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 (now St. Petersburg).
The oblast overlaps the historic region of Ingria and is bordered by Finland in the northwest, Estonia 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 Alexander 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. The most populous town of the oblast is Gatchina, with 88,659 inhabitants (as of the 2002 Census). Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized.
Primorsk (Russian: Примо́рск; Finnish: Koivisto; Swedish: Björkö) is a coastal town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia and the largest Russian port on the Baltic. It is located on the Karelian Isthmus, 137 kilometers (85 mi) west of St. Petersburg, at the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland, near Beryozovye Islands, which are protected as a sea bird sanctuary. Population: 6,119 (2010 Census); 5,332 (2002 Census); 6,637 (1989 Census).
History
It was first mentioned in Russian chronicles as Beryozovskoye (Берёзовское, lit. birch village) in 1268, when the Hanseatic merchants from Gotland petitioned the Novgorod Republic to secure their passage to the Neva River. The original Finnish name Koivisto means "a group of birch trees", "a birch forest". Swedish name Björkö means "birch island". Swedes annexed the region during the Third Swedish Crusade. The Russians retook the islands at the close of the Great Northern War in 1721. This was confirmed by the Treaty of Nystad in 1721.