View source for Chita Oblast

{{Short description|Former federal subject of Russia}}
{{Other uses|Chita (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Chita Oblast
| common_name            = Chita
| subdivision            = Oblast
| nation                 = [[Russia]]
| p1                     = 
| flag_p1                = 
| s1                     = Zabaykalsky Krai
| flag_s1                = Flag of Zabaykalsky Krai.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Zabaykalsky Krai.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Zabaykalsky Krai.svg
| symbol_type            = 
| motto                  = 
| anthem                 = 
| image_map              = Russia - Chita Oblast (2008-01).svg
| image_map_caption      = 
| capital                = 
| coordinates            = 
| government_type        = 
| title_leader           = 
| leader1                = 
| year_leader1           = 
| leader2                = 
| year_leader2           = 
| leader3                = 
| year_leader3           = 
| title_deputy           = 
| deputy1                = 
| year_deputy1           = 
| deputy2                = 
| year_deputy2           = 
| era                    = 
| date_start             = 26 September
| year_start             = 1937
| event_end              = 
| date_end               = 1 March
| year_end               = 2008
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
| today                  = [[Russia]]<br />{{·}} [[Zabaykalsky Krai]]
}}

'''Chita Oblast''' ({{lang-rus|Чити́нская о́бласть|r=Čitínskaja óblastj|p=tɕɪˈtʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ}}) was a [[federal subjects of Russia|federal subject]] of [[Russia]] (an [[oblast]]) in southeast [[Siberia]], [[Russia]]. Its [[administrative center]] was the [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|city]] of [[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]]. It had extensive international borders with [[China]] (998&nbsp;km) and [[Mongolia]] (868&nbsp;km) and internal borders with [[Irkutsk Oblast|Irkutsk]] and [[Amur Oblast]]s, as well as with the [[Republics of Russia|republics]] of [[Buryatia]] and [[Sakha Republic|Yakutia]]. Its area was {{convert|431500|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}. Population: {{ru-census|p2002=1,155,346|p1989=1,377,975}}

The oblast was established on September&nbsp;26, 1937. On March&nbsp;1, 2008, Chita Oblast merged with [[Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug]] to form [[Zabaykalsky Krai]].

The territory that made up the former Chita Oblast was first explored by [[Cossacks]] led by [[Pyotr Beketov]] in 1653. People began to move into and develop the area in order to strengthen Russia's border with [[China]] and Mongolia, extract mineral resources, and build the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]. In 1920, Chita became the capital of the [[Far East Republic]], which merged with Russia in November 1922, a month before the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] was constituted.

The oblast was rich in ferrous, non-ferrous, rare, and precious metals, [[coal]], [[charcoal]], and mineral waters. Russia's estimated reserves of ores with a high [[uranium]] content are 145,400&nbsp;tons. Most of these deposits are located in the former Chita Oblast, near [[Krasnokamensk, Zabaykalsky Krai|Krasnokamensk]], site of the Priargunsky Mining and Chemical Combine (PMCC).<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20061215042936/http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/russia/fissmat/minemill/overview.htm {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> Forests cover about 60% of its territory. As a result, the oblast's main industries were [[metallurgy]], [[fuel]], and [[timber]]. It also had advanced light and food industries. Local [[agriculture]] focused on [[cattle]], [[sheep]], and [[reindeer]] breeding.

==Administrative divisions==
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Chita Oblast}}

==Demographics==
Birth rate: Quite high at 13.77 (2004), but still there were more deaths than births (2005 official figures).

The population were mostly [[Russians]] and [[Buryats]], along with some [[Ukrainians]] and a few [[Evenks]]. There were 1,000 [[Jews]], who mostly speak [[Yiddish]] in the regional capital. According to the 2002 census, Russians made up 89.8% of the population while Buryats were 6.1%. Other significant groups were [[Tatars]] (0.71%), [[Armenians]] (0.31%), [[Belarusians]] (0.26%), [[Azerbaijanis|Azeri]] (0.18%), [[Evenks]] (0.13%), [[Volga Germans|Nemts]] (0.11%), [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]] (0.11%), [[Bashkirs]] (0.11%), Moldvins (0.07%), [[Mordvins]] (0.06%), [[Uzbeks]] (0.06%) and [[Dargwa people|Dargwa]] (0.05%).

In 2007, Chita Oblast recorded a small natural population increase (+0.03% without taking any migration into account), becoming one of the only two Russian federal subjects to reverse its population decline in 2007.  The other federal subject was Kamchatka Oblast, with a NGPR of +0.005%. Chita Oblast is one of only twenty Russian federal subjects to have a positive natural population growth,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2008/0323/barom01.php | title=Постоянное население России на начало 2008 года - 142 миллиона человек }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2008/0323/barom02.php | title=В 2007 году естественная убыль снизилась до 478 тысяч человек, а миграционный прирост увеличился до 240 тысяч }}</ref> but the population of Chita actually decreased in 2007 due to very heavy emigration.

'''Vital Statistics for 2007''': [[Total fertility rates by federal subjects of Russia#Natural Growth by Federal Subjects in 2007|Source]]

*Birth rate: 14.63 per 1,000
*Death rate: 14.33 per 1,000
*Net immigration: -3.2 per 1,000
*NGR: +0.03% per year
*PGR: -0.29% per year

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9082209/Chita
*https://web.archive.org/web/20081230012702/http://cip.nsk.su/fund/Chita/ChitaRegion/index.html
*http://heraldry.hobby.ru/eng/e.chita.html
*http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps3997/9703chit.htm

{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|52|2|N|113|30|E|source:itwiki_type:adm2nd|display=title}}

[[Category:Chita Oblast| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1937]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 2008]]
[[Category:Former federal subjects of Russia]]
[[Category:Oblasts of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]]
[[Category:Zabaykalsky Krai]]
[[Category:1937 establishments in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:2008 disestablishments in Russia]]