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Leningrad oblast

Leningrad Oblast
Ленинградская область (Russian)
—  Oblast  —

Flag

Coat of arms
Anthem: none
Coordinates: 60°03′N 31°45′E / 60.050°N 31.750°E / 60.050; 31.750Coordinates: 60°03′N 31°45′E / 60.050°N 31.750°E / 60.050; 31.750
Political status
Country Russia
Federal district Northwestern
Economic region Northwestern
Established August 1, 1927
Administrative center None
Government (as of October 2014)
 • Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko
 • Legislature Legislative Assembly
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)
 • Total 84,500 km2 (32,600 sq mi)
Area rank 38th
Population (2010 Census)
 • Total 1,716,868
 • Rank 26th
 • Density 20.32/km2 (52.6/sq mi)
 • Urban 65.7%
 • Rural 34.3%
Population (January 2014 est.)
 • Total 1,763,900
Time zone(s) MSK (UTC+03:00)
ISO 3166-2 RU-LEN
License plates 47
Official languages Russian
Official website

Leningrad Oblast (Russian: Ленингра́дская о́бласть, tr. Leningradskaya oblast’; IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ]) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).

The oblast overlaps the historic region of Ingria and is bordered by Finland in the northwest and Estonia in the west, as well as five federal subjects of Russia: the Republic of Karelia in the northeast, Vologda Oblast in the east, Novgorod Oblast in the south, Pskov Oblast in the southwest, and the federal city of Saint Petersburg in the west.

The first governor of Leningrad Oblast was Vadim Gustov (in 1996–1998). The current governor, since 2012, is Alexander Drozdenko.

The oblast has an area of 84,500 square kilometers (32,600 sq mi) and a population of 1,716,868 (2010 Census); up from 1,669,205 recorded in the 2002 Census. The most populous town of the oblast is Gatchina, with 88,659 inhabitants (as of the 2002 Census). Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized.

Leningrad Oblast is located around the Gulf of Finland and south of two great lakes of the European Part of Russia, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Its northeastern part, between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, occupies the Karelian Isthmus. Some islands in the Gulf of Finland (including Kotlin, on which the city of Kronstadt has been built) and Lake Ladoga (including Konevets) also belong to the oblast.


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