Wikipedia

Kamchatka Krai

federal subject of Russia

Kamchatka Krai is one of 85 federal subjects of Russia. It is located in the Asian part of Russia. It is grouped and governed as part of the Far Eastern District. The Far Eastern District contains ten other federal subjects too.

Kamchatka Krai
Камчатский край (Russian)
—  Krai  —

Flag of Kamchatka
Coat of Arms of Kamchatka
Coordinates: 56°00′N 159°00′E / 56.000°N 159.000°E / 56.000; 159.000
Political status
CountryRussia
Federal districtFar Eastern Federal District[1]
Economic regionFar Eastern Economic Region[2]
EstablishedJuly 1, 2007
Administrative centerPetropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Government (as of June 2015)
 • GovernorVladimir Ilyukhin
 • LegislatureLegislative Assembly of Kamchatka Krai
Statistics
Area (as of the 2002 Census)[3]
 • Total472,300 km2 (182,400 sq mi)
Area rank10th
Population (2010 Census)
 • Total322,079
 • Rank76th
 • Density[4]0.68/km2 (1.8/sq mi)
Population (January 2015 est.)
 • Total317,206[5]
Time zone(s)MAGT (UTC+12:00)
ISO 3166-2RU-KAM
License plates41, 82
Official languagesRussian[6]
Official website

History

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Local Koryak people lived in the region for a long time before European explorers first arrived.[7] They were described to be war-like. In the 17th century, Russian explorers first arrived in the area. But the area's harsh climate, land and unfriendly natives made exploration difficult. Multiple fighting later broke out between the natives and the Russians throughout the 18th century. This was because the Tsar ordered more Russian explorations of the area. In 1768-1769, the smallpox disease nearly wiped out the population. The natives were finally brought under control because of the disease.[8] In 1854, the area saw fighting between the Russians and the British and French during the Crimean War. In 1867, after the sale of Alaska to the United States, Kamchatka loss its importance. It was because travelers were no longer stopping over the area to go to Alaska. During the last months of World War II, the area became an important point for Soviet troops to invade Japan. After the war the area became a military zone. This zone was closed off to Soviet citizens till 1990 and foreigners till 1991.[9] Today it remains as a Krai (federal subject) within Russia.

Geography

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Koryaksky volcano rising above Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Kamchatka is found in the far eastern part of Siberia. Because of this, it has a subarctic climate, which have long, cold winters, and short, mild summers. Rainfall in the area is unusually higher than the rest of Eastern Siberia. This is because westerly winds blow in from the Sea of Japan. The landscape is mostly mountainous, with the Sredinny Mountain Range occupying a large part of the region. The Sredinny Range has the most amount of glacier in North-East Asia.[10] The area also has a high density of mountains that are active volcanoes. These volcanoes are included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[11] The area is prone to volcano eruption and earthquake. This is because it lies around the Pacific Ring of Fire. There are plenty of animals, birds and plants in the area. It is because of the good climate, geography and low human population.

Demographics

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Kamchatka's population at the end of the Soviet Union decreased for some time, according to data.[12][13] It is currently increasing again. Most of the population live in cities and towns, like the capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Ethnic Koryaks and other natives compose of a very small percentage of the population. Russians compose a great majority of the population. Most people in Kamchatka practice Orthodox Christianity, while a sizable population are irreligious. Shamanism, which is a belief that worships spirits and nature, is still practiced by some natives in the area. Russian is taught and used commonly in Kamchatka. While native languages like Koryak, Itelmen or Chuvan are hardly taught or used at home.

Economy

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The economy of Kamchatka is mostly based on fishing and processing of natural resources. These resources include wood, coal and gold, involving the lumber and mining industries.[10] Kamchatka lies along major shipping routes. It thus provide services such as ship building, repairing and the moving of goods among ships.[14] In the past, Kamchatka was part of the region's fur trade. This fur trade was connected with places like China and Alaska.

Politics

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The Governor of Kamchatka is the leader of the Krai. The Governor is chosen by public vote every five years. The Kamchatka Legislative Assembly, is the Krai's parliament. The Legislative Assembly lawmakers are chosen similarly by the public every five years.[10] The majority of lawmakers in the Legislative Assembly are currently from the United Russia party. The United Russia party is the ruling party of Russia. The Krai was formed on 1 July 2007 from the merge between Kamchatka Oblast and Koryak Autonomous Okrug.[15]

Transportation

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Generally, Kamchatka is isolated from the rest of Russia.[9] There are no railway and road linking it with the rest of Russia. Flying is the most convenient way of entering or leaving Kamchatka. There are several airports, like the Yelizovo Airport. Flights from these airports link Kamchatka to cities further away. However, there are no international flights into the area. Kamchatka also lies along major shipping routes. These shipping routes connect Kamchatka with Alaska and East Asia by sea.

References

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  1. ↑ Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
  2. ↑ Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
  3. ↑ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Территория, число районов, населённых пунктов и сельских администраций по субъектам Российской Федерации (Territory, Number of Districts, Inhabited Localities, and Rural Administration by Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation)". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  4. ↑ The density value was calculated by dividing the population reported by the 2010 Census by the area shown in the "Area" field. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox is not necessarily reported for the same year as the population.
  5. ↑ Kamchatka Krai Territorial Branch of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service. Предварительная оценка численности населения на 1 января 2015 года и в среднем за 2014 год Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
  6. ↑ Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
  7. ↑ "Eastern Siberia Koryak culture". 1996. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  8. ↑ Zadonina, N.V. (2008). Chronology of natural and social phenomena in Siberia and Mongolia. Irkutsk: Irkut Publishing House. state un-ta. p. 186-349. ISBN 978-5-9624-0315-1.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Welcome to Kamchatka". 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Kamchatka Territory". 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  11. ↑ "Volcanoes of Kamchatka". 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  12. ↑ "По итогам 11 месяцев уровень рождаемости на Камчатке превысил уровень смертности - Новости России - ИА REGNUM". Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ↑ "Russia's Novatek to splash up to $1.5 billion on Kamchatka LNG hub". 2018-02-16. Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  15. ↑ "Рождение Камчатского края в Петропавловске отметили фейерверком". 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
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