Kemerovo region - Kuzbass - a subject of the Russian Federation,
located in the south of Western Siberia, part of the Siberian Federal
District, is part of the West Siberian economic region.
The
Kuznetsk coal basin (Kuzbass) is located on the territory of the region.
The Kemerovo region was formed on January 26, 1943 by the Decree of
the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR by separating it from
the Novosibirsk region. The area of the region is 95,725 km²;
According to this indicator, the region ranks 34th in the country.
The region's population is 2,568,238 people (2023), population
density is 26.83 people/km² (2023). The majority of the population lives
in cities, and there are large areas with low population density.
Proportion of urban population: 87.33% (2022).
The Kemerovo
region is the most densely populated part of Siberia and the Asian part
of Russia. Russians make up more than 90% of the population. Among the
small peoples living in the region are the Shors, Teleuts and Siberian
Tatars, who have preserved their cultural traditions.
The
administrative center and largest city is Kemerovo, which has a
population of 549,362 people. Together with nearby municipalities of the
region, it forms the Kemerovo agglomeration with a population of more
than 1.3 million people.
The second largest city in the region is
Novokuznetsk. Population - 537,480 people (2021). It is the center of
the Novokuznetsk agglomeration with a population of more than 1.1
million people.
The region is located in the southeast of Western
Siberia, occupying the spurs of the Altai and Sayan Mountains.
The length of the region from north to south is almost 500 km, from west
to east - 300 km. It borders in the northeast and north with the Tomsk
region, in the northeast - with the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the east -
with the Republic of Khakassia, in the south - with the Altai Republic,
in the southwest - with the Altai Territory, in the northwest - with
Novosibirsk region.
Administratively it consists of 20 cities and
18 districts.
Kemerovo is the capital of Kuzbass. It
would be strange to say that this is an industrial city, since industry
is everywhere in Kuzbass, but in the case of Kemerovo the industrial
character is especially tangible and visible. Dotted with factory
chimneys and shrouded in smoke, the city is cozier than it seems from
the outside: there is even room for pine trees and rocks, and it’s worth
coming here to visit Krasnaya Gorka - a small and very interesting
museum-reserve dedicated to the formation of Kuzbass industry. In the
center of Kemerovo there is a nice Soviet-era building, the only road
connecting Western Siberia with Eastern Siberia passes through the city,
and on top of that it has its own airport.
Novokuznetsk is the antipode of Kemerovo, a
city not of miners, but of metallurgists. Novokuznetsk has preserved
monuments from different eras and will easily enter the top ten most
interesting cities in Western Siberia. Old Kuznetsk contains an
18th-century fortress and fragments of a district town, while new
Kuznetsk, the “garden city” praised by Mayakovsky, contains one of the
best ensembles of Soviet architecture in the country. Add to this the
presence of an airport, good railway connections, and the proximity of
the Kuznetsk Alatau - and Novokuznetsk becomes the best base for
traveling in the south of the Kemerovo region.
Anzhero-Sudzhensk is the only city in Kuzbass
located on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Passengers of trains passing here
would hardly think of making a stop in the city, and not all
Trans-Siberian trains have the Anzherskaya station on their schedule,
but those travelers who still decide to stop by here will be rewarded
with curious monuments of provincial constructivism, including Anzhero
-Sudzhensk even bypasses Leninsk-Kuznetsky.
Leninsk-Kuznetsky,
formerly Kolchugino, is the city of the first Kuzbass mine. Located 80
km south of Kemerovo, it looks like one of the many “tentacles” of the
huge Kuzbass agglomeration. Leninsk is interesting for a couple of
pre-revolutionary monuments, buildings in the constructivist style, a
good mining museum and large memorials of the Kolchugin uprising against
Kolchak’s army that happened here in 1919. The city stands at the fork
in the Kemerovo-Novokuznetsk highway and one of the roads leading to
Novosibirsk. If you travel around Kuzbass, you will almost certainly
find yourself nearby.
Mariinsk is the
pearl of the Kemerovo region. It is far from neighboring Tomsk, but in
its region it is the only truly historical city, where the number of
merchant mansions and carved wooden houses is in the dozens, and the
pre-revolutionary building is not something unique. Mariinsk is
conveniently located on the Trans-Siberian Railway and will also be an
inevitable transit point for everyone traveling east by road. Its
infrastructure leaves much to be desired, but the overall flavor and
attractions are worth staying in the city for at least a couple of
hours.
Mezhdurechensk is a mining town in the mountains.
Architecturally, it is not very remarkable, unless you are interested in
the huge ensemble of the center, built in the 1950s. at the end of
Stalinist architecture, but in terms of landscape the city has
practically no equal: it is truly located between two rivers and is
surrounded on all sides by mountains. In the vicinity of Mezhdurechensk
there is a ski resort and dozens of viewpoints, this is the base for
visiting the Kuznetsk Alatau massif, which is crossed by the railway
leading east to Khakassia.
Prokopyevsk is the northern satellite
of Novokuznetsk, the geographic center of the Kuzbass agglomeration.
Here is the best ensemble of Stalinist architecture among the regional
centers of the Kemerovo region, supplemented by several older monuments
and quite decent infrastructure. Along with Leninsk-Kuznetsky and
Anzhero-Sudzhensk, this is one of those places that in the context of
Kuzbass can be called historical.
Yurga is the northern gate of
the Kemerovo region, a city on the Trans-Siberian Railway, where the
roads leading to Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Tomsk converge. Yurga itself
is of little interest, and you will find yourself here only because of a
transfer, during which you can explore several original newly built
temples. More interesting places begin outside the city - these are the
Tutal rocks on Tom and the old village at the station of the same name.
Kuznetsky Alatau Nature Reserve
By plane
There are two airports in the Kemerovo region - in
Kemerovo itself and in Novokuznetsk. Both of them will not offer you
anything other than a couple of Moscow flights, and at fairly high
prices, since demand on these routes greatly exceeds supply. You can
also get to the Kemerovo region through Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Barnaul.
Krasnoyarsk airport is located a little further, and even to Mariinsk it
will take you a whole day to get from there.
By train
The
Trans-Siberian Railway runs through the Kemerovo region. The main
stations of the region: Yurga, Taiga, Anzherskaya (Anzhero-Sudzhensk),
Mariinsk.
By car
The federal highway M53 “Baikal” passes
through the territory of the region, which connects the settlements of
the Kemerovo region with Novosibirsk in the west and Krasnoyarsk in the
east.
The Mokhovo 2 site in the Kuznetsk Basin belongs to the Upper and Middle Paleolithic. The Late Paleolithic includes the Shumikha-I workshop, the Bedarevo I, II, II, Shorokhovo-I, Ilyinka-II, Sarbala, Voronino-Yaya sites, and a stationary settlement on the Kiya River, near the village of Shestakovo. The Mesolithic includes the sites Bolshoy Berchikul-1, Bychka-1, Pechergol-1, the Neolithic includes the sites Bolshoi Berchikul-4, Smirnovsky Ruchey-1, Pechergol-2, Bychka-1, the late layer. The Bronze Age includes settlements and burial grounds of the Samus, Andronovo, Korchazhkino, “Andronoid” Elov, Irmen cultures, most of the images of the Pritomye pisanitsa, including the most famous archaeological monument of Kuzbass - the Tomsk pisanitsa. The Iron Age is represented by the Bolsherechensk, Tagar, Kulai, and Tashtyk cultures.
During the early Middle Ages (VI-XI centuries), the historical
development of ancient societies was closely connected with events in
the steppes of Central Asia. During the existence of the First (552-630)
and Second (679-742) Turkic Khaganates, the traditional culture created
by the Kulai continued to develop on the territory of the Kuznetsk
region. Changes within it were associated with an increase in the share
of cattle breeding in the economic activity of the population, with
further social stratification of society. The history of this people is
reconstructed based on materials from excavations of burial grounds near
the villages of Saratovka, Shabanovo, Vaganovo, and treasures found in
the vicinity of Elykaev, Terekhin, Egozov, Lebedey. Among the
archaeological finds of that era, a number of items appear, especially
in weapons and horse equipment, which are characteristic of the Central
Asian Turks. Through the Turks, the Kuznetsk population maintained
contacts with China and the states of Western Asia. In particular,
Chinese coins were found in the burials. One of the features of
historical development at this time was that the local population was
constantly influenced by the nomads of the Central Asian steppes.
Ultimately, this will lead to the complete borrowing of their culture
and language. In the 9th–10th centuries, the situation on the territory
of the Kuznetsk-Salair region changed significantly. In 840, the Kirghiz
created a huge power. This was preceded by long wars with the Uyghurs,
who were finally defeated. Around the same time, the early Kimak state
arose in the upper reaches of the Irtysh River. The border between them
and the Kyrgyz ran along the ridges of the Kuznetsk Alatau.
According to experts, tribes lived on the territory of the Kuznetsk
region, which in written sources are known as Kipchaks. At the beginning
of the 11th century, a significant part of the Kipchaks were forced to
leave their lands and go far west to the Eastern European steppes. A
little later in the Russian chronicle they are first mentioned as
Polovtsian tribes. The Mongolian period (XIII-XIV centuries) in the
Kuznetsk-Salair landscape region has been studied very poorly. The main
historical events of this time took place in the steppe and were
associated with the formation of the Chingizid empire. The rule of the
Mongols over the population of the region was formal, so it was unlikely
to cause any significant changes in material and spiritual culture. This
is evidenced by archaeological sources of monuments near the villages of
Ur-Bedari, Musokhranovo, Toropovo. According to anthropologists, the
population of the Mongol era combined Caucasoid and Mongoloid racial
features in appearance. This once again allows us to assert that the
local line of historical development and the external one, associated
with the Turkic world, were in interaction for a long time. There was no
cardinal withdrawal. But ultimately, the process of Turkization of the
local population was completed. When the Kuznetsk land was included in
the Russian state, the Russians were met here by indigenous peoples who
spoke the Turkic language.
The territory of the modern Kemerovo region was inhabited several
thousand years ago.
In 1618, in the Russian kingdom, during the
reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, in the south of the future region, at the
confluence of the Kondoma and Tom rivers, the Siberian Cossacks founded
the Kuznetsk fort (now the city of Novokuznetsk) to protect Russian
lands from the Khongorai, Mongolian and Dzungarian nomads. This is the
oldest settlement in the Kemerovo region. Already at the beginning of
the 17th century, the first Russian settlers appeared here: peasants,
hunters, missionaries. In the language of the indigenous people, the
Shors, the word “Cossack” often means “Russian”. Siberia did not know
serfdom; Russian settlers were actively engaged in taiga crafts, traded,
and founded villages. In 1620, the fort was moved to a high terrace on
the right bank of the Tom River. Now the Kuznetsk Fortress is located
there. Until the mid-19th century, it protected the Russian population
of the Tom Valley from raids by nomadic Kirghiz and Dzungars, and
potential threats from Qing China.
The second “oldest” city was
Mariinsk, which arose as the Russian village of Kiyskoye on the Moscow
highway in 1698. Gradually, the village was filled with people from
Central Russia, Ukraine and Transbaikalia. In 1856, the village received
the status of a city called “Kiiskoye”. In 1857, the city was renamed
Mariinsk in honor of the namesake of Empress Maria Alexandrovna
(1824-1880), wife of Alexander II. By the middle of the 19th century,
the city's population was 3.6 thousand people. In the summer of 1891,
Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich visited Mariinsk.
In the Russian
Empire in 1721, the Siberian ore explorer Mikhailo Volkov discovered a
“burnt mountain” (burning coal seam) on the banks of the Tom River,
thereby becoming the discoverer of Kuznetsk coals.
The toponym
“Kemerovo”, according to Kuzbass scientists, goes back to the Turkic
word “kemer”, meaning “belt”, “mountain slope”. Here, near the villages
of Krasnaya and Kemerovo, coal deposits were found.
Noticeable
industrial development of the region occurred at the end of the 18th
century. The first to show interest in the development of Kuznetsk coal
was the Ural industrialist A. N. Demidov. He built the
Kolyvano-Voskresensky factories, which later, together with the adjacent
mineral resources, became the property of the Romanov imperial house.
From that time on, most of Kuzbass, which became part of the Altai
mountain district, was under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet of His
Imperial Majesty.
In the 18th century, industrial enterprises
appeared: the Tomsk ironworks, the Gavrilovsky and Guryevsky silver
smelting plants, the Sukharinsky and Salairsky mountain mines.
Large distances from the central regions of the Russian Empire remained
a serious obstacle to the development of the region. The situation
changed during the period of early Russian industrialization. Throughout
the 19th century, the territory of the modern region was part of the
Tomsk province - Kuznetsk and Mariinsky districts. In connection with
the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, Kuzbass industry
experienced rapid development.
After the October Revolution, Kuzbass became part of the West
Siberian Territory, then the Novosibirsk Region.
The
post-revolutionary period is characterized by the transition to planned
economic management, the creation of the Ural-Kuzbass industrial
complex, the development of the coal, metallurgical and chemical
industries of Kuzbass: the Kemerovo Coke Plant and the Kuznetsk
Metallurgical Plant are being built, and many new mines are appearing.
Near industrial enterprises, workers' settlements are built, which very
quickly receive the status of cities: Prokopyevsk, Kiselevsk, Osinniki,
Tashtagol, Kaltan, Mezhdurechensk and others.
Up to 62% of the
builders of the Kuznetsk plant were dispossessed peasants and prisoners.
In addition, Kuzbass became a place of mass expulsion of Kazakhs and
Kyrgyz. In the 1930s, famine raged in the region, and cases of
cannibalism were reported.
During the Great Patriotic War, the
Kemerovo region became the main supplier of coal and metal. More than 50
thousand tanks and 45 thousand aircraft were made from Novokuznetsk
steel. The equipment of 71 enterprises was evacuated to Kuzbass from the
occupied areas, most of which remained in Kuzbass. The war doubled the
capacity of Kuzbass.
In 1943, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
of the USSR, by decree of January 26, decided to separate Kuzbass from
the Novosibirsk region and create the Kemerovo region on its territory
with the administrative center in the city of Kemerovo. The new region
included 17.5% of the territory of the Novosibirsk region, 9 out of 12
cities of regional subordination, 17 out of 20 working villages, 23 out
of 75 districts. The population of the Kemerovo region amounted to 42%
of the total population of the Novosibirsk region.
The rapid
growth of the region in the post-war and subsequent years led to the
appearance of new cities on the map of Kuzbass: Polysayevo,
Mezhdurechensk, Osinniki, Taiga and others. During the period of the
late 1940s - early 1970s, a system of higher professional education in
the region was formed: in the northern capital of Kuzbass the following
were opened: a pedagogical institute (since 1974 - Kemerovo State
University), a medical institute (since 1995 - Kemerovo State Medical
Academy) , Kemerovo Mining Institute, later transformed into a
polytechnic (now Kemerovo State Technical University), Kemerovo
Technological Institute of Food Industry; Kemerovo Higher Military
Command School of Communications; Kemerovo State Institute of Culture.
Science developed, and as a result, in 1990, the Kemerovo Scientific
Center was formed on the basis of scientific institutions in the region.
In the 1950s, the Kemerovo Regional Philharmonic was formed, the
Kemerovo Regional Children's Library was opened, branches of the Union
of Journalists and the Union of Artists of the RSFSR were created, and
the Kemerovo Television Center was put into operation (the first
broadcast took place on April 22, 1958). The buildings of drama theaters
were built in the cities of Prokopyevsk (1956), Kemerovo (1960),
Novokuznetsk (1963) and an operetta theater in the city of Kemerovo.
Since 1962, a puppet theater began operating in the regional center. In
1973, the buildings of two circuses were built (in the cities of
Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk). By the end of the 1980s, there were six
theaters, 954 club institutions, 24 museums, and more than 1,200
libraries in Kuzbass.
In 1989, the Kemerovo region was one of the
centers of the strike movement.
The events that took place in the 1990s completely changed the course
of further development not only of Kuzbass, but of the entire country.
The regional economy, like the economy of the entire country, has moved
from a pre-crisis state to a state of deep systemic crisis. In
conditions of a shortage of funds, major repairs were replaced by
maintenance. This was accompanied by the closure of individual
enterprises.
An important content of the transition to the market
was the process of privatization of state property. By the beginning of
1997, only a part of enterprises remained outside the sphere of private
property in the Kemerovo region. Enterprises of the defense complex,
railway transport, gold mining, television, sanitary-epidemiological and
veterinary institutions remained in federal ownership. The regional
property included most of the pharmacies, printing industry enterprises,
a number of motor transport enterprises, poultry farms, and so on.
Schools, hospitals, clinics, basic public utilities, residential
buildings and other social and cultural facilities remained in the
municipality.
Along with the city, new forms of economic
organization also appeared in the Kuzbass village. They were implemented
according to the decree of the President of Russia of October 27, 1993
“On the regulation of land relations and the development of agrarian
reform in Russia,” which allowed private ownership of land and
recognized diverse forms of management on land.
In the 1990s, the
region’s economy fell into decline, but by the end of the decade there
were positive changes, primarily in the development of the coal
industry; attention was paid to the development of open-pit coal mining
as more efficient and safe. In 1999 alone, 15 coal mining enterprises
were put into operation; in total, over the past 21 years, 11 new mines
and 16 coal mines have been put into operation.
Since 2001, OJSC
Gazprom has been implementing the pilot program “Pilot-industrial
production of methane from coal seams in the Kuznetsk basin.”
Another new industry for the Kemerovo region is oil refining: in 2003,
the creation of oil refineries began.
In February 2010, the coal
gas mine was officially launched, and the production and use of methane
from coal seams began.
In the field of agriculture in 2000-2007,
the focus was on updating the fleet of agricultural machinery. In 2007,
for the first time in the last 40 years, 1 million 680 thousand tons of
grain were harvested.
From 1991 to 1997, the governor was Mikhail
Kislyuk. Since 1997, with a break, the Kemerovo region has been headed
by Aman Tuleyev.
On April 1, 2018, Sergei Tsivilev was appointed
acting governor of the region. V.V. Putin accepted the resignation of
Aman Tuleyev in connection with the tragedy in the Winter Cherry
shopping center, which occurred on March 25, 2018. 60 people died in the
tragedy.
On March 27, 2019, by Decree of the President of the
Russian Federation, the subject of the Russian Federation received a new
name as the Kemerovo region - Kuzbass, while the Kemerovo region and
Kuzbass become equivalent names for the region.
On March 2, 2022,
the current governor Sergei Tsivilev initiated an action to support
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “KuZbass - For the Motherland.” In the
campaign, the name of the region in official materials of the regional
government will now be written using the capital Latin letter “Z”,
“KuZbass”. The use of the Latin letter "Z" in adjectives is optional.
Kemerovo Oblast is located in the Siberian Federal District of the Russian Federation. It is located in the southeast of Western Siberia, in the Tom River basin. The region stretches from north to south for almost 500 km, from west to east - for 300 km.
Kemerovo Oblast is in the MSK+4 time zone. The offset of the applied
time relative to UTC is +7:00.
On September 14, 2009, the
Government of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution on the
application of the fifth time zone - Omsk time - in the territory of
Kemerovo Oblast. The transition to the new time zone in the region
occurred on March 28, 2010, when Russia implemented a scheduled
transition to summer time. As a result, the time difference between
Kemerovo and Moscow was reduced from four to three hours.
On July
1, 2014, the State Duma adopted a resolution on the application of the
sixth time zone — Krasnoyarsk time — in the Kemerovo Region during the
planned transition to winter time. As a result, the time difference
between Kemerovo and Moscow increased again from three to four hours.
The Kemerovo Region is located in the southeast of Western Siberia, occupying the spurs of the Altai and Sayan Mountains. The large difference in surface elevations determines the diversity of natural conditions. The highest point — the Verkhniy Zub mountain on the border with the Republic of Khakassia — rises to 2,178 m, the lowest — 78 meters above sea level — lies in the valley of the Tom River on the border with the Tomsk Region. The relief of the region is divided into flat (northern part), foothill and mountainous areas (Kuznetsk Alatau (in the east), Salair Ridge (in the west), Mountain Shoria (in the south)), intermountain Kuznetsk Basin.
Various mineral resources have been discovered in the depths of the region: hard and brown coal, iron and polymetallic ores, gold, phosphorites, building stone and other mineral resources. The region can be called unique in terms of the combination and availability of natural resources.
The climate of the Kemerovo region is continental: winters are cold and long, summers are warm and short. Average temperatures in January are -17… -20 °C, in July - +17…+18 °C. The average annual precipitation ranges from 300 mm on the plains and in the foothills to 1000 mm or more in the mountainous areas. The frost-free period lasts from 100 days in the north of the region to 120 days in the south of the Kuznetsk Basin.
The river network belongs to the Ob basin and is distinguished by its considerable density. The largest rivers are the Tom, Inya, Kiya, Kondoma, Mrassu, Sary-Chumysh, Chumysh, and Yaya. There are few lakes in the region, mostly located in the mountains and river valleys. The most unique in its nature is Lake Berchikul.
The diversity of relief and climate creates a variegated soil and vegetation cover. The largest area is occupied by sod-podzolic soils, while chernozems with high fertility predominate in the Kuznetsk Basin.
The vegetation is very diverse. On the mountain peaks there are tundra and alpine meadow plants, the mid-mountain and low-mountain areas are covered with "chernye" - fir-aspen forests with tall grass and relict plants. The foothills and intermountain basins are occupied by steppe and forest-steppe vegetation. There are islands of pine forests, and in Mountain Shoria and in the Kondoma River basin near Kuzedeyevo there is a relict grove of Siberian linden. Forestries have been formed over a large area of the region, with the exception of nature reserves. The forest fund of Kuzbass is 6.336 million hectares, forests occupy 5.444 million hectares 54.44 thousand km², protective forests occupy 951.7 thousand hectares 9.517 thousand km². There are 87 district forestries. The West Siberian southern taiga plain forest region includes forests located in the Izhmorsky, Mariinsky, Tyazhinsky, Yaisky, Tisulsky (northern part), Yashkinsky (northern part) administrative districts. The West Siberian subtaiga forest-steppe forest region includes forests located in the Gurevsky, Kemerovsky, Yurginsky, Topkinsky, Promyshlennovsky, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Yashkinsky (southern part) administrative districts, urban forests of the cities of: Berezovsky, Gurevsk, Kemerovo, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Polysaevo, Salair, Topka, Yurga. The Altai-Sayan mountain-taiga forest region includes forests located in the Chebulinsky (southern part), Tisulsky (southern part), Krapivinsky, Belovsky, Novokuznetsky, Prokopyevsk, Mezhdurechensky, Tashtagolsky administrative districts, the Kuznetsk Alatau State Nature Reserve, the Shorsky National Park, and urban forests in the cities of Belovo, Kaltan, Mezhdurechensk, Myski, Novokuznetsk, Osinniki, Tashtagol, Kiselevsk, and Prokopyevsk. In the Kemerovo Region as a whole, coniferous stands account for 48.2% of the main forest-forming species, including: pine 2.7%, spruce 2.3%, fir 37.7%, larch 0.2%, and cedar 5.3%. Softwood stands occupy 51.8%, including: birch 28.7%, aspen 22.5%, tree willow 0.5%, linden and poplar stands - about 0.1%.
Large animals include European elk and Altai maral, Siberian roe deer and reindeer, the latter is found only in the Kuznetsk Alatau Mountains. The most common predators are the Siberian brown bear, common lynx, wolverine. Of commercial importance are the red squirrel, muskrat, and birds - wood grouse, hazel grouse, black grouse. Among the animals, there is also a white hare.
The Kuznetsk Alatau Nature Reserve and the Shorsky National Park are
located on the territory of the region. List of specially protected
natural areas of the Kemerovo Region:
Antibes State Nature Reserve
Barzas State Nature Reserve
Belsinsky State Nature Reserve
Bungarapsko-Azhendarovsky State Nature Reserve
Gorno-Shorsky National
Nature Park
Gorskinsky State Nature Reserve
Kuznetsky Alatau State
Nature Reserve
Kitatsky State Nature Reserve
Nizhne-Tomsky State
Nature Reserve
Protected Zone of the Kuznetsky Alatau Nature Reserve
Pisany State Nature Reserve
Razdolny State Nature Reserve
Salairsky State Nature Reserve
Saltymakovsky State Nature Reserve
Sary-Chumyshsky State Nature Reserve
Tashtagolsky State Nature
Reserve
Chumaysko-Irkutyanovsky State Nature Reserve
Kuzedeevskaya
Linden Grove
The region has open-pit mines that occupy significant areas. In terms
of the number of industrial enterprises, the Kemerovo Region occupies a
leading position in the Russian Federation. There are several
environmental monitoring posts for the state of the atmospheric air in
the cities and districts of the Kemerovo Region. In some areas,
specially protected zones are created. There is a Red Book of the
Kemerovo Region. The Kemerovo Region Government Administration annually
makes reports on the state and protection of the environment in the
Kemerovo Region. There are 18 environmental monitoring posts in the
Kemerovo Region (8 in Novokuznetsk, 8 in Kemerovo, 2 in Prokopyevsk).
The Kuzbass Association of Waste Recyclers operates in the region. In
September 2016, a territorial waste management scheme was approved.
There will be two regional waste operators in the north and south of the
region. Air Pollution Index by city: Novokuznetsk IZA<14, Kemerovo
IZA<14, Prokopyevsk IZA<5. The main pollutants are suspended matter,
soot, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide,
benzopyrene, ammonia, aniline, hydrogen sulfide, phenol, formaldehyde,
hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, metals (iron,
cadmium, magnesium, manganese, copper, nickel, lead, chromium, zinc,
aluminum).
According to a 2022 study, a long-term, stable
increase in nitrogen dioxide concentration has formed in the troposphere
over Kuzbass. The maximum values of nitrogen dioxide concentration
within this anomaly were detected over the area located approximately in
the Novokuznetsk - Prokopyevsk - Bolshaya Talda triangle. This increase
is a regional atmospheric anomaly that was formed due to a combination
of several factors, primarily: the dense concentration of coal mining,
processing and transportation enterprises in the region, the terrain
(most of the cities in Kuzbass are located in the lowlands) and the
presence of large metal production enterprises in Novokuznetsk. Unlike
other cities in Siberia, where the concentration of nitrogen dioxide, in
general, decreases due to the use of more modern and efficient types of
motor fuel, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide over Kuzbass increases
due to the increase in the intensity of coal mining in the period from
2006 to 2020.
According to data for 2012, the Tom River has 74
water users. The volume of wastewater discharge is 1.72 cubic
kilometers, including 0.59 km³ of polluted water (data for 2015). The
main pollutants are oil products, phenols, total iron, nitrogen
compounds, heavy metals, copper, manganese. The total amount of waste in
2015 was 2,319,800,678 thousand tons, of which 23 were of hazard class
I, 12 of hazard class II, 319 of hazard class III, 2,410 of hazard class
IV, and 2,317,037 of hazard class V.
Generation and use of
production and consumption waste:
Volume of generated production and
consumption waste − 2,319,800.678
Amount of used and neutralized
waste 1,079,370.126
Amount of buried waste 4,209.094
Amount of
waste transferred for storage 1,230,872.256
Waste is generated as
a result of the activities of the following industries:
agriculture
398.879
mining 2,300,430.131
manufacturing 14,131.611
production and distribution of electricity, gas and water 2,494.709
construction 74.481
transport and communications 19.614
other
types of economic activity 2,251.253.
Enterprises in the region
conduct Ekontrol.
On September 18, 1984, an underground peaceful
nuclear explosion with a capacity of 10 kilotons was carried out in the
Kemerovo region, approximately 100 km from the city of Kemerovo.
The government in the Kemerovo Region is exercised by the government
authorities of the Kemerovo Region, as well as federal courts and
federal executive government bodies. The government authorities of the
Kemerovo Region are located in the city of Kemerovo.
The
government authorities and officials of the Kemerovo Region are:
The
Legislative Assembly of the Kemerovo Region - Kuzbass (Parliament of
Kuzbass) is a legislative (representative) government body, the current
composition was formed in September 2018 - 46 deputies; the term of
office of deputies is 5 years. Elected by the population of the region
(one half of the composition - by party lists, the other - by
single-mandate constituencies). The building of the Legislative Assembly
is located in Kemerovo, in the Central District on Sovetov Square at 58
Sovetsky Prospekt.
The Governor of the Kemerovo Region is the highest
official of the region; the term of office of the governor is 5 years.
Elected by the residents of the region in accordance with the Charter of
the Kemerovo Region and federal laws. The Governor of the Kemerovo
Region from July 1, 1997 to April 1, 2018 was Aman Tuleyev.
The
Government of the Kemerovo Region is the highest executive body of state
power in the Kemerovo Region, ensuring the implementation of the
Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws and other
regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, the Charter of the
Kemerovo Region, laws and other regulatory legal acts of the Kemerovo
Region on the territory of the Kemerovo Region. The activities of the
government are ensured by the administration of the government of the
Kemerovo Region, which also monitors the implementation of decisions
taken by the government by the executive bodies of state power of the
Kemerovo Region.
The Administration of the Government of the Kemerovo
Region is an executive body of state power of general competence.
Central executive bodies of state power are departments, directorates
and other structural divisions that do not have the rights of a legal
entity. The building of the Kemerovo Region Government Administration is
located in the city of Kemerovo, in the Central District on Sovetov
Square at 62 Sovetsky Prospekt.
The Kemerovo Region has an officially approved coat of arms and flag.
The coat of arms of the Kemerovo Region is a French shield framed by
oak branches, fastened with the ribbon of the Order of Lenin and topped
with a crown in the form of a stylized cup. The shield is bordered by
narrow stripes of black and gold. The lower part of the shield is green.
Green symbolizes agriculture and natural resources. Green is also the
traditional color of youth and hope.
In the center of the shield is a
black triangle, truncated on the sides and bordered by a narrow strip of
gold - a waste heap, symbolizing the coal industry. In the center of the
waste heap there is a crossed blacksmith's hammer and pickaxe, denoting
the industrial affiliation of the Kemerovo Region. Three ears of wheat
are directed from the green field through the crossed hammer and pickaxe
to the top of the waste heap. The ears also symbolize the importance of
agriculture for the Kemerovo Region. The red triangles in the left and
right corners of the shield symbolize hot metal. The coat of arms is
framed by an oak wreath, symbolizing the status of the Kemerovo Region
as a subject of the Russian Federation. The lower part of the wreath is
intertwined with the ribbon of the Order of Lenin, which the Kemerovo
Region was awarded twice: in 1967 and 1970. In the central part of the
ribbon is the date: 1943 - the year of the formation of the Kemerovo
Region. In the break in the oak wreath above the center of the coat of
arms there is a crown in the form of a stylized full bowl, symbolizing
the wealth of Kuzbass. The flag of the Kemerovo Region is a rectangular
red cloth with a blue stripe along the flagpole the entire width of the
flag, which is one third of the length. In the upper part of the blue
stripe in the middle is the coat of arms of the Kemerovo Region. The
ratio of the width of the flag to its length is 2:3.
The Kemerovo
Region has its own anthem.
The budget was executed in 2021, revenues — 237.1 billion ₽, expenses — 202.6 billion ₽, the annual surplus was 34.5 billion ₽.
The coal industry is developed in the region, its most important centers are Prokopyevsk, Mezhdurechensk, Belovo, Berezovsky, Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Osinniki, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Kiselevsk, Belovsky, Kemerovsky, Novokuznetsky and Prokopyevsk districts. Mines and open pits are located mainly in the central part of the region from Berezovsky in the north to Osinniki in the south. In the south of the region, metallurgy and mining are also developed (Novokuznetsk, Tashtagol). The region also has mechanical engineering (Yurga, Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Kiselevsk) and chemical industry (Kemerovo). Rail transport and thermal power engineering are well developed (Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Belovo, Kaltan, Myski).
Gold, silver, iron ore, manganese ore, aluminum, nepheline ore, lead, zinc, polymetallic ores, barite, quartzite, limestone, clay, dolomite, sand, coal are mined in the Kemerovo region.
The Kemerovo region has two large coal basins: the Kuznetsk coal basin - from Malinovka (a village included in the Kaltan urban district) to the districts of the Novosibirsk region, and part of the Kansk-Achinsk brown coal basin. Over 180 million tons of coal are mined annually, the largest enterprises are located in Mezhdurechensk, Novokuznetsk and Novokuznetsk region, Prokopyevsk, Kiselevsk, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Belov, Berezovsky.
Metallurgy is represented by non-ferrous (Novokuznetsk Aluminum Plant) and ferrous (ZSMK rail rolling site, West Siberian Metallurgical Plant, Kuznetsk Ferroalloys plant in Novokuznetsk, Anzhero-Sudzhensk branch of OJSC Kuznetsk Ferroalloys, Gurevsky Metallurgical Plant, also includes Kemerovo OJSC KOKS, mechanical engineering in Yurga, Anzhero-Sudzhensky mine); resource base of the Russian inter-industry holding SIBPLAZ Temirtau deposit, Sheregesh deposit, Kaz deposit, Tashtagol deposit.
As of 01.01.2020, the rural population of the Kemerovo region is
370,617 people.
Agricultural enterprises are located throughout
the region near cities. Purely "rural" areas are Promyshlennovsky,
Krapivinsky, Chebulinsky, Izhmorsky, Yaisky and others.
Almost
2,400 thousand hectares (27% of the total land area of the region) of
agricultural land are in circulation. 14% (402 thousand people) of the
region's population live in rural areas and only 3.4% (44.7 thousand
people) of those employed in the economy work in agriculture. The main
branches of animal husbandry: dairy and beef cattle breeding, pig
farming and poultry farming. Over the past 5 years, more than 100
livestock and poultry buildings have been built and modernized.
In 2020, 1.28 million tons of grain were harvested. This is 15.5% more
than in 2019, the best harvest in Yashkino is 23.7 c/ha. 166.5 thousand
tons of potatoes were harvested from 8.5 thousand hectares, it is
planned to introduce 80 thousand hectares (800 km²) into circulation in
2018-2024.
In 2022, ~595 million ₽ will be directed to
agriculture from all sources for livestock farming, ~355 million ₽ for
crop production. In total, the amount was about a billion ₽.
Livestock farming in Kuzbass is developing in the following areas:
cattle breeding, pig farming, poultry farming, sheep farming, rabbit
farming, fish farming. In 2020, about half of the milk production in
Kuzbass comes from agricultural organizations, the rest is produced by
small farms (peasant (farm) farms, private household plots). There are 8
large dairy farms (with a headcount of over 1,000) in Kuzbass, they can
produce up to 50 tons of milk per day.
As of October 1, 2020, the
headcount of cattle in Kuzbass in farms of all categories is 150.4
thousand heads, of which 66.6 thousand are cows. Commercial milk
production is 242.1 thousand tons, which is 0.7 thousand tons (0.3%)
more than last year. Milk yield per cow is 4143 kg (plus 104 kg compared
to 2019). 69.8 thousand tons of livestock and poultry meat were produced
in live weight. 888.6 million eggs were received. More than 1 billion
eggs were collected in 2020.
Kemerovo Region is in the TOP-3 regions of Russia in terms of
buckwheat yield, with an indicator of 12.7 c/ha, second only to Omsk and
Ryazan Regions, and in the TOP-5 in terms of gross harvest. In 2022,
39.8 thousand tons of buckwheat were threshed.
In 2022, the
historical record of the region was 1,961.8 thousand tons of grain and
leguminous crops (with corn) were threshed, from an area of 610.8
thousand hectares (+3.8% compared to 2021). The average yield is 32.1
c/ha (+14.3%). Wheat was threshed 1,103.8 thousand tons (+15.7%) from an
area of 326.2 thousand hectares (-1.1%), the yield is 33.8 c/ha
(+17.0%). Also, 411.0 thousand tons of barley were threshed (+32.4%)
with an average yield of 33.9 c/ha (+14.8%), from 121.4 thousand
hectares (+15.4%).
Rapeseed was obtained in the amount of 307.7
thousand tons (+57.3% per year) from an area of 128.9 thousand
hectares (+37.4%), the yield was 23.9 c/ha (+14.4%). Agricultural
enterprises and peasant farms dug up 200.1 thousand tons of potatoes
(+17.6%) from 8.7 thousand hectares, the potato yield was 230.3 c/ha
(+8.1%). From 1 thousand hectares (+10.7%), 31.1 thousand tons of
vegetables (+25.2%) were harvested with an average yield of 305.6 c/ha
(+13.0%).
The historical record for grain harvesting in Kuzbass
was achieved due to the expansion of sown areas, a 30% increase in
mineral fertilizers (97.2 thousand tons of active ingredient), as well
as an increase in the share of elite seeds (from 7.8% in 2018 to 13.1%
in 2022). The share of varietal seeds was 83%.
Almost the entire populated area of the region is covered by FM
radio stations, mostly network ones, but each city has stations with
local broadcasts. The following local radio stations operate in the
region (they broadcast from the cities of the Kemerovo region):
Radio
"Shoriya" - broadcasting from Tashtagol to the Tashtagol district.
Kuzbass FM - broadcasting from Kemerovo to all cities of the region
(each city has its own frequency).
Apex Radio - broadcasting from
Novokuznetsk to Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo, Mezhdurechensk, Tashtagol.
Pravilnoe Radio - broadcasting from Kemerovo to Kemerovo,
Leninsk-Kuznetsky and Belovo.
As of January 1, 2012, the housing stock of the region was 61.5
million square meters, and the provision of housing is 22.4 square
meters per capita.
2007 — 1,010 thousand square meters;
2008 —
1,063 thousand square meters;
2009 — 1,063 thousand square meters;
2010 — 1,003 thousand square meters;
2011 — 1,083 thousand square
meters.
In 2018, 640 thousand m² were built, in 2019 — 746
thousand m², in 2020 — 824 thousand m², in 2021 it is planned to build —
900 thousand m² of housing. The construction industry of the region is
represented by two thousand enterprises (360 of which are enterprises
producing building materials), including:
2 cement plants;
6 brick
factories;
20 precast concrete plants;
4 KPD parts plants;
14
quarries producing non-metallic building materials used for the
production of building materials;
1 roofing materials plant;
6
enterprises producing thermal insulation materials.
Northern industrial zone
Yurga
Tyrganskaya industrial zone
Gornaya Shoria
The Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the territory with branches
at Yurga (to Topki, Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk), Tayga (to Tomsk) and at
Anzhero-Sudzhensk (to Kemerovo).
The South Kuzbass branch of the
West Siberian Railway starts from Yurga and crosses the region from
north to south, ending in Tashtagol. It has branches in Topki (to
Kemerovo), in Belovo (to Novosibirsk), in Novokuznetsk (to Abakan). The
Artyshta railway junction is the only one in Kuzbass that services
freight traffic from four directions (Altai, Novokuznetsk, Yurga and
Tomusinskaya). The latter road runs north of Novokuznetsk with numerous
branches to the open-pit mines of the Yerunakovskoye deposit, industrial
enterprises of Novokuznetsk and ends at the Tomusinskaya station to the
east of Novokuznetsk, connecting with the road to Abakan.
The
largest railway junctions of the region: Novokuznetsk, Mariinsk, Tayga,
Yurga, Topki, Belovo, Artyshta.
The P255 "Siberia" highway passes through the northern part of the
region and through Kemerovo.
The heaviest traffic is observed on
the roads between Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk. The two largest cities of
the region are connected by the following roads:
Category II road
1P-384, "Old Highway" - has a width of two lanes (one in each direction)
and passes through the boundaries of populated areas, including
Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Polysayevo, Gramotein, Kiselevsk and Prokopyevsk. On
the section of the highway from Kemerovo to Leninsk-Kuznetsky before the
construction of the backup road, the heaviest traffic jams on intercity
roads in the region were observed, especially in the evenings and on
pre-holiday days.
"New Highway" is a backup of the "Old Highway"
category I road with a width of 4 lanes and with intersections at
different levels at all intersections. The southern section from
Novokuznetsk to Leninsk-Kuznetsky was built in the 1970s-1990s to bypass
Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Polysayevo, Belov, Kiselevsk and Prokopyevsk. The
northern section from Leninsk-Kuznetsky to Kemerovo was built from 2005
to 2019 to bypass the large villages of Berezovo, Beregovaya, Panfilovo,
Chusovitino and Demyanovka. This section has the status of a motorway.
Both roads start from the interchange near the village of Berezovo
to the south of Kemerovo and end, connecting at a roundabout at the
traffic police post at the entrance to the Novokuznetsk district.
Further from the ring to the south goes the Novokuznetsk Ring Road
(NKAD), and to the east - the main entrance to Novokuznetsk.
There is a ring road around the regional center, logically connecting
the regional highway R384 with the federal highway R255.
Kemerovo
Region has an extensive network of bus stations and bus terminals. The
organization of intercity passenger transportation and the management of
bus stations and bus terminals is handled by the State Institution
KUZBASSPASSAZHIRAVTOTRANS. After the number of suburban train services
sharply decreased in the 1990s and 2000s (especially at the Kemerovo,
Taiginsky hubs and on the Proektnaya-Toguchin-Inskaya branch), as well
as after the collapse of the water transport system on the Tom River,
the system of suburban and intercity bus routes became the dominant type
of intercity transport in the region. During this period, the network of
interregional and international (to cities in Kazakhstan and Central
Asia) bus routes from the bus stations of Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk,
Mezhdurechensk was constantly expanding. The bus stations of Kemerovo
and Novokuznetsk cannot cope with the increased passenger flow. Since
2004, the fleet of intercity buses has been regularly updated.
List of regional roads of the Kemerovo region.
There are international airports in Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk
(located in the Prokopyevsk district), from which domestic flights are
carried out mainly to Moscow. In the summer, flights to Sochi,
Krasnoyarsk, Antalya, Bangkok, Phuket, and Cam Ranh are also carried out
from the Kemerovo airport. In the summer, flights to Sochi, Bangkok,
Antalya, Pattaya, Anapa, and Simferopol are also carried out from the
Novokuznetsk airport.
There are airfields in Leninsk-Kuznetsky
(currently not operating), Tashtagol, Mezhdurechensk, Mariinsk, and
Anzhero-Sudzhensk on the territory of the region.
The only river in the region that can be adapted for shipping is the Tom. During the navigation period, the population is transported by water. Transportation is carried out by the Novokuznetsk State Water Transport Enterprise of the Kemerovo Region with a branch in Kemerovo by boats "KS-149" and "KS-207" along the routes: "Novokuznetsk - Yachmenyukha" (length 101 km) and "Kemerovo - Zmeinka" (length 83 km).
All cities and urban-type settlements are provided with bus passenger
transport.
Five cities of Kuzbass have electric transport
systems. Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk have both tram and trolleybus
service, Prokopyevsk and Osinniki have only tram systems, and in the
city of Leninsk-Kuznetsky, a trolleybus operates.
Universities:
Kemerovo State University (KemSU) — Kemerovo
Kuzbass State Technical University named after T. F. Gorbachev (KuzSTU)
— Kemerovo
Kemerovo State Medical University (KemSMU) — Kemerovo
Siberian State Industrial University (SibGIU) — Novokuznetsk
Academies:
Kemerovo State Agricultural Academy (KGSHI) — Kemerovo
Institutes:
Kemerovo State Institute of Culture (KemGIK) —
Kemerovo
Russian State Institute of Performing Arts in Kemerovo
(RSISI)- Siberian Higher School of Musical and Theatre Arts — Kemerovo
Kuzbass Institute of Economics and Law (KIEP) — Kemerovo
Kuzbass
Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia — Novokuznetsk
Kuzbass Regional Pedagogical Institute (KOPI) — Kemerovo
Novokuznetsk
State Institute for Advanced Medical Studies (NGIUV) — Novokuznetsk
Taiginsky Institute of Railway Transport — Taiga
Colleges:
Anzhero-Sudzhensk Pedagogical College
Anzhero-Sudzhensk Polytechnic College
Belovsky Pedagogical College
Belovsky Polytechnic College (BlPK)
Kemerovo Regional College of
Culture and Arts
Kemerovo Regional Medical College
Kemerovo
Vocational Pedagogical College
Kemerovo Vocational Technical College
Leninsk-Kuznetsk Mining and Engineering College
Mariinsky Pedagogical
College
Novokuznetsk Pedagogical College
Novokuznetsk Mining and
Transport College
Novokuznetsk State Humanitarian and Technical
College
Novokuznetsk Professional College
Novokuznetsk Economics
and Industry College
Prokopyevsk Agrarian College
Prokopyevsk
College of Arts
Prokopyevsk Mining and Engineering College named
after V.P. Romanova
Yurginsky Technological College (UTK)
Technical schools:
Anzhero-Sudzhensky Mining Technical School
Beryozovsky Polytechnical Technical School
Kemerovo Mining Technical
School
Kuzbass Multidisciplinary Technical School
Kuzbass
Technical School of Architecture, Geodesy and Construction (KuzTAGiS)
Kuznetsk Metallurgical Technical School
Leninsk-Kuznetsk
Polytechnical Technical School
Mariinsky Forestry Technical School
Mezhdurechensk Mining Technical School
Novokuznetsk Construction
Technical School
Novokuznetsk Trade and Economic Technical School
Prokopyevsk Industrial and Economic Technical School
Prokopyevsk
Physical Education Technical School
Prokopyevsk Electrical
Machine-Building Technical School
Taiginsky Technical School of
Railway Transport
Tom-Usinsky Energy Transport Technical School
Yurginsky Technical School of Agricultural Technologies and Service
(YUTAiS)
Yurginsky Technical School of Mechanical Engineering and
Information Technology (UTMiIT)
Topkinsky Technical College (TTT)
There are about 1000 schools, lyceums and gymnasiums in the Kemerovo region.
Siberian Research Holding
Kemerovo Scientific Center of the
Russian Academy of Sciences
For the purpose of seismic sounding in
the territory of the Kemerovo region on September 18, 1984,
approximately 100 km from the city of Kemerovo, an underground peaceful
nuclear explosion with a capacity of 10 kilotons was carried out.
The network of cultural institutions of the Kemerovo region for
2017-2018 is 1856 units, including 24 state cultural institutions: seven
theaters; 43 museums; 609 cultural and leisure institutions; 626
libraries, the Kuzbass Philharmonic named after B. T. Shtokolov; 82
institutions for film and video services, 112 educational institutions;
four parks and 372 other institutions.
There is a State
Autonomous Institution of Culture of the Kemerovo Region "Kuzbass Arts
Center", which unites the work of professional creative unions: the
Kemerovo Regional Branch of the All-Russian Public Organization "Union
of Artists of Russia", the Kemerovo Regional Branch of the "Union of
Writers of Kuzbass", the All-Russian Public Organization "Union of
Writers of Russia" and the Kemerovo Regional Branch of the All-Russian
Public Organization "Union of Composers of Russia". The State Autonomous
Cultural Institution of the Kaliningrad Region "Kuzbass Arts Center" is
a modern cultural venue that, together with the creative unions of the
region and other professional creative figures, creates cultural,
educational projects and events. The Kemerovo regional branch of the
Union of Artists of the Russian Federation operates in four cities of
the region.
The following have the "Governor's" status: the
Kuzbass Symphony Orchestra, the brass band, the "Utro" choir, the
chamber choir, the "Gelikon" jazz club, and the "Siberian Kaleidoscope"
dance theater.
In total, over 14 thousand Kuzbass residents work
in the cultural sphere of the region, including over 9 thousand creative
workers. 235 of them have been awarded the honorary titles of the
Russian Federation "Honored" and "People's".
According to the
results of 2017, Kuzbass entered the top ten regions of Russia in terms
of cultural development rates and the top five regions of Russia in
terms of cinematography development. Thanks to participation in the
federal program of the Cinema Fund for the filmification of cultural
institutions from 2015 to 2017, twelve municipal digital cinema
institutions opened in the region, showing all the latest foreign and
domestic films.
Each city and district has a hospital of therapeutic, pediatric or
dental profile of municipal (since January 1, 2017 - regional)
subordination. In addition, the Ministry of Health of the Russian
Federation is subordinate to several medical institutions of the
Kemerovo Region, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation - the
Center for the Treatment of Miners in Leninsk-Kuznetsky, the Ministry of
Social Development - the Novokuznetsk Center for Prosthetics,
organizations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Along with state
medical institutions, private medical institutions provide assistance to
the population of the Kemerovo Region. Telemedicine is widely
introduced. Educational institutions of secondary medical education are
united in the Kemerovo Regional Medical College. There are sanatoriums
Slavino, Borisovsky, Prokopevsky.
Kemerovo Region is one of the
leaders in HIV infection rates among Russian regions.
There are social assistance centers in cities and villages. In Kemerovo Region, war and labor veterans receive coal on preferential terms. Travel for pensioners, disabled people and other beneficiaries from May 1 to September 30 in inter-municipal transport is free. At the initiative of Governor Aman Tuleyev, various programs of targeted assistance to low-income people are being carried out in the region.
Alpine skiing is well developed in Kemerovo Region. The region has professional sports teams in football, hockey, rugby, volleyball and basketball. There is a chess school in Novokuznetsk. There are also Olympic champion weightlifters and wrestlers.
The largest religion in Kemerovo Region by number of believers is
Christianity (Orthodoxy). In addition to the Orthodox Church, such
Christian movements as Catholicism and Protestantism are quite
widespread in the region. Islam is also quite widespread in the
territory of Kuzbass.
The Kemerovo Region is known for its
numerous unusual religious events, among which the agency names the
All-Kuzbass prayers for deliverance from man-made disasters, held every
first Sunday of the month, prayers for road safety, held in December
2008, prayers for the successful overcoming of the global financial
crisis in November 2008, prayers of parents for the deliverance of
children from alcohol and drug addiction, for the deliverance of the
region from the scourge of bird flu, for the successful outcome of
voting during the elections. In March 2009, the governor of the region
Aman Tuleyev called on Kuzbass residents to pray for the miraculous
release of hostages taken by an unknown person in a bank in
Leninsk-Kuznetsky.
The clergy have repeatedly blessed the
Kuznetsk land from a helicopter, and in October 2007, an Orthodox priest
sprinkled Novokuznetsk with holy water from a hot air balloon.
Kemerovo Region has average statistical indicators for Siberia for serious crimes, crimes of medium and minor gravity. In cities and districts there are pretrial detention centers for detainees. In addition, there are about 25 correctional institutions in the region, where people sentenced by the court to serve their sentences serve their sentences.