Nizhny Novgorod region (until October 22, 1990 - Gorky region) is a
subject of the Russian Federation in the center of the European part of
Russia. It is part of the Volga Federal District. The administrative
center is Nizhny Novgorod.
One of the largest regions of Central
Russia.
Area - 76,624 km², length from southwest to northeast -
more than 400 km.
Population - 3,081,817 people. (2023).
Population density: 40.22 people/km² (2023), proportion of urban
population: 80.64% (2022).
Borders: in the north-west with the
Kostroma region, in the north-east - with the Kirov region, in the east
- with the republics of Mari El and Chuvashia, in the south - with the
Republic of Mordovia, in the south-west - with the Ryazan region, in the
west - with the Vladimir and Ivanovo regions.
Vehicle code - 52,
152, 252.
On the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region there are unique
natural sites: the Kerzhensky reserve, the Ichalkovsky reserve, the
natural monuments of Lake Vad and Lake Svetloyar, into the waters of
which, according to legend, Kitezh-grad sank in the first half of the
14th century.
On the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region
there are unique natural sites: the Kerzhensky reserve, the Ichalkovsky
reserve, the natural monuments of Lake Vad and Lake Svetloyar, into the
waters of which, according to legend, Kitezh-grad sank in the first half
of the 14th century.
In the Nizhny Novgorod region there is
Boldino, the family estate of the Pushkins, in which the great Russian
poet A.S. Pushkin lived and worked.
At the mouth of the
Kerzhenets River is the Zheltovodsk Makariev Monastery, founded in the
first half of the 15th century by the Venerable Wonderworker Makariy.
The Diveyevo Women's Monastery is a place of Orthodox pilgrimage, as
a monastery under the patronage of the Holy Wonderworker Seraphim of
Sarov, whose relics are in the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery.
Near the city of Dzerzhinsk on the left bank of the Oka there is a
unique architectural structure: a 128-meter steel hyperboloid openwork
tower, built by engineer Vladimir Grigorievich Shukhov in 1929. This is
one of two high-rise multi-section hyperboloid structures preserved in
Russia, the second - the famous Shukhov TV tower - stands on Shabolovka,
in Moscow. The Oka Tower served as one of the supports of the unique 110
kilovolt transmission line crossing of the Nizhny Novgorod State
District Power Plant across the Oka River.
The city of Arzamas is
rich in its history and architectural monuments. The most famous is the
Resurrection Cathedral, which is located on Cathedral Square. At the end
of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, there were 36 churches
and 4 monasteries.
In Vyksa, on the territory of the Vyksa
Metallurgical Plant, there are unique monuments of industrial
architecture and technical art, also built by V. G. Shukhov at the end
of the 19th century. This is a workshop with the world's first
sail-shaped steel mesh shells of double curvature coating and one of the
world's first hyperboloid structures - a steel openwork mesh hyperboloid
tower. The sail-shaped floors of the workshop are the only steel mesh
shell floors that have survived in Russia out of more than thirty, built
according to the designs of V. G. Shukhov. It is possible that a museum
of steelmaking in Russia will be created in the building of this
workshop.
In Gorodets, one of the oldest Russian settlements in
the Middle Volga, founded in the 2nd half of the 12th century, there are
museums dedicated to needlework and craftsmanship, the life and history
of the peoples of the Volga region.
A large number of
architectural monuments are located in the administrative center of the
region - the city of Nizhny Novgorod, including the Nizhny Novgorod
Kremlin, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Stroganov Church, Old Fair
Cathedral and others.
The fairy tale by Mikhail Tatarinov is
dedicated to the sights of the Nizhny Novgorod region. Nizhny Novgorod
Fairy Tale
The Mesolithic era in the Nizhny Novgorod region includes the sites
of Pustyn I and the settlement of Naumovka I, Krasny Bor 5, etc. Burial
grounds of the Fatyanovo culture of the Bronze Age were discovered in
the Chkalovsky, Vetluzhsky and Krasnobakovsky regions.
During the
regional reform of Peter I in 1708, Nizhny Novgorod and the surrounding
lands were included in the Kazan province. In 1714, the Nizhny Novgorod
province was created.
The Nizhny Novgorod region was formed as
part of the RSFSR on January 14, 1929. On July 15 of the same year, the
region was renamed the Nizhny Novgorod Territory and on October 7, 1932
- the Gorky Territory.
On December 5, 1936, the region was
transformed into the Gorky region (the Mari and Chuvash Autonomous
Soviet Socialist Republics emerged from it).
On January 7, 1954,
the Arzamas region was separated from the Gorky region. On April 23,
1957, the Arzamas region was abolished, and its territory was
transferred to the Gorky region.
On October 22, 1990, by the
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the region
was renamed the Nizhny Novgorod region. On April 21, 1992, the Congress
of People's Deputies of Russia approved the renaming of the region,
amending Art. 71 of the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978, which came
into force on May 16, 1992.
In 1994, the Sokolsky district was
transferred to the region.
The Nizhny Novgorod region is elongated in the meridional direction, its length from north to south is 403 km, and from west to east in the widest southern part - 274 km. The main differences in climate appear along the north-south line, between the forested Trans-Volga region and the elevated Right Bank.
In general, the region is located in a temperate continental climate
zone. The average annual air temperature varies from 3.0 in the north to
4.5 °C in the south of the region. During the year, about 500-600 mm of
precipitation falls in the Volga region and 450-500 mm in the Right Bank
region, two-thirds of which falls in the form of rain. From September to
May, south and south-west winds prevail in the region, and in the summer
months - north-west. The average annual wind speed is 3-4 m/s.
Winter in the Nizhny Novgorod region lasts from the beginning of
November to the end of March. The average monthly temperature in
November is −3…−5 °C. The average monthly air temperature in January in
the region is −10…−13 °C. The absolute minimum air temperatures are
−45…−50 °C in the Volga region and −42…−46 °C in the Right Bank. Maximum
temperatures during the winter months can reach positive values of up to
+6 °C. Stable snow cover usually falls on November 14-21 in the Volga
region and November 19-28 in the south of the region. Snow cover usually
lasts 150-160 days. The height of the snow cover by the end of March
reaches approximately half a meter, and in the forest - 70-80 cm. During
the winter season, about 160-200 mm of precipitation falls in the
region. Average monthly wind speeds in winter are higher than in warm
periods and amount to 3.5–4.5 m/s.
Spring in the region proceeds
relatively quickly, especially in the Right Bank. The increase in
average monthly air temperature from March to April is usually 9...10
°C, and in separate years it can reach 15°-16°; in years with winter
Marches it is always double. In early April, almost simultaneously
throughout the entire region, the average daily air temperature passes
through 0 °C in the direction of increasing it. The melting of snow
cover usually occurs on April 8-13 in the south and April 16-23 in the
north of the region. During the influx of Arctic cold air in the first
ten days of May, the air temperature can drop to −3…−6 °C. Frosts are
possible in late May - early June. The amount of precipitation in spring
is 70-90 mm in the region. Average wind speed is 3-4 m/s. May in certain
periods can be a real summer month and often with hot periods, so in
1906 the average May temperature reached +18.5° in Nizhny, and in the
south of the region exceeded +19°, which is hotter than the average July
of those years and almost equal to modern July, the maximum number of
days with summer above +20 in May can also reach 25-26.
The
beginning of summer is considered to be the transition of the average
daily air temperature through +15 °C; this usually occurs at the end of
May in the Right Bank and at the end of the first ten days of June in
the Volga region. Summer in the Nizhny Novgorod region is relatively
short and moderately warm, lasting about 70-90 days. The rate of
temperature rise in the summer months slows down, and from the end of
July its slow decrease begins. The average monthly temperature in July
ranges from +18 in the north to +20 °C in the south of the region. July
is the warmest month of the year. In summer, the temperature regime is
more stable than in other seasons, and day-to-day variability is
smoother. Maximum daytime temperatures rise to +28…+33 °С, and sometimes
to +36…+39 °С. Even in July, noticeable daytime cold snaps are likely
with a decrease in daytime temperatures to a noticeable coolness of
+12°-+14°, as was the case in early July 2023. Precipitation falls
unevenly throughout the year, most of it falls during the warm period
and mainly in the summer season. The greatest amount of precipitation,
75-85 mm, usually occurs in July. Average monthly wind speeds in summer
are 2.5–3.5 m/s.
The autumn period begins with frosts in the air
and on the soil after the average daily air temperature passes through
+15 °C towards its decrease, usually observed at the end of August in
the north and at the beginning of September in the south of the region.
The average monthly temperature in September is +10…+11 °C, and by
November drops to −3…−4 °C. The frost-free period lasts 110-120 days in
the north of the region, and 130-140 days on the right bank. The average
monthly temperature in October is +3...+4 °C, in 2014 in the north of
the region in Shakhunya it was less than 0°, October was actually
winter, and in 2015 it was less than +1°. A stable transition of the
average daily air temperature through 0 °C towards a decrease occurs at
the very beginning of November. Night frosts give way to frosts, warming
up during the day leads to thaws, the duration of sunshine decreases,
and the number of cloudy days sharply increases (from 1-2 in summer to
13-15 in October and November). In general, 110–130 mm of precipitation
falls during the autumn season. Indicators of average monthly wind speed
are growing, their values are 3-4 m/s. The growing season is 165-175
days.
The Nizhny Novgorod region is located in the central part of the East
European Plain.
The Volga River divides the region into the
low-lying Left Bank (Trans-Volga region) and the elevated Right Bank - a
continuation of the Volga Upland (Mordovian Upland, Chuvash Upland,
Dyatlov, Peremilovsky, Faddeev mountains, Mezhpyanye Upland).
The
highest point of the region is located on the Mezhpyanye hill in the
Sechenovsky district and is 252 m above sea level.
The region is located on the Russian Platform, the crystalline base
of which consists of granites, gneisses, quartzites, hidden under thick
layers of layered, more or less loose sedimentary rocks. During the
Paleozoic era, the entire surface of the region was covered several
times by seas. The average thickness of sedimentary rocks is from 1 to 3
km. The layers of sedimentary rocks are most clearly visible on the
cliffs of the right bank of the Oka.
Karst landforms (caves,
sinkholes, etc.) are developed.
On the territory of the region
there is the Puchezh-Katun meteorite crater with a diameter of 80 km,
formed 167 million years ago.
There are deposits of peat, phosphorus, and iron ores.
In the
Piana River basin there is a large deposit of titanium-zirconium ores
(“black sands”): Itmanovskaya placer (Itmanovo village, Lukoyanovsky
district) total reserves are 67 million m³, of which off-balance
reserves are 4.9 million m³, forecasted are 31.2 million m³. The deposit
is one of the five largest alluvial deposits of titanium and zirconium
in Russia.
There are loam deposits:
Sosnovskoye deposit
(balance reserves amount to 788 thousand m³) north-west of the village
of Sosnovskoye;
The Koverninskoye deposit (balance reserves amount to
361 thousand m³) northeast of the village of Chernoye.
In the
deposits of the Ardatovsky region, reserves of quartz sand amount to
53.8 million m³, clay reserves - 17.8 million m³. To develop them, the
former governor, Mr. Shantsev, allowed the construction of a new glass
factory, but these statements did not have a sufficient economic basis,
and their implementation was not started.
The region's river network is dense and includes over 9,000 rivers
and streams. The largest rivers of the European part of Russia - the
Volga and its right tributary Oka - flow through its territory. In the
Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga region there flow the left tributaries of
the Volga - Vetluga, Kerzhenets, Uzola, Linda. They carry their waters
among dense taiga and mixed forests.
The tributaries of the Volga
and Oka flow into the right bank. Among the tributaries of the Volga are
the Sura, which flows along the border with Chuvashia, as well as the
Kudma and Sundovik. Tesha carries her waters to the Oka. In the eastern
part of the Right Bank flows the Piana.
The largest lake is
Pyrskoye. The largest lake of karst origin is Bolshoye Svyatoe.
There are many swamps on flat watersheds and in lowlands.
The Nizhny Novgorod region is located in zones of southern taiga,
mixed and broad-leaved forests, as well as forest-steppe. Southern taiga
and subtaiga (mixed) zones are located in the Left Bank, and
broad-leaved forests and forest-steppes are located in the Right Bank.
The soils are predominantly soddy-podzolic, podzolic, and gray forest.
Forests occupy 3992.7 thousand hectares or 53% of the region's
territory. Forest cover in the northern regions reaches 80%, in the
southeastern regions it decreases to 1%. The total timber reserve is
more than 550 million m³. In the Volga region, coniferous forests
(spruce, fir, pine, and very rarely larch) and mixed forests (linden and
birch) predominate. Floodplain tracts are covered with black alder, here
and there small oak, willow, willow, willow, with a small admixture of
viburnum, rowan and other similar trees. In some places you can find
sedge.
On the Right Bank there are oak forests and meadow
steppes. The forests of the mountainous side are distinguished by great
diversity: centuries-old oaks, huge elms, oak groves, linden, maple,
ash, bird cherry, rowan, even a wild apple tree, next to them are hazel,
buckthorn, viburnum, honeysuckle and other shrubs.
In the Nizhny
Novgorod region there are wild boar, elk, wolf, fox, brown hare, hare,
brown bear, lynx, badger, marmot, spotted gopher, mole, hamster and
others.
By resolution of the Legislative Assembly in 1996, the Red Book of
the Nizhny Novgorod Region was established.
The Kerzhensky Nature
Reserve and the Ichalkovsky Nature Reserve are located on the territory
of the region.
In total, in the Nizhny Novgorod region there are
388 specially protected natural areas and 102 protective zones with an
area of 72,622 hectares, which occupy 7.5% of the region's area.
The Nizhny Novgorod region is characterized by the multi-confessional nature of the population, the most widespread are Orthodoxy (73.5% of the number of religious organizations) and Islam (8.6% of the total number of religious organizations), there is a significant number of Old Believer communities of different directions (in total 3.9% number of religious organizations), as well as various Protestant communities. In Nizhny Novgorod there are Catholic and Lutheran communities, and there is a synagogue.
In the region, as part of optimizing expenditures in the budgetary sector, small-scale schools are being reduced. In 2009, 96 secondary schools were closed and 1,390 teachers were laid off.