Cites and Regions from The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce® The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce® offers summarized excerpts from our Russian Commerce News about these selected Cities and Regions in Russia. [Cities] [Regions] Cities: Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk is the major industrial, scientific and cultural center of the southern Urals. Irkutsk Irkutsk was founded in the 17th century during Russia's long push east. It is located in south-eastern Siberia on the banks of the Angara River, only an hour by road from Lake Baikal, but five time zones and 3,000 miles east of Moscow. Kaliningrad Kaliningrad is best known as the port of the heavily militarized Russian Oblast (Region) which, after the breakup of the former USSR, found itself an enclave nestled between Poland and Lithuania. Murmansk The Murmansk Region is located in the northern most territory of Northwest Russia on the Kola Peninsula, above the Polar Circle. Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod, the third largest city in Russia, is witnessing the vibrancy and enthusiasm of a youthful city on the brink of a metropolitan explosion. Samara Samara is situated mid-way along the river Volga, in the center of European Russia, with an area of 536,600 square km and a population of 3.3 million. Natural resources include oil, natural gas, fuel slates, natural sulphur, mineral/rhodon waters, mineral muds, forming sand, and chalk. Saratov Saratov occupies 100 thousand square kilometers where over 2.7 million people live. It consists of 30 administrative districts, 12 towns, 30 workers' settlements, and about 2000 other settlements. Taganrog Taganrog is an important research, cultural, and industrial center in Southern Russia. Vologda Vologda is situated in northwestern Russia, 500 km from Moscow and borders on Karelia, Arkhangelsk, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Tver, Novgorod, and St. Petersburg occupying of 145.7 thousand square km. The rivers flowing through the region's territory carry their waters to the Baltic, White, and Caspian seas. Voronezh Voronezh is a major Russian administrative, industrial and cultural center, covering a total area of 69 hectares along the banks of the rivers Don, Usmanka and Voronezh. Regions: The Adygeya Region The population of the republic consists of the following groups: the Adygey, the Kabardians and the Circassians. The Arkhangelsk Region Arkhangelsk region, as the biggest region of European part of Russia, occupies an extremely important geographical position in the country. Central Asian Republics The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was admitted as a constituent republic of the Soviet Union on December 5, 1929 from regions of Bokhara and Turkestan where the Tajiks formed a majority of the population. Chuvash The Chuvash Republic is situated in the center of European part of Russia - the Volga-Vyatka economic zone, between the Sura and Sviyaga rivers. The Russian Far East The Russian Far East is a group of ten territories, all of which have approximately equal political stature as subjects of the Russian Federation (except for the Republic of Sakha which has greater autonomy). Karelia The Republic of Karelia is located in the northwestern part of Russian Federation, taking intervening position between the basins of Barents and Baltic seas. Khabarovsky Krai Because vast minerals are hidden in the interiors of the region, its new economy is aimed at the countries of the Asian Pacific Rim. The Krasnodar Region TThe region of Krasnodar, colloquially named “the Kuban”, is home to just over 5 million people (3.5% of the national total). The region extends to 75,500 square kilometers, which is a little over 4% of the total landmass of the Russian Federation (in simplistic terms it is the combined size of Holland and Denmark, or approximately the same size as the Irish Republic). Krasnoyarsk Territory The Krasnoyarsk Territory is situated in the East Siberian region of Russia, in the very center of the Eurasian continent. Its total area is 2.34 million square kilometers or 13.6% of the territory of Russia. The region is rich in timber, gold, hydrocarbons, and rare-earth metals. The Leningrad Oblast Although the Leningrad Oblast was not actually formed until August 1927, Saint Petersburg City was founded in 1703. Moscow City and Moscow Oblast Moscow is Russia's capital and largest city. It covers the area of over 1,000 sq.km. (about the size of Dallas, TX) and is the 21st largest city in the world with 9.3 million people. Novgorod Region The Novgorod Region located in the northwest of Russia has a unique geographic position and a highly developed transport network. Omsk Oblast The Omsk Oblast has relatively scarce natural resources. Oil resources in the region have not been actively developed and are estimated at 150 million tons. Pskov Region The Pskov Region (oblast) is located in North-Western Russia and is bordered by Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus. The region covers approximately 13,700,000 acres (55,500 square km) and supports a population of 841,000, 64 percent of whom live in urbanized areas. Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is located in European Russia. This city of over 1.5 million is considered a political, economic and cultural center of southern Russia. The Black Sea, the Azov and the Caspian are all easily accessible from the “Gates to the Caucasus.” Although the history of this area dates back many centuries, the current city is said to have been founded in 1749. Sakhalin The Sakhalin Region is the only one-island administrative territory in Russia. It includes Sakhalin Island, Moneron, and Tjuleni Islands and the Kurile Islands. Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast is situated in the centre of Russia on the border between Europe and Asia and is the largest Ural region (195,000 sq. km.). 4.7 million people live in the region. Small Towns of Russia Perhaps the only commonality shared by the towns and small cities of Krasnoarmeisk, Myshkin, Putchezh, Kholui, Urupinsk, Mariinsky Posad, Kirillov, Suzdal and Gus-Krustalnyi is that they are each unique. The Republic of Tatarstan Tatarstan is situated in the center of the Russian Federation on the East-European Plain at the confluence of the two greatest rivers - the Volga and the Kama. The Tver Oblast Tver Oblast, populated by 1.6 million people, covers 84,100 square kilometers and is the largest region in Central Russia. Udmurtia Udmurtia is a sovereign republic situated in the western part of the Middle Urals between the Kama and Vyatka rivers, which allows river shipment to the Volga River and to the sea. Uzbekistan The Republic of Uzbekistan was established on August 1, 1991. Its territory is 447,800 square kilometers. Uzbekistan is situated in the center of the Central Asian region in between the Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya rivers. Voronezh Oblast Voronezh oblast, one of the most important industrial and agricultural centres of Russia, is located in the Central Black Soil Region about 600 km south of Moscow. Yaroslavl Oblast The Yaroslavl Oblast, located in the heart of central Russia not far from Moscow, is a region waiting to be discovered. The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce® is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization acting to promote American business interests in the Russian marketplace. Last Updated: June 6, 2002. Copyright The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce® 1995-2003. All rights reserved.