Stalingrad Oblast (Сталинградская область) was established on December 5, 1936 on the territory of former Stalingrad Krai.[11] It was the scene of the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II in 1942–1943. The oblast was given its present name on November 10, 1961.[11]
During the Soviet period, three people exercised oblast-level authority:
the first secretary of the Volgograd CPSU Committee (who in reality had the most power)
the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power)
the chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power)
In 1991 the CPSU lost de facto power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.
The Charter of Volgograd Oblast provides the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Volgograd Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body, the Oblast Government, includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day-to-day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor, who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.
44,541 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[23]
According to a 2012 survey,[24] 54.5% of the population of Volgograd Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 4% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 2% are Eastern Orthodox Christian believers who don't belong to any church or are members of non-Russian Eastern Orthodox churches, and 3% are Muslims. In addition, 18% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 12% is atheist, and 6.5% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[24]
Primary branches of economics are agriculture, food production, heavy industry, gas and petroleum refining. The Volga Hydroelectric Station operates on the Volga River.
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
^Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
Волгоградская областная Дума. №1-ОД 24 февраля 2012 г. «Устав Волгоградской области», в ред. Закона №90-ОД от 10 июля 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в статью 2 Устава Волгоградской области от 24 февраля 2012 г. №1-ОД». Вступил в силу по истечении десяти дней после дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Волгоградская правда", №35, 29 февраля 2012 г. (Volgograd Oblast Duma. #1-OD February 24, 2012 Charter of Volgograd Oblast, as amended by the Law #90-OD of July 10, 2015 On Amending Article 2 of the Charter of Volgograd Oblast #1-OD of February 24, 2012. Effective as of the day which is ten days after the day of the official publication.).
Исполнительный комитет Волгоградского областного Совета депутатов трудящихся.『Волгоградская область. Административно-территориальное деление на 1 июля 1968 года』(Volgograd Oblast. Administrative-Territorial Structure as of July 1, 1968). Нижне-Волжское книжное издательство. Волгоград, 1969.