Amur oblast overview
Amur oblast (also called Amurskaya, Priamurye, Priamurie) is federal subject of Russia situated on the banks of Amur and Zeya rivers about 8,000 km from Moscow, Far Eastern Federal District. Administrative center of Amur oblast is Blagoveshchensk city. Main railroads are Trans-Siberian railway and Baikal-Amur Mainline.
Amur oblast population is about 870,000 (2008); land area - 363,700 sq. km.
Amur oblast territory
The Stanovoy Range divides Amur oblast and Sakha Republic. The higher elevations of mountains are overgrown with dwarf Siberian pine and alpine tundra. Larch forests and pine forests grow along the river plains. Also Zeya River begins in these mountains.
The dam was build in the middle of Zeya river to create Zeysky water reservoir. There are also mountains separating Amur oblast from Khabarovsk krai in the east with larch and fir-spruce forests. Amur, Bureya and Zeya Rivers form a place of highest biodiversity in Amur region of Russia.
Amur oblast history
First Russian settlers came to Amur region in the middle of 17th century. Settlers were looking for a more temperate climate. Russians were cruel with local population and forced them to ask Manchuria for protection.
Russian settlers (Cossacks and peasant farmers) returned to Amur region when the Chinese Empire lost the Opium War. A lot of people arrived to Amur region of Russia with the construction of Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Amur oblast economics
Significant advantage of Amur oblast which is not fully used is its economic and geographic location which gives a chance to have close economic ties and industrial cooperation with neighboring Chinese province Heyluntzyan.
The oblast possesses such natural resources as gold, iron, non-ferrous and rare metals, coal, non-metals, precious, half-precious stones, different construction materials, fresh and mineral water.
Soils are fertile enough for productive agriculture. There are good sources of power in the Amur region, including thermo-electric power stations consuming local coal as well as Zeyskaya and Bureyskaya hydro-power stations.
Amur region is a big transportation juncture, a construction base of Baikal-Amur and Amur-Yakutsk railways, of highway “Amur”.
Main industries of the region are power engineering, mining (gold, coal), timber, wood processing, building materials production, food processing.
Agricultural lands occupy 1,094,000 hectares, which make 3 per cent of all oblast territory, ploughed field - 787,000 hectares or 2 per cent (2006). Leading branches of agriculture are crops growing and meat- and milk-producing, soy-beans growing. In the north of the oblast - reindeer-breeding, in south-east and partly in middle of the region - bee-keeping, in forest regions - fur trade.
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