Formed by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 6, 1943. The region included 32 districts of the eastern part of the Chelyabinsk region and 4 districts of the Omsk region with a total population of 975,000.
The oblast has a severe continental climate with long cold winters and warm summers with regular droughts. The average January temperature is −18 °C (0 °F), and the average temperature in the warmest month (July) is +19 °C (66 °F). Annual precipitation is about 400 millimeters (16 in).[11]
During theSoviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Kurgan CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside electedregional parliament.
The Charter of Kurgan Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. TheKurgan Oblast Duma is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Oblast Duma consists of 34 members and exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with theConstitution of Russia.
After the last elections held in 2015 theUnited Russia Party currently holds the majority of seats in the Oblast Duma. Elections of deputies of the Kurgan Regional Duma of the VII convocation are scheduled for 2020.
Kurgan Oblast borders on the oil- and gas-bearing districts ofTyumen Oblast and is also close to similar districts inTomsk Oblast. Largeoil andgas pipelines pass through its territory, andUral and Siberian oil refineries are fairly close. The main industrial centers areKurgan, andShadrinsk.[11]
The oblast does not have large economic mineral reserves; therefore, it has developed mainly on the basis of subindustries associated with processing ofagricultural production and assembly and packaging of finished products. Thefood industry is well developed here, withmeat-packing plants,mills,creameries, andpowdered milk factories.[11]
Modern large-scale industry began developing duringWorld War II, when sixteen enterprises from western regions of the country were evacuated here in 1941–1942.
Russians (823,722) are the largest ethnic group in the Kurgan Oblast, making up 92.5% of the population. Other prominent ethnic groups in the oblast include[9]Tatars (17,017) at 1.9%,Bashkirs (12,257) at 1.4%,Kazakhs (11,939) 1.3%, andUkrainians (7,080) at 0.8%. Other ethnicities are 2.1%. Additionally, 20,017 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[15]
According to a 2012 survey[19] 28.4% of the population of Kurgan Oblast adheres to theRussian Orthodox Church, 6% arenondenominational Christians (with the exclusion of such-defined Protestant churches), 2% are adherents ofIslam, 1% are adherents of theSlavic native faith (Rodnovery), and 0.4% are adherents of forms ofHinduism (Vedism,Krishnaism orTantrism). In addition, 36% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 14% isatheist, and 12.2% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[19]
Курганская областная Дума. Закон №1 от 16 декабря 1994 г. «Устав Курганской области», в ред. Закона №108 от 30 ноября 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Устав Курганской области». Вступил в силу после официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Новый мир", №242, 21 декабря 1994 г. (Kurgan Oblast Duma. Law #1 of December 16, 1994Charter of Kurgan Oblast, as amended by the Law #108 of November 30, 2015On Amending the Charter of Kurgan Oblast. Effective as of after the official publication.).
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