Kostroma Oblast

Kostroma Oblast (Костромска́я о́бласть, Kostromskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kostroma. Population: 667,562 (2010 Census).

Major historic towns include Kostroma, Sharya, Nerekhta, Galich, Soligalich, and Makaryev. Textile industries have been developed there since the early 18th century. The oblast was detached from Yaroslavl Oblast in 1944.

The Governor of the oblast was Viktor Shershunov from 1997 until his death in a car crash on September 20, 2007. From 2007 the Governor was Igor Slyunyayev. As of 2012, Sergey Sitnikov is the Governor.

History
From c. 300 CE the whole current area of Kostroma with exception the area east of River Unzha was part of historical Finno-Ugric peoples' lands, like the Merya people and their loose tribal confederation. There were at least 109 Merya settlements located in the area of which the most important below mentioned trading centers and important hill fortresses were later recorded by the Russians as the Russians founded towns in the late 9th to 12th centuries.

The oblast was formed on August 13, 1944.

Geography
Kostroma Oblast borders Vologda Oblast (N), Kirov Oblast (E), Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (S), Ivanovo Oblast (W), and Yaroslavl Oblast (NW). The main rivers are the Volga and the Kostroma. Much of the area is covered by woods, making it one of the principal timber producing regions in Europe.

Politics
During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Kostroma CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.

The Charter of Kostroma Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Kostroma Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.

Economy
The main industrial sectors include the fuel, chemical and petrochemical, forest, woodworking (lumber, plywood, chipboard, fiberboard, and furniture), pulp and paper, food (alcoholic beverages and starch), light (linen, hemp, and jute fabrics; clothing, shoes, and knitted goods), building material, power and engineering excavators, machine tools, and equipment for the textile, chemical, food, and woodworking industries.

The jewelry trade began developing in Kostroma in the 19th century. Engraving, silver niello (silver with black engraving), and ornaments with colored glass and enamel insets are some examples of the art. The largest center of the jewelry industry is the village of Krasnoe-on-Volga.

Agriculture
Agriculture is one of Kostroma Oblast's most important sectors. Rye, wheat, barley, and oats are grown here, and beekeeping and plant cultivation are expanding. Traditional flax cultivation and processing is reviving. However, agriculture in the region is mainly oriented towards livestock farming, e.g., beef and dairy cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry. Agricultural land occupies 940,000 hectares in the Oblast, including 26,400 hectares allotted to individual farms and 551,000 hectares of cropland.

Transport
Oblast is bound to other Russian regions by roads, railroads (6–7 hours from Moscow) and air routes. Kostroma Airport serves to let people fly regularly inside Oblast and unregularly to Moscow.

Demographics
Population: 667,562 (2010 Census);


 * 2012
 * Births: 8 484 (12.8 per 1000)
 * Deaths: 10 583 (16.0 per 1000)

2009 - 1.65 | 2010 - 1.65 | 2011 - 1.71 | 2012 - 1.82(e)
 * Total fertility rate:

Ethnic composition (2010):
 * Russians - 96.6%
 * Ukrainians - 0.9%
 * Others - 2.5%
 * 23,194 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.

Religion
According to a 2012 official survey 53.8% of the population of Kostroma Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 5% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% adheres to other Orthodox Churches, and 1% of the population adheres to Slavic Rodnovery (Slavic Neopaganism). In addition, 25% of the population deems itself to be "spiritual but not religious", 9% is atheist, and 5.2% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.