The Central Black Earth Economic Region (CCER) is of rather great importance in the economic structure of the Russian Federation. This is due to both the geographical location and the production facilities located on its territory. Let's find out in more detail what the Central Black Earth region is like. Also dwell on the definition of the concept of zoning.
Economic zoning of Russia
An economic region is a part of a country that has certain characteristics of economic specialization, a common infrastructure, and communications.
Zoning is not part of the administrative-territorial division of the country, but serves as an economic and geographical term to simplify the understanding of economic relationships, as well as more convenient planning opportunities for further development of the region.
Currently, twelve such entities are distinguished in the Russian Federation. The economic region of the Central Black Earth Region is one of them. We will talk about it further in more detail.
The geographical location of the area
The Central Chernozem economic region is located in the southwestern part of the Russian Federation. The largest city and at the same time its unofficial center is Voronezh, which has a population of more than 1 million people. The Central Black Earth Economic Region includes five regions of Russia: Kursk, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Tambov. The largest of them is Voronezh (52, 200 sq. Km), and the smallest territory has Lipetsk - 24, 000 sq. Km. km The area of Belgorod, Kursk and Tambov regions is 27, 100, 30, 000 and 34, 500 square meters. km, respectively.
Sometimes the Oryol region is also ranked in this region, which has a common history with other subjects of the Russian Federation, similar nuances of development and strong economic ties. But in modern official regionalization, it belongs to the Central Economic Region.
So, 167, 700 square meters. km is the territorial area that the Central Black Earth Economic Region has. EGP (economic-geographical position) is rather favorable for him. The district is simultaneously located in comparative proximity to the capital and is widely adjacent to the state border of Russia with Ukraine. This contributes to a significant turnover on its territory, which, however, has declined due to the aggravation of relations with neighbors.
Name
The economic region (Central Black Earth) got its name back in the days of the Russian Empire, when it really occupied a central position in the European part of the country. Currently, its official name does not quite correspond to reality, since the area is located on the western borders of Russia and is not geographically central.
The area is called Chernozem due to the fact that the basis of its soils is fertile black soil. Its second name, which has a fairly wide circulation, is Chernozemye.
History
The Central Black Earth Economic Region of Russia has a rather interesting and long history of development.
The first settlements of modern man found on this territory date back to the Bronze Age. They represented the so-called Abashevskaya culture. Later, many tribes inhabited the territory of the Black Earth Region: Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsy.
Slavic tribes of northerners also settled on a significant part of the territory of this region, from where it was called Severshchina. It became part of the Old Russian state, and after its collapse was an integral part of the Chernigov and Novgorod-Seversky principalities. The foundation of the city of Kursk dates back to 1032. It is the oldest of the existing settlements in the territory of the Black Earth Region.
After the Mongol-Tatar invasion, these territories became desolate. Here the Nogais roamed. The West of the current Central Black Earth Region became part of the Principality of Lithuania.
From the 15th century, a significant strengthening of the Moscow principality began, which began to be transformed into the Russian kingdom. It began to spread its influence on the lands of the Black Earth Region. Settlers moved here to protect the southern borders of the country from the Crimean Khanate and simply in search of fertile lands. At the end of the sixteenth century, Belgorod and Voronezh fortresses were erected, which later became major cities, and now are regional centers.
During the Russian Empire, after the administrative reform of 1708, the territory of the Black Earth region was divided between the Azov and Kiev provinces. We can say that during this time, starting from the end of the 15th century, the region was largely isolated and acquired a number of characteristic features. The publishing house of statistical materials dates back to 1880, in which the central agricultural region (the future Central Economic Center) is distinguished, which includes the following provinces: Kaluga, Voronezh, Penza, Ryazan, Tambov, Kursk, Oryol, Tula.
After the advent of Soviet power, in 1928, a separate Central Black Earth Region was formed with the regional center Voronezh. It included territories of the Oryol, Voronezh, Tambov and Kursk provinces. In 1934, the Central Organ of the Central Committee was abolished and divided into the Voronezh and Kursk Regions. In 1937, the Oryol and Tambov regions were allocated from their composition, and in 1954, the Lipetsk and Belgorod regions.
It was during the Soviet era that the industrialization of the region, the construction of large factories and enterprises, as well as the intensive development of agriculture, were largely responsible. At the same time, economic zoning was introduced in the modern sense of the word, and the Central Economic Development Administration was singled out.
Modern stage
After the proclamation of the sovereignty of the RSFSR in late May 1991, the decree of the Chairman of the Supreme Council Boris Yeltsin on the establishment of the Chernozemye Association was announced, which was designed to facilitate interaction and cooperation of individual regions of the region. By 2010, the association consisted of 10 regions, 5 of which are not included in the Central Economic Development and Trade Center, although they are in close proximity to it.
In the dashing 90s, like the whole of Russia, the region was going through hard times: production was declining, many enterprises were shutting down. This was due to the nuances of the transition from a planned economy to a market economy. But since the beginning of the 2000s, the economic situation of the Central Black Earth Region has improved significantly, although its full potential is not yet fully utilized.
Population
The population of the Central Black Earth Economic Region at the moment is about 7800 thousand people with a density of 46 people per square meter. km A significant number of people live in cities - about 70%, and only 30% of the population are rural residents.
The most populated region of the Black Earth Region is Voronezh. The population in it is 2.3 million people, of which more than 1 million falls on Voronezh itself. The Tambov region has the least inhabitants - 1.05 million people. The population of Belgorod, Lipetsk and Kursk regions is 1.6, 1.2 and 1.1 million people. respectively.
The largest population density in the Belgorod region is 57.1 people / sq. km The smallest in Tambov - 30.5 people / sq. km Corresponding indicators of the Lipetsk, Voronezh and Kursk regions are 48.1, 44.7, 37.3 people / sq. km
According to their ethnic composition, the overwhelming majority of the region’s inhabitants (over 95%) are Russians. The number of Ukrainians does not exceed 1.5-2% of the population of the economic region. Other national minorities include Armenians, Gypsies, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Jews, and Yezidi Kurds. But the number of representatives of any of these ethnic groups is small - no more than 0.5% of the total number of inhabitants of the Black Earth region.
Cities
On the territory of the Black Earth region there are a large number of large settlements - cities with a glorious history.
The largest population center of the economic region is its central city - Voronezh, in which the population exceeds 1 million people. Among other large entities, it is worth highlighting such regional centers as Lipetsk (more than 500 thousand inhabitants), Kursk (more than 420 thousand inhabitants), Belgorod (more than 380 thousand inhabitants), Tambov (more than 280 thousand inhabitants). The largest district center is the city of Stary Oskol in the Belgorod region. The population in it exceeds 250 thousand inhabitants.
All of the above settlements have a fairly well-developed industry and infrastructure.
Resources
The natural resources of the Central Black Earth Economic Region are truly great. On its territory is located the largest in Russia and the second largest iron ore deposit in the world - the Kursk anomaly. In addition, deposits of apatite, bauxite, sand, limestone, clay, phosphorite, chalk, granite and many other resources are located on the territory of the Black Earth Region. There are also deposits of gold, platinum, copper and nickel.
The main natural resource of the region is its fertile black soil. The quality of these soils, due to the high percentage of humus in them, allows you to collect some of the best crops in the world.
Industry
The specialization of the Central Black Earth Economic Region has a pronounced industrial-agrarian character.
Despite the diverse development of the region, the share of industry in its economy nevertheless somewhat prevails over agriculture. The leading role is played by the following sectors: mechanical engineering, metallurgy, mining, food, chemical, and energy industries.
Agriculture
The presence of fertile black soil contributes to the fact that the agriculture of the Central Black Earth Economic Region has a fairly high level of development. Of course, in comparison with the Soviet times, the scale of production in this industry has decreased significantly, but, nevertheless, against the background of the rest of the Russian economic regions, the performance of the Chernozem Region looks good.
The most developed industry is crop production. The main areas are the production of grain crops, sunflower seeds, sugar beets, potatoes and other vegetables.
In livestock production, the production of meat, milk and eggs predominates.
