# Kurgan Oblast

Kurgan Oblast (Russian: Курга́нская о́бласть, romanized: Kurganskaya oblast') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kurgan. According to the 2021 Census, the population was 776,661, down from 910,807 recorded in the 2010 Census.

## History

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.
Recipient of the Order of Lenin (1959).

## Geography

Kurgan Oblast is located in Southern Russia and is part of the Urals Federal District. It shares borders with Chelyabinsk Oblast to the west, Sverdlovsk Oblast to the north-west, Tyumen Oblast to the north-east, and Kazakhstan (Kostanay and North Kazakhstan Region) to the south. Lakes Medvezhye and Filatovo are located in the district.

### Climate

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).

## Politics

During the Soviet 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 elected regional parliament.
The Charter of Kurgan Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Kurgan 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 the Constitution of Russia.
After the last elections held in 2015 the United 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.

## Economy

Kurgan Oblast borders on the oil- and gas-bearing districts of Tyumen Oblast and is also close to similar districts in Tomsk Oblast. Large oil and gas pipelines pass through its territory, and Ural and Siberian oil refineries are fairly close. The main industrial centers are Kurgan, and Shadrinsk.
The oblast does not have large economic mineral reserves; therefore, it has developed mainly on the basis of subindustries associated with processing of agricultural production and assembly and packaging of finished products. The food industry is well developed here, with meat-packing plants, mills, creameries, and powdered milk factories.
Modern large-scale industry began developing during World War II, when sixteen enterprises from western regions of the country were evacuated here in 1941–1942.

## Demographics

Population: 776,661 (2021 Census); 910,807 (2010 Census); 1,019,532 (2002 Census); 1,104,872 (1989 Soviet census).
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 Tatars (17,017) at 1.9%, Bashkirs (12,257) at 1.4%, Kazakhs (11,939) 1.3%, and Ukrainians (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.
Vital statistics for 2024:
* Births: 5,508 (7.4 per 1,000)
* Deaths: 12,871 (17.2 per 1,000)
Total fertility rate (2024): 1.55 children per woman
Life expectancy (2021):
Total — 68.29 years (male — 63.29, female — 73.48)

### Settlements

Largest cities or towns in Kurgan Oblast 2010 Russian Census :
| | Rank | | Administrative Division | Pop. | |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 1 | Kurgan | City of oblast significance of Kurgan | 333,606 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 2 | Shadrinsk | Shadrinsky District | 77,756 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 3 | Shumikha | Shumikhinsky District | 17,819 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 4 | Kurtamysh | Kurtamyshsky District | 17,099 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 5 | Kataysk | Kataysky District | 14,003 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 6 | Dalmatovo | Dalmatovsky District | 13,911 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 7 | Petukhovo | Petukhovsky District | 11,292 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 8 | Shchuchye | Shchuchansky District | 10,973 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 9 | Vargashi | Vargashinsky District | 9,254 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |
| Kurgan Shadrinsk | 10 | Kargapolye | Kargapolsky District | 8,433 | Shumikha Kurtamysh |

### Religion

Religion in Kurgan Oblast as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas) :
| Russian Orthodoxy | Russian Orthodoxy | 28.4% | 28.4% |
| Other Orthodox | Other Orthodox | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Other Christians | Other Christians | 5.9% | 5.9% |
| Islam | Islam | 2.6% | 2.6% |
| Rodnovery and other native faiths | Rodnovery and other native faiths | 1.4% | 1.4% |
| Spiritual but not religious | Spiritual but not religious | 36.1% | 36.1% |
| Atheism and irreligion | Atheism and irreligion | 14.4% | 14.4% |
| Other and undeclared | Other and undeclared | 10.6% | 10.6% |
According to a 2012 survey 28.4% of the population of Kurgan Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 6% are nondenominational Christians (with the exclusion of such-defined Protestant churches), 2% are adherents of Islam, 1% are adherents of the Slavic native faith (Rodnovery), and 0.4% are adherents of forms of Hinduism (Vedism, Krishnaism or Tantrism). In addition, 36% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 14% is atheist, and 12.2% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

## Notable people

* Yuri Balashov (born March 12, 1949), chess grandmaster
* Oleg Bogomolov (born October 4, 1950), former Governor of Kurgan Oblast
* Fyodor Bronnikov (1827–1902), painter
* Dmitri Bushmanov (born September 30, 1978), association football player
* Aleksandr Cherepanov (November 21, 1895 – July 6, 1984), lieutenant-general
* Dumitru Diacov (born February 10, 1952), Moldovan politician
* Viktor Dubynin (February 1, 1943 – November 22, 1992), Army General
* Maxim Fadeev (born May 6, 1968), singer-songwriter, composer and producer
* Pavel Fitin (December 28, 1907 – December 24, 1971), director of Soviet intelligence
* Filipp Golikov (July 30, 1900 – July 29, 1980), Marshal of the Soviet Union
* Sergey Gritsevets (July 19, 1909 – September 16, 1939), major, pilot and twice recipient of the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
* Gavriil Ilizarov (June 15, 1921 – July 24, 1992), physician
* Vyacheslav Kamoltsev (born December 14, 1971), association football player
* Svetlana Kapanina (born December 22, 1968), aerobatic pilot
* Anatoly Karelin (July 16, 1922 – January 3, 1974), Major General of aviation
* Leonid Khabarov (born May 8, 1947), Colonel
* Larisa Korobeynikova (born March 26, 1987), fencer
* Evgeni Krasilnikov (born April 7, 1965), volleyball player
* Leonid Krasin (July 3 (15), 1870 – November 24, 1926), politician and diplomat
* Ivan Kurpishev (born March 2, 1969), powerlifter
* Dmitri Loskov (born February 12, 1974), association football player
* Aleksey Merzlyakov (March 22, 1778 - August 7, 1830), poet, critic, translator, and professor
* Yana Romanova (born May 11, 1983), biathlete
* Sergei Rublevsky (born October 15, 1974), chess grandmaster
* Mikhail Ryumin (September 1, 1913 – July 22, 1954), Deputy Head of the Ministry for State Security (Soviet Union)
* Yulia Savicheva (born 14 February 1987), singer
* Ivan Shadr (February 11, 1887 – April 3, 1941), sculptor and medalist
* Alexander Solonik (October 16, 1960 – January 31, 1997), hitman
* Elena Temnikova (born April 18, 1985), singer
* Alla Vazhenina (born May 29, 1983), weightlifter
* Aleksandr Vinogradov (September 9, 1930 – June 14, 2011), journalist and writer
* Sergei Vinogradov (April 16, 1958 – December 16, 2010), journalist, translator and writer
* Kirill A. Yevstigneyev (February 17, 1917 – August 29, 1996), Major General of aviation