Volga basin - that is, in most of European Russia. Extremely polluted and the Volga cities.
National composition
The national composition of the inhabitants of the Volga region is quite diverse. In addition to Russians, who make up 3/4 of its inhabitants, many other peoples live here.
Tatars are the largest ethnic group in Russia after Russians (5.5 million people); Of these, about 1.7 million live in Tataria (constituting 48% of the population of the republic), 1.1 million live in Bashkiria, and the rest are scattered throughout almost all regions] of Russia, mainly the Volga region.
The very name "Tatars" first appeared among the Mongol tribes who roamed south of Lake Baikal as early as the 6th-9th centuries. In Russia, it became known from the 13th century, from the time of the “Mongol-Tatar invasion. Later, all the peoples living in the Golden Horde began to be called Tatars in Russia. These peoples included: the Volga Bulgars (or Bulgarians) - a Turkic-speaking people who came to the Volga region in the 7th-8th centuries, assimilated the local Finno-Ugric tribes and created their own state in the 10th century - the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, whose inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, trade and craft (and other groups of Bulgarians went in the 7th century to the Balkan Peninsula and there, mixing with the Slavic tribes and adopting their language, formed in 680 the Bulgarian-Slavic state - the predecessor of today's Bulgaria).
During their stay in the Golden Horde, the Volga Bulgars adopted a lot from the culture of the settlers (“Mongol-Tatars”), with whom they were also brought together by a religious community (Islam). In general, the population of the Golden Horde became more homogeneous After the collapse of the Golden Horde during the existence of separate khanates (Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian), separate groups of Tatars were formed - Kazan, Astrakhan Siberian, Mishars and others. Part of the Tatars adopted Orthodoxy - these are the “Kryashens” Tatars (from the distorted word “baptism”) Having become part of the Russian state, the Tatars, together with the Russians, took part in settling the territory of the Russian Empire, and now they can be found in any corner of Russia.
This is how ethnographers described the Tatars of the beginning of our century: By occupation, the Tatars are farmers, but the lack of land often makes them look for other ways to earn money. Thousands of Tatars work as loaders on the Volga, are hired as janitors or coachmen in the cities, or serve as laborers in the landowners' economy. With their strength, endurance, conscientiousness and the performance of the work they have undertaken, they have gained a reputation as the best workers in the Volga region. The energy and practical ingenuity of the Tatars made them excellent merchants, who seized a significant part of not only small but also large trade in the Volga region.
Although less than 1/3 of all Tatars in Russia live within the Tatar Republic, Kazan is the cultural center for most Tatars, wherever they live. Recently, for example, in Kazan, the training of teachers for Tatar schools has begun, opening in areas densely populated by Tatars in other republics and regions of Russia.
Kazakhs (with a total number of more than 200 thousand people) live mainly in the Astrakhan region (as well as in Volgograd and Saratov). Between the Volga and the Urals, the Kazakhs appeared at the very beginning of the 19th century (“Bukreev Horde”), when the Kalmyks migrated from here. They are mainly engaged in grazing sheep.
The Germans, who settled in the Volga region at the end of the 18th century and created a prosperous agricultural region (on the territory of which the Volga German ASSR was created after the revolution), in 1941, after the start of the war, were evicted to the eastern regions (Siberia and Kazakhstan) under the pretext that they can help the troops of fascist Germany. Unlike other peoples who were returned home in 1956-1957 after the Stalinist deportation, the Germans were forbidden to return to the Volga region, and to this day most of them live in the south of Western Siberia and in Northern Kazakhstan. In the late 1980s, the ban on return was lifted, but the local authorities of the Saratov and Volgograd regions were very disapproving of this, and German autonomy on the Volga was never recreated. The result was an increase in the emigration of Russian Germans to Germany, due to which, apparently, there will soon be practically no Germans left in Russia.
After the collapse of the USSR, the situation in the Volga region in some ways begins to resemble a picture of the 17th century: Astrakhan again becomes the southern gate of Russia (and the Caspian military flotilla has already been relocated there from Baku). However, now the role of the Volga region in the economy is immeasurably higher - but the “burdenedness” of the region with the most acute problems, primarily the state of the environment (the transformation of the Volga into a sewage sewer) and the conversion of defense enterprises, is much higher.
This term has other meanings, see Volga region (meanings).
Volga region- in a broad sense - the entire territory adjacent to the Volga, although it is more correct to define this territory as Volga region(cm.
Volga Federal District). The Volga region is more often understood as a more or less definite strip along the own course of the Volga, without large tributaries (for example, the inhabitants of the Kama region never considered themselves Volzhans). More often, the term is used in a narrow sense - the territory adjacent to the middle and lower reaches of the Volga and economically gravitating towards it, which corresponds to the above view. Within the Volga region (Volga region), a relatively elevated right bank with the Volga Upland and a left bank - Zavolzhye stand out. In natural terms, the regions located in the upper reaches of the Volga are sometimes also referred to the Volga region (Volga region).
Once the Volga region was part of the Volga Bulgaria, the Polovtsian Steppe, the Golden Horde and Russia.
Regions
In the TSB, during the economic zoning of the European part of the USSR, the Volga economic region is singled out, including the Ulyanovsk, Penza, Kuibyshev, Saratov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions, the Tatar, Bashkir and Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics; at the same time, the first 3 named regions and the Tatar ASSR are usually attributed to the Middle Volga region, the remaining regions and the Kalmyk ASSR - to the Lower Volga region. Taking into account the modern administrative-territorial division:
Volga ethnonym: Volzhans.
There is also a division of the Volga river basin into three parts (not equivalent to the division of the Volga region into parts): Upper Volga, Middle Volga, Lower Volga.
Nature
The relief is flat, dominated by lowlands and hilly plains. The climate is temperate continental. Summer is warm, with average monthly air temperature in July +22° - +25°С; winter is quite cold, the average monthly air temperature in January and February is −10° - −15°С. The average annual rainfall in the north is 500-600 mm, in the south 200-300 mm. Natural zones: mixed forest (Tatarstan), forest-steppe (Tatarstan (partially), Samara, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Saratov regions), steppe (Saratovskaya (partially.)
Volga Federal District
It includes the regions of the Middle Volga region, a number of regions of Central Russia (Mordovia, Penza region), the Urals (Perm Territory, Bashkortostan), the Southern Urals (Orenburg region). Center-Nizhny Novgorod. The territory of the district is 6.08% of the territory of the Russian Federation. Population as of January 1, 2008 - 30,241,583 (21.4% of the Russian Federation); citizens are the core. For example, in the Samara region> 80%, the Russian Federation (about 73%).
Volga-Vyatka economic region
Located on the middle Volga. The territory of the district is stretched from the southwest to the northeast for 1000 km and is located in various natural zones: the northern part is in the forest taiga and the southern part is in the forest-steppe. The area is located in Central Russia, in the basins of the navigable rivers Volga, Oka, Vyatka, borders and is in close economic connection with the Central, Volga, Ural and Northern regions. Population - 7.5 million people. (2010).
Volga Economic Region
Located on the lower Volga. The territory of the Volga region is 537.4 thousand km², the population is 17 million people, the population density is 25 people / km². The share of the population living in cities is 74%. The Volga economic region includes 94 cities, 3 million-plus cities (Samara, Kazan, Volgograd), 12 subjects of the federation. It borders in the north with the Volga-Vyatka region, in the south with the Caspian Sea, in the east with the Ural region and Kazakhstan, in the west - with the Central Black Earth region and the North Caucasus. The economic axis is the Volga River. The center of the Volga economic region is located in Samara.
Association of cities of the Volga region
On October 27, 1998, the first General Meeting of the leaders of the seven largest cities of the Volga region - Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Cheboksary, took place in the city of Samara, at which an agreement was signed on the establishment of the Association of cities of the Volga region. This event gave a start to the life of a qualitatively new structure of interaction between municipalities - the Association of the cities of the Volga region (AGP). In February 2000, Yoshkar-Ola joined the Association, on November 1, 2002 Astrakhan and Saransk joined its ranks, in 2005 - the hero city of Volgograd, in 2009 - Kirov. Currently, the AGP includes 25 cities, the largest of them:
In 2015, the Association included: Izhevsk, Perm, Ufa, Orenburg, Tolyatti, Arzamas, Balakovo, Dimitrovgrad, Novokuibyshevsk, Novocheboksarsk, Sarapul, Sterlitamak and Syzran. More than thirteen million people live in the cities of the Association.
Notes
Lower Volga
The Lower Volga region is the northern part of the Southern Federal District, covering the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, Astrakhan and Volgograd regions.
The region has access to the Caspian Sea. The main branches of specialization are the oil and gas industry, and the oil and gas industry. In addition, the Volga region is the main region for catching valuable sturgeon fish, one of the most important regions for growing grain crops, sunflower, mustard, vegetable and melon crops, and a major supplier of wool, meat, and fish.
Natural resource potential
The natural resource potential is diverse. A significant area is occupied by the Volga valley, which passes in the south into the Caspian lowland. A special place is occupied by the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, composed of river sediments, favorable for agriculture.
The creation of a large-scale industry in the Volga basin that pollutes its waters, the intensive development of river transport, agriculture, which uses large amounts of mineral fertilizers, a significant part of which is washed into the Volga, the construction of hydroelectric power plants has a negative impact on the river and creates an ecological disaster zone in this area. The region's water resources are significant, but unevenly distributed. In this regard, there is a shortage of water resources in inland areas, especially in Kalmykia.
On the territory of the region there are oil and gas resources in the Volgograd region - Zhirnovskoye, Korobkovskoye, the largest gas condensate field is located in the Astrakhan region, on the basis of which a gas-industrial complex is being formed.
In the Caspian lowland, in the lakes Baskunchak and Elton, there are resources of table salt; these lakes are also rich in bromine, iodine, and magnesium salts.
Population and workforce
The population of the Volga region is distinguished by the diversity of the national composition. A significant share in the structure of the population in the Republic of Kalmykia is occupied by Kalmyks - 45.4%. In the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, with the predominance of the Russian population, Kazakhs, Tatars, and Ukrainians live. The population of the Volga region is characterized by its high concentration in the regional centers and the capital of the republic. The population of Volgograd is 987.2 thousand people. The lowest population density is typical for Kalmykia, here the smallest proportion of people living in cities.
Placement and development of the main sectors of the economy
Oil and gas production is carried out in the region. The largest is the Astrakhan gas condensate field, where natural gas is extracted and processed.
Oil refineries and petrochemical plants are located in the Volgograd and Astrakhan regions. The largest enterprise is the Volgograd oil refinery. Significant prospects for the development of the petrochemical industry has the Astrakhan region based on the use of hydrocarbon fractions of the Astrakhan field.
The electric power industry of the region is represented by the Volgograd hydroelectric power station and thermal power plants.
The region has a developed machine-building complex: shipbuilding centers - Astrakhan, Volgograd; agricultural engineering is represented by a large tractor plant in Volgograd; chemical and oil engineering is developed in the Astrakhan region.
Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy is developed in Volgograd, the largest enterprises are OJSC Volzhsky Pipe Plant, OJSC Volgograd Aluminum Plant.
The vast resources of the salt lakes have led to the development of the salt industry, which provides 25% of the country's need for food grade salt and other valuable chemical products.
The fishing industry is developed in the Lower Volga region, the main enterprise of the industry is the Kaspryba fishery concern, which includes a caviar and balyk association, a number of large fish processing plants, a marine fleet base, a fishing fleet (Kasprybholodflot), leading expeditionary fishing in the Caspian Sea. The concern also includes a fish breeding plant for the production of sturgeon fry and a net knitting factory.
In agricultural production, the branches of specialization are the cultivation of vegetable and gourd crops, sunflower, sheep breeding.
Transport and economic relations
The Volga region exports crude oil and oil products, gas, tractors, fish, grain, vegetable and melon crops, etc. It imports timber, mineral fertilizers, machinery and equipment, light industry products. The Volga region has a developed transport network, which provides high-capacity cargo flows.
River, railway and pipeline transport is developed in the region.
Intra-district differences
Lower Volga includes Astrakhan, Volgograd, regions and Kalmykia. The Lower Volga region is a sub-region of developed industry - mechanical engineering, chemical, food. At the same time, this is the most important agricultural region with a developed grain economy, beef cattle breeding and sheep breeding, as well as the production of rice, vegetables, melons and fisheries.
The main centers of the Lower Volga region are Volgograd (engineering, chemical industry are developed), Astrakhan (shipbuilding, the fishing industry, the production of packaging, a diverse food industry), Elista (building materials industry, mechanical engineering and metalworking).
The most industrially developed region is the Volgograd region, where machine building, ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical, food and light industries have the largest share in the diversified complex.
Main problems and development prospects
The degradation of natural fodder lands, especially in Kalmykia with its transhumant pasture system, is one of the main environmental problems in the region. Environmental damage is caused by industrial emissions and transport to the water and fish resources of the region. The solution of the problem is carried out with the help of the targeted federal program "Caspian", the main task of which is to clean up the Volga-Caspian water basin and increase the number of valuable fish species.
One of the main tasks is to equalize the levels of socio-economic development of the most backward regions of the Volga region and, first of all, Kalmykia, which has been granted a number of benefits in taxation and financing. The prospects for the development of this republic are connected with the expansion of oil and gas production, in particular, on the shelf of the Caspian Sea.
On the territory of the Astrakhan region, since 2002, the federal target program "South of Russia" has been implemented, which includes 33 projects in areas covering the most important areas of economic activity in the region: transport, agro-industrial, tourist-recreational and sanatorium-resort complexes; infrastructure, development of the social sphere.
Geological exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, as well as the Republic of Kalmykia, is carried out by OOO LUKOIL-Volgogradneftegaz. The prospects for economic development include exploration and development of oil fields in a number of promising areas of the sea shelf.
5.4. Volga Federal District
Administrative-territorial composition:
Republics - Bashkortostan, Mari El, Mordovia, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Chuvash.
Perm region. Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk regions.
Territory - 1037.0 thousand km 2. Population - 30.2 million people.
Administrative center - Nizhny Novgorod
The Volga Federal District is located on the territory belonging to three economic regions. The district unites the Volga-Vyatka economic region, the Middle Volga region and part of the Ural economic region (Fig.
What cities are included in the Volga region?
Rice. 5.5. Administrative-territorial composition
The main integration factor that unites all regions of the Volga region is the Volga River, the largest in Europe. The settlement of the region, its development, and the development of the economy were directly related to the use of this waterway (which already in Soviet times, along with the former access to the Caspian Sea, received access to the Azov, Black, Baltic and White Seas).
The Volga Federal District is distinguished in the country by the production of products of the chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering (including automotive), electric power and other industries.
About 23% of the manufacturing industries of the Russian economy are concentrated in the Volga Federal District (Table 1).
Table 5.7
Share of economic indicators
of the Volga Federal District in the all-Russian
| Economic indicators | Specific weight, % |
| Gross regional product | 15,8 |
| Fixed assets in the economy | 17,1 |
| Mining | 16,6 |
| Manufacturing industries | 22,8 |
| Production and distribution of electricity, gas and water | 19,7 |
| Agricultural products | 25,5 |
| Construction | 15,8 |
| Commissioning of the total area of residential buildings | 20,2 |
| Retail turnover | 17,9 |
| Receipt of tax payments and fees to the budget system of Russia | 14,7 |
| Investments in fixed assets | 16,2 |
| Export | 11.9 |
| Import | 5,5 |
The specialization of industrial production is determined on the basis of the localization coefficient in table 5.8.
The Volga Federal District specializes in manufacturing industries, including chemical production; production of rubber and plastic products; production of electrical equipment, electronic and optical equipment; production of vehicles and equipment.
Table 5.8
Specialization of industrial production
Volga Federal District
| Types of economic activity | Share of economic activity in industrial production, % | Localization coefficient | |
| countries | districts | ||
| Section C Mining | 21,8 | 17,1 | 0,784 |
| Subsection CA Extraction of fuel and energy minerals | 19,3 | 16,2 | 0,839 |
| Subsection NE Extraction of minerals, except for fuel and energy | 2,5 | 0,9 | 0,360 |
| Section D Manufacturing | 67,8 | 73,2 | 1,080 |
| Subsection DA Manufacture of food products, including beverages, and tobacco | 10,4 | 7,6 | 0,731 |
| Subsection DB Textile and clothing production | 0,7 | 0,6 | 0,857 |
| Subdivision DC Manufacture of leather, leather goods and footwear | 0,1 | 0,1 | 1,000 |
| Subsection DD Woodworking and manufacture of wood products | 1,1 | 0,7 | 0,636 |
| Subsection DE Pulp and Paper; publishing and printing activities | 2,4 | 1,5 | 0,625 |
| Subsection DG Chemical production | 4,6 | 8,9 | 1,935 |
| Subsection DH Manufacture of rubber and plastic products | 1,7 | 2,7 | 1,588 |
| Subsection DI Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products | 4,1 | 3,3 | 0,805 |
| Subsection DJ Metallurgical production and production of finished metal products | 14,3 | 8,2 | 0,573 |
| Subsection DL Manufacture of electrical, electronic and optical equipment | 4,0 | 4,1 | 1,025 |
| Subsection DM Manufacture of vehicles and equipment | 6,2 | 14,3 | 2,306 |
| Subsection DN Other industries | 1,8 | 1,8 | 1,000 |
| Section E Production and distribution of electricity, gas and water | 10,4 | 9,7 | 0,933 |
| Total | — |
According to the peculiarities of the distribution of productive forces, the district is divided into three components: the Volga-Vyatka economic region, the Middle Volga region, and the regions of the Urals.
In 2003, the process of unification of the Komi-Perm Autonomous Okrug and the Perm Region into a new federal subject, the Perm Territory, began.
The Perm Territory received its official status in 2005 after the election of legislative and executive authorities and the unification of budgets. In the periodical press, this process was repeatedly called the beginning of the all-Russian process of unification and enlargement of the subjects of the federation.
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VIEW MORE:
Introduction 1
Composition of the Volga region 2
EGP district 2
Natural conditions 3
Population 3
Household 5
Environmental problems of the region and ways to solve them 16
Big Volga problem 17
Prospects for the development of the district 19
Appendix 21
Literature 22
INTRODUCTION
Russia is the largest region in all of Eurasia and the only federation within the CIS, so a regional analysis of its economic regions is of particular importance. Moreover, Russia differs in a number of features even in comparison with the republics of the near abroad.
The country has huge resources and a capacious domestic market. The development of the territory was asymmetrical, there is a significant gap between the resource base in the east and the main production base in the European part, a variety of natural and cultural landscapes are presented, and contrasts between the center and the periphery are great at all levels.
Economic zoning is the allocation of territories that differ in their specialization of the economy in the territorial division of labor. The economic regions of the Russian Federation were formed under the influence of various combinations of natural, economic and social conditions.
All economic regions have their own characteristics and their place in the inter-regional division of labor. However, it is important that these features are closely linked with the tasks of economically justified location of industrial and agricultural sectors throughout the country.
COMPOSITION OF THE POVOLZHSK DISTRICT
It is very difficult to precisely outline the territories belonging to the Volga region. The Volga region can be called only the territories adjacent directly to the Volga. But most often, the Volga region is understood as regions and republics of Russia located in the middle and lower reaches: Astrakhan, Volgograd, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk regions, the republics of Tatarstan and Kalmykia.
ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION
The Volga region stretches for almost 1.5 thousand km along the Volga from the confluence of the left tributary of the Kama to the Caspian Sea. The total territory is about 536 thousand km².
The EGP of this area is exceptionally profitable. In the west, the Volga region borders on the highly developed Volga-Vyatka, Central Black Earth and North Caucasian economic regions, in the east - on the Urals and Kazakhstan. A dense network of transport routes (railway and road) contributes to the establishment of broad inter-district production links in the Volga region. The Volga region is more open to the west and east; towards the main direction of economic relations of the country, so the vast majority of cargo transportation goes through this territory.
The Volga-Kama river route gives access to the Caspian, Azov, Black, Baltic, White seas. The presence of rich oil and gas deposits, the use of pipelines passing through this region (and starting in it, for example, the Druzhba oil pipeline), also confirms the profitability of the region's EGP.
NATURAL CONDITIONS AND RESOURCES
The Volga region has favorable natural conditions for living and farming. The region is rich in land (arable land makes up about 1/5 of Russia) and water resources. However, in the lower Volga region there are droughts, accompanied by dry winds that are detrimental to crops.
The area is rich in minerals. Oil, gas, sulfur, table salt, raw materials for the production of building materials are extracted here. Until the discovery of oil fields in Siberia, the Volga region occupied the first place in terms of oil reserves and production in the country. Although at present the region ranks second in the extraction of this type of raw material after the West Siberian, oil reserves in the Volga region are severely depleted. Therefore, its share in Russia's oil production is only 11% and is constantly decreasing. The main oil resources are located in Tatarstan and the Samara region, and gas - in the Saratov and Volgograd regions. Prospects for the development of the gas industry are associated with the large Astrakhan gas condensate field (6% of world reserves).
POPULATION
Now the Volga region is one of the most populated and developed regions of Russia. The population is 16.9 million people, i.e. The district has significant labor resources. The population of the Volga region is growing quite rapidly, but mainly not due to a high natural increase (1.2 people), but due to significant migration of the population. The average population density is 30 people per 1 km², but it is unevenly distributed. More than half of the population is in the Samara, Saratov regions and Tatarstan. In the Samara region, the population density is the highest - 61 people per 1 km², and in Kalmykia - the minimum (4 people per 1 km²).
Although the Volga region is a multinational region, Russians dominate sharply in the structure of the population (70%).
The share of Tatars (16%), Chuvashs and Maris is also significant.
Middle Volga
The population of the Republic of Tatarstan is 3.7 million people (among them Russians about 40%), about 320 thousand people live in Kalmykia (the share of Russians is more than 30%).
Before the revolution, the Volga region was a purely agricultural region. Only 14% of the population lived in cities. Now it is one of the most urbanized regions of Russia. 73% of all residents live in cities and urban-type settlements. The vast majority of the urban population is concentrated in regional centers, capitals of national republics and large industrial cities. There are 90 cities in the Volga region, among them three millionaire cities - Samara, Kazan, Volgograd. At the same time, almost all major cities (with the exception of Penza) are located on the banks of the Volga. The largest city of the Volga region - Samara - is located in Samarskaya Luka. Together with nearby cities and towns, it forms a large industrial hub.
ECONOMY
The most important condition for the sustainable and integrated development of the Volga region is the significant economic, scientific and technical potential created recently.
According to the total gross output of industry and agriculture in 1995, the region ranked fourth in Russia (after the Central, Ural and West Siberian regions). It accounted for 13.1% of the total gross output of industry and agriculture in Russia. In the future, the Volga region will retain its leading role in the national economic complex of the Russian Federation and restore its lost positions, taking its former stable position after the Central and Ural regions.
At the present stage of economic development, the economic complex of the Volga region has a complex structure. Despite the fact that industry prevails in it, agriculture is also one of the main branches of the national economy of the region. In the total gross output, industry accounts for 70-73%, agriculture - 20-22% and other sectors of the national economy - 5-10%.
The material basis for their development is primarily mineral and raw material and fuel and energy resources, agricultural raw materials, fish resources of the Caspian and Volga. At the same time, in the raw material balance of the region belongs to imported metals and materials of the forestry and woodworking industries.
A characteristic feature of the industrial production of the region is the close connection, cooperation and combination of its individual links, especially in the automotive industry and petrochemistry.
The basis of the territorial organization of the Volga region is a number of intersectoral complexes - fuel and energy, machine-building, chemical and petrochemical, agro-industrial, transport, construction, etc.
The main industries of the district are machine building, chemical and petrochemical, fuel industry, electric power industry, food industry, as well as building materials industries (glass, cement, etc.). However, the sectoral structure of the industry of the republics and regions of the Volga region has significant differences from the average Russian and average district.
Machine building complex- one of the largest and most complex industries in the structure of the Volga region. It accounts for at least 1/3 of the entire industrial output of the region. The industry as a whole is characterized by low metal consumption. Mechanical engineering works mainly on the rolled metal products of the neighboring Urals; a very small part of the demand is covered by our own metallurgy. The machine-building complex unites various machine-building productions. The Volga Engineering produces a wide range of machinery and equipment: cars, machine tools, tractors, equipment for various industries and agricultural enterprises.
A special place in the complex is occupied by transport engineering, represented by the production of aircraft and helicopters, trucks and cars, trolleybuses, etc. The aircraft industry is represented in Samara (production of turbojet aircraft) and Saratov (YAK-40 aircraft).
But the automotive industry stands out especially in the Volga region. The Volga region has long been rightfully called the “automotive workshop” of the country. There are all the necessary prerequisites for the development of this industry: the region is located in the zone of concentration of the main consumers of products, it is well provided with a transport network, the level of development of the industrial complex allows organizing broad cooperation ties.
In the Volga region, 71% of passenger cars and 17% of trucks in Russia are manufactured. Among the machine-building centers, the largest are:
Samara (machine tool building, production of bearings, aircraft building, production of autotractor equipment, mill and elevator equipment, etc.);
Saratov (machine tool building, production of oil and gas chemical equipment, diesel engines, bearings, etc.);
Volgograd (tractor building, shipbuilding, production of equipment for the petrochemical industry, etc.);
Togliatti (a complex of VAZ enterprises is the leader in the country's automotive industry).
Important centers of mechanical engineering are Kazan and Penza (precision engineering), Syzran (equipment for the energy and petrochemical industries), Engels (90% of the production of trolleybuses in the Russian Federation).
The Volga region is one of the main regions of Russia for the production of aerospace equipment.
LITERATURE
"Geography. Population and economy of Russia”, V.Ya. Rom, V.P. Dronov. Bustard, 1998
“Preparing for the exam in geography”, I.I. Barinova, V.Ya. Rom, V.P. Dronov. Iris, 1998
"Economic Geography of Russia", I.A.
Rodionov. Moscow Lyceum, 1998
"Economic geography of Russia", uch. ed. IN AND. Vidyapina. Infra-M, 1999
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