Rostov Oblast (Росто́вская о́бласть) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of 100967 km2 and a population of 4,200,729 (2021 Census), making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Rostov-on-Don, which also became the administrative center of the Southern Federal District in 2002.

Geography

Rostov Oblast borders Ukraine (Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts) and also Volgograd and Voronezh Oblasts in the north, Krasnodar and Stavropol Krais in the south, and the Republic of Kalmykia in the east. The Rostov oblast is located in the Pontic-Caspian steppe. It is directly north over the North Caucasus and west of the Yergeni hills. It is within the Russian Southern Federal District.

Rivers and lakes

The Don River, one of Europe's longest rivers, flows through the oblast for part of its course. Lakes cover only 0.4% of the oblast's area.

Administrative divisions

History

Historically, at various times, the territory was ruled either entirely or partly by Scythia, ancient Greeks, Old Great Bulgaria, Khazars, Kipchaks, Italians (Pisa, Venice, Genoa) the Mongol Empire, the Crimean Khanate, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and Soviet Ukraine. The ancient Greek city of Tanais is located in the province. Taganrog served as the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in March-April 1918, and was the place of establishment of the Communist Party of Ukraine. The Rostov Oblast was formed in 1937 out of the Azov-Black Sea Krai. During World War II, it was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941–1943.

Demographics

Population: Vital statistics for 2022: Total fertility rate (2022): 1.25 children per woman Life expectancy (2021): Total — 69.79 years (male — 65.80, female — 73.67)

Ethnic groups

Residents identified themselves as belonging to 157 different ethnic groups, including 27 of more than 2,000 persons each. The largest ethnicities are the 3,795,607 Russians (90.3%); the 110,727 Armenians (2.6%) and the 77,802 Ukrainians (1.9%). Other important groups are the 35,902 Turks (0.9%); 16,493 Belarusians (0.4%); 13,948 Tatars (0.3%); 17,961 Azerbaijanis (0.4%); 11,449 Chechens (0.3%); 16,657 Romani (0.4%); 11,597 Koreans (0.3%); 8,296 Georgians (0.2%), and 2,040 Assyrians (.05%). There were also 76,498 people (1.8%) belonging to other ethno-cultural groupings. 76,735 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 survey 49.5% of the population of Rostov Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 6% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% are either Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to church or are members of other (non-Russian) Orthodox bodies, 1% are Muslims, and 1% are adherents of the Slavic native faith (Rodnovery) movement. In addition, 26% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 12% is atheist, and 3.5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question. The Ascension Cathedral is the largest Russian Orthodox church in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, Russia. It used to be one of the largest churches of the Russian Empire and the main church of the Don Host Oblast. The five-domed building, which stands 75 meters tall, is a notable example of Russian Neo-Byzantine architecture. It was erected between 1891 and 1904 on the site of an earlier church. The first church on the site was built to Luigi Rusca's designs. It collapsed in 1846. A replacement church collapsed 17 years later. Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin ― one of the oldest churches in Rostov-on-Don. For a considerable period of time, Intercession Church served as the principal church not only for the fortress of St. Dimitry of Rostov but also for the people of local settlements. Since the end of the 18th century, the Church of Intercession had been considered to be a cathedral. The status changed in 1822, when Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the decree of the Holy Synod was declared cathedral.

Culture

Attractions

Theatres

The theater has two stages as well as a music and entertainment center, and hosts about 300 performances and concerts annually, as well as various forums and festivals. Its repertoire encompasses both musical traditions, as well as experiments in the field of contemporary art.

Museums

In Rostov-on-Don

In other cities of the region

Economy

Major industries of Rostov Oblast are agriculture, agricultural industry, food processing, heavy industry, coal and automobile manufacture. The largest companies in the region include Novoshakhtinsk Petrochemical Plant, Gloria Jeans Corp., Rostvertol, Oil-extracting factory "Yug Rusi", North Caucasian Railway. In the Rostov Region in 1989, the first commercial bank in Southern Russia, Rostovsoсbank, was created on the basis of the regional division of the Zhilsotsbank USSR. The bank existed from 1989 to 1998, with four branches operating in Rostov-on-Don. In addition, the bank had branches in the cities of Taganrog, Shakhty, Gukovo and Donetsk. In 1998 Rostovsotsbank lost solvency, but was able to ensure full repayment of deposits to all depositors before the establishment of the Deposit Insurance System, even before the revocation of the banking license. From 1999 to 2010, one of the largest banks in Southern Russia was Donskoy Narodny Bank (Don People's Bank), located in Rostov-on-Don. As of 2022, there are 7 regional credit organizations and 21 bank branches operating in Rostov Oblast. The leading positions are taken by Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, Rosbank, Center-Invest and Fora-Bank.

2024 drone attack

On 28 August 2024 a fire broke out at the Atlas oil depot in the Kamensky District in the Rostov region following a drone strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The depot stores petroleum products for the Russian army.

Gallery

Sources