North Caucasus Federal District. Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts What applies to the North Caucasian Federal District

The North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) was separated from the Southern Federal District in 2010 into an independent administrative unit. The region's territory occupies the eastern and central parts of the North Caucasus and the southern European part of the country.

The formation of the North Caucasus Federal District is the first stage of the program for changing federal districts, which began in 2000. That year the North Caucasian Federal District was called

General characteristics of the region

The occupied area of ​​the district is about 1% of the entire territory of the Russian Federation. The central city of the North Caucasus Federal District is Pyatigorsk. This is the only settlement in the Russian Federation that has not been given the status of an administrative center. Its area is not even the largest in comparison with other cities in the district.

The administrative unit borders the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan and Georgia are visible in the south of the district. The borders also run along the Rostov region, Kalmykia and Krasnodar region.

The composition of the North Caucasus Federal District consists of 7 republics.

Dagestan

This is the southernmost part of Russia and is located in the east of the North Caucasus, and on the east side it is washed by the Caspian Sea. In the west, the territory borders the Stavropol Territory and Chechnya. In the north with Kalmykia, and in the southwest with Georgia. The southern part is in contact with Azerbaijan. Makhachkala is recognized as the capital of the administrative unit. The republic occupies about 50.27 thousand m2. The date of formation is considered to be 1921. The region's population is about 3 million inhabitants.

The composition of citizens of the North Caucasus Federal District is multinational. The same can be said about Dagestan. There are few Russians in the republic - 3.6%, which is approximately 104 thousand. Avars are the most - 850 thousand, which is 29.4 percent. Next come the Dargins, who make up 17%, Kumyks - 14.9%, Lezgins - 13.3%, Laks - 5.6%, and so on. The least number of residents in the republic are Archa residents and Armenians, there are only 5 thousand of them each.

Ingushetia

The youngest republic within the North Caucasus Federal District is Ingushetia. Year of creation - 1992.

The republic borders on North Ossetia and Georgia. The climate here is continental, and in winter the temperature does not drop below -5 degrees.

Population - 480 thousand people. The republic is dominated by Ingush, about 94%. About 4.6% are Chechens, and only 0.8% of the population are Russians. The remaining percentage comes from other ethnic groups.

Chechens live quite compactly, mainly in the Nazran region. Other nationalities do not have a specific territory of residence.

Only 42.5% of all residents of the republic live in cities. The population mainly lives in the Nuzha and Alkhanchur valleys, Achaluka, and this is only 25% of the entire territory. Only 5% of all residents live on the remaining 85% of the republic’s lands.

Kabardino-Balkaria

The North Caucasus Federal District includes the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, founded back in 1921, with its capital being the city of Nalchik.

The territory is located mainly in the mountains of the North Caucasus. It is in Kabardino-Balkaria that the stratovolcano Mount Elbrus is located, with the highest mountain peak in Europe and the Russian Federation. This figure is 5642 meters above sea level.

Despite the predominantly mountainous area, the territory of the administrative unit is home to 864 thousand people on 12.5 km 2 .

The climate of the republic is quite diverse: in the plains there is a humid and continental climate, and higher in the mountains the climate is similar to the Alpine.

National composition of the republic:

There are even Finno-Ugric and Kurds in the republic, although in a very small proportion in relation to the total population - no more than 0.03%.

Karachay-Cherkess Republic

Since 1957, the territory received the status of an autonomous region, and since 1992 - a republic with the capital Cherkessk. It borders on the Stavropol and Krasnodar territories, Abkhazia and Georgia.

The republic has a population of 466 thousand people. The titular nationalities are Karachais (40.67%) and Russians (31.40%). There are only 11.82% Circassians, and even fewer Abazas - 7.73%, Nogais - about 3.28%. Other nationalities are represented by less than 1%.

Ethnic composition of the North Caucasus Federal District in terms of cities of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic:

North Ossetia Alania

The territory of the republic is spread out on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus Range. The mountainous strip accounts for 48% of the entire territory. The capital is Vladikavkaz. The total area of ​​the administrative unit is 8 thousand m2. The area was recognized as a republic in 1936. North Ossetia occupies 4121 km 2. The climate is continental almost everywhere, and on the plains it is predominantly arid.

The republic has 1 city district and 8 municipal districts. To get to Moscow you will need to cover 2 thousand km, and to Pyatigorsk only 200 km.

The climate of the republic is classified as subtropical. There are 130-140 summer days a year. These factors have a beneficial effect on the development of resorts and tourist routes.

According to rough estimates, 706 thousand people live in the republic. Most of the citizens are in the city. This is approximately 451 thousand, the rest are in rural areas.

Composition The North Caucasus Federal District in part of North Ossetia is one of the most multinational territories. In terms of population density, the republic ranks after Moscow, St. Petersburg and Ingushetia.

There are about 100 national minorities here, but Ossetians account for more than 65%. In second place are the Russians. There are 21% of them. Third place in the list was taken by the Ingush - 4%.

List of national composition, number of persons exceeding 1 thousand:

Stavropol region

When it comes to this region, one immediately remembers the balneological resorts with which the territory is saturated. There are many health resorts located here in different cities: Essentuki, Kislovodsk and Zheleznovodsk.

Conventionally divided into two climatic zones:

• the northeast resembles semi-deserts and deserts;
• the northwest is plains with fertile lands.

In general, the climate of the region can be described as temperate continental.

The administrative center of the region is Stavropol, and there are 19 cities in total.

The total area of ​​the administrative unit is 40.9 thousand km 2. The total number of residents is 2.7 million people. Urban residents account for 8.9%.

The territory is predominantly inhabited by Russians - there are about 2.2 million people. Armenians are second on the list. There are 161.3 thousand of them in the Stavropol Territory, which is 5.9%. The third place is occupied by the Dargins (as of 2015), previously this position was occupied by the Ukrainians. There are 49.3 thousand Dargins in the region. The fourth largest number of national minorities are Greeks. There are about 1.5% of them here.

Chechnya

It is hard to imagine the composition of the North Caucasus Federal District of Russia without She left the Russian Federation several times and last signed an agreement to join Russia in 2003.

The republic is predominantly inhabited by Chechens. There are 1.2 million people, which as a percentage of the total population is 95.3. According to Rosstat, the total population of the republic in 2017 is 1,414,865 people.

Other nationalities are represented in fairly small numbers:

Southern and North Caucasian Federal District

Until 2010, these districts were a single territorial unit. According to the government, the allocation of the North Caucasus will allow the new federal district to accelerate the development of the southern regions. This makes it possible to resolve economic and ethnopolitical problematic issues.

If we consider the national composition of the Southern and North Caucasus Federal District, it is quite diverse. In Dagestan alone there are about 130 nationalities. In the region you can find the most unique nationalities and quite small in number, even within Russia. These are Avars, Dargins, Kabardians and Lezgins, Circassians and Adygs, that is, representatives of the North Caucasian language group. In the republics of these federal districts there are representatives of the Altai people. These are Nogais, Karachais and Balkars. But if we take the general data, Russians still predominate in the two regions. There are about 62% of them here. Ukrainians are also included in this number.

The district was formed by separating from the Southern Federal District by Decree of the President of Russia dated January 19, 2010. The district includes seven constituent entities of the Federation, including one region - Stavropol and six republics: the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of Ingushetia, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic Republic of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania, Chechen Republic (Table 5.9).

Table 5.9

Composition of the North Caucasus Federal District

The North Caucasian Federal District is the only federal district in which there is not a single region, and the only one in which ethnic Russians do not have an absolute majority of the district's population. It is considered the most multinational region of the Russian Federation. The administrative center of the district - the city of Pyatigorsk -V is neither the administrative center of the subject included in the district nor the largest city of the district, but is part of the large Caucasus-Minera-Lovodsk agglomeration.

Geographical location, borders and natural resources of the North Caucasus Federal District.

The district is located in the southern part of European Russia, on the territory of the central and eastern part of the North Caucasus. From the south it is protected by the Main Caucasus Range, in the east it is washed by the Caspian Sea.

The North Caucasus Federal District borders with countries such as Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and South Ossetia, Kazakhstan, as well as with such constituent entities of the Russian Federation as the Republic of Kalmykia, the Rostov region and the Krasnodar Territory. The administrative center of the district is the city of Pyatigorsk.

The region has large reserves of natural mineral resources - oil, gas, coal, copper, non-ferrous metals, polymetals, iron ores and building materials.

In addition, it has a unique complex of balneological resources, which includes mineral drinking waters, thermal waters and healing mud. Approximately 1/3 of all Russian mineral water resources and more than 70% of the country's thermal water reserves are concentrated here.

Economic indicators of the development of regions of the North Caucasus Federal District. Since the end of the 20th century. the bulk of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, now part of the North Caucasus Federal District, found themselves in the groups of regions most susceptible to the economic crisis. By the beginning of the 21st century. industrial production volumes in this district decreased to 17-24% (compared to 1990), while the average in Russia was 48%! . In the 2000s. There has been economic growth in some regions of the North Caucasian Federal District, but improvement in their socio-economic situation is being achieved very slowly. At the same time, the main contribution to the creation of VRI is made by such areas as wholesale and retail trade - 21.1%, agriculture - 13.1%, construction - 12.2%, public administration - 11.6%. The share of manufacturing in GRP is 9.1%.

The unemployment rate in the North Caucasus Federal District is characterized as high. In the district as a whole, its value is 13%, and in some republics it reaches 44%. There is hidden unemployment and a significant share of the population working in low-paid sectors of the economy.

In the main part of the economic sectors of the North Caucasus Federal District, labor productivity is below the national average. These circumstances are combined with the low standard of living of the population.

The budgets of the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of Ingushetia, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, and the Chechen Republic are characterized as highly subsidized. The share of federal budget funds transferred to provide assistance to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District reaches 70-80% in some regional budgets.

Administrative and territorial composition of the Southern Federal District:

Republics of Adygea, Kalmykia. Krasnodar region. Astrakhan, Volgograd, Rostov regions.

Administrative center – Rostov-on-Don

Administrative and territorial composition of the North Caucasus Federal District:

Republics: Karachay-Cherkess, Kabardino-Balkarian, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Chechen. Stavropol region.

Administrative center - Pyatigorsk

Territory - 589.2 thousand km 2 . Population 22.9 million people

Rice. 5.3. Administrative-territorial composition

In Fig. 5.3 presents the administrative-territorial composition of the Southern and North Caucasus federal districts.

The North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) is a new district of the Russian Federation, created on January 19, 2010 by special Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 82 dated January 19, 2010 “On amendments to the list of federal districts approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 13, 2000. No. 849, and in Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 12, 2008 No. 724 “Issues of the system and structure of federal executive bodies.”

In fact, the North Caucasus was separated from the Southern Federal District (Fig. 5.4). The creation of the North Caucasus Federal District should contribute to the accelerated development of the southern territories of Russia and the solution of economic and ethnopolitical problems.

Rice. 5.4. Administrative-territorial composition

North Caucasus Federal District

It should be noted that upon its formation, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 849 of May 13, 2000, the district was named North Caucasian, but already on June 21 of the same year, by Decree No. 1149, it was renamed Southern. The reasons for the renaming were geographical reasons: the Volgograd and Astrakhan regions and Kalmykia do not belong to the North Caucasus, the Rostov region is conditionally classified.

Currently, the Southern Federal District includes federal subjects belonging to the North Caucasus economic region, as well as the territory of the Lower Volga region (Republic of Kalmykia, Astrakhan and Volgograd regions), which, according to the current zoning grid, belongs to the Volga economic region (Fig. 5.3).

The territory of the North Caucasus Federal District is included according to the economic zoning grid into the North Caucasus economic region (Fig. 5.4).

Due to the lack of statistical data for each district, Tables 5.5 and 5.6 provide data on the share of main economic indicators and industrial specialization for two districts.

Table 5.5

Share of main economic indicators

Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts

in all-Russian

Table 5.6

Industrial production specialization

Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts

According to the localization coefficient, the types of economic activities in which federal districts specialize include: manufacturing, including the production of food products, including drinks, and tobacco; textile and clothing production; production of leather, leather goods and footwear; chemical production; production of rubber and plastic products; production of other non-metallic mineral products; and the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water.

On the territory of the Southern and North Caucasus federal districts there are agro-industrial, industrial and resort and recreational complexes. In market conditions, these complexes have a significant impact on the economic and social development of the country.

Let us characterize the features of the location and development of the productive forces of these districts in certain territories: the North Caucasus economic region and the Lower Volga region.

North Caucasus economic region

The sectors of market specialization in the North Caucasus are mechanical engineering, food, light, coal, petrochemical, cement industries, diversified agricultural production and a unique resort and recreational complex.

Natural resource potential

The North Caucasus economic region is located between three seas (Black, Azov, Caspian), the Main Caucasus Range, the Kuma-Manych depression and the southern tip of the Russian (East European) Plain.

The soils of the North Caucasus are highly fertile: chernozems occupy almost 47% of the entire territory of the region, 18% are chestnut soils and 6% are alluvial soils. These types of soils occupy most of the steppe and foothill regions and are favorable for growing a wide variety of agricultural crops.

Fuel and energy resources are represented by coal, as well as oil and natural gas, the reserves of which have sharply decreased in recent years. The most famous gas fields are Severo-Stavropol, Maikop, and Dagestan Ogni. Oil reserves are concentrated mainly in the Krasnodar Territory, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan. Oil lies at great depths (sometimes deeper than 6 thousand meters), which makes production very difficult. Almost all coal resources are located in the Rostov region, the territory of which includes the eastern wing of Donbass.

The North Caucasus has significant resources of non-ferrous and rare metal ores. Non-metallic mineral resources are represented by mining chemical raw materials (significant reserves of barite, rock salt, sulfur) and raw materials for the production of building materials (cement marls, high-quality marble in the Teberda region, quartz sandstones, clays for the production of bricks and ceramics, chalk, granites, etc. ).

The North Caucasus is one of the most resource-poor regions of the Russian Federation.

The recreational resources of the area are unique. The mild climate, abundance of mineral springs and healing mud, warm sea waters create rich opportunities for treatment and recreation. The mountainous regions of the North Caucasus with their unique landscapes have all the necessary conditions for the development of mountaineering and tourism, and the organization of ski resorts of international importance here.

Population and labor resources

The North Caucasus is the most multinational economic region of Russia. More than 30 nationalities live in Dagestan alone (Avars, Dargins, Kumyks, Lezgins, Laks, etc.). Most Russians and Ukrainians live in the Rostov region, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories. The Russian population makes up the majority in large cities and industrial centers. The most numerous indigenous nationalities of the North Caucasus now form independent republics: Adygea, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkarian, Karachay-Cherkess, North Ossetia, Ingush and Chechen. The average population density of the region is about 38.7 people per 1 km2, which is 4.7 times higher than in Russia as a whole.

The basis of the region's economy is made up of inter-industry complexes, among which the agro-industrial, machine-building and resort-recreational complexes stand out.

In the economy of the North Caucasus, a significant role is also played by the fuel and energy, metallurgical, chemical complexes, a complex of industries for the production of non-food consumer goods, and the production of cement and other building materials. The region has developed agricultural, energy and transport engineering industries.

Over 70% of the entire fleet of agricultural machinery in Russia is produced by OJSC Rostselmash (Rostov-on-Don). The Rostselmash company is one of the five largest global manufacturers of combine harvesters and agricultural machinery. Modern equipment for nuclear power plants, metallurgical and petrochemical industries is produced by Volgodonsk JSC EMK-Atommash.

In Taganrog there is an enterprise producing equipment for thermal power engineering - the Krasny Kotelshchik boiler plant. Its main products are high-power energy and heating boilers, steam generators for combined-cycle plants, heat exchange and water treatment equipment.

The only enterprise in Russia producing mainline freight and passenger electric locomotives, Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant, is located in the Rostov region.

The aviation industry is represented by Rostvertol OJSC (helicopter production) and TANTK im. G.M. Beriev" (production of seaplanes and amphibious aircraft).

The automotive industry is represented by TagAZ LLC (Taganrog Automobile Plant). The enterprise was created in 1998 on the basis of unused and unfinished construction facilities of the Taganrog Combine Harvester Plant. The first stage of production for the production of world-class cars was put into operation.

The agro-industrial complex of the North Caucasus provides more than half of the total product produced in the region. Its central link is agriculture, for the development of which there are extremely favorable conditions here. It is enough to note that, per capita, the region produces 40% more agricultural products than the Russian average.

The North Caucasus is Russia's largest grain supplier. The main grain crop is winter wheat. The main areas of its cultivation are the Krasnodar region, the Rostov region and the western part of the Stavropol region. Corn crops are widespread. Significant areas are occupied by such valuable grain crops as rice. It is grown in the lower reaches of the Kuban (Kubanskie plavni), as well as on irrigated lands in the Rostov region and Dagestan.

Industrial crops are produced in the area: sunflower, sugar beets, tobacco. The North Caucasus is a large horticultural and viticulture region. Here there is about a third of all fruit and berry plantings and almost all the vineyards of the Russian Federation. The North Caucasus is the only region in Russia where subtropical crops are grown - tea, citrus fruits, persimmons, figs (mainly on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory).

Livestock farming is highly marketable. Cattle, pigs, and poultry are raised here. Sheep breeding, especially fine-wool sheep, is important. The North Caucasus accounts for half of the fine wool harvested in Russia.

The resort and recreation complex of the North Caucasus includes resorts on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory (Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzhik). In the foothills of the Stavropol region there is the famous group of resorts of the Caucasian Mineral Waters (Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk, Essentuki, Zheleznovodsk). Dombay and Teberda (Karachay-Cherkessia), Baksan Gorge (Kabardino-Balkaria) and other places with unique natural landscapes are deservedly popular among tourists, climbers, and skiers.

An industry that complements the complex of the North Caucasus economic region is the coal industry , although due to the high cost of production, slow growth of labor productivity, and falling capital productivity, its efficiency is reduced. The main coal mining area is the eastern wing of Donbass in the Rostov region (Shakhty, Novoshakhtinsk, etc.). The development of the industry should be carried out both through the reconstruction and technical re-equipment of existing ones, and through the new construction of mines to replace the exhausted ones.

Back in the 70s, the oil and gas industries of the North Caucasus were of interregional importance. However, as a result of intensive field development and limited reserves, oil and gas production is declining (currently the region accounts for only about 3% of their production). Maintaining the same volumes requires large expenses and is not economically justified. Oil production is carried out in the fields of Grozny, Malgobek, Dagestan and Kuban, and oil refining is carried out at oil refineries in Krasnodar and Tuapse. Natural gas is produced mainly in the fields of Stavropol and Kuban.

Thermal power plants predominate in the electric power industry of the North Caucasus. A significant contribution to the development of the energy base was made by the construction and commissioning of the Volgodonsk (Rostov) NPP.

The region has a developed non-ferrous metallurgy and chemical complex. The leading place in the complex of industries for the production of non-food consumer goods is occupied by industries focused on the processing of livestock raw materials: the leather and footwear industry (large enterprises in Rostov-on-Don, Shakhty, Nalchik, Vladikavkaz), the production of washed wool and woolen fabrics, carpet weaving (Krasnodar , Makhachkala, etc.).

The leading role in interregional transportation in the North Caucasus belongs to railway transport. The main railway lines are Millerovo - Rostov - Armavir - Gudermes - Makhachkala - Baku and Volgograd - Salsk - Krasnodar - Novorossiysk, intersecting in Tikhoretsk. Lines depart from them to the central Volga region, Transcaucasia, and Ukraine.

In interregional exchange, the North Caucasus acts as a supplier of agricultural, energy and transport engineering products, petrochemicals, food and light industries, and the agro-industrial complex. Cement and coal are also exported. The main import products are rolled ferrous metals, some types of mineral fertilizers, industrial wood and lumber, cars, tractors, and, more recently, oil.

Intradistrict differences

Most industrially developed Rostov region. In the territorial division of labor, it acts as the main supplier of grain harvesters, cultivators, electric locomotives, and high-power steam boilers. The region has developed food (confectionery, meat, canning, tobacco) and light (leather, footwear, textile) industries.

Krasnodar region- manufacturer of metal-cutting machines, cement, phosphate fertilizers, sulfuric acid. IN Stavropol region Among the industries that stand out are chemical (production of plastics, synthetic resins, varnishes, paints, nitrogen fertilizers, etc.) and mechanical engineering (electrical products, refrigeration equipment, truck cranes and trailers). Kabardino-Balkarian Republic It is distinguished by the production of tungsten-molybdenum industrial products, artificial diamonds and abrasive materials, cable products, and artificial leather. Republic of North Ossetia In the territorial division of labor, it is distinguished by the production of lead and zinc, electric welding equipment, automotive equipment, and starch products. In the industrial structure Republic of Dagestan The leading position is occupied by mechanical engineering, food and light industry. Chechen And Ingush Republic formed on the site of the former Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Industry Republic of Adygea(the former autonomous region of the Krasnodar Territory) is concentrated mainly in its capital - the city of Maikop - and is represented by the food and light industries, mechanical engineering and woodworking enterprises. Karachay-Cherkess Republic(formerly an autonomous region within the Stavropol Territory) is distinguished by its mining industry; mechanical engineering, chemical, light and food industries are also developed.

The socio-economic development of the North Caucasus is complicated by political conflicts. The cessation of hostilities in the region, the establishment of peace and stability is the main problem of the further economic and social development of the North Caucasus economic region.

Development prospects include the most effective use of favorable natural and climatic factors of the region’s balneological resources for the development of resort areas and turning them into resorts of world importance, areas of domestic and foreign tourism. This should be greatly facilitated by the development of tourist and recreational special economic zones (TR SEZ) in the area.

TR SEZ “New Anapa” on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory provides for the implementation of the idea of ​​a resort for recreation in different formats.

TR SEZ "Grand Spa Yutsa" on the territory of the Stavropol Territory on Mount Yutsa and its surroundings is being created in order to create a modern balneological resort, improve service, achieve greater flexibility in health programs, create a wide range of entertainment opportunities for vacationers and develop related types of tourism.

Lower Volga region

The Lower Volga region is the northern part of the Southern Federal District, covering the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia, Astrakhan and Volgograd regions. The region has access to the Caspian Sea. The main industries of specialization are the oil production and oil refining industries, and the gas industry. In addition, the Volga region is the main region for catching valuable sturgeon fish, one of the most important regions for growing grain crops, sunflowers, mustard, melons and vegetables, and a major supplier of wool, meat, and fish.

Natural resource potential

Natural resource potential is diverse. A significant area is occupied by the Volga Valley, which passes into the Caspian Lowland in the south. A special place is occupied by the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, composed of river sediments, favorable for agriculture.

The creation of a large industry in the Volga basin that pollutes its waters, the intensive development of river transport, agriculture that uses large volumes of mineral fertilizers, a significant part of which is washed into the Volga, the construction of hydroelectric power stations has a negative impact on the river and creates an environmental disaster zone in the area. The region's water resources are significant, but unevenly distributed. In this regard, there is a shortage of water resources in the interior regions, especially in Kalmykia.

The region has oil and gas resources in the Volgograd region - Zhirnovskoye, Korobkovskoye, the largest gas condensate field is located in the Astrakhan region, on the basis of which a gas industrial complex is being formed.

In the Caspian lowland in lakes Baskunchak and Elton there are resources of table salt; These lakes are also rich in bromine, iodine, and magnesium salts.

Population and labor resources

The population of the Volga region is distinguished by its diverse national composition. Kalmyks occupy a significant share in the population structure of the Republic of Kalmykia - 45.4%. In the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, with a predominance of the Russian population, Kazakhs, Tatars, and Ukrainians live. The population of the Volga region is characterized by its high concentration in regional centers and the capital of the republic. The population of Volgograd is 987.2 thousand people. The lowest population density is characteristic of Kalmykia, and here the smallest proportion of people living in cities.

Location and development of the main sectors of the economy

Oil and gas production is carried out in the region. The largest is the Astrakhan gas condensate field, where natural gas is produced and processed.

Oil refineries and petrochemical plants are located in the Volgograd and Astrakhan regions. The largest enterprise is the Volgograd Oil Refinery. The Astrakhan region has significant prospects for the development of the petrochemical industry based on the use of hydrocarbon fractions from the Astrakhan field.

The region's electric power industry is represented by the Volgograd hydroelectric power station and thermal power plants.

The region has a developed engineering complex: shipbuilding centers - Astrakhan, Volgograd; agricultural engineering is represented by a large tractor plant in Volgograd; chemical and petroleum engineering is developed in the Astrakhan region.

Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy is developed in Volgograd; the largest enterprises are OJSC Volzhsky Pipe Plant and OJSC Volgograd Aluminum Plant.

The enormous resources of the salt lakes have led to the development of the salt industry, which supplies 25% of the country's need for food-grade salt and other valuable chemical products.

The fishing industry is developed in the Lower Volga region, the main enterprise of the industry is the fishing concern "Kaspryba", which includes a caviar and balyk association, a number of large fish factories, a naval base, a fishing fleet (Kasprybkholodflot), which conducts expeditionary fishing in the Caspian Sea. The concern also includes a fish hatchery for the production of juvenile sturgeon and a net knitting factory.

In agricultural production, areas of specialization are the cultivation of vegetable and melon crops, sunflowers, and sheep breeding.

Transport and economic relations

The Volga region exports crude oil and oil products, gas, tractors, fish, grain, vegetable and melon crops, etc. Imports timber, mineral fertilizers, machinery and equipment, and light industry products. The Volga region has a developed transport network that provides high-capacity cargo flows.

The region has developed river, railway and pipeline transport.

Intradistrict differences

Lower Volga region includes Astrakhan, Volgograd, regions and Kalmykia. The Lower Volga region is a subregion of developed industry - mechanical engineering, chemical, food. At the same time, it is an important agricultural region with developed grain farming, beef cattle and sheep farming, as well as the production of rice, vegetable and melon crops and fishing.

The main centers of the Lower Volga region are Volgograd (developed mechanical engineering, chemical industry), Astrakhan (shipbuilding, fishing industry, container production, various food industries), Elista (building materials industry, mechanical engineering and metalworking).

The most industrially developed is the Volgograd region, where mechanical engineering, ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical, food and light industries have the largest share in the diversified complex.

Main problems and development prospects

Degradation of natural forage lands, especially in Kalmykia with its system of transhumance-grazing livestock farming, is one of the main environmental problems of the region. Environmental damage is caused by industrial emissions and transport to the water and fish resources of the region. The solution to the problem is carried out with the help of the targeted federal program “Caspian”, the main task of which is to clean up the Volga-Caspian water basin and increase the number of valuable fish species.

One of the main tasks is to equalize the levels of socio-economic development of the most backward regions of the Volga region and, first of all, Kalmykia, which has been granted a number of benefits in taxation and financing. The prospects for the development of this republic are associated with the expansion of oil and gas production, in particular on the shelf of the Caspian Sea.

On the territory of the Astrakhan region, since 2002, the federal target program “South of Russia” has been implemented, which includes 33 projects in areas covering the most important areas of economic activity of the region: transport, agro-industrial, tourist-recreational and sanatorium-resort complexes; infrastructure, social development.

Geological exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, as well as the Republic of Kalmykia, is carried out by LUKOIL-Volgogradneftegaz LLC. Prospects for economic development include prospecting and exploration and development of oil fields in a number of promising areas of the sea shelf.

– formed on January 19, 2010 in accordance with Decree of the President of Russia D. A. Medvedev No. 82 “On introducing amendments to the list of federal districts approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 13, 2000 No. 849, and to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 12, 2008 No. 724 "Issues of the system and structure of federal executive bodies" by separation from the Southern Federal District The center of the North Caucasus Federal District is the city of Pyatigorsk.
From May 13 to June 21, 2000, the name of the North Caucasus Federal District was borne by the Southern Federal District.

North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD)– includes 7 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, it is located in the southern part of the European part of Russia, in the lower reaches of the Volga River, in the central and eastern part of the North Caucasus, from the east the territory of the North Caucasus Federal District is washed by the Caspian Sea. In the west and north, the North Caucasus Federal District borders on the Southern Federal District, in the east - on Kazakhstan, in the south - on Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and South Ossetia. The regions of the North Caucasus Federal District are included in the North Caucasus Economic Region.
Significant oil reserves are concentrated on the territory of the North Caucasus Federal District on the shelf of the Caspian Sea. The main sectors of the economy of the North Caucasus Federal District: extraction and processing of thermal and mineral waters, tourism, agriculture, production of building materials.
The North Caucasus remains the most conflict-ridden region in Russia.

NORTH CAUCASUS Federal District. Area 172,360 sq. km.
Administrative center of the North Caucasus Federal District - Pyatigorsk

Administrative center of Makhachkala
- Administrative center of Magas
- Administrative center of Vladikavkaz
- Administrative center of Nalchik
- Administrative center of Cherkessk
- Administrative center of Grozny
- Administrative center of Stavropol

Cities of the North Caucasus Federal District

Cities in the Republic of Dagestan: Buynaksk, Dagestan Lights, Derbent, Izberbash, Kaspiysk, Kizilyurt, Kizlyar, Khasavyurt, Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Makhachkala.

Cities in the Republic of Ingushetia: Karabulak, Malgobek, Nazran. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Magas.

Cities in the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania: Alagir, Ardon, Beslan, Digora, Mozdok. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Vladikavkaz.

Cities in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic: Baksan, Maisky, Nartkala, Prokhladny, Terek, Tyrnyauz, Chegem. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Nalchik.

Cities in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic: Karachaevsk, Teberda, Ust-Dzheguta. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Cherkessk.

Cities in the Chechen Republic: Argun, Gudermes, Urus-Martan, Shali. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Grozny.

Cities in the Stavropol Territory: Grateful, Budyonnovsk, Georgievsk, Essentuki, Zheleznovodsk, Zelenokumsk, Izobilny, Ipatovo, Kislovodsk, Lermontov, Mineralnye Vody, Mikhailovsk, Nevinnomyssk, Neftekumsk, Novoaleksandrovsk, Novopavlovsk, Pyatigorsk, Svetlograd. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Stavropol.

– formed on January 19, 2010 in accordance with Decree of the President of Russia D. A. Medvedev No. 82 “On introducing amendments to the list of federal districts approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 13, 2000 No. 849, and to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 12, 2008 No. 724 "Issues of the system and structure of federal executive bodies" by separation from the Southern Federal District The center of the North Caucasus Federal District is the city of Pyatigorsk.
From May 13 to June 21, 2000, the name of the North Caucasus Federal District was borne by the Southern Federal District.

North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD)– includes 7 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, it is located in the southern part of the European part of Russia, in the lower reaches of the Volga River, in the central and eastern part of the North Caucasus, from the east the territory of the North Caucasus Federal District is washed by the Caspian Sea. In the west and north, the North Caucasus Federal District borders on the Southern Federal District, in the east - on Kazakhstan, in the south - on Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and South Ossetia. The regions of the North Caucasus Federal District are included in the North Caucasus Economic Region.
Significant oil reserves are concentrated on the territory of the North Caucasus Federal District on the shelf of the Caspian Sea. The main sectors of the economy of the North Caucasus Federal District: extraction and processing of thermal and mineral waters, tourism, agriculture, production of building materials.
The North Caucasus remains the most conflict-ridden region in Russia.

NORTH CAUCASUS Federal District. Area 172,360 sq. km.
Administrative center of the North Caucasus Federal District - Pyatigorsk

Republic of DAGESTAN - Administrative center of Makhachkala
Republic of INGUSHETIA - Administrative center of Magas
Republic of NORTH OSSETIA - ALANIA - Administrative center of Vladikavkaz
KABARDINO-BALKAR REPUBLIC - Administrative center of Nalchik
KARACHAY-CHERKASSIAN REPUBLIC - Administrative center of Cherkessk
CHECHEN REPUBLIC - Administrative center of Grozny
STAVROPOL TERRITORY - Administrative center of Stavropol

Cities of the North Caucasus Federal District

Cities in the Republic of Dagestan: Buynaksk, Dagestan Lights, Derbent, Izberbash, Kaspiysk, Kizilyurt, Kizlyar, Khasavyurt, Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Makhachkala.

Cities in the Republic of Ingushetia: Karabulak, Malgobek, Nazran. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Magas.

Cities in the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania: Alagir, Ardon, Beslan, Digora, Mozdok. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Vladikavkaz.

Cities in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic: Baksan, Maisky, Nartkala, Prokhladny, Terek, Tyrnyauz, Chegem. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Nalchik.

Cities in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic: Karachaevsk, Teberda, Ust-Dzheguta. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Cherkessk.

Cities in the Chechen Republic: Argun, Gudermes, Urus-Martan, Shali. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Grozny.

Cities in the Stavropol Territory: Grateful, Budyonnovsk, Georgievsk, Essentuki, Zheleznovodsk, Zelenokumsk, Izobilny, Ipatovo, Kislovodsk, Lermontov, Mineralnye Vody, Mikhailovsk, Nevinnomyssk, Neftekumsk, Novoaleksandrovsk, Novopavlovsk, Pyatigorsk, Svetlograd. The administrative center of the federal district is the city Stavropol.