The Saratov region is a subject of the Russian Federation, part of
the Volga Federal District. The administrative center is the city of
Saratov.
In the south it borders with the Volgograd region, in
the west - with the Voronezh region, in the northwest with Tambov, in
the north - with Penza, Samara and Ulyanovsk regions, in the southeast
there is the state border of Russia with Kazakhstan. It borders the
Orenburg region at one point, which is located on the state border with
Kazakhstan - the junction of the borders of the Orenburg, Samara and
Saratov regions. The total length of the borders is over 3,500 km.
It was formed on January 10, 1934 as the Saratov Territory by
dividing the Lower Volga Territory, and from December 5, 1936, in
accordance with the Constitution of the USSR, as the Saratov Region.
Historically, the region was preceded by the Saratov province, formed in
1780.
Khvalynsky National Park
Ski resort "Khvalynsky" The longest ski slope in the Volga region. Its length is 1800 meters. Six European-style groomed trails are designed for skiing and snowboarding. Every winter, thousands of vacationers from different regions of Russia gather on the Khvalyn slopes.
The condition of roads in the Saratov region differs little from the national average. It is worth taking pity on the suspension of your car and not driving at high speed. However, local traffic cops will not allow you to drive recklessly - compliance with traffic rules here is closely monitored and with particular rigor.
The Saratov region is located in the southeast of the European part of Russia, in the northern part of the Lower Volga region. From west to east the territory extends for 575 km, from north to south - for 330 km. The Volga River flows through the region, which divides the region into 2 parts: Left Bank and Right Bank.
Of particular agricultural importance are the valuable ordinary and southern chernozems and widespread chestnut soils.
The region is generally sufficiently supplied with water; in addition to the Volga and numerous rivers, many springs and deposits of mineral waters are known.
More than 40 small oil and gas fields (Stepnovskoye and Uritskoye are significant) have been explored in the region, while the main part of the promising areas has not been studied. Many deposits of oil shale have been explored, including the large Ozinskoe deposit, deposits of high-quality cement raw materials, phosphorites, construction, ballast and glass sands, construction clays and stone.
The climate in the region is temperate continental: long, dry, hot
summers; in the Left Bank there are a significant number of days with
temperatures above 30 °C. Winter is frosty, the average number of days
with precipitation is 12-15 per month, with fog - on average 4-10 days
per month, with snowstorms - on average 4-10 days per month. Spring is
short. In March, snowstorms and drifts on the roads are possible, on
average 5-7 days. On average there are 5-9 days with fogs in March. In
the spring, usually from the last ten days of March to the third ten
days of April, restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles are
introduced on paved roads, the beginning of which is timed to coincide
with the transition of the average daily temperature through 0. Autumn
does not differ from year to year in the constancy of the weather.
Stable snow cover forms in the northern regions by November 25, and in
the central and southern regions - from November 29 to December 8. The
region is crossed by the climate-dividing and wind-dividing axis of
Voeikov, it passes on average through the eastern and northern regions
of the region, sometimes decreasing to the south, and sometimes going
noticeably to the north, especially in spring, to the boundaries of the
forest and forest-steppe natural zones, this axis influences the climate
of the region .
Spring begins in the last ten days of March.
Summer lasts 4.5 months and is divided into three periods: “pre-summer”,
“height” and “decline” of summer. In summer, throughout the entire
territory of the Saratov region, without exception, winds of the
North-Western, Northern, North-Eastern directions prevail. Autumn begins
in mid-September and continues until early November. Winter begins in
the first ten days of November.
The current ecological state of the Saratov region is critical.
Intensive pollution of the natural environment continues as production
volumes increase. To solve a whole range of environmental problems, the
Committee for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Management
of the Saratov Region developed a “Program for Stabilization and
Improvement of the Environmental Situation in the Saratov Region”, which
was based on proposals from the administrations of cities and districts
of the region, city district environmental protection committees,
enterprises and organizations areas. The program is financed from
budgets of different levels, funds from environmental funds, enterprises
and organizations of the region. As a result, the volume of capital
expenditures aimed at protecting the region’s environment increased from
all sources of financing.
There are 24 million tons of industrial
waste in the dumps and storage facilities of enterprises in the Saratov
region:
Hazard class 1 - 3.5 thousand tons; (“Tantal”, “Znamya
Truda”, “SAZ”, “AIT”, “ELMASH”, “SEPO”)
Hazard class 2 - about 5
thousand tons;
Hazard class 3 - about 3 million tons;
Hazard class
4 - about 21 million tons.
A particularly dangerous enterprise in
Saratov is the AIT plant, which pollutes not only its territory, but
also the adjacent residential area. For a long time, this enterprise
transported production waste containing nickel and cadmium to the
landfill of the Aleksandrovsky Village Council.
In the dumps,
more than 19 million tons (with a design capacity of 10.84 million tons)
accumulated phosphogypsum from the production activities of JSC Irgiz in
Balakovo. Here the pollution is tens of times higher than the maximum
permissible concentration for phosphates, chlorides, iron, ammonia and
nitrates.
According to the results of observations at the
water-measuring posts of the Federal State Institution "Saratov Central
Hydrometeorological Service" on June 10, 2011, the water level in
populated areas - the cities of Volsk, Marks, Saratov, Rovnoye is -
15.00 m, 14.89 m, 14.81 m, 14, 72 m. And the minimum navigation water
level is 13 m. The water level in the Volga in the Volsk region today is
17 m, in Marks - 15.95 m, in Rovny - 14.73 m. That is, it is not far
from the critical point . A decrease in the water level in the Volga
also leads to a loss of fish stocks: eggs laid on the sedge are located
above the water level and dry out.
Every year, Saratov
enterprises emit up to 50 million tons of harmful substances into the
atmosphere. These include: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur
dioxide, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, heavy metals, ammonia, atmospheric
dust. The main sources of anthropogenic aerosol air pollution are
thermal power plants (CHPs) consuming coal. Coal combustion, cement
production and iron smelting produce a total dust emission into the
atmosphere equal to 170 million tons per year.
The region is known for historical and modern earthquakes. The level of seismic activity in the region, according to the officially published map of the general seismic zoning of the territory of the Russian Federation (OSR-97-C), is determined by the probability of earthquakes with an intensity of up to 7 points inclusive on the MSK-64 scale.
The Saratov region is located in the MSC+1 time zone. The applied
time offset relative to UTC is +4:00.
This time is valid in the
region from December 4, 2016. Until December 3, 2016, the region lived
according to Moscow time (UTC+3).
In 1780, the Saratov governorship was formed, consisting of nine
districts (Saratov, Khvalynsky, Volsky, Kuznetsky, Serdobsky, Atkarsky,
Petrovsky, Balashovsky and Kamyshinsky), in 1797 - the Saratov province,
in 1928 - the Lower Volga region, in 1928-1934 years - as part of the
Lower Volga Territory, January 10, 1934 - Saratov Territory.
Formed as the Saratov region on January 10, 1934 by dividing the Lower
Volga region. In accordance with the Constitution (Basic Law) of the
USSR, adopted on December 5, 1936, the Saratov region was transformed
into the Saratov region with the separation of the Autonomous Soviet
Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans.
By the Decree of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 7, 1941,
after the forced deportation of the German population, the Saratov
region included the territories of 15 cantons of the former Autonomous
Soviet Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans (Baltsersky, Zolotovsky,
Kamensky, Ternovsky, Kukkussky, Zelmansky, Krasnoyarsk, Markstadt,
Unterwaldensky, Fedorovsky, Gnadenflursky, Krasno-Kutsky,
Lizandergeysky, Marienthalsky and Eckheimsky).
By the Decree of
the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of January 6, 1954, the
cities of Balashov and Rtishchevo, Arkadaksky, Balashovsky,
Kazachkinsky, Kistendeysky, Krasavsky, Makarovsky, Novo-Pokrovsky,
Rodnichkovsky, Romanovsky, Rtishchevsky, Saltykovsky, Samoilovsky and
Turkovsky districts. After the abolition of the Balashov region, by the
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of November
19, 1957, these cities and districts were returned to the Saratov
region.
In terms of the level and scale of development of industrial
production, the Saratov region occupies one of the leading places in the
Volga Federal District in the economic sphere. The region's industry
includes more than 2,000 large and medium-sized enterprises. Here they
produce trolleybuses (Trolza), railway equipment (Engels Transport
Engineering Plant, Engels Locomotive Plant), spark plugs, power tools,
precision instruments, refrigerators and freezers, produce liquid fuel
and petrochemical products (Saratov Oil Refinery with a capacity of 10
million tons of oil/year, "Saratovnefteorgsintez"), mineral fertilizers,
rolled copper, building glass, cement, print school textbooks and books,
operate chemical and furniture production.
In the industrial
structure, the largest share belongs to the fuel and energy complex
(45.5%), mechanical engineering (19.1%), chemical and petrochemical
(15.6%), and food (9.2%) industries.
According to the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of the Saratov Region, as of 2020, there were 103
innovative enterprises operating in the region.
The Saratov region is traditionally an agricultural region. In terms
of the volume of agricultural products produced, the region ranks 10th
among Russian regions. In terms of wheat production, the region took 6th
place at the end of 2016 - 2,732 thousand tons. Agricultural land 8417.6
thousand hectares. A special feature of the Saratov region is the high
share of peasant (farm) farms in the total volume of production and sown
areas. Thus, in 2009, the share of farms in the region’s sown area was
45%. In the Saratov region, as usual, there is a very high difference in
yield between the chernozem right-bank regions and the steppe arid
regions on the left bank of the Volga. Thus, with a winter crop yield of
50 centners per hectare in the Rtishchevsky district, in the Novouzensky
district the yield is only 18 centners per hectare.
In the
Saratov region, more than 14 types of grain and leguminous crops are
cultivated, of which the following are exported: wheat, barley,
chickpeas, oats, peas, lentils, rye, corn, millet. Of the nine oilseeds,
the following are exported: flax, mustard, camelina, rapeseed,
coriander, and safflower. The main export crop of the region was and
remains wheat.
As of 2020, more than 300 thousand hectares of
unused agricultural land remain in the Saratov region, because of this
the region loses 500 thousand tons of grain per year. Several years ago
there were about 600 thousand hectares of such land. As Alexey Chastov,
head of the regional department of Rosselkhoznadzor, said, “as a rule,
these are unscrupulous owners; their land is either idle, or they dig
trenches and illegally develop quarries. This is damage to the earth."
As of January 1, 2021, in farms of all categories there were 436.1
thousand (+3.6 thousand) heads of cattle, of which 195.2 thousand (+0.7
thousand) heads were cows, 270.0 thousand (–5.4 thousand) pigs, 557.8
thousand (+9.0 thousand) sheep and goats, 15.8 thousand (+0.5 thousand)
horses, 5.8 million poultry.
In 2021, milk yield per cow in
agricultural organizations is 6678 kg (-427 kg), in 2020 7105 kg (-58
kg). In 2020, farms of all categories produced 752.2 thousand tons of
milk (+0.7%). In 2019, farms of all categories produced 120.5 thousand
tons of livestock and poultry for slaughter (in slaughter weight) or (in
live weight) 180.7 thousand tons, 939.2 million eggs.
In 2020, the sown area amounted to 2,214 thousand hectares, and the
yield was 24.0 c/ha (in 2019 - 14.3 c/ha). The planned grain harvest
amounted to more than 5.2 million tons.
The Saratov region is one
of the main regions of Russia for growing onions. On an industrial
basis, it is cultivated using drip irrigation. The gross harvest of
onions in the region in 2021 amounted to 90.1 thousand tons.
The
sown area in 2021 will be 4.1 million hectares. Spring grains and
leguminous crops will occupy 25% of the total sown area. The grain
production forecast is 6 million tons, or 108% of the 2020 gross
harvest.
In 2022, the sown area amounted to more than 4.0 million
hectares, of which grains and legumes - 2.248 million hectares,
industrial crops - 1.7 million hectares: sunflower 1464 thousand
hectares, sugar beets 8.5 thousand hectares, potatoes 8.4 thousand
hectares, vegetables and melons 23.3 thousand hectares. Production plan:
grain 4.4 million tons, sunflower oilseeds 1.8 million tons, sugar beets
366 thousand tons, potatoes 138.7 thousand tons, vegetables and melons
367.2 thousand tons. The region's farmers have fulfilled the task of the
Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation to increase the area
under durum wheat - 77 thousand hectares (128% of the 2021 level),
soybeans - 36 thousand hectares (128% of the 2021 level), sugar beets -
8517 hectares (101% to the level of 2021), potatoes in the organized
sector - 718 hectares, or 106% compared to last year. 15.4 thousand
hectares are occupied by vegetable crops in farms of all categories:
onions are allocated to 1.88 thousand hectares (103%), cabbage 630
hectares (121%), beets 116 thousand hectares (110%), tomatoes 194
hectares , cucumbers 75 hectares, carrots 160 hectares, garlic 4
hectares, pumpkin 4.3 thousand hectares, other vegetables (zucchini,
peppers, eggplant, etc.) - 1.1 thousand hectares (9 7%).
As of
July 26, 2022, 140.5 thousand hectares or 11.4 percent of the sown area
occupied by winter crops had been harvested. The gross output amounted
to 435.7 thousand tons. The average yield throughout the region was a
record 31 centners per hectare. At the same time, in the Saratov region,
as usual, there is a very high difference in yield between the chernozem
right-bank regions and the steppe arid regions on the left bank of the
Volga. So, with the highest winter crop yield of 50 centners per hectare
in the Rtishchevsky district, the minimum yield was recorded in the
Novouzensky district, where only 18 centners per hectare were harvested.
In 2023, the area under chickpeas will increase by 33%, lentils by
28%, peas by 13%, millet by 21%, and durum wheat by 4%.
In 2021, the gross harvest of fruit and berry crops amounted to
83,876 tons (6,502 hectares at fruiting age), of which: pome fruits
(apple, pear) 54,138 tons, stone fruits (apricot, plum, sweet cherry,
cherry) 16,664 tons, nut fruits 81 tons, berries (strawberries,
raspberries, currants, blackberries) 12993 tons, as well as grapes 6055
tons (337 hectares at fruiting age).
The area of fruit and berry
plantings in farms of all categories in 2020 is 9861 hectares, vineyards
- 358 hectares.
The hydropower potential of the region is realized at the Saratov
hydroelectric power station in an average annual amount of about 5.4
billion kWh of electricity.
The gasification program has been
fully completed in the Saratov region. Residents of all settlements have
the opportunity to use natural gas.
The electric power system of
the Saratov region operates as part of the Unified Energy System of
Russia and is characterized by an excess of generating capacity. In
2013, electricity consumption in the Saratov energy system amounted to
12,821 million kWh, power plant output was 43,913 million kWh, its own
maximum power consumption was 2,058 MW, and the installed capacity of
power plants at the end of the year was 6,711 MW. The historical maximum
power consumption is 2,785 MW and was reached in 1991.
There are
seven wholesale market power plants operating in the region[63]:
Balakovo NPP (branch of JSC Rosenergoatom Concern, 4,000 MW, 800
Gcal/h), Saratov HPP (branch of RusHydro, 1,369 MW) and five thermal
power plants of PJSC T Plus » — Saratovskaya GRES (54 MW, 478 Gcal/h),
Saratovskaya CHPP-2 (224 MW, 755 Gcal/h), Engelskaya CHPP-3 (182 MW, 690
Gcal/h), Balakovskaya CHPP-4 (370 MW, 1232 Gcal/h), Saratov CHPP-5 (445
MW, 1239 Gcal/h). Two power plants operate on the retail market: Saratov
CHPP-1 (18 MW, 208 Gcal/h), CHPP of Balakovo Mineral Fertilizers LLC
(part of the PhosAgro holding, 49 MW). The main fuel for thermal power
plants is natural gas.
The total length of power lines exceeds
65.1 thousand km, the transformer capacity of substations is 15.4
thousand MVA. The electric grid complex of the Saratov region, in
addition to supplying electricity to consumers in the region, ensures
the transit of excess electrical energy from the Balakovo NPP and the
Saratov HPP to adjacent energy systems.
All types of transport are represented in the region. The length of
public roads is 10,962 km, with hard surfaces - 10,711 km (including 741
km of federal roads) (as of 2008). The leading place in the transport
infrastructure of the region is occupied by the railway, which accounts
for over 90% of freight and about 40% of passenger turnover.
Railway transport
The length of railways passing through the region
is 2296 km. Of these, most belong to the Saratov branch of the Volga
Railway and a smaller part, in the west of the region, belongs to the
Rtishchevsky branch of the South-Eastern Railway. One operating
narrow-gauge railway has been preserved - the Krasnoarmeysky Ceramic
Plant.
There is a railway bridge across the Volga and two
operating road bridges across the Volga (between the cities of Saratov
and Engels and north of Saratov, near the village of Pristannoye), as
well as an overpass across the dam of the Saratov hydroelectric power
station in the city of Balakovo.
The total length of inland
shipping routes is 709 km.
The total volume of cargo
transportation by all types of transport for 9 months of 2009 amounted
to 88.2 million tons. The absolute majority of the volume was accounted
for by pipeline transport (66.5 million tons), 10.6 and 10.2 million
tons were transported by road and rail. cargo accordingly.
The
region ranks fourth in the Volga Federal District in terms of the number
of cars per thousand residents.
Until 2019, Saratov-Central
Airport operated in Saratov (according to 2016, passenger traffic was
433,385 people), closed due to the construction of a new airport. Since
2019, the Gagarin International Airport has been operating in the area
of the village of Saburovka.
According to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and
Mass Media of the Russian Federation, in 2019, 15.22 landline phones
were connected per 100 residents of the region (17.52 in urban areas and
8.12 in rural areas).
Telephone services are provided by telecom
operators:
Saratov branch of PJSC Rostelecom;
Branch of PJSC
Mobile TeleSystems in Saratov;
LLC Saratov Digital Telephone Network;
Saratov cluster of the Regional Administration of the Central Region of
PJSC “Vympel-Communications”;
Branch of TransTeleCom Company JSC
“Verkhnevolzhsky Macroregion”;
Branch of ER-Telecom Holding JSC in
Saratov;
JSC "Chemikomp";
JSC "Chemikomp+";
Pokrovsky
Radiotelephone LLC;
Shikhanyelektrosvyaz LLC;
LLC "Svyaz-99"
According to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and
Mass Communications of the Russian Federation in 2019, the number of
fixed broadband Internet access subscribers in 2019 per 100 people was
21.82.
Broadband Internet access services are provided by telecom
operators:
Saratov branch of PJSC Rostelecom;
Branch of MTS PJSC
in Saratov;
LLC Saratov Digital Telephone Network;
Saratov cluster
of the Regional Administration of the Central Region of PJSC
“Vympel-Communications”;
Branch of TransTeleCom Company JSC
“Verkhnevolzhsky Macroregion”;
Branch of ER-Telecom Holding JSC in
Saratov;
LLC "RenetCom";
Sputnik TV LLC;
New Telecommunications
Company LLC;
Pokrovsky Radiotelephone LLC;
JSC "Chemikomp";
JSC
"Chemikomp+"
Mobile radiotelephone communications and mobile broadband Internet
access services are provided by basic all-Russian operators:
"Megaphone";
"MTS";
Beeline;
"Tele2"
and virtual
cellular operators:
"Yota";
Tinkoff Mobile;
"Yo";
Rostelecom;
SberMobile.
Services are provided in GSM 1800,
900/1800, UMTS, LTE standards.
According to the Ministry of
Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian
Federation, in 2019, 186.6 active SIM cards were registered per 100
residents of the region.
Mobile communication services are
provided in all municipal districts of the region. Mobile communications
are not available to residents in 217 localities
In the region, 20 publicly accessible TV channels and 3 radio
channels are broadcast in digital format, 10 TV channels and 36 radio
stations are broadcast in analogue format.
Broadcasting of
all-Russian mandatory public TV channels and radio channels throughout
the Russian Federation is provided by the Federal State Unitary
Enterprise “Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network”.
In the Saratov region, broadcasting of mandatory public television
channels and radio channels, as well as 10 commercial channels and 30
radio stations is provided by the RTRS branch “Saratov Regional Radio
Television Transmission Center”.
In all settlements of the Saratov region, postal services are provided by the Office of the Federal Postal Service of the Saratov Region of Russian Post JSC (UFPS of the Saratov Region). The Federal Post Office of the Saratov Region includes 10 post offices, a motor depot and an inter-district sorting center. Postal services are provided by 914 branches. The length of 321 postal routes is over 38 thousand km. The vehicle fleet consists of 307 vehicles. The UFPS employs about 6 thousand employees, of which 2.4 thousand are postmen.
11 cities in the region are included in the list of historical cities of Russia: Atkarsk, Balakovo, Balashov, Volsk, Marks, Novouzensk, Pugachev, Petrovsk, Saratov, Khvalynsk, Engels.