During the Middle Ages,Bashkir tribes inhabited the SouthernUrals; they formed part of theGolden Horde,Nogai Horde, and smaller Bashkir unions. TheTsardom of Russiaincorporated the area in the late 16th century. However, Russian colonization of the region only began in the 18th century, with the establishment of a system of fortresses and trade posts on the then-Russian border by theOrenburg Expedition [ru] in 1734. Many cities of Chelyabinsk Oblast, including the city of Chelyabinsk itself, trace their history back to those forts.
In 1743 theChelyabinsk fortress became a center of theIset Province [ru], a constituent part of theOrenburg Governorate (a direct successor of the Orenburg Expedition). The period from the 1750s to the 1770s saw the emergence of industrial enterprises in the Southern Urals when the first factory-centered towns likeMiass,Kyshtym, andZlatoust were founded. After the Southern Urals recovered from thePugachev's Rebellion of 1773–1775, the territory of modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast started to attract more people from the European part of Russia. By the mid-19th century Chelyabinsk was a major trade center in the Urals, and after the construction of theTrans-Siberian Railway in the 1890s, it became an important transport hub that connectedSiberia to the rest of theRussian Empire.
In 1919, Chelyabinsk became the regional capital of the newly formedChelyabinsk Governorate of theRussian SFSR, which combined eastern portions of theOrenburg Governorate withKurgan of theTobolsk Governorate. At this time, the population of the new region has already exceeded one million people. In 1923, together with thePerm,Yekaterinburg Governorate [ru] andTyumen governorates, it merged into a singleUral Oblast that lasted only ten years, until 1934. On 17 January 1934, Chelyabinsk Oblast was finally established. Its current boundaries were formed whenKurgan Oblast was detached from it in 1943.
During the 1930s the regional economy and industrial output grew as Chelyabinsk Oblast became a key focus of theFirst Five-Year Plan. Key factories and enterprises that formed the core of the modern Chelyabinsk economy, including theMagnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, theChelyabinsk Tractor Plant and theChelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, originated at this time. The economy continued to grow after the outbreak of theGreat Patriotic War in 1941, as industries evacuated from the western parts of theSoviet Union to theUrals, and to Chelyabinsk Oblast in particular. During the war,Magnitogorsk alone produced one third of all Soviet steel, while the city of Chelyabinsk became the main center of Soviet tank production, earning the nickname "Tankograd" (Tank City).
Chelyabinsk Oblast has been home to top-secret nuclear research since the 1940s. While there are no nuclear power stations in Chelyabinsk, a number of production reactors were located there starting with the early Cold War. Aserious nuclear accident occurred in 1957 at theMayaknuclear fuel reprocessing plant, 150 km (93 mi) north-west of the city, which led to evacuations and fatalities throughout the oblast, although not in Chelyabinsk city. The province wasclosed to all foreigners until 1992, with the sole exception of allowing a British medical team in following a two-train rail explosion in the mid-1980s.
Sławomir Grünberg has made the documentaryChelyabinsk: The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet (1994) about the unsafe dumping of radioactive waste in theTecha River and inLake Karachay.
On 4 July 1997, Chelyabinsk, alongsideBryansk,Magadan,Saratov, andVologda signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy.[10] The agreement would be abolished on 2 February 2002.[11]
On 15 February 2013, a10,000 ton meteoroid entered the Earth's atmosphere over Russia at about 09:20YEKT (03:20 UTC). It passed over the southern Ural region andexploded in ameteor air burst over Chelyabinsk Oblast. About 1,500 people were reported injured, including 311 children. Health officials said 112 people had been hospitalized, mainly from injuries caused by glass from windows shattered by a shock wave; two were reported to be in serious condition. As many as 3,000 buildings in six cities across the region were damaged by the explosion and impacts. The meteor created a dazzling light as it air burst, bright enough to cast shadows during broad daylight in Chelyabinsk.
Chelyabinsk Oblast is on the eastern slope of the Southern Urals. Only a small part of the territory to the west is on the western slopes of the Southern Urals.
Chelyabinsk Oblast is situated in the Southern Urals, nearKurgan andSverdlovsk oblast. Most of the Oblast is located to the east of theUral Mountains, which form the continentalboundary between Asia and Europe. This boundary is marked by a stone pillar. In the Sverdlovsk Oblast, north of Chelyabinsk, there is a famous pillar separating the two continents, which has "Europe" written on one side and "Asia" on the other. In Chelyabinsk Oblast,Zlatoust city,Katav-Ivanovsk,Satka,Chelyabinsk,Troitsk, andMiass are in Europe.Magnitogorsk is located on both continents.[12]
The area of Chelyabinsk Oblast is 88,900 km2 (34,300 sq mi).[13] The total length of its external border is 2,750 km (1,710 mi), and the Oblast measures 400 km (250 mi) from north to south and 490 km (300 mi) from west to east.
The highest point of Chelyabinsk Oblast, reaching 1,406 metres (4,613 ft) above sea level, is located in theNurgush, a 50 kilometres (31 mi) long mountain range rising near lakeZyuratkul.[14]
Chelyabinsk Oblast has a very diverse landscape, ranging from lowlands and hilly plains to mountain ranges with peaks exceeding 1,000 m, includingNurgush mountain (1406 m). The mountainous area has severalski resorts.
TheWest Siberian Plain is bounded on the west horizontal (elevation 190 m above sea level), which passes through the village of Bagaryak, Kunashak and continues throughChelyabinsk to the south. The lowlands are located in the northeast, and the elevation drops to 130 m in the eastern border region.
Numerous rivers originate within the region, within the basins of theKama,Tobol, andUral rivers. The region is home to 348 rivers longer than 10 km (6.2 mi) (totaling 10,235 km (6,360 mi) in length), 17 of which are over 100 km (62 mi) in length. Seven rivers, theMiass,Uy,Ural,Ay, Ufa, Uvelka, and Gumbeyka, pass through the area and are longer than 200 km (124 mi).
Chelyabinsk Oblast is also home to more than 3,748 lakes, mostly located in the north and east and covering a total area of 2,125 km2 (820 sq mi). Many of the lakes in this area, includingLake Turgoyak,Zyuratkul, andLake Itkul, are famous for their clear waters and attract tourism. Some of the lakes in the eastern foothills have tectonic origins as water accumulated in tectonic failures (basins), resulting in very deep lakes that can reach 30–40 m (98–131 ft).
Seat of the Oblast government in ChelyabinskGovernor's residence
During theSoviet period, the highest authority in the Oblast was shared between three positions: the First Secretary of the ChelyabinskCPSU Committee (who held the most power), the Chairman of the OblastSoviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the Oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the CPSU lost its monopoly on power.
Today, the Charter of Chelyabinsk Oblast governs the political structure of the region. TheLegislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast serves as the province'sregional parliament and exercises legislative authority, with the power to pass laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and oversee their implementation and observance. The Oblast Government, led by theGovernor of Chelyabinsk Oblast, is the highest executive body in the region, and includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day-to-day matters of the province.
Taganay National Park is located northeast of the city of Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk Oblast. Taganay National Park is a popular tourist destination in the Urals. The park contains mountain ranges, alpine meadows, stone outcrops and a several kilometer stone river, forests, woodlands and mountain tundra, ancient mineral mines and mountain rivers flowing both to Europe and Asia. Taganay National Park was established on 5 March 1991, the first in the Urals.
Gagarin Central Park is a 12-hectare (30-acre) recreational space in Chelyabinsk. The park is named afterYuri Gagarin, a Sovietcosmonaut and the first person to enter space. The park contains forest walks, lakes, old quarries, and landscaped gardens. There is also a showground with rides.
There are several monuments in Chelyabinsk, many of which are on Kirovka street, a pedestrian street in the center of Chelyabinsk. The monuments include a monument toIgor Kurchatov, a nuclear scientist, which opened in 1986 to the 250th anniversary of Chelyabinsk; a monument to Orlenok, on the Aloe polye in Chelyabinsk, which opened on 29 October 1958 on the day of the fortieth anniversary of theKomsomol; the Sculpture of the Postman; the Memorial to Law and Order Soldiers; the Monument to Soldiers-Internationalists; and a sculpture of a firefighter.
Законодательное Собрание Челябинской области. Закон №22-ЗО от 25 мая 2006 г. «Устав (основной закон) Челябинской области», в ред. Закона №427-ЗО от 30 апреля 2009 г. (Legislative Assembly of Chelyabinsk Oblast. Law #22-ZO of May 25, 2006Charter (Basic Law) of Chelyabinsk Oblast, as amended by the Law #427-ZO of April 30, 2009. ).
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