The Omsk region is a subject of the Russian Federation in the
southwest of Siberia, part of the Siberian Federal District and the West
Siberian Economic Region. It borders on Kazakhstan in the south, Tyumen
region in the west and north, Novosibirsk region in the east and Tomsk
region in the northeast.
The territory is 141,140 km², which is
0.82% of the area of Russia. According to this indicator, the region
ranks 28th in the country.
According to data compiled in 2022 by
RIA Novosti, the Omsk region found itself at the bottom of the ranking
of regions in terms of quality of life, taking 66th place out of 85.
Thus, the region found itself in the twenty least attractive regions for
life and development.
The administrative center is the city of
Omsk.
By plane
Omsk International Airport (IATA:OMS) accepts flights
from Moscow, Kaliningrad, Nizhnevartovsk, Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk. There
are also international connections with Tashkent, Delhi, Bangkok,
Andijan, Sharm El-Sheikh.
By train
The
Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the region. The main stations in
the region are Omsk and Nazyvaevsk. From Moscow from the Kazansky or
Yaroslavsky train stations on trains traveling along the Trans-Siberian
Railway or according to a special schedule on the direct branded train
No. 048N Moscow-Omsk “Irtysh”. The distance is more than 2500 km, travel
time is less than two days.
By car
The federal highway P254
“Irtysh” passes through the region, connecting Chelyabinsk and Kurgan in
the west and Novosibirsk in the east. The section from Kurgan to Omsk
can be traveled in two ways:
Through the territory of Kazakhstan
through the city of Petropavlovsk - this is how the route from west to
east historically ran in the Soviet Union.
Bypassing Kazakhstan along
the P402 road through Chastoozerye, Berdyuzhye and Ishim.
The
first route is 100 km shorter, but you need to go through customs twice.
Considering that the entire road from Kurgan to Omsk is in decent
condition, and the Berdyuzhie-Ishim section, famous until recently for
its potholes and potholes, has recently been repaired and has an
excellent smooth surface, there is little point left in driving through
Kazakhstan.
Please note that road signs for Omsk give conflicting
information: if you follow them, you can go to Kazakhstan. Use maps and
navigation apps.
It borders on Kazakhstan in the south, Tyumen region in the west and
north, Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions in the east. It is part of the
Siberian Federal District.
The region's territory extends 600 km
from south to north and 300 km from west to east. The main water artery
is the Irtysh and its tributaries Ishim, Om, Osha, and Tara. The region
is located on the West Siberian Plain, which has a flat topography. In
the south there are steppes, gradually turning into forest-steppes,
forest and swampy taiga in the north. The soil is sandy and silty. Along
the Irtysh, in the so-called In the Irtysh region, there is an “oasis”
microclimate, with a more wooded and ravine landscape. Here are the most
fertile lands in the region. There are also many lakes in the Omsk
region: Saltaim, Tenis, Ik, Ebeyty, Ulzhay, Tobol-Kushly.
The
highest point in the Omsk region is 150 m near the village of Nagornoye,
the lowest is the water's edge on the Irtysh - 41 m, near the village of
Malaya Bicha.
The Omsk Region owns 28 specially protected natural
areas of regional significance, including natural parks in Bolsherechye
and Omsk (“Bird Harbor”).
The Omsk region is located in the MSC+3 time zone. The applied time offset relative to UTC is +6:00.
The climate of the region is continental and sharply continental. The
average January temperature is −19… −20 °C, July +17…+18 °C in the
northern part, +19 °C in the south. The distribution of precipitation is
uneven: in the north - 400-500 mm, in the extreme south of the region -
less than 300 mm.
The climate of the steppes, compared to the
forest-steppe zone, is characterized by a long growing season and
frost-free periods, high average annual and average monthly
temperatures, and great dryness. Therefore, the steppe lands suffer from
a lack of moisture: on average, 250-300 mm of precipitation falls here
per year, 1.5-2 times less than in the central regions of Russia.
Winter in the steppe is usually harsh, frosts up to -35... -40 °C,
and a thin, uneven snow cover of 25-30 cm does not cover the soil well.
The snow melts in 10-12 days. Winds increase evaporation, dry out the
soil and often stir up dust storms. In spring, rains are rare in the
steppe. The weather is clear. Late spring frosts are frequent. Already
at the end of April, during the hottest blowouts, almost everywhere in
the Omsk region the temperature can reach +30°, and in May, during hot
springs, such cases become common everywhere. In summer, on clear, sunny
days, the temperature rises to +30...+35 °C. In the first half of
summer, dry winds (strong, hot winds that scorch plants and cause severe
drying out of the soil) are common occurrences.
The great wealth
of surface water in the forest-steppe zone is explained by a more humid
climate: the annual precipitation here is 350-400 mm, half of which
falls in the first months: the snow cover is also more abundant in the
south - its thickness reaches 30-40 cm.
The Tara north is a zone
of abundant moisture; 400-450 mm of precipitation falls here per year,
that is, twice as much as in the south of the region. Summer is
moderately warm - in July +17...+18 °C. The growing season is 150 days.
The climate is characterized by hot summers and cold winters. In the
Tara region, winter temperatures everywhere can drop below -50°, and in
some places reached -52°-53°, this is the pole of cold OO, but in May,
even here, heat above +36° is already possible. Humidity here is
noticeably higher than in other areas of the region, and the average
annual temperature is zero, in some years it is slightly lower.
As of February 1, 2016, in the Omsk region there are 30 territories
that have the status of specially protected natural areas (SPNA) of
regional and local significance.
As of the spring of 2016,
sources of atmospheric emissions in the region are distributed as
follows: 48.5% - motor transport, 29.2% - production and distribution of
electricity, gas and water, 12% - other stationary sources of pollution,
10.3% - production enterprises coke and petroleum products.
In
2017, sources of atmospheric emissions in the region were distributed as
follows: 49.75% - motor transport, 27.37% - provision of electrical
energy, gas and steam; air conditioning, 11.26% - enterprises for the
production of coke and petroleum products; 11.62% - other stationary
sources of pollution.
The forest fund of the Omsk region is
located on the territory of 32 administrative districts of the region.
All forest lands are included in 19 forest districts. The area of forest
land is 5.9 million hectares, or 42% of the total area of the Omsk
region. Forested lands occupy 4.5 million hectares with a total forest
reserve of 640 million m³. In the southern regions of the region, forest
cover ranges from 0.3% to 5.5%, hence their main function is protective.
Production forests are located mainly in the northern regions, where
forest cover reaches 61-67% and more than 90% of the mature wood supply
is concentrated. The share of coniferous plantations accounts for 24.2%
(1102.1 thousand hectares), the volume of soft-leaved plantations is
75.7% (3453.4 thousand hectares).
Within the region, a latitudinal-horizontal landscape-bioclimatic
zonation is clearly manifested: steppe - southern and northern
forest-steppe - southern taiga. The distribution of precipitation is
uneven: in the north - 400-500 mm, in the extreme south of the region -
less than 300 mm.
The taiga-forest zone has the most limited area
of agricultural land - about 600 thousand hectares. This zone is the
most depressed and swampy, waterlogged for a long time, groundwater lies
at a depth of 1-3 meters. The main land fund is represented by podzolic,
bog and meadow soils, which are usually acidic, thin, with a low supply
of humus (up to 3%), nitrogen and phosphorus.
The forest-steppe
zone occupies the largest part of the region's territory (51%). The soil
cover of the zone is dominated by meadow-chernozem, chernozem-meadow and
meadow soils, as well as solonetz complexes. The average humus content
is 4-5%. For agricultural needs in the zone, 3 million 744 thousand
hectares of land have been developed, including 56% for arable land.
The steppe zone occupies only 8.6% of the region's territory, but it
is the most agriculturally developed and plowed. Plowing of land on
individual farms reaches 95%. The land fund of the steppe zone is
dominated by ordinary and southern chernozems, often carbonate and
solonetzic. The amount of humus is from 4 to 9%.
Almost 87% of
the region’s arable land requires additional application of
phosphorus-containing fertilizers. The soils of the northern zone are
almost 87% poor in potassium. The annual loss of humus as a result of
agriculture is 0.4 t/ha. To date, there has been a decrease in the gross
reserves of humus in arable soils to 10-15% of the initial ones (from
the beginning of land development), especially in the south of the
region. In the region, 17% of all agricultural land requires
restoration, especially in the steppe and southern forest-steppe zones.
Based on scientific research in 1986-1990. the volume of manure
application increased to 2 t/ha and 40 kg/ha of mineral fertilizers.
Much attention was paid to chemical reclamation: - liming of acidic
soils, gypsuming of soils of the solonetz complex. A positive balance of
phosphorus has been achieved, which is one of the main nutrients that
limits the yield of agricultural crops. Liming work ceased in 1994, and
gypsum work in 1996. The application of mineral fertilizers in the last
decade has decreased by almost 40 times, and organic fertilizers by 5
times.
At the same time, the Tara region of the region has rich
deposits of peat, the most valuable composition of sapropel, marsh marls
and phosphates.