Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is not rich in natural resources, which are, mostly, limited to commercial deposits of sand (including titanium-zirconium sands), clay, gypsum, peat, mineral salt, and timber.
Politics
Nizhny Novgorod House of Legislative Assembly in the Kremlin, 2007
During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Nizhny Novgorod (then Gorki) 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 elected regional parliament.
The Charter of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly 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 the Constitution of Russia.
Savior's Church, BalakhnaShukhov towers built in Nizhny Novgorod suburbs near Dzerzhinsk in 1927–1929
According to the 2010 Census,[5] ethnic Russians at 3,109,661 made up 95.1% of the oblast's population. Other ethnic groups included Tatars (44,103, or 1.4%), Mordva (19,138, or 0.6%), Ukrainians (17,657, or 0.5%), and various smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total. Additionally, 42,349 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.[11]
Births (2011): 36,315 (11.0 per 1000)
Deaths (2011): 54,184 (16.4 per 1000)
Deaths decreased by 8.5% in 2011 compared to 2010.[12]
Note: Data for Total fertility rate (2012) is estimate based on age and sex structure of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast at the beginning of 2012, number of births in 2012 and fertility structure in previous years.[14][15]
According to the Federal Migration Service, 20,450 foreign citizens were registered in the oblast in 2006. The actual number of foreigners residing in the oblast as of June 1, 2006 was estimated to be over 22,000.[16]
The oblast ranks seventh in Russia in industrial output, while the processing industry predominates in the local economy. More than 650 industrial companies employ nearly 700 000 people, or 62% of the workforce involved in material production. Industry generates 83% of the regional GDP and accounts for 89% of all material expenditures. The leading sectors are engineering and metalworking, followed by chemical and petrochemical industries and forestry, woodworking, and paper industries. The first three sectors account for about 75% of all industrial production.
The oblast has traditionally been attractive to investors. In 2002, Moody's rating agency confirmed a Caa1rating based on the region's long-term foreign currency liabilities.[17]
The stock market infrastructure is quite well developed in Nizhny Novgorod, and the exchange business is expanding. Companies and organizations registered in the region include 1153 joint-stock companies, 63 investment institutions, 34 commercial banks, 35 insurance companies, 1 voucher investment fund, 1 investment fund, 17 nongovernmental pension funds, 2 associations of professional stock market dealers, and 3 exchanges (stock, currency, and agricultural). The oblast is noted for having relatively highly developed market relations.
Today, the region needs serious partners interested in equitable, long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.
There are 650+ industrial companies in the region,[18] most of them engaged in the following sectors:
Machine-building and engineering
Chemical & petrochemical
Fuel & energy
Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy
Construction materials
Glass
Wood and paper
Cloth-making
Food & food processing
Medical & pharmaceuticals
Printing & publishing.
Peat extraction.
These key industries are supplemented by other sectors of the economy such as agriculture, trade, services, communications and transport.
According to a 2012 official survey[19] 69.2% of the population of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 2% adheres to other Orthodox Churches, and 1% to Rodnovery (Slavic Neopaganism). In addition, 15% of the population deems itself to be "spiritual but not religious", 10% is atheist, and 0.8% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[19]
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
^Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
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