Chelyabinsk Oblast

During the Middle Ages, Bashkir tribes inhabited the Southern Urals; they formed part of the Golden Horde, Nogai Horde, and smaller Bashkir unions. The Tsardom of Russia incorporated the area in the late 16th century. However, Russian colonization of the region only began in the 18th century, with the establishment of a system of fortresses and trade posts on the then-Russian border by the {{ill|Orenburg Expedition|ru|Оренбургская экспедиция}} in 1734. Many cities of Chelyabinsk Oblast, including the city of Chelyabinsk itself, trace their history back to those forts.

In 1743 the Chelyabinsk fortress became a center of the {{ill|Iset Province|ru|Исетская провинция}}, a constituent part of the Orenburg Governorate (a direct successor of the Orenburg Expedition). The period from the 1750s to the 1770s saw the emergence of industrial enterprises in the Southern Urals when the first factory-centered towns like Miass, Kyshtym, and Zlatoust were founded. After the Southern Urals recovered from the Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–1775, the territory of modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast started to attract more people from the European part of Russia. By the mid-19th century Chelyabinsk was a major trade center in the Urals, and after the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in the 1890s, it became an important transport hub that connected Siberia to the rest of the Russian Empire.

In 1919, Chelyabinsk became the regional capital of the newly formed Chelyabinsk Governorate of the Russian SFSR, which combined eastern portions of the Orenburg Governorate with Kurgan of the Tobolsk Governorate. At this time, the population of the new region has already exceeded one million people. In 1923, together with the Perm, {{ill|Yekaterinburg Governorate|ru|Екатеринбургская губерния}} and Tyumen governorates, it merged into a single Ural Oblast that lasted only ten years, until 1934. On 17 January 1934, Chelyabinsk Oblast was finally established. Its current boundaries were formed when Kurgan Oblast was detached from it in 1943.

During the 1930s the regional economy and industrial output grew as Chelyabinsk Oblast became a key focus of the First Five-Year Plan. Key factories and enterprises that formed the core of the modern Chelyabinsk economy, including the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant and the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, originated at this time. The economy continued to grow after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, as industries evacuated from the western parts of the Soviet Union to the Urals, and to Chelyabinsk Oblast in particular. During the war, Magnitogorsk alone produced one third of all Soviet steel, while the city of Chelyabinsk became the main center of Soviet tank production, earning the nickname "Tankograd" (Tank City).

Chelyabinsk Oblast has been home to top-secret nuclear research since the 1940s. While there are no nuclear power stations in Chelyabinsk, a number of production reactors were located there starting with the early Cold War. A serious nuclear accident occurred in 1957 at the Mayak nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, {{Cvt|150|km}} north-west of the city, which led to evacuations and fatalities throughout the oblast, although not in Chelyabinsk city. The province was closed to all foreigners until 1992, with the sole exception of allowing a British medical team in following a two-train rail explosion in the mid-1980s.

Sławomir Grünberg has made the documentary Chelyabinsk: The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet (1994) about the unsafe dumping of radioactive waste in the Techa River and in Lake Karachay.

On 4 July 1997, Chelyabinsk, alongside Bryansk, Magadan, Saratov, and Vologda signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy.{{Cite web |url=https://jamestown.org/program/moscow-signs-power-sharing-agreements-with-five-more-regions/ |title=Moscow Signs Power-Sharing Agreements With Five More Regions |date=1997-07-07 |website=Jamestown |language=en-US |access-date=2019-05-02 |archive-date=2019-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502165601/https://jamestown.org/program/moscow-signs-power-sharing-agreements-with-five-more-regions/ |url-status=live }} The agreement would be abolished on 2 February 2002.{{Cite journal |last=Chuman |first=Mizuki |title=The Rise and Fall of Power-Sharing Treaties Between Center and Regions in Post-Soviet Russia |url=http://demokratizatsiya.pub/archives/19_2_L7H017206G216817.pdf |journal=Demokratizatsiya |pages=146 |access-date=2019-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308002915/http://demokratizatsiya.pub/archives/19_2_L7H017206G216817.pdf |archive-date=2019-03-08 |url-status=dead}}

On 15 February 2013, a 10,000 ton meteoroid entered the Earth's atmosphere over Russia at about 09:20 YEKT (03:20 UTC). It passed over the southern Ural region and exploded in a meteor air burst over Chelyabinsk Oblast. About 1,500 people were reported injured, including 311 children. Health officials said 112 people had been hospitalized, mainly from injuries caused by glass from windows shattered by a shock wave; two were reported to be in serious condition. As many as 3,000 buildings in six cities across the region were damaged by the explosion and impacts. The meteor created a dazzling light as it air burst, bright enough to cast shadows during broad daylight in Chelyabinsk.

The largest companies in the region include Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (Mechel group), Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant, Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant, Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant, Ashinsky Metallurgical Plant.{{cite web |title=Выписки ЕГРЮЛ и ЕГРИП, проверка контрагентов, ИНН и КПП организаций, реквизиты ИП и ООО |url=https://sbis.ru/contragents?p=companies |website=СБИС |access-date=20 October 2018 |language=ru |archive-date=21 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021024515/https://sbis.ru/contragents?p=companies |url-status=live }}

Chelyabinsk Oblast is on the eastern slope of the Southern Urals. Only a small part of the territory to the west is on the western slopes of the Southern Urals.

Chelyabinsk Oblast is situated in the Southern Urals, near Kurgan and Sverdlovsk oblast. Most of the Oblast is located to the east of the Ural Mountains, which form the continental boundary between Asia and Europe. This boundary is marked by a stone pillar at the Uraltau pass near the Urzhumka station ({{Cvt|8|km}} from Zlatoust), which has "Europe" written on one side and "Asia" on the other. In Chelyabinsk Oblast, Zlatoust city, Katav-Ivanovsk, and Satka and Chelyabinsk, Troitsk, and Miass are in Europe. Magnitogorsk is located on both continents.{{cite web |url=https://www.magnitogorsk.ru/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=1093&Itemid=1711&lang=en |title=Magnitogorsk - is our city in the Urals |date=August 24, 2012 |publisher=City of Magnitogorsk |access-date=June 12, 2016 |archive-date=May 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504151815/http://magnitogorsk.ru/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=1093&Itemid=1711&lang=en |url-status=live }}

The area of Chelyabinsk Oblast is {{Cvt|88900|km2}}.{{cite web |title=ВПН-2010 |url=http://www.perepis-2010.ru/news/detail.php?ID=6936 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225111852/http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/perepis_itogi1612.htm |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |access-date=June 9, 2016 |website=Perepis-2010.ru}} The total length of its external border is {{Cvt|2750|km}}, and the Oblast measures {{Cvt|400|km}} from north to south and {{Cvt|490|km}} from west to east.

The highest point of Chelyabinsk Oblast, reaching {{convert|1406|m|ft}} above sea level, is located in the Nurgush, a {{convert|50|km|mi}} long mountain range rising near lake Zyuratkul.{{Cite web |url=https://peakvisor.com/peak/bolshoi-nurgush.html |title=Bolshoi Nurgush - Peak Visor |access-date=2022-01-29 |archive-date=2022-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129074251/https://peakvisor.com/peak/bolshoi-nurgush.html |url-status=live }}

It also borders the country of Kazakhstan, specifically the Kostanay Region.

Chelyabinsk Oblast has a very diverse landscape, ranging from lowlands and hilly plains to mountain ranges with peaks exceeding 1,000 m, including Nurgush mountain (1406 m). The mountainous area has several ski resorts.

The West Siberian Plain is bounded on the west horizontal (elevation 190 m above sea level), which passes through the village of Bagaryak, Kunashak and continues through Chelyabinsk to the south. The lowlands are located in the northeast, and the elevation drops to 130 m in the eastern border region.

Numerous rivers originate within the region, within the basins of the Kama, Tobol, and Ural rivers. The region is home to 348 rivers longer than {{Cvt|10|km}} (totaling {{Cvt|10235|km}} in length), 17 of which are over {{Cvt|100|km}} in length. Seven rivers, the Miass, Uy, Ural, Ay, Ufa, Uvelka, and Gumbeyka, pass through the area and are longer than {{Cvt|200|km|4=0}}.

File:Вид на озеро Иткуль.jpg]]

Chelyabinsk Oblast is also home to more than 3,748 lakes, mostly located in the north and east and covering a total area of {{Cvt|2125|km2}}. Many of the lakes in this area, including Lake Turgoyak, Zyuratkul, and Lake Itkul, are famous for their clear waters and attract tourism. Some of the lakes in the eastern foothills have tectonic origins as water accumulated in tectonic failures (basins), resulting in very deep lakes that can reach {{Cvt|30-40|m}}.

Taganay National Park is located northeast of the city of Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk Oblast. Taganay National Park is a popular tourist destination in the Urals. The park contains mountain ranges, alpine meadows, stone outcrops and a several kilometer stone river, forests, woodlands and mountain tundra, ancient mineral mines and mountain rivers flowing both to Europe and Asia. Taganay National Park was established on 5 March 1991, the first in the Urals.

Gagarin Central Park is a 12-hectare recreational space in Chelyabinsk. The park is named after Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut and the first person to enter space. The park contains forest walks, lakes, old quarries, and landscaped gardens. There is also a showground with rides.

There are several monuments in Chelyabinsk, many of which are on Kirovka street, a pedestrian street in the center of Chelyabinsk. The monuments include a monument to Igor Kurchatov, a nuclear scientist, which opened in 1986 to the 250th anniversary of Chelyabinsk; a monument to Orlenok, on the Aloe polye in Chelyabinsk, which opened on 29 October 1958 on the day of the fortieth anniversary of the Komsomol; the Sculpture of the Postman; the Memorial to Law and Order Soldiers; the Monument to Soldiers-Internationalists; and a sculpture of a firefighter.

image:Zakonodat.sobranie.Chel.obl.JPG

File:Governor's residence, Chelyabinsk Oblast.jpg

During the Soviet period, the highest authority in the Oblast was shared between three positions: the First Secretary of the Chelyabinsk CPSU Committee (who held the most power), the Chairman of the Oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the Oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the CPSU lost its monopoly on power.

Today, the Charter of Chelyabinsk Oblast governs the political structure of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast serves as the province's regional parliament and exercises legislative authority, with the power to pass laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and oversee their implementation and observance. The Oblast Government, led by the Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast, is the highest executive body in the region, and includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day-to-day matters of the province.

{{Main article|Administrative divisions of Chelyabinsk Oblast}}

{{-}}

File:Chelyab-oblast.svg

Administrative and municipal divisions

{{Russia district OSM map

|federal_subject = Q5714

|frame-lat =

|frame-long =

|zoom = 5

|frame-align = right

|plain = no

}}

{{Historical populations

|type =

|footnote = Source: Census data, estimate{{cite web|title=Предварительная оценка численности постоянного населения на 1 января 2025 года|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/PrPopul2025_Site.xlsx|publisher=Federal State Statistics Service|accessdate=3 February 2025}}

|1926 | 2564012

|1939 | 1729000

|1959 | 2976625

|1970 | 3288801

|1979 | 3438866

|1989 | 3623732

|2002 | 3603339

|2010 | 3476217

|2021 | 3431224

|2025 | 3383188

}}

Population: {{ru-census|p2021=3,431,224|p2010=3,476,217|p2002=3,603,339|p1989=3,623,732|}}

File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -Chelyabinsk Oblast.png

{{clear|left}}

Vital statistics for 2024:{{Cite web |date=21 February 2025 |title=Естественное движение населения в разрезе субъектов российской федерации за декабрь 2024 года |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/EDN_12-2024.htm |url-status=live |access-date=25 February 2025 |website=Rosstat}}

• Births: 28,923 (8.5 per 1,000)
• Deaths: 46,048 (13.6 per 1,000)

Total fertility rate (2024):{{Cite web |date=2025-02-25 |title=Рейтинг рождаемости в регионах: кто в лидерах, а кто в аутсайдерах {{!}} Москва |url=https://fedpress.ru/article/3365231 |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=ФедералПресс |language=ru-RU}}

1.45 children per woman

Life expectancy (2021):{{cite web|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/folder/210/document/13207 |title=Демографический ежегодник России |publisher=Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat) |access-date=2022-06-01 |language=ru |trans-title=The Demographic Yearbook of Russia}}

Total — 69.16 years (male — 64.36, female — 73.79)

;Vital statistics for 2008

Source:[http://chelstat.gks.ru/munstat/DocLib1/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=/munstat/DocLib1/Демографическая%20статистика%20по%20городским%20округам%20и%20муниципальным%20районам%20области&FolderCTID=&View=34D3BD28-4978-44A2-9153-E090E213B963] {{dead link|date=June 2016}}

{{Largest cities

| country = Chelyabinsk Oblast

| stat_ref = 2010 Russian Census

| list_by_pop =

| div_name =

| div_link = Administrative divisions of Chelyabinsk Oblast{{!}}Administrative Division

| city_1 = Chelyabinsk

| div_1 = Chelyabinsk{{!}}City of oblast significance of Chelyabinsk

| pop_1 = 1,130,132

| img_1 = Chelyabinsk-view-20-october-2011.jpg

| city_2 = Magnitogorsk

| div_2 = Magnitogorsk{{!}}City of oblast significance of Magnitogorsk

| pop_2 = 407,775

| img_2 = Magnitogorsk - Правобережный район.jpg

| city_3 = Zlatoust

| div_3 = Zlatoust{{!}}City of oblast significance of Zlatoust

| pop_3 = 174,962

| img_3 = Дом городского общества (ныне часовой завод).JPG

| city_4 = Miass

| div_4 = Miass{{!}}City of oblast significance of Miass

| pop_4 = 151,751

| img_4 = Река Миасс.jpg

| city_5 = Kopeysk

| div_5 = Kopeysk{{!}}City of oblast significance of Kopeysk

| pop_5 = 137,601

| city_6 = Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast{{!}}Ozyorsk

| div_6 = Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast{{!}}Closed administrative-territorial formation of Ozyorsk

| pop_6 = 82,164

| city_7 = Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast{{!}}Troitsk

| div_7 = Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast{{!}}Town of oblast significance of Troitsk

| pop_7 = 78,372

| city_8 = Snezhinsk

| div_8 = Snezhinsk{{!}}Closed administrative-territorial formation of Snezhinsk

| pop_8 = 48,810

| city_9 = Satka

| div_9 = Satka{{!}}Town of oblast significance of Satka

| pop_9 = 45,178

| city_10 = Chebarkul

| div_10 = Chebarkul{{!}}Town of oblast significance of Chebarkul

| pop_10 = 42,844

}}

Chelyabinsk Oblast is highly urbanized.

{{Bar box

|title=Religion in Chelyabinsk Oblast as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas)[http://sreda.org/en/arena "Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206100344/http://sreda.org/en/arena |date=2017-12-06 }}. Sreda, 2012.[http://c2.kommersant.ru/ISSUES.PHOTO/OGONIOK/2012/034/ogcyhjk2.jpg 2012 Arena Atlas Religion Maps]. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 21/04/2017. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170421154615/http://c2.kommersant.ru/ISSUES.PHOTO/OGONIOK/2012/034/ogcyhjk2.jpg Archived]}}.

|float=right

|bars=

{{Bar percent|Russian Orthodoxy|DarkOrchid|30.9}}

{{Bar percent|Other Orthodox|MediumOrchid|5.1}}

{{Bar percent|Other Christians|DeepSkyBlue|8.9}}

{{Bar percent|Islam|Green|6.9}}

{{Bar percent|Rodnovery and other native faiths|Red|0.7}}

{{Bar percent|Spiritual but not religious|DarkSlateGray|29}}

{{Bar percent|Atheism and irreligion|Black|14.5}}

{{Bar percent|Other and undeclared|Gray|4}}

}}

According to a 2012 survey, 30.9% of the population of Chelyabinsk Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 8% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 5% adheres to other Eastern Orthodox Churches, 8% of the population is Muslim, 1% adheres to Slavic Rodnovery (Slavic Neopaganism), and 0.4% to forms of Hinduism (Vedism, Krishnaism or Tantrism). In addition, 29% of the population deems itself to be "spiritual but not religious", 14% is atheist, and 4.7% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

{{clear}}

Chelyabinsk Oblast cooperates with:

• {{flagicon|TKM}} Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (1997){{cite web | url=http://www.e-cis.info/page.php?id=22696 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609003132/http://www.e-cis.info/page.php?id=22696 | archive-date=2016-06-09 | title=Интернет портал СНГ. 7.4. Соглашения между регионом государства – участника СНГ и регионом государства – участника СНГ (Российская Федерация) }}

• List of Chairmen of the Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite Russian law|ru_entity=Законодательное Собрание Челябинской области|ru_type=Закон|ru_number=22-ЗО|ru_date=25 мая 2006 г.|ru_title=Устав (основной закон) Челябинской области|ru_amendment_type=Закона|ru_amendment_number=427-ЗО|ru_amendment_date=30 апреля 2009 г|en_entity=Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast|en_type=Law|en_number=22-ZO|en_date=May 25, 2006|en_title=Charter (Basic Law) of Chelyabinsk Oblast|en_amendment_type=Law|en_amendment_number=427-ZO|en_amendment_date=April 30, 2009}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071031224834/http://www.redbook.ru/redbook395.html Reddatabook of Chelyabinsk Oblast]}}
• [http://www.arrco.ru Regional Development Agency of Chelyabinsk region]

{{Subdivisions of Russia}}

{{Chelyabinsk Oblast}}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = {{flag|Chelyabinsk Oblast}}

|North = {{flag|Sverdlovsk Oblast}}

|Northeast = {{flag|Kurgan Oblast}}

|East = Kostanay Province, {{flag|Kazakhstan}}

|Southeast = Kostanay Province, {{flag|Kazakhstan}}

|South = {{flag|Orenburg Oblast}}

|Southwest =

|West = {{flag|Bashkortostan}}

|Northwest =

}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:States and territories established in 1934

Category:1934 establishments in Russia