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Arkhangelsk Oblast is one of 11 northwest Russian federal districts. It is located along the White Sea and borders the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic in the east, Vologda Oblast in the south and the Republic of Karelia in the west.
Arkhangelsk Oblast includes Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Also Nenets Autonomous Okrug is formally a part of Arkhangelsk, although it at the same time has status as federal subject.
The region covers a territory of more than 589,000 square kilometers, which makes up 35 percent of Northwest Russia and 3,5 percent of all of the Russian Federation.
Population in the region is 1,27 million (2007). About 94 percent of the population is ethnically Russian.
The administrative centre of Arkhangelsk has a population of 348,000 (2007), is the administrative center of the oblast. The second-biggest city, Severodvinsk, has a population of about 200,000.
Arkhangelsk Oblast has a powerful timber and forestry processing industry. It also has several major shipyards, first of all the Sevmash and Zvezdochka yards in Severodvinsk. The food processing industry also plays a key role for the regional economy.
Finance ministry: serious violations in Arkhangelsk
The city of Arkhangelsk.
Photo: Thomas Nilsen
A number of Russian regions violate federal budget legislation and pay their officials way beyond their capacities. Worst off is Arkhangelsk Oblast, a report from the federal Ministry of Finance reads.
The violations could eventually make the Finance Ministry halt or cut transfers to the region, newspaper Vedomosti reports. However, that is unlikely to happen. The ministry will first address the region with a demand to eliminate the violations and then later, if necessary, issue a public warning to the regional administration, the newspaper adds.
The report adds trouble to the already heavy burden of the Arkhangelsk regional administration. As reported by BarentsObserver, Arkhangelsk Oblast is among the regions in Northwest Russia with the biggest cuts in budget revenues.
The announcement from the Finance Ministry comes after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last year publically warned the federal subjects about increased spending in the times of crisis. Then, also Murmansk Oblast was on the list of trouble-regions.
The list from the Finance Ministry does however not include Murmansk. A total of eleven regions are included, of which Arkhangelsk Oblast and Kostroma Oblast are the worst.
The report adds trouble to the already heavy burden of the Arkhangelsk regional administration. As reported by BarentsObserver, Arkhangelsk Oblast is among the regions in Northwest Russia with the biggest cuts in budget revenues.
The announcement from the Finance Ministry comes after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last year publically warned the federal subjects about increased spending in the times of crisis. Then, also Murmansk Oblast was on the list of trouble-regions.
The list from the Finance Ministry does however not include Murmansk. A total of eleven regions are included, of which Arkhangelsk Oblast and Kostroma Oblast are the worst.
