The Central Federal District (abbreviated as the Central Federal District) is one of the nine federal districts of the country. This is what they most often mean when they say "the center of Russia." What are the main features of the Central Federal District, and which regions of the country are included in it?
General information about the Central Federal District
The phrase "Central Federal District" entered the lexicon of the country's residents in May 2000, when, in accordance with a presidential decree, the entire territory of the country was divided into "enlarged regions" - federal districts. The first plenipotentiary representative of the president in the Siberian Federal District was Georgy Poltavchenko, who held this post from 2000 to 2011.
The Central Federal District occupies a relatively small place on the map - its area is only 650 205 km2 (for comparison, in the Far Eastern District this figure is 6 952 555 km2). But the Central Federal District is the "absolute leader" in terms of population. It is home to about 40 million people - almost a quarter of the total population of the country.
The peculiarities of the Central Federal District also include a very high percentage of the urban population - 80% of the residents of the Central Federal District live in 320 cities located on the territory of the district.
Composition of the Central Federal District and its capital
The Central Federal District includes 18 constituent entities of the Russian Federation: seventeen regions and one city of federal subordination - Moscow. The largest metropolis of the country, where, according to official data, more than 12 million people live (about 30% of the total population of the Central Federal District), is the administrative center of the district. It is here that the district authorities are located.
The office of the plenipotentiary representative of the president in the Central Federal District is "registered" in the very center of Moscow (Nikolsky lane, building 6). The same building houses the Moscow offices of several other districts.
What areas are included in the Central Federal District
The list of regions related to the Central Federal District is as follows:
- Belgorod region is one of the border regions: in the south and west of the region there is the border of Russia and Ukraine. The largest cities in the region, Belgorod and Stary Oskol, have been mentioned in chronicles since the 16th century. The Belgorod region belongs to the industrial-agrarian region: it is famous for its fertile chernozems and iron ore deposits belonging to the Kursk magnetic anomaly.
- Bryansk region is another border area, and it "adjoins" two states at once, bordering with Ukraine in the south and the Republic of Belarus in the west. The regional capital, Bryansk, was founded in the X-XI centuries, and its name originally sounded like "Debryansk" (from the dense forest jungles surrounding the city). One of the striking natural attractions of the region is the Bryansk Forest Biosphere Reserve.
- Vladimir region, the focus of the famous Golden Ring of Russia. The famous ancient cities of Russia are located on its territory - this is not only the center of the region, Vladimir, but also Suzdal, Gus-Khrustalny, Murom, Alexandrov and many others.
- Voronezh region. The administrative center of the district - the city of Voronezh - is the second most populous city in the Central Federal District: a little more than a million people live here.
- Ivanovo region is the most "compact" of all the regions that make up the district, its area is 21 437 km2. This is the recognized "textile capital" of Russia, the birthplace of the famous Ivanovo and Shuya calico, and two cities of the region - Ivanovo and Plyos - are part of the Golden Ring.
- The Kaluga region is small both in area (about 30 thousand km2) and in terms of population (slightly more than a million), but it is considered one of the most economically developed regions of the country, leading in terms of industrial growth and population income.
- The Kostroma region is the second largest region among the subjects of the Siberian Federal District, while the most sparsely populated, about 650 thousand people live here. Ancient Kostroma, founded in the 12th century, is considered the official homeland of the Snow Maiden. It is also included in the routes of the Golden Ring.
- Kursk region, "the nightingale region of Russia", is known for its fertile black earth and a unique deposit of iron ores - the Kursk magnetic anomaly. The region's economy is based on agriculture and iron mining. Tourists are attracted here by military-historical routes passing through the battle places on the Kursk Bulge.
- The Lipetsk region is small in territory (about 24 thousand km2). This is the smallest of all the black earth regions of Russia, and it is here that almost a third of domestic canned fruits and vegetables are produced. Culture and industry are actively developing here, a special federal economic zone has been created on the territory of the region, recognized as one of the best investment sites in Europe.
- The Moscow region (also sometimes called the "metropolitan region") is in second place in terms of population both in the Central Federal District and in Russia as a whole, second only to the capital. Its population is about 7.5 million people. The "semi-official" administrative center of the region is Krasnogorsk, where the Government House of the region is located.
- The Oryol region is an industrial-agrarian region, many settlements of which are included in the list of historical settlements. Among them is the capital of the region, the city of Oryol - it began with a fortress founded by Ivan the Terrible to protect the southern borders of the country.
- Ryazan Region is an old industrial region with a rich history. The number of monuments of culture, architecture and archeology on the territory of the region is estimated in thousands. These places are also famous for natural monuments, the most famous of which are the Oksky Reserve and the Meshchersky National Park.
- The Smolensk region, bordering Belarus, is located in the west of Russia. Its administrative center, Smolensk, is considered one of the oldest cities in the country - it was first mentioned in chronicles in 863. The Smolensk region is famous for its cheeses and dairy products, and in terms of the volume of production of these products it ranks first in the federal district.
- The Tambov region is one of the black earth regions famous for their natural resources. Agriculture and food industry are well developed here. This is an area with rich cultural traditions: on its territory there are more than 1,300 cultural and historical monuments, a prominent place among which is occupied by Orthodox churches and monasteries.
- The Tver region ranks first in the Central Federal District in terms of area (84,201 km2). This is one of the most famous tourist regions of the country, attracting both with its natural beauty (Seliger, the sources of the Volga and the system of the upper Volga lakes, the so-called Moscow Sea - Ivankovskoe reservoir), and ancient Russian cities such as Tver, Tozhok or Vyshny Volochek.
- The Tula region is considered one of the most economically developed regions of the central part of the country. Among the most famous industrial enterprises in the region are the Tula Arms Plant (which has been operating for more than three hundred years) and the Yasnaya Polyana confectionery factory, where the legendary Tula gingerbread is baked.
- The Yaroslavl Region is also one of the most industrially developed regions of Russia (more than 300 federal-scale enterprises operate here), it is also known for its cultural and natural attractions. The historical center of Yaroslavl is included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list, and along with two other cities of the region, Rostov Veliky and Pereslavl-Zalessky, it is included in the Golden Ring.
What else can the CFD mean
In the media, the abbreviation Central Federal District in the overwhelming majority of cases denotes the Central Federal District. Sometimes an option such as CFORF can also be used (the last two letters in this case mean "Russian Federation").
However, to shorten the CFD, other decoding options are also possible. So, in accounting documents or management accounting, CFD will mean "center of financial responsibility"; financiers can thus shorten the "center of stock transactions", and in the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs the abbreviation is used to designate the departmental "Center for financial support".
