The Far Eastern Federal District (Дальневосточный федеральный округ, Latinized: Dal'nevostochnyy federal'nyy okrug) is the largest of the eight federal districts of Russia, but the least populated, with a population of around 8 million (73.6% urban) according to the 2021 Census. The federal district lies entirely within the easternmost part of Asia and is coextensive with the Russian Far East.

History

The Far Eastern Federal District was established on 13 May 2000 by President Vladimir Putin. It is currently governed by presidential envoy Yury Trutnev. In November 2018, Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai were added to the federal district. The seat of the Far Eastern Federal District was moved from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok in December 2018. On 15 July 2022, the first high-speed highway was opened in the Far Eastern Federal District. It united three federal highways – Ussuri (Khabarovsk–Vladivostok), Amur (Chita–Khabarovsk) and Vostok (Khabarovsk–Nakhodka), and connect the regional capital with Komsomolsk-on-Amur, as well as sites of the territory of the advancing socio-economic development (SAD).

Demographics

Federal subjects

Largest cities with a population over 75,000

There are 82 cities in the Far Eastern Federal District, and 13 cities have populations over 75,000. Only four of these 13 cities (Komsomolsk-on-Amur (7th) in Khabarovsk Krai, Ussuriysk (9th), Nakhodka (11th), Artyom (12th) in Primorsky Krai) are not administrative centres of a federal subject. Anadyr, the centre of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is one of the smallest centres of a federal subject (it has only 13,045 inhabitants). Only Magas, the centre of Ingushetia, is smaller than Anadyr. Artyom is a large suburb of the Vladivostok metropolitan area. Populations are given as of the 2021 census:

Religion

According to a 2012 survey 27.4% of the population of the current federal subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District (including Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai) adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 5.0% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1.4% is an Orthodox believer without belonging to any church or adheres to other (non-Russian) Orthodox churches, 3.3% is an adherent of Buddhism, 0.7% is an adherent of Islam, and 2.2% adhere to some native faith such as Rodnovery, Tengrism, Yellow shamanism, or Black shamanism. In addition, 27.0% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 23.5% is atheist, and 9.5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

Ethnicity

The ethnic composition, according to the 2021 census (after the integration of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai in 2018) was:

Presidential plenipotentiary envoys