Belgorod Region (social and economic survey)

1. The modern Belgorod region was formed within the present boundaries on January 6th, 1954 as a result of separation of some parts of the Kursk and Voronezh regions and formation of a new territorial unit on their basis. Its area is 27.1 thousand square kilometers. Among the regions of the Russian Federation, it takes the 64th place by the size of its territory and the 39th place by its population (about 1.5 million people).

2. The Belgorod region is located on the south-west and south slopes of the Middle Russian Hills in the basins of the Dnepr and the Don Rivers. The extent of the region from north to south is about 190 km, from west to east – about 270 km. The total length of the boundaries is 1.150 km, out of which the Ukrainian boundary makes up 540 km.

3. The most important rail-way lines and motorways of an interstate significance cross the territory of the region. They connect Moscow with southern regions of Russia and Ukraine. Among the most important motorways are Moscow-Simferopol, Kharkiv-Valuiki-Lisky-Saratov, Belgorod-Voronezh ones.

4. Farming land is more than 2.700 thousand hectares, 77 per cent of which are represented by black-earth soils. Among the regions of the Central Black-Earth Soil zone, the Belgorod region is distinguished by a powerful territory-industrial sector based on exploitation of mineral resources of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly and by its agricultural and industrial complex formed on the basis of available fertile black-earth soils.

5. Having only 1 per cent of the area and 0.5 per cent of the total population of CIS countries, the region produces 10 per cent of iron ore, 12 per cent of sugar, 5 per cent of cement, 5 per cent of asbestos and cement products, about 6 per cent of vegetable oils. The region share in industrial output of Russia’s Central Black-Earth Soil Zone amounts to 15 per cent of production of industrial goods, 1/5 – the manufacturing and rolling of ferrous metals, production of more than 1/3 of crystallized sugar, more than 1/4 of vegetable oil and 1/4 of meat.

6. The region is rich in mineral and non-mineral resources: iron ore, clay, sand, etc. Two large iron-ore mining and dressing plants are the Stoilensky and Lebedinsky plants. They conduct the mining of iron-ore deposits by an open-pit method. The development of these plants caused a vigorous growth of the industrial-transport center formed in the towns of Stary Oskol and Gubkin. Its production capacity amounts to more than 85 million tons of iron quartzite.

7. 17 miles away from Belgorod the Yakovievo mines are located. They are currently under construction. The reserves of this iron-ore deposit are 15 times bigger than those of the Ukraine’s Krivoy Rog basin. The Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant is a leader of the region’s metallurgical and machine-building complex. This is the first enterprise in Russia at which steel is produced without a blast-furnace process. Now this plant produces 1.6 million tons of steel, 1.5 million tons of rolled metal per annum. Among other large enterprises of the Belrogod region we can indicate such plants as “Belgorodenergomash”, “Belcement”, Stary Oskol Cement Plant, Stary Oskol Plant of Automobile and Tractor Electrical equipment, etc.

8. The production of cement is very high in the region. The annual production capacity of the region’s cement plants is 6 million tons. A prominent place in construction industry is taken by the asbestos and cement plant, two plants of silicate materials, a great number of plants producing reinforced concrete units and materials.

9. The region has a well-developed agro-industrial complex. It comprises the manufacture of machines and equipment for agriculture production, farming and fishing industries as well as plants of food processing. This complex industry is represented by 367 farming companies, 195 joint-stock companies of closed type, 88 cooperative farms. In the region there are 1,678 farms. Each farm possesses 40.8 hectares of farming land on the average. Among all regions of the Central Black-Earth Soil Zone, the Belgorod region is well-known by its great share of live-stock production in agricultural output. Live-stock production is represented by cattle breeding oriented towards milk and meat production, pig breeding, poultry-farming and sheep production.

10. A diverse base of raw materials stimulates the development of food industry. 11 sugar factories produce 440 – 450 thousand tons of sugar per annum.

7. Read Text 5B and answer the following questions.

1. When was the Belgorod region formed?

2. What is its area?

3. Where is the Belgorod region situated?

4. What connects Belgorod with Moscow and southern regions of Russia and Ukraine?

5. What is the Belgorod regions distinguished by among the region of the Central Black-Earth Soil Zone?

6. What does the region produce?

7. What mineral and non-mineral resources is the region rich in?

8. What are the two large iron-ore mining and dressing plants?

9. What is Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant famous for?

10. What enterprises of the Belgorod region do you know?

11. What can you say about the cement production in the region?