Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast () is a
federal subject of
Russia (an
oblast). The oblast has an area of 76,900 km², and a population of 3,524,028 (as of
2002 All-Russian Population Census). Its administrative center is the city of
Nizhny Novgorod. With a population of 1.3 million, Nizhny Novgorod is the largest city of the region and the 4th largest city of the Russian Federation, after
Moscow,
Saint Petersburg, and
Novosibirsk.
The area is crossed by the
Volga River. Apart from Nizhny's metropolitan area, the biggest city is
Arzamas. In the town of
Sarov, there is the largest and
holiest convent in Russia.
Makaryev Monastery opposite the town of
Lyskovo used to be location of the largest fair in Eastern Europe. Other historic towns include
Gorodets and
Balakhna, located on the
Volga to the north from
Nizhny Novgorod.
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast borders
Kostroma Oblast (N),
Kirov Oblast (NE),
Mari El (E),
Chuvashia (E),
Mordovia (S),
Ryazan Oblast (SW),
Vladimir Oblast (W) and
Ivanovo Oblast (NW).
Time zone
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is located in the
Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD).
UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).
Natural resources
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is not rich in natural resources, which are, mostly, limited to commercial deposits of sand (including titanium-zirconium sands),
clay,
gypsum,
peat, mineral
salt, and
timber.
The unique architectural construction " the 128 m steel lattice
hyperboloid tower built by the Great Russian engineer and scientist
Vladimir Grigorievich Shukhov in 1929 is located near the town of Dzerzhinsk on the left bank of the Oka River.
Districts
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast consists of the following districts (
raions):
*
Ardatovsky (Ардатовский)
*
Arzamassky (Арзамасский)
*
Balakhninsky (Балахнинский)
*
Bogorodsky (Богородский)
*
Bolsheboldinsky (Большеболдинский)
*
Bolshemurashkinsky (Большемурашкинский)
*
Borsky (Борский)
*
Buturlinsky (Бутурлинский)
*
Chkalovsky (Чкаловский)
*
Dalnekonstantinovsky ("альнеконстантиновский)
*
Diveyevsky ("ивеевский)
*
Gaginsky ("агинский)
*
Gorodetsky ("ородецкий)
*
Knyagininsky (Княгининский)
*
Koverninsky (Ковернинский)
*
Krasnobakovsky (Краснобаковский)
*
Krasnooktyabrsky (Краснооктябрьский)
*
Kstovsky (Кстовский)
*
Kulebaksky (Кулебакский)
*
Lukoyanovsky (Лукояновский)
*
Lyskovsky (Лысковский)
*
Navashinsky (Навашинский)
*
Pavlovsky (Павловский)
*
Perevozsky (Перевозский)
*
Pervomaysky (Первомайский)
*
Pilninsky (Пильнинский)
*
Pochinkovsky (Починковский)
*
Sechenovsky (Сеченовский)
*
Semyonovsky (Семёновский)
*
Sergachsky (Сергачский)
*
Shakhunsky (Шахунский)
*
Sharangsky (Шарангский)
*
Shatkovsky (Шатковский)
*
Sokolsky (Сокольский)
*
Sosnovsky (Сосновский)
*
Spassky (Спасский)
*
Tonkinsky (Тонкинский)
*
Tonshayevsky (Тоншаевский)
*
Urensky (Уренский)
*
Vachsky ('ачский)
*
Vadsky ('адский)
*
Varnavinsky ('арнавинский)
*
Vetluzhsky ('етлужский)
*
Volodarsky ('олодарский)
*
Vorotynsky ('оротынский)
*
Voskresensky ('оскресенский)
*
Voznesensky ('ознесенский)
*
Vyksunsky ('ыксунский)
As Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is not rich in natural resources, the regional economy has been focused on developing its industrial and processing sectors, R&D and transport, which produce almost 80% the Gross Regional Product (GRP).
There are 722 industrial companies in the region, most of them engaged in the following sectors:
*Machine-building and engineering
*Chemical & petrochemical
*Fuel & energy
*Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy
*Construction materials
*Glass
*Wood and paper
*Cloth-making
*Food & food processing
*Medical & pharmaceuticals
*Printing & publishing.
These key industries are supplemented by other sectors of the economy such as agriculture, trade, services, communications and transport.
According to preliminary estimations, in 2002, the GRP of the Nizhny Novgorod region totaled US$ 5.6 billion, where the industrial and transportation companies produced US$ 4.5 billion. The regional companies demonstrated 6.6% growth in output, which is higher than the national growth in Russia for the last year. In 2002, high growth was registered in machine-building (+13.6%), fuel industry (+49%), ferrous metallurgy (+8.9%), wood & paper production (+2.4%), and printing & publishing (+6.2%). Foreign investment in the region totaled US$84.5 million with 95% of them invested into industrial enterprises. In 2003, the regional government forecast minimum 3.8% growth of industrial output.
