The Amur Oblast, popularly called Priamurie, is a Far Eastern subject
of the Russian Federation, the capital of which is the city of
Blagoveshchensk. Rosstat assigns it the code 10, and its registration
code is 28, and the only official language is Russian. Established on
the left bank of the Amur River, from which it takes its name, it is the
only Russian oblast whose name does not come from the name of a city.
Located in Manchuria in the north-east of Asia, it is located in a
vast area of plains on the left bank of the Amur River, surrounded by
several mountain massifs. The first traces of settlement date back to
the Upper Paleolithic, with the Selemdja culture. Populated by various
Tungusic peoples, the region enters the periphery of the world of
Imperial China in the Middle Ages. In the thirteenth century, the Daurs
settled in the region following the Mongol invasions, and they were the
first to face the Russians in the seventeenth century. Colonization in
the region was a failure, the Russians losing during the border conflict
with the Qing Dynasty, then having to give up the Amur River valley in
1689. It was only in 1858 that the annexation of the left bank of the
Amur took place with the unequal treaty of Aigun. The Russians founded
the Amur Oblast, colonized the region and massacred the Chinese living
there, especially during the anti-Chinese pogroms of Amur in 1900.
During the Russian Civil War, the Priamurie was controlled by the Far
Eastern Republic, and after several territorial reforms, the oblast was
recreated in 1948 as an independent administrative unit. Since then, the
region has been industrialized, and it has become a strategic space
center under the Russian Federation with the opening of the Vostochny
Cosmodrome in 2016.
Populated by 756,198 inhabitants in 2023, it
is one of the least populated regions in Russia, but one of the most
populated in the far Eastern federal district. Its economy is centered
on agriculture, industries as well as the energy sector with several
important dams such as the Boureïa dam. Its natural heritage is rich,
with large expanses of taiga untouched by human activities. The main
protected areas are the Khingan nature reserve and the Zeia Nature
reserve.
Blagoveshchensk
Belogorsk
Khingansky Nature
Reserve
Skovorodino
Tynda
Zeya Nature
Reserve
By plane
Ignatievo International Airport (IATA:BQS) is located in
Blagoveshchensk by plane.
By train
The Trans-Siberian Railway
runs through the territory of the Amur Region. The main stations of the
region are: Arkhara, Bureya, Zavitaya, Yekaterinoslavka, Belogorsk,
Svobodny, Shimanovskaya, Tyga, Magdagachi, Skovorodino, Urusha, Yerofey
Pavlovich. There is a railway line to Blagoveshchensk, which branches
off in Belogorsk.
In addition, the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM)
runs through the territory of the region. The main stations on BAM are
Olekma, Tynda, and Febralsk.
The Amur Region was established on December 8 (20), 1858 within the
borders: in the south and southwest - along the Amur; in the west — from
the confluence of the Shilka and Arguni; in the northeast along the
watershed of the Amur and Lena basins to the Stanovoi Ridge along it,
Dzhugdyr, Jagda and Yam-Alin to the upper reaches of the Bureya, from
They are in a straight line to the Amur River at the confluence of the
Ussuri river. The territory of the region within these borders was
449,535 km2.
In 1858-1884, the region was part of the East
Siberian General Government, then, from 1884 to 1917, it was part of the
Amur General Government. On July 5, 1878, the coat of arms of the Amur
region was approved. In 1904, part of the region, in the Urmi basin and
the upper reaches of the Amguni, was transferred to the Primorsky
Region.
During the civil war in 1918, the Amur Labor Socialist
Republic existed on the territory of the region, from April 6, 1920 to
November 16, 1922 it was part of the Far Eastern Republic, after its
liquidation it became part of the Far Eastern Region. The Amur Region
became the Amur Province within its former borders. Four counties were
formed in its composition: Blagoveshchensk, Svobodnensky, Zavitinsky and
Zeysky.
In 1926, the Far Eastern Region was transformed into the
Far Eastern Territory, and two administrative districts were formed on
the territory of the province: Amur (with its constituent districts:
Alexandrovsky, Amuro-Zeisky, Ekaterina-Nikolsky, Zavitinsky, Ivanovsky,
Mazanovsky, Mikhailovsky, Svobodnensky, Selemdzhino-Bureinsky, Tambov,
Khingano-Arkharinsky) with the center in Blagoveshchensk and Zeisky (the
districts of Zeisky, Mogochinsky, Rukhlovsky, Tygdinsky) with the center
in the village of Rukhlovo, the districts of Nekrasovsky and
Mikhailo-Semenovsky in the east of the province became part of the
Khabarovsk district. In 1930, the district division was abolished, the
districts came under direct subordination to the regional executive
committee in Khabarovsk, in 1932 the regional division was restored —
the Amur Region included the districts of the Amur and Zey districts,
but without the abolished Amur-Zey (in 1931) and Ekaterina-Nikolsky (in
1930) districts. In 1934, the Zeya region was created within the borders
of the former Zeya administrative district (and with the same zoning),
abolished in 1937, its districts became part of the Chita region.
In 1932-1938, the region was part of the Far Eastern Territory,
divided into Primorsky and Khabarovsk. The Amur Region was part of the
latter until 1948.
On August 2, 1948, the region was separated
from the Khabarovsk Territory into an independent region of the RSFSR,
it included the districts of the Chita region (Zeisky, Skovorodinsky,
Tygdinsky, Dzheltulaksky, Nyukzhinsky, Zeisko-Uchursky). At the same
time, the Verkhnebureinsky district was transferred to the Khabarovsk
Territory, so in 1948 there were 23 districts in the region. In 1953,
the Nyukzhinsky district was abolished, in 1954 — Zeysko-Uchursky, in
1955 — Kumarsky.
In 1963, rural (Belogorsky, Bureysky, Ivanovsky,
Mikhailovsky, Oktyabrsky, Seryshevsky and Tambov, since 1964 Arkharinsky
and Mazanovsky) and industrial districts (Dzheltulaksky, Zeisky and
Selemdzhinsky) were created. Blagoveshchensk district became part of
Ivanovo, and Konstantinovsky — Tambov districts. In 1965, all industrial
and rural areas were transformed back into administrative ones, and in
1967 the Blagoveshchensk and Konstantinovsky districts were re-formed.
In 1975, Zeya and Shimanovsk were classified as cities of regional
subordination, and the urban-type settlement of Tyndinsky was
transformed into the city of regional subordination of Tynda. In 1977,
the Dzheltulak district was renamed Tyndinsky with the center in the
city of Tynda, Tygdinsky — Magdagachinsky with the center in the
urban-type settlement of Magdagachi.
Resolution of the Presidium
of the Far Eastern Executive Committee "On the zoning of the Far Eastern
Territory" dated November 1932
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR dated August 2, 1948 "On the separation of the Amur
Region from the Khabarovsk Territory into an independent region of the
RSFSR"
The Amur Region is located in the south-east of the Russian
Federation, in a temperate climate zone, between 48°51' and 57°04' s. w.
and 119°39' and 134°55' v. d., it is part of the Far Eastern Federal
District. The distance from its administrative center, Blagoveshchensk,
to Moscow by rail is 7985 km, by air — 6480 km. The region is located
closer to the North Pole (about 5,000 km) than to the equator (about
6,000 km).
The Amur region has no direct access to the seas. Its
northeast is only 150 km away from the cold Sea of Okhotsk (known as the
"ice bag"), and the middle regions are 500-600 km away. It is 600-800 km
away from the warm Sea of Japan. The length from north to south is 750
km, and from northwest to southeast - 1150 km. In terms of territory, it
is approximately comparable to Germany.
Most of the region is
located in the basin of the Upper and Middle Amur, which determines its
name.
The region, along with part of Yakutia, is included in the
ninth time zone, in which the difference with Moscow time is six hours.
The climate of the Amur region is transitional from sharply
continental in the northwest to monsoon in the southeast. The formation
of such a climate is due to the interaction of solar radiation, the
circulation of air masses and the following geographical factors:
latitudinal position, the remoteness of the territory from the sea, the
influence of the underlying surface in the form of relief, vegetation,
and water bodies. On the map of climatic zoning of Russia, the main part
of the Amur region is located in the monsoon Far Eastern region of the
temperate climatic zone, and the northwest of the Amur region is located
in the continental East Siberian region of the same climatic zone.
In the Amur Region, the Zeysky, Selemdzhinsky and Tyndinsky
districts, as well as the cities of Zey and Tynda, are equated to the
regions of the Far North. The border of the island permafrost passes
near the confluence of the Selemdzhi with the Zeya, without reaching the
Free One.
The climate is primarily characterized by the
temperature indicators of the coldest and warmest months. The same
indicators of different places are combined by isotherms. In January,
the isotherms with the lowest rates are confined to mountainous areas.
In the north of the region, the average January temperature drops to -29
°C. In the intermountain depressions below. Temperatures are rising
towards the south. In the south there are isotherms from -25 °C to -21
°C. Winter is harsh in the region. Voronezh is located at the latitude
of Blagoveshchensk, where the average temperature in January is -6 °C,
and in Blagoveshchensk it is -21 °C. The absolute minimum is -45.4 °C.
Summers in the south of the region are very warm with sufficient or
excessive moisture. There are July isotherms from 21 °C to 22 °C.
Summers are also warm in the intermountain valleys of the north, where
average July temperatures rise to 18-19 °C. In mountainous areas, the
temperature with altitude reaches 12 ° C. The average absolute maximum
temperatures in the north of the region can reach 38 °C, and in the
south up to 42 ° C.
The annual rainfall in the region is high: in
the northeastern mountainous and eastern regions, their magnitude ranges
from 900 to 1000 mm. There is less precipitation in areas tending to the
Amur and the lower reaches of the Zeya River. So, in the area of the
village of Yerofey Pavlovich — up to 500 mm, in Blagoveshchensk — up to
570 mm, and in the area of Argali — up to 640 mm.
The entire
region is characterized by a summer maximum of precipitation, which is
due to the monsoon climate. Up to 70% of the annual precipitation may
fall in June, July and August. Fluctuations in precipitation are
possible. So, in summer, with increasing evaporation, absolute and
relative humidity increases, and in spring, due to the dryness of the
air, the snow cover mostly evaporates, and this results in a slight
spring rise in the water level in rivers.
Landscapes of taiga, subtaiga and broad-leaved forests are
represented in the Amur region. According to other sources, there is a
forest-steppe in the south of the region. The Tukuringra—Jagda ridges
divide the taiga into the middle and southern subzones. The latitudinal
zonation is superimposed by the high-altitude zonation of the mountains,
which makes the vegetation cover of the Amur region more complex, adding
to its composition a char belt (alpine tundra) and a belt of elfin trees
with fragments of stone-birch forests. The different distance to the
Pacific Ocean contributes to the sectoral differentiation of vegetation:
in most of the Amur region, the light coniferous taiga passes through
the subtaiga pine-oak and larch-oak forests into the "Amur prairies" and
oak-black birch forests, and the fir-spruce taiga appearing on the
eastern outskirts of the region is replaced by the northern version of
cedar-deciduous forests with secondary oak forests, linden, birch and
aspen formations in their place
The floral composition of some
plant communities is disclosed below. The Amur prairies were threatened
with extinction due to the plowing of fertile meadow-chernozem-like
soils (zonal vegetation on a zonal soil type.
Aquatic and
near-aquatic plants: lotus, Schreber's brazenia, marsh whitefly,
tetrahedral water lily, chastuchoid otelia, Korsakov's monochoria,
Chinese trapella, white-leaved caldesia, floating hornbill, rdest,
duckweed, floating salvinia, types of reed and cattail…
Settled
meadows, including the "Amur prairies": dodging reed, Trinius vole,
species of weinik, sedges, wormwood, peas, geraniums and violets, Tatar
aster, patrinia scabiosolistnaya, krasodnev small, xiphoid iris, low
lily, large-flowered shirokokol, Baikal skullcap, Chinese carnation,
Lindley's horsetail, Manchurian serpukha, Turchaninov's lumbago, St.
John 's wort large…
Broad-leaved valley forests and thickets of
hawthorn: Japanese elm, Maksimovich poplar, Manchurian ash, Amur linden,
Amur velvet, Manchurian walnut, split elm, small-leaved maples and
Ginnala, common cherry, Ussuri pear, Amur lilac, Amur maakia, Daurian
hawthorn, berry apple, Daurian rosehip, white svidina, honeysuckle
golden, warty birch bark (small-flowered), mountain ash, Amur grapes,
Chinese lemongrass, Daurian moonseed, dioscorea Nippon, ostrich, Asian
frima, nettle, angelica, sedge…
The governor of the Amur Region since 2018 is Vasily Alexandrovich
Orlov.
Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Amur Region
were held on September 19, 2021. One self—nominated candidate and seven
parties entered the regional parliament: United Russia — 18 seats, the
Communist Party — 3 seats, the Liberal Democratic Party, Just Russia -
For Truth, the Party of Pensioners, New People and Communists of Russia
— one seat each.
The Chairman of the Legislative Assembly is
Konstantin Viktorovich Dyakonov.
Currently, the structure of industrial production has an energy and
raw materials orientation. The main share is occupied by energy and gold
mining.
Deposits and manifestations of placer and ore gold,
silver, titanium, molybdenum, tungsten, copper, tin, polymetals,
antimony, brown and hard coal, zeolites, kaolin, cement raw materials,
apatite, graphite, talc, semiprecious, facing stones are known here.
The border position, the presence of significant resource potential,
open up great opportunities for the region. According to the
Comprehensive Plan of Socio-economic Development of the Amur Region
until 2025, six centers of economic development have been identified:
gas processing, mining, agro-industrial, energy, tourist and
recreational and space, within which it is planned to implement capital
construction, major repairs, modernization of social, transport and
housing and communal infrastructure.
Major investment projects
will become the basis of the centers of economic development:
the
development of gold mining in the Selemdzhinsky district, the
development of the Bam gold deposit, the increase in gold production at
the Pokrovsky and Malomyrsky mines, the growth of coal production due to
the increase in capacity at the Yerkovetsky section and the beginning of
the development of the Ogodzhinsky deposit, the development of the
Kuhn-Manye copper-nickel ore deposit, the Darmakan quartz sand deposit,
the construction of an autoclave hydrometallurgical complex at the
Pokrovskoye field;
construction and modernization of enterprises of
the agro-industrial complex.
completion of the Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP
construction;
Tsiolkovsky — formation of the AMUR tourist and
recreational cluster;
implementation of large—scale investment
projects - construction of the Power of Siberia main gas pipeline and
the Amur Gas Processing Plant;
construction of the Vostochny
cosmodrome facilities, reconstruction of sections of the Lena federal
highway, construction of entrances to settlements of the Amur Region
from the Amur highway, construction and reconstruction of sections of
highways of regional and local significance, a border bridge crossing
the Amur River (Heilongjiang) near the cities of Blagoveshchensk (RF)
and Heihe (PRC).
Over the period up to 2025, over 20,000 new
high-performance jobs are expected to be created in the region, the
share of the manufacturing segment of the economy will increase from 3
to 30 percent.
The Vostochny cosmodrome is located on the
territory of the Amur Region.
In October 2015, construction of
Russia's largest and one of the largest in the world Amur Gas Processing
Plant with a capacity of up to 49 billion cubic meters per year, which
will include the world's largest helium production complex with a
capacity of up to 60 million cubic meters per year. The construction
cost will amount to 790.6 billion rubles. At the peak of construction,
up to 15,000 people will be involved, and about 3,000 jobs will be
created at the plant itself. The plant was launched on June 9, 2021.
In the immediate vicinity of the Amur Gas Processing Plant (AGPZ) in
August 2020, SIBUR began construction of the Amur Gas Chemical Complex
(AGHC) for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene from raw
materials of the AGPZ. It is expected that the AGC will become one of
the world's largest enterprises for the production of base polymers. The
planned date of commissioning is 2025.
Amur Gas Processing Plant is the second largest natural gas
processing plant (42 billion m3 per year) and the world's largest helium
producer (up to 60 million m3 per year).
Svobodnensky Wagon Repair
Plant
Shimanovsky Machine-building Plant
680 Aircraft Repair Plant
Bureysky Crane Plant
Amur Metallist Plant
Shipbuilding plant
Bureyskaya HPP with a capacity of 2010 MW, annual output of 7.1
billion kWh
Zeyskaya HPP with a capacity of 1,330 MW, annual output
of 4.9 billion kWh
Nizhne-Bureyskaya HPP with a capacity of 320 MW,
annual output of 1.6 billion kWh
Blagoveshchenskaya CHPP with an
electric capacity of 404 MW and a thermal capacity of 1005.6 Gcal/h.
Svobodnenskaya TPP — 160 MW and 434 Gcal/h
Raichikhinskaya GRES — 102
MW and 238 Gcal/h
As of January 1, 2020, the rural population of the Amur Region is
254,893 people.
In terms of distribution of agricultural land in
the Far East, the Amur Region occupies a leading position, accounting
for 38% of farmland and 59% of arable land in the Far Eastern economic
region.
At the end of 2020, the Amur Region took first place in
terms of agricultural production among all the constituent entities of
the Far East (and it includes 11 constituent entities, including those
more southern). The total cost of production amounted to 53.9 billion
rubles, of which 28.4 billion rubles were in agricultural organizations.
In 2020, the volume of agricultural production on farms increased by 4%,
crop production increased by 8%, and livestock production decreased by
3.6%. The growth in crop production was due to an increase in gross
yields of soybeans by 13.4% and grain crops by 15.6%.
Animal husbandry. Meat farming (Hereford, Aberdeen-Angus, Charolais),
dairy farming, poultry farming, beekeeping, deer farming, fur farming,
pig farming. In terms of the number of cattle, pigs and poultry, the
region ranks second among the regions in the Far Eastern Federal
District.
The number of cattle at the beginning of 2019 was 83
thousand heads, pigs - about 35.4 thousand heads, sheep and goats - 18.3
thousand heads, poultry - 2.1 million heads. 42 thousand tons of milk
and more than 134 million eggs were produced. The average milk yield per
cow is 6.2 thousand kg per year. There are 14 dairy farms producing
milk.
The number of cattle as of July 1, 2020 is 74.8 thousand
heads, including cows - 35.2 thousand heads, pigs - 31.3 thousand heads,
sheep and goats - 18.3 thousand heads, poultry — 2.177 million heads.
The main reason for the reduction in the number of cattle is associated
with the decision to eliminate livestock farming in some agricultural
enterprises. 12 agricultural enterprises and more than 120 farms are
engaged in dairy farming.
Climatic conditions are favorable for the development of beekeeping. There are about 41.5 thousand bee families. The main honey plants are buckwheat, raspberries, linden, sunflower, sweet clover and meadow herbs. The main varieties of honey: linden taiga, flower, buckwheat and serpukhov. Production volume is 800 tons of honey per year.
Plant growing. As of 2018, soybeans, triticale and wheat, winter and
spring barley, buckwheat, winter and spring rye, oats, corn and
sunflower for grain, peas, beans, flax, potatoes, vegetable and melon
crops, annual and perennial herbs are grown, fodder root crops. Common
vegetables include cabbage, beets, carrots, garlic, onions, cucumbers,
tomatoes and herbs (sorrel, basil, dill, cilantro, arugula). In fruit
and berry plantings, strawberries, honeysuckle, apples, pears,
raspberries and currants are harvested.
Soybean is the main
agricultural crop of the Amur region. Over the past eight years, the
Amur region has seen a steady increase in the area of arable land
involved in agricultural production. By 2024, it is planned to increase
the sown area to 1.5 million hectares and achieve a gross harvest of
soybeans of 2.2 million tons and grain crops of over 1.1 million tons.
In 2022, the absolute record for soybean harvest is 1,600 thousand
tons (+40% by 2021), with a yield of 18.7 c/ha (+ 19%). Grain crops
exceeded last year's figures by 6%. More than 30 thousand tons of
potatoes were produced (+180%). Over 8.5 thousand tons of vegetables
were collected (+54%). The production of soy protein isolate by the end
of 2022 is expected to be about 5 thousand tons (2 times more than in
2021).
In 2020, 417.5 thousand tons of grain were collected
(+15.4% compared to 2019), soybeans 978.6 thousand tons (+13.4%). The
goal for 2021 is to increase the production volumes of grain crops - up
to 530 thousand tons and soybeans - up to 1.3 million tons. There are
plans to increase the region’s level of self-sufficiency in vegetables
and potatoes.
In 2018, the sown area was 1,280 thousand hectares,
of which soybeans - 990 thousand hectares (+26 thousand hectares by
2017), grains - 204 thousand hectares (+2 thousand hectares), potatoes -
13.7 thousand hectares (+7 thousand hectares), vegetables and melons -
2.8 thousand hectares (+0), forage crops - 71 thousand hectares (+2
thousand hectares). The gross grain harvest in 2018 amounted to 360
thousand tons in bunker weight (-35 thousand tons), soybeans - 1055
thousand tons (-210 thousand tons), potatoes - 201 thousand tons,
vegetables - 49 thousand tons. The average grain yield per sown area was
17.6 c/ha, soybeans - 10.7 c/ha.
Amuragrocenter has the capacity
to produce hydrated soybean oil, refined deodorized soybean oil, soybean
food meal, toasted soybean feed meal, extruded feed soybean, complete
feed and feed concentrates, protein-vitamin-mineral concentrates and
premixes. His division, the Amursky oil extraction plant, the only one
in the country, began producing soy isolate with a protein content of
90% and soy dietary fiber.
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Baikal-Amur Mainline
Amur-Yakutsk
railway
Ulak — Elga railway Line
Federal Highway R-297 "Amur"
Federal Highway A-360 "Lena"
Ignatievo Airport
navigation on the
Amur and Zeya rivers
Eastern Siberia — Pacific Ocean
oil pipeline
Amur Gas Processing Plant
under construction Power of Siberia gas
pipeline under construction
There are three state universities in the Amur Region, the State Medical Academy and the higher combined arms command school.
The main operator of digital and analog terrestrial television and radio broadcasting in the Amur Region is the Amur Regional Radio and Television Transmission Center (a branch of RTRS Amur ORTPC).
The population of the oblast is very unevenly distributed, most of it
living in the south-west, where the population density is high. On the
contrary, the northern and northeastern regions, due to the topography
and climate, are underdeveloped. The agglomeration of Blagoveshchensk
(which is part of the cross-border agglomeration Blagoveshchensk-Heihe),
which also includes the districts of Blagoveshchensk, Ivanovo and
Tambov, concentrates more than 300,000 inhabitants and has a density of
35.5 inhabitants/km2.
The maximum population of the population
was reached in 1990 with 1,055,300 inhabitants. Since then, due to
migration flows and rural exodus, the population has decreased.
Migration flows began to be positive again during the 2010s.
The
second agglomeration is that of Belogorsk, which also includes Svobodny
and the Belegorsk districts of Svobodny and Serychevo, with a total of
174,600 inhabitants. The third agglomeration is Tynda and the adjacent
villages, with just under 50,000 inhabitants. The agglomeration of
Skovorodino is the fourth with its district, with about 26,000
inhabitants, and that of Raichikhinsk is the fifth with about 20,000
inhabitants.
As of January 1, 2023, the population amounts to
756,200 inhabitants, of which 239,200 inhabitants live in rural areas.
The population density of the oblast is 2.1 inhabitants/km2.
The flora and fauna of the Amur Oblast represent a combination of
species from different biomes, with those from Eastern Siberia, the Amur
River region, the Okhotsk region, the Dauria and the high mountains.
According to the Ministry of natural resources of the Amur Oblast, the
oblast is home to 73 species of mammals, 341 species of birds, 77
species and subspecies of fish, 9 species of reptiles, 7 species of
amphibians as well as more than 3,500 species of insects.
Among
the species of the oblast are found in the river valleys the roe deer,
the Manchurian hare, the pheasant, and the blue magpie. The high
mountains are home to musk deer, Northern pika, snow partridge, wolf,
fox or even the brown frog of Love. The taiga includes the squirrel, the
lynx, the brown bear, the reindeer, etc. Among the species common in
Siberia live in the oblast the sable, the wolverine, the capercaillie,
the blackcurrant, but also in fish the grayling, the taimen, and the
burbot. Among the protected fauna are the Siberian leopard cat (named
Amur cat), the Asian black bear and the snow sheep. Protected birds
include the golden eagle, the mandarin duck, the black stork, the
white-necked crane and the Manchurian crane, the Chinese merganser, the
white-tailed eagle, the Siberian grouse. The oblast lists in fish
benefiting from protection the species of the genus Acipenser, the
kaluga, the mandarin fish. In addition, the oblast is home to the Far
Eastern tortoise, which is also protected.
In 2022, about 2,000
plant species were recorded on the territory of the oblast, including 21
rare species listed in the Red Book of Russia. Its flora is represented
by its forests, which spread over 31,948,200 hectares in 2022, thus
representing 62.9% of the territory as well as 12.7% of the forest area
of the Far East. The vegetation is divided between coniferous forests
(taiga), mixed forests and wooded steppe.
Just like the fauna,
species representing several flora converge there, with the biomes of
Manchuria, Okhotsk-Kamchatka, Eastern Siberia, the Pacific coast and
Mongolia-Uria. There are thus plants from the subarctic region,
temperate regions and the subtropical region. The Okhotsk-Kamchatka
flora is represented mainly in the east and north-east of the region.
These are large expanses of taiga, similar to the boreal forests of the
Pacific coast of North America, and in the flora there are several
species of birch, Japanese spruces and Khinghan firs.
At the end of 2022, the area of protected areas of regional and local importance amounts to 3,175,543 hectares, while the area of protected areas of federal importance amounts to 831,500 hectares.
The total volume of air pollutant emissions in 2022 amounted to 192,200 tons, an increase of 4.2% compared to 2021. Road transport emissions amounted to 23,800 tons, which is 2.1% less compared to 2021 and 3.5 times less compared to the level of 2013. Emissions from stationary sources amounted to 158,800 tons, increasing by 5.9% compared to the indicators of 2021, and increasing by 26.6% compared to 2013.