Astrakhan Oblast

From October 8, 1980 to October 27, 1984, and under the leadership of Nikolai Baibakov,[lower-alpha 1] the USSR held fifteen deep underground nuclear tests for Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy at the site Vega in the Ryn Desert in the east of the oblast less than 50 km from downtown Astrakhan to create reservoirs for natural gas storage.[15][16] Because of the detonation depth (975 to 1,100 meters) and relatively low yield (3.2 to 13.5 kilotons), no radiation was released to the environment.[15] These blasts had lower yields than the Project Sapphire blasts, which were 40 km south-southwest of Orenburg, to reduce any possible seismic destruction to nearby towns in the Volga delta including Astrakhan.[16][17] At that time, the natural gas fields near Astrakhan, which are at a depth of 3900 to 4,100 meters, could contain as much as 6 trillion cubic meters, which is an amount similar to Urengoy. In 2017, the Astrakhanskoye field, which is an area of 100 km by 40 km in the middle of the Astrakhan arch and is 60 km northeast of Astrakhan, is the ninth largest in Russia and the largest in European Russia with an estimated gas in place of 102 trillion cubic feet (2.9 trillion cubic metres). The deposit is operated by Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gazprom.[18] The field produces large amounts of sulfur, too.[18][19][20][21][22][23]

On 30 October 1997, Astrakhan, alongside Kirov, Murmansk, Ulyanovsk, and Yaroslavl signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy.[24] The agreement would be abolished on 21 December 2001.[25]

1,010,073 (2010 Census);[10] 1,005,276 (2002 Census);[26] 998,114 (1989 Census).[27]

• Births (2008): 14,200 (14.2 per 1000)
• Deaths (2008): 13,660 (13.6 per 1000)
• Births: 15,304 (15.1 per 1000)
• Deaths: 12,783 (12.6 per 1000)[28]

Total fertility rate:[29]

2009 - 1.77 | 2010 - 1.76 | 2011 - 1.78 | 2012 - 1.93 | 2013 - 1.91 | 2014 - 1.97 | 2015 - 1.97 | 2016 - 1.93(e)

The local group of Russian varieties is known as Astrakhan Russian and refers to several dialects spoken in and around the Astrakhan Oblast.

Volga Delta in Astrakhan Oblast

Bogdo-Baskunchak Nature Reserve in Astrakhan Oblast

According to the 2010 Census, the ethnic composition was:[10]

• Russian 67.6%
• Kazakh 16.3%
• Tatar 6.6%
• Dagestani 1.8%[30]
• Ukrainian 0.9%
• Azeri 0.9%
• Nogay 0.8%
• Chechen 0.8%
• Kalmyk 0.7%
• Armenian 0.6%
• Roma 0.6%
• Korean 0.3%
• Uzbek 0.3%
• Turkmen 0.3%
• Belarusian 0.2%
• Turkish 0.2%
• Georgian 0.1%
• Tajik 0.1%
• German 0.1%
• Chuvash 0.1%
• Mordvin 0.1%
• Jewish 0.1%
• Bashkir 0.1%
• Moldovan 0.1%
• Others 0.5%
• 95,217 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[31]

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people[32] 46% of the population of Astrakhan Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 4% are Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to any church or are members of other (non-Russian) Orthodox churches, 2% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 14% are Muslims, and 2% of the population adheres to the Slavic native faith (Rodnovery) or other folk religions of the region. In addition, 16% of the population declares to be spiritual but not religious, 6% is atheist, and 10% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[32]

Smaller religious communities not represented in the poll cited above but present in the region include Jews and Buddhists, each having one temple in Astrakhan Oblast.

• Государственная Дума Астраханской области. №21/2007-ОЗ 9 апреля 2007 г. «Устав Астраханской области», в ред. Закона №49/2017-ОЗ от 25 сентября 2017 г. «О внесении изменения в статью 17 Устава Астраханской области». Вступил в силу 30 апреля 2007 г. (за исключением отдельных положений). Опубликован: "Сборник законов и нормативных правовых актов Астраханской области", №18, 19 апреля 2007 г. (State Duma of Astrakhan Oblast. #21/2007-OZ April 9, 2007 Charter of Astrakhan Oblast, as amended by the Law #49/2017-OZ of September 25, 2017 On Amending Article 17 of the Charter of Astrakhan Oblast. Effective as of April 30, 2007 (with the exception of several clauses).).
• Президиум Верховного Совета СССР. Указ от 27 декабря 1943 г. «О ликвидации Калмыцкой АССР и образовании Астраханской области в составе РСФСР». (Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Decree of December 27, 1943 On Abolishing the Kalmyk ASSR and Establishing Astrakhan Oblast Within the RSFSR. ).