Leningrad Oblast

Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. The oblast has an area of 84,500 square kilometres and a population of 1,716,868; up from 1,669,205 recorded in the 2002 Census. Leningrad Oblast is highly industrialized. Its administrative center and largest city is Gatchina.The oblast was established on 1 August 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. It overlaps the historical region of Ingria, and is bordered by Finland in the northwest and 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.