Leningrad Oblast

Leningrad Oblast (Russian: Ленингра́дская о́бласть, tr. Leningradskaya oblast’, IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ]) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position. The oblast was named after the city of Leningrad. In 1991, the city restored its original name, Saint Petersburg, but the oblast retains the name of Leningrad. The capital and largest city is Gatchina.The oblast overlaps the historic region of Ingria and is bordered by Finland (Kymenlaakso and South Karelia) in the northwest and Estonia (Ida-Viru County) in the west, as well as five federal subjects of Russia: the Republic of Karelia in the northeast, Vologda Oblast in the east, Novgorod Oblast in the south, Pskov Oblast in the southwest, and the federal city of Saint Petersburg in the west. The first governor of Leningrad Oblast was Vadim Gustov (in 1996–1998). The current governor, since 2012, is Aleksandr Drozdenko. The oblast has an area of 84,500 square kilometers (32,600 sq mi) and a population of 1,716,868 (2010 Census); up from 1,669,205 recorded in the 2002 Census. Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized. Wikipedia ->