Southern Federal District, Russia

Southern Federal District - Overview

The Southern Federal District is a federal district of the Russian Federation located in the south of its European part, in the lower reaches of the Volga River, north of the Greater Caucasus Range. The city of Rostov-on-Don is the administrative center of the district. The main sea resorts of Russia (Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzhik) are located on the territory of this federal district.

The population of the Southern Federal District is about 14,086,000 (2016), the area - 420,876 sq. km.

South district map, Russia

Southern Federal District - Features

The federal district under the name of the North Caucasian Federal District was formed by the decree of the Russian President on May 13, 2000. On June 21, 2000, it was renamed the Southern Federal District. Initially, this federal district included the republics of the North Caucasus and the Stavropol Krai, which, in 2010, became parts of a separate North Caucasian Federal District.

In 2016, the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were included in the Southern Federal District. Today, the Crimea is the object of territorial disagreements between Russia, de facto controlling this territory since March 2014, and Ukraine. Most of the UN member states continue to consider the entire Crimea as part of Ukraine.

In the west, the Southern Federal District borders Ukraine, in the east - Kazakhstan. In the east, it is also washed by the Caspian Sea, in the west - by the Azov Sea and the Black Sea.

South of Russia is characterized by a variety of landscapes (mixed, coniferous, deciduous forests, steppes, subalpine meadows). The average temperature in January is minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, in July - plus 24.6 degrees Celsius.

The Southern Federal District has significant reserves of thermal and mineral waters, tungsten, coal, oil on the shelf of the Caspian Sea.

The main branches of the local economy are extraction and processing of thermal and mineral waters, mining industry, tourism, agriculture, production of building materials.