Which includes the Volga region. Middle Volga

The Volga economic region occupies a territory that is located along the Volga coast. The advantage of its location is associated with access to the Caspian Sea. Thanks to the Volga and the Volga-Baltic route, a water route appears here, allowing you to get to the Baltic Sea. The presence of the Volga-Don Canal creates an opportunity for access to the Azov and Black Seas. The area passes through latitudinal railway lines, which allow delivering people and goods to the regions of the Center, Ukraine, as well as to the Urals and Siberia.

Given that the Volga region occupies an advantageous geographical position, this has a positive effect on the development of its economic complex. The key role here is assigned to such branches of market specialization as oil and coal, as well as gas and chemical industries. The Volga region is of great importance in providing the country with such products as synthetic rubber, synthetic resins, plastics and fibers.

The composition of the Volga economic region

The Volga economic region in its structure is represented by such subjects as Ulyanovsk, Saratov, Samara, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Penza regions. It also includes two republics - Tatarstan and Kalmykia - Khalmg Tangch.

Volga economic region: characteristics

A feature of this region is a fairly diverse natural resource potential. In the north, the Volga region is represented by forests, but if you move in a southeast direction, you can find yourself in the semi-desert subzone. The main area of the region is occupied by steppes. Most of its territory falls on the Volga valley, which in the southern part is replaced by the Caspian lowland. An important role here is given to the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, which was formed from river sediments and has good conditions for agriculture.

The territorial structure of the district's economy, as well as the features of settlement, are largely associated with the presence of the Volga, which acts as a key transport artery and the axis of settlement. The vast majority of large cities located on the territory of the region are river ports.

Population of the Volga economic region

With an average population density of 31.5 people. per 1 km 2, the Volga region has a number of areas with the highest level of population. We are talking about the regions located in the Volga valley - Samara, Ulyanovsk regions and Tatarstan. The reverse situation is observed in the Republic of Kalmykia, where the population density does not exceed 4 people. per 1 km 2.

A feature of the population of this region is a rather diverse ethnic composition. Within it, the largest share falls on Russians, in addition to whom there are quite a lot of representatives of Tatars and Kalmyks. Along with them, among the inhabitants there are Bashkirs, Chuvashs and Kazakhs. Of particular relevance in recent times is the problem of the revival of the autonomy of the Volga Germans, who, against their will, had to leave the Volga region and go to the eastern regions.

Territorial organization of the economy

If we consider the territorial structure of the Volga region, then it includes three subdistricts, which are distinguished by a special development of the economy and specialization:

Middle Volga,
Privolzhsky subdistrict,
Lower Volga.

The Middle Volga region includes Tatarstan and Samara region. This area is the leader in the Volga region in terms of the development of such areas as the oil, oil refining industry and mechanical engineering. Within the framework of this territory there are many largest cities, among which are the millionaire cities - Samara and Kazan.

The composition of the Volga subdistrict is represented by such regions as the Penza and Ulyanovsk regions. Such areas as mechanical engineering, light industry, food industry and agriculture have reached the highest level of development here. Among the cities, Ulyanovsk and Penza are especially worth highlighting.

Among the most developed areas of the Lower Volga region, it is worth highlighting mechanical engineering, chemical and food industries. At the same time, the region is distinguished by a high level of agricultural development. First of all, this concerns grain farming, beef cattle breeding and sheep breeding. The production of rice, vegetables and gourds, as well as fisheries, also gives good results. Most of the enterprises are concentrated in Volgograd, which had to be restored after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

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population population the Volga region - 16.9 million people; The district has significant labor resources. The average population density is 32 people per 1 km2, but it is unevenly distributed. More than half of the population is in the Samara, Saratov regions and Tatarstan.

Russians predominate in the national structure of the population. Tatars and Kalmyks live compactly. The proportion of Chuvash and Mari among the inhabitants of the region is noticeable.

The Volga region is an urbanized area. In cities and urban settlements, 73% of all residents come to life. The vast majority of the urban population is concentrated in regional centers, capitals of national republics, and large industrial cities. Among them are the cities of millionaires - Samara, Kazan, Volgograd.

Economy. In terms of the level of development of a number of industries, the region is not much inferior to highly industrial regions, such as Central and Ural, and in some cases even surpasses them. It is one of the leading oil producing, oil refining and petrochemical industries. The Volga region is the largest region of diversified agriculture.

The district accounts for 20% of the gross grain harvest. The Volga economic region is distinguished by great activity in Russia's foreign economic relations.

The main branches of specialization of the industry of the Volga region are oil, oil refining, gas and chemical, as well as electric power, complex engineering and the production of building materials.

The Volga region ranks second in Russia after the West Siberian economic region in terms of oil and gas production. The amount of extracted fuel resources exceeds the needs of the region.

The refineries of the region (Syzran, Samara, Nizhnekamsk, Novokuibyshevsk, etc.) process not only their own oil, but also oil from Western Siberia. Along with oil, associated gas is extracted and processed, which is used in the chemical industry.

The chemical industry of the Volga region is represented by mining chemistry (extraction of sulfur and table salt), chemistry of organic synthesis, and production of polymers. Major centers; Nizhnekamsk, Samara, Kazan, Syzran, Saratov, Volzhsky, Tolyatti. In the industrial hubs of Samara-Togliatti, Engels, Volgograd-Volzhsky, energy and petrochemical production cycles have developed.

The automotive industry stands out especially in the Volga region. The most famous factories are in the cities of Ulyanovsk (UAZ cars), Togliatti (Zhiguli), Naberezhnye Chelny (KAMAZ trucks), Engels (trolleybuses).

The importance of the food industry remains, the needs of which are satisfied by developed agriculture. In addition, the Caspian and the mouth of the Volga are the most important inland fishing basin of Russia.

On the territory of the district, located in the forest and semi-desert natural zones, the leading role in agriculture belongs to animal husbandry, the forest-steppe and steppe zone - to crop production (primarily grain farming). Rye and winter wheat are grown. Industrial crops are widespread, for example, mustard crops make up 90% of the crops of this crop in Russia.

Animal husbandry of the meat and dairy direction is also developed here.

Sheep farms are located south of Volgograd. In the interfluve of the Volga and Akhtuba (in the lower reaches of the rivers), vegetables and gourds are grown, as well as rice.

The region is fully provided with its own fuel resources (oil and gas). The power industry of the region is of republican importance. The Volga region specializes in the production of electricity (more than 1.0% of the total Russian production), which it also supplies to other regions of Russia.

The power plants of the Volga-Kama cascade (Volzhskaya near Samara, Saratov, Nizhnekamskaya, Volzhskaya near Volgograd, etc.) form the basis of the energy economy.

The Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant (Saratov Region) also operates.

Transport. The transport network of the district is formed by the Volga and the roads and railways crossing it, as well as a network of pipelines and power lines. The Volga-Don Canal connects the waters of the largest rivers in the European part of Russia - the Volga and the Don (exit to the Sea of Azov).

7. North Caucasian economic region

Compound: Krasnodar Territory, Stavropol Territory, Rostov Region, republics: Adygea, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia (Alania) and Chechen (Ichkeria).

Economic and geographical position. The North Caucasus is a large economic region of the Russian Federation. The area is 355.1 thousand km2. The region occupies the south of the European Plain, Ciscaucasia and the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus.

EGP - profitable. There is access to three seas. Through this region, it maintains links with the states of Transcaucasia.

Natural conditions are favorable for the population and agriculture. There are various minerals.

Natural conditions and natural resources. The natural landscapes of the Caucasus are diverse. There are mountain ranges and steppe plains, mountain rivers and drying rivers and lakes, oases.

The region has fertile lands (on the plains) and pastures (in the foothills). Mountain rivers have a large hydropower potential, and the waters of lowland rivers are used for irrigation. Water is distributed unevenly. The western part is better provided with moisture, especially the Black Sea coast and mountain slopes. The northeast and east are waterless, arid.

The role of the region as the main recreational zone of Russia (the resorts of the Black Sea coast and the Caucasian mineral camp sites in the Caucasus Mountains) is great.

The foothills of the Greater Caucasus are a pantry of chemical, metallurgical and building raw materials, energy resources (including fuel and gas).

Natural gas is available in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, the Chechen Republic and Adygea. Ores of non-ferrous and rare metals (zinc, tungsten, molybdenum) are mined in the mountainous republics (North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria), coal - in the Rostov region (the Russian part of the eastern wing of Donbass).

Population North Caucasus is 17.7 million people. Population growth rates are noticeably higher than the average Russian ones (high natural increase). The region has a surplus of labor resources. The population is extremely unevenly distributed. The average population density is 50 people per 1 km2. Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region concentrate almost 3/5 of the region's population within their borders.

The ethnic composition of the population is exceptionally diverse. Among them, groups of Ossetians, Kabardians, Chechens, and others, living mainly within their republics, stand out in terms of numbers.

The North Caucasus does not belong to highly urbanized regions. The share of the urban population here is lower than the Russian average (55%).

Economy. The North Caucasus is distinguished by a highly developed and diversified economy, from industries - mechanical engineering, fuel and food industries. Among other industries, the role of non-ferrous metallurgy and the production of non-ferrous materials is noticeable.

Economic engineering is especially developed (Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, Millerovo, Novocherkassk, Kropotkinsk, Krasnodar), as it has its own metallurgical base (Rostov region), agriculture is developed and there are convenient transport routes.

The area is 536 thousand km2.
Composition: 6 regions - Astrakhan, Volgograd, Penza, Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk and 2 republics - Tataria and Kalmykia.

Natural conditions are favorable: (right bank, more elevated), soft, large array. But uneven moisture supply is characteristic - there are droughts and dry winds along the lower Volga.

The Volga region ranks second after oil and gas production; large oil refineries and a large one are concentrated in the region. Powerful petrochemical units in Samara, Kazan, Saratov, Syzran produce a variety of chemical products (plastics, polyethylene, fibers, rubber, tires, etc.). The Volga region also specializes in diversified, primarily transport. The area is called the automobile "workshop" of the country: Tolyatti produces Zhiguli cars, Ulyanovsk - UAZ all-terrain vehicles, Naberezhnye Chelny - heavy-duty KAMAZ trucks. The Volga region produces ships, airplanes, tractors, trolleybuses, machine tools and instrumentation are also developed. Major centers are Samara, Saratov, Volgograd. Of great importance is the energy complex, which includes cascades of hydroelectric power stations on the Volga and Kama; Thermal power plants using their own and imported fuel and nuclear power plants (Balakovskaya and Dmitrovradskaya).

The Volga region is the most important in Russia. The northern part of the region is a supplier of durum wheat, sunflower, corn, beets, and meat. Rice, vegetables, melons and gourds are grown in the south. Volga and are the most important fishing areas.

The excessive concentration of petrochemical industries and other industrial enterprises, the overregulation of the Volga created an extremely difficult environmental situation in the Volga region.

We attributed the completely non-Volga Kalmykia. From the former Volga-Vyatka region, the Kirov region and all 3 republics (Mordovia, Chuvash, Mari) are included in the Volga region. Thus, the Volga region, which we further characterize, includes all regions located on the Volga (south of Nizhny Novgorod), Kirov Oblast, which occupies the basin of the Vyatka (a tributary of the Kama), and does not go to the Volga, but has much in common with the neighboring republics of Mordovia.

Our reasoning about what the Volga region is and what its boundaries are helps to feel the complexity of such work as zoning a territory. In this case, the area that we are studying would be easiest to identify with "unlimited" zoning, that is, one where the core of the area is clearly distinguished, and its boundaries are unclear. In the case of the Volga region, we have a clear core, the main axis of the region is the Volga River. Undoubtedly, the Volga region is those territories whose centers are strung on the Volga below Cheboksary: Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan. It is these 6 regions that are the core of the Volga region, and the rest are its periphery, transitional territories to other regions.

To better understand the essence of the "Volga core", let's first consider its periphery.

Kirov region

The Kirov region is a transition zone between the Volga and the Urals. Its location in the forest zone, the development of logging and woodworking, and various crafts make it related to the North. With the Urals - the development in the past of ferrous metallurgy on local ores and charcoal, and now - rolling production and metalworking. With the Volga region - the development of the chemical industry (including the military - the production of fuel and others) and the features of historical development (the evacuation of military factories during the Great Patriotic War). A feature common to both the Volga region and the Urals is the predominance of the military-industrial complex in the structure of mechanical engineering (the production of weapons in the city of Vyatskiye Polyany, in Kirov - aviation equipment and instruments).

Mordovia

According to its natural conditions, Mordovia belongs to the black earth belt and is similar to the Central Chernozem Region, but its settlement by Russians took place under different conditions: Russian villages appeared among Mordovian ones. As a result, out of 1 million population of Mordovia, Mordovians make up only 1/3, and 2/3 are Russians. Here is how the Mordovians were described at the beginning of the 20th century:

The region, in which the Mordovian tribe lived from time immemorial, compares favorably with the swampy areas along the left bank of the Volga, occupied by other Finnish tribes, by its relatively high position (Volga Upland) and rich black earth soil. Previously, they were almost completely covered with dense deciduous forests, teeming with various forest animals: wild boars, goats, elks, foxes and beavers. Now only small islands have survived from these forests. The inhabitants of this rich region differ from their fellow tribesmen who settled in the swamps and forests north of the Volga by being taller, massive, strong physique, fair skin and significant strength, not inferior to the strength of the Russian population. Despite their sluggishness, they show self-confidence and in speech and in movements. Mordva has already become very Russified and in some places completely merged with the Russian population. In general, the Mordovians live richer than their neighbors - Russians, Tatars and Chuvashs - they are more provided with land, they are distinguished by great industriousness and thriftiness.

The industry of Mordovia developed almost exclusively in its capital - Saransk (where 1/3 of the population of the republic is concentrated - 320 thousand people) and is represented mainly by the electrical industry (electric lamps, cables, electric rectifiers, and so on), instrument making and the production of medicines.

The Mordovian settlement area is from the Ryazan region to Bashkiria: only 1/3 of the entire Mordovians live outside the territory of the Mordovian Republic, and the rest live mainly in adjacent regions (Ulyanovsk, Samara, Penza) and in Bashkiria.

So, according to the natural prerequisites for development and the nature of agriculture, Mordovia is similar to the Central Chernobyl Region, and in terms of the nature of industry (labor-intensive engineering), the history of settlement and modern problems, it is similar to the neighboring Chuvash and Mari republics.

Chuvashia

Chuvashia is the only one of the republics of the Ural-Volga region where the indigenous population absolutely predominates (out of 1.3 million inhabitants, almost 70% are Chuvashs, 1/4 are Russians). Chuvashia is one of the densely populated regions of European Russia, much less urbanized (like Mordovia) than its neighbors, with a large natural increase that has survived until recently and a high proportion of children in the population.

The specialization of agriculture is almost the same as in the CCR; the abundance of labor resources in the countryside makes it possible to grow such a labor-intensive crop as hops; sugar beet crops are expanding.

The industry of Chuvashia is mechanical engineering (electrical engineering, production of industrial tractors), chemical industry (including military), textile and food industries. The largest city of Cheboksary (420 thousand inhabitants), together with the city of Novocheboksarsk (120 thousand inhabitants), which arose 20 kilometers away from the construction of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station on the Volga, concentrate more than 1/3 of all the inhabitants of the republic and most of its industry.

Unlike the peoples of the Finnish language group, which are easily assimilated (especially the Mordovians), the Chuvash, like other Turkic peoples, are ethnically much more stable (but among the Tatars and Bashkirs this could be explained by religious differences from the Russians, and the Chuvashs are Orthodox, therefore, apparently, the matter is not in the difference of religions).

Of the 1.8 million Chuvashs, about half live on the territory of Chuvashia itself, the rest are mainly in adjacent regions.

Mari Republic

The Mari Republic (Mari El), according to natural and cultural characteristics, is sharply divided into 2 parts - on the right high (mountainous) bank of the Volga and on the left lowland, forested. On the right bank live "mountain" Mari, on the left - "meadow" (in language and culture are very close to each other). In economic terms, the right bank is very similar to Chuvashia, and the left bank - to the Kirov region and the Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga region: it is covered with forests (about half of the territory), agricultural land makes up less than 1/3; logging, woodworking and the pulp and paper industry are developed.

The capital - Yoshkar-Ola, with a population of 250 thousand inhabitants (1/3 of the population of the republic) concentrates almost all mechanical engineering, mainly military (radio factories, instrument making), as well as electrical engineering. Thus, labor-intensive mechanical engineering is concentrated in the capital in this republic as well.

Of the 750,000 inhabitants of the republic, Mari make up 43%, Russians - 48%. Of the total number of Maris (670 thousand people), only about half live in the Mari Republic, the rest are scattered in many other regions of the Ural-Volga region.

We see that in all 3 republics we have considered, there is much in common. In economic terms, the concentration in their capitals (concentrating 1/3 of all inhabitants) of labor-intensive engineering. From the point of view of ethnogeography - that they concentrate within their borders from 1/3 to 1/2 of their ethnic group, and its rest is scattered. All these peoples were converted to Orthodoxy by Russian missionaries, even the Turkic-speaking Chuvash. Everywhere the proportion of Russians is large - 2/3 in Mordovia, 1/3 in Mari El, 1/4 in Chuvashia. Chuvashia is distinguished by a much larger share of the indigenous population and its resistance to assimilation.

Let us now turn to the consideration of the Volga region proper - its core, stretching along the Volga from Kazan to Astrakhan.

The natural conditions of such a large region, stretching from north to south for more than a thousand kilometers, are very diverse. Tataria is located mainly in the zone of mixed forests (mostly cut down; agricultural land occupies about 2/3 of the territory); The Ulyanovsk and Samara regions are in the forest-steppe zone (where there is also little left of the forests), the Saratov and Volgograd regions are in the steppe zone, and the Astrakhan region is already halfway in the semi-desert zone. (Usually Tataria, Ulyanovsk and Samara regions are called the Middle Volga region, and Saratov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions are called the Lower Volga region.)

The right bank of the Volga along its entire length is usually high, the left bank is low. Along the right bank for a long distance (from Cheboksary to Volgograd) stretches the Volga Upland. The main mineral reserves were found in sedimentary rocks on the left bank, these are primarily oil and gas fields: the southeast of Tatarstan (Almetievsk region) and the west of the Samara region. The Saratov and Volgograd regions are also promising for gas production, where geological exploration is currently being actively carried out. Among other minerals, lakes Baskunchak and Elton (“All-Russian Salt Cellar”) deserve mention.

The climate of the region is sharply continental. Average January temperatures vary from -14° in Kazan to -6° in Astrakhan, and July temperatures at the same points +20° and +25° (the last figure is the highest for European Russia). Precipitation brought by western winds falls on the western slopes of the Volga Upland (up to 500 mm per year), and on the low left bank (where they heat up, moving away from the saturation point) - much less, in Tatarstan about 400 millimeters, and in the Saratov Trans-Volga region and to the south - less than 300 millimeters. Thus, the dryness of the climate increases from the northwest to the southeast, and the specialization of agriculture changes accordingly. In the Middle Volga region, especially on the right bank, it is similar to the CCR: grain farming, meat and dairy farming and pig breeding, sugar beet and hemp crops. On the right bank in the Saratov and Volgograd regions, sugar beet and pig breeding almost disappear, sunflower and mustard appear. In the Saratov Trans-Volga region - grain crops, beef cattle breeding and sheep breeding, and even to the south - sheep breeding on dry steppe and semi-desert pastures with grain crops only on irrigated lands.

The Trans-Volga region is characterized by anticyclonic weather, which causes droughts in summer. They are especially dangerous if accompanied by hot and dusty southeasterly dry winds or dust storms; in these cases, grain plants can either die completely, or the grain in them dries up.

Over the past 70 years, droughts in the Volga region were twice accompanied by a terrible famine - in 1921 and 1933-1934, and each time the damage from the elements was aggravated by social factors: in the first case, the supply of food was complicated by the devastation of transport (but also by the refusal of the Bolsheviks to cooperate with other parties even in such a case as helping the starving), and in the second case, the famine was greatly intensified by the fact that all grain reserves from the peasants were taken away “for state needs” (including for export, to pay for purchased industrial equipment).

In the economic development of the Volga region, the following stages can be distinguished (We single out these stages from the point of view of the Russian state; apparently, from the point of view of the history of Tatarstan or Chuvashia, the stages may be different):

1. Prior to the annexation of the Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) khanates to Russia, the Volga was used by the Russian state only as a transit transport artery for not very intensive trade - first with the Golden Horde, then with these khanates.

2. After the accession of these khanates to Russia, Astrakhan becomes the main southern port of Russia, the "gateway to the East" - a kind of southern analogue of Arkhangelsk. At the end of the 16th century, between Kazan and Astrakhan, at approximately equal distances from each other (about 450 km), the guard cities of Samara, Saratov (its name is of Turkic origin: Sarytau is “yellow mountain”), Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) arise. The right bank begins to be populated by landlord peasants.

3) In the 19th - early 20th centuries, the Volga region became a large area for the production of marketable grain and the flour-grinding industry. The colonization of the Trans-Volga region begins - no longer landowners, but peasants, especially after the abolition of serfdom. (True, even before that, in the 1760s, several tens of thousands of German colonists were resettled in the Trans-Volga region; the centers of their territories were Pokrovskaya Sloboda - the current Engels, opposite Saratov, and Ekaterinenstadt - the current Marx). The transport significance of the Volga (which is becoming the “main street of Russia”) is increasing, not only grain is transported along it, but also oil cargoes (coming from Baku), timber is rafted to the southern regions, including the Donbass mines (and in Tsaritsyn the most powerful sawmills in Russia).

4) The policy of industrialization during the years of the pre-war five-year plans (for example, the construction of a tractor plant in Volgograd) and especially the evacuation of defense enterprises in 1941-1942 dramatically changed the economic profile of the Volga region, made it from agrarian to industrial and from “flour-grinding” to machine-building. Since then, the Volga region has become a deeply militarized region. The military industry is located mainly in large cities - Kazan, Ulyanovsk Samara, Saratov, Volgograd.

5) In the post-war period, especially in the 1950s-1960s, the construction of large Volga hydroelectric power stations was completed: Volgogradskaya, Saratovskaya (with a dam near Balakovo) and Samara (with a dam near Tolyatti), as well as Nizhnekamskaya (near the city of Naberezhnye Chelny); The Volga region becomes for two decades the main region of oil production, oil refining and petrochemistry. This further complicated the structure of the economy of the region, made it even more industrial, including due to the flooding of floodplain lands, where more than half of Russian hay was harvested on the famous Volga flood meadows, a lot of vegetables and fruits were collected, and much more. In the total area of the Volga region, those flooded by reservoirs occupy a small share, but these lands were much more valuable than the watershed territories, and their loss sharply worsened the food supply of the Volga cities.

Partially, this loss was compensated for by irrigating the dry steppes of the Trans-Volga region (especially in the Saratov region), however, due to poor quality of reclamation work and due to non-compliance with irrigation technology, many irrigated lands became saline. This is one of the clearest examples of extreme disinterest in work, when it is done not for oneself, but for someone (“for an uncle”): none of the builders and operators was vitally interested in the fact that reclamation systems were built and operated with high quality, with observance of all the rules: the personal well-being of workers did not depend on this in any way.

At present, the main branches of specialization of the Volga region are mechanical engineering and petrochemistry. Mechanical engineering is represented mainly by military-industrial complex enterprises, but it also produces civilian products: cars (Tolyatti, Ulyanovsk, Naberezhnye Chelny), aircraft (Saratov, Ulyanovsk), tractors (Volgograd), machine tools, instruments and much more. Oil production is declining, but oil refining and petrochemistry are switching to Siberian oil; The Volga region is the largest producer of plastics, chemical fibers, synthetic rubber and tires, mineral fertilizers, and so on.

Environmental problems are very acute in the Volga region. The creation of the Volga reservoirs disrupted the processes of self-purification of river waters (in the "stagnant" reservoirs, these processes are much slower). At the same time, the development of petrochemistry on the banks of the Volga, with a chronic lack of capacity of treatment facilities (or their absence), has sharply increased the discharge of wastewater into the Volga and its tributaries. As a result, in its lower reaches, the Volga water is extremely polluted and sometimes unsuitable even for irrigation. Correcting this situation requires concerted action throughout the Volga basin - that is, in most of European Russia. Extremely polluted and the Volga cities.

National composition

The national composition of the inhabitants of the Volga region is quite diverse. In addition to Russians, who make up 3/4 of its inhabitants, many other peoples live here.

Tatars are the largest ethnic group in Russia after Russians (5.5 million people); of these, about 1.7 million live in Tataria (constituting 48% of the population of the republic), 1.1 million live in Bashkiria, and the rest are scattered throughout almost all regions] of Russia, mainly the Volga region.

The very name "Tatars" first appeared among the Mongol tribes who roamed south of Lake Baikal as early as the 6th-9th centuries. In Russia, it became known from the 13th century, from the time of the “Mongol-Tatar invasion. Later, all the peoples living in the Golden Horde began to be called Tatars in Russia. These peoples included: the Volga Bulgars (or Bulgarians) - a Turkic-speaking people who came to the Volga region in the 7th-8th centuries, assimilated the local Finno-Ugric tribes and created their own state in the 10th century - the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, whose inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, trade and craft (and other groups of Bulgarians went in the 7th century to the Balkan Peninsula and there, mixing with the Slavic tribes and adopting their language, formed in 680 the Bulgarian-Slavic state - the predecessor of present-day Bulgaria).

During their stay in the Golden Horde, the Volga Bulgars adopted a lot from the culture of the settlers (“Mongol-Tatars”), with whom they were also brought together by a religious community (Islam). In general, the population of the Golden Horde became more homogeneous After the collapse of the Golden Horde during the existence of separate khanates (Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian), separate groups of Tatars were formed - Kazan, Astrakhan Siberian, Mishars and others. Part of the Tatars adopted Orthodoxy - these are the “Kryashens” Tatars (from the distorted word “baptism”) Having become part of the Russian state, the Tatars, together with the Russians, took part in settling the territory of the Russian Empire, and now they can be found in any corner of Russia.

This is how ethnographers described the Tatars of the beginning of our century: By occupation, the Tatars are farmers, but the lack of land often makes them look for other ways to earn money. Thousands of Tatars work as loaders on the Volga, are hired as janitors or coachmen in the cities, or serve as workers in the landowners' economy. With their strength, endurance, conscientiousness and the performance of the work they have undertaken, they have gained a reputation as the best workers in the Volga region. The energy and practical ingenuity of the Tatars made them excellent merchants, who seized a significant part of not only small but also large trade in the Volga region.

Although less than 1/3 of all Tatars in Russia live within the Tatar Republic, Kazan is the cultural center for most Tatars, wherever they live. Recently, for example, in Kazan, the training of teachers for Tatar schools has begun, opening in areas densely populated by Tatars in other republics and regions of Russia.

Kazakhs (more than 200 thousand people in total) live mainly in the Astrakhan region (as well as in Volgograd and Saratov regions). Between the Volga and the Urals, the Kazakhs appeared at the very beginning of the 19th century (“Bukreev Horde”), when the Kalmyks migrated from here. They are mainly engaged in grazing sheep.

The Germans, who settled in the Volga region at the end of the 18th century and created a prosperous agricultural region (on the territory of which the Volga German ASSR was created after the revolution), in 1941, after the start of the war, were evicted to the eastern regions (Siberia and Kazakhstan) under the pretext that they can help the troops of fascist Germany. Unlike other peoples who were returned home in 1956-1957 after the Stalinist deportation, the Germans were forbidden to return to the Volga region, and to this day most of them live in the south of Western Siberia and in Northern Kazakhstan. In the late 1980s, the ban on return was lifted, but the local authorities of the Saratov and Volgograd regions were very disapproving of this, and German autonomy on the Volga was never recreated. The result was an increase in the emigration of Russian Germans to Germany, due to which, apparently, there will soon be practically no Germans left in Russia.

After the collapse of the USSR, the situation in the Volga region in some ways begins to resemble a picture of the 17th century: Astrakhan again becomes the southern gate of Russia (and the Caspian military flotilla has already been relocated there from Baku). However, now the role of the Volga region in the economy is immeasurably higher - but the “burdenedness” of the region with the most acute problems, primarily the state of the environment (the transformation of the Volga into a sewage sewer) and the conversion of defense enterprises, is much higher.

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