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Astrakhan Oblast edit
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| Astrakhan Oblast (English) Астраханская область (Russian) |
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Location of Astrakhan Oblast in Russia |
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| Coat of Arms | Flag |
Coat of arms of Astrakhan Oblast |
Flag of Astrakhan Oblast |
| Anthem: none | |
| Administrative center | Astrakhan |
| Established | December 27, 1943 |
| Political status Federal district Economic region |
Oblast Southern Volga |
| Code | 30 |
| Area | |
| Area - Rank within Russia |
44,100 km² 55th |
| Population (as of the 2002 Census) | |
| Population - Rank within Russia - Density - Urban - Rural |
1,005,276 inhabitants 55th 22.8 inhab. / km² 67.7% 32.3% |
| Official language | Russian |
| Government | |
| Governor | Alexander Zhilkin |
| Chairman of the Government | Konstantin Markelov |
| Legislative body | State Duma |
| Charter | Charter of Astrakhan Oblast |
| Official website | |
| http://www.astrobl.ru/ | |
Astrakhan Oblast (Russian: Астраха́нская о́бласть, Astrakhanskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan.
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Astrakhan Oblast is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).
Population:
1,005,276 (2002 Census); 998,114 (1989 Census)
Ethnic groups:
According to the 2002 Census the ‘national composition’ was • Russian 69.69% • Kazakh 14.21% • Tatar 7.02% • Ukrainian 1.25% • Chechen 1.00% • Azeri 0.82% • Kalmyk 0.71% • Armenian 0.63% • Nogay 0.45% • Roma 0.43% • Avar 0.42% • Lezgin 0.36% • Dargin 0.35% • Belarusians 0.26% • Turkmen 0.21% • Korean 0.21% • Astrakhan Tatar 0.20% • German 0.14% • Kumyks 0.14% • Georgian 0.12% • Chuvash 0.12% • Turkish 0.11% • Uzbek 0.10% • Jewish 0.10% • Mordvin 0.09% • Tabasaran 0.08% • with many other groups of less than eight hundred persons each. • An additional 0.29% of residents declined to state their nationality or ethnocultural identity on the census questionnaire.1
A majority of the population (primarily ethnic Russians) adheres to Orthodox Christianity. There is also a significant Muslim minority, constituting around 20% of the population.
Astrakhan Governorate (guberniya) of the Russian Empire was created in 1717. It was on the southwestern frontier of the empire and was known as Astrakhan krai.
As of 1917, it bordered Saratov, Samara, and Stavropol Governorates, Don Cossack Voisko, Ural Cossack Host, Terek Oblast, and the Caspian Sea. It included the Kalmyk steppe and Kyrgyz steppe.
Since 1919 the geography of the guberniya/oblast has been changed many times. It assumed its present form in 1957.