Founded: 1927

Governor: Valery Pavlovich Serdukov (re-elected September 21, 2003, re-appointed July 2007, term expires September 2008)

Federation Council Representatives: Sergey Aleksandrovich Vasilev (executive, term expires September 2008); Grigory Mikhailovich Naginsky (legislative, term expires December 2006)

Duma deputies: Alexander Glebovich Nevzorov (Vsevolozhsky district)(Independent); Alexander Alekseyevich Shimanov (Volkhovsky district)(United Russia); Vitaly Alexandrovich Yuzhilin (Kingiseppsky district)(Rodina)

Population: 1,671,100 (2002 census)
Area: 85,000 square km (32,810 sq. miles)
Capital: St. Petersburg (population 4,669,400), 664 km from Moscow
Federal district: Northwestern

Economic region: Northwest
Time zone: Moscow, GMT +3, EST +5

Geography: Leningrad is located in the northwestern part of European Russia.  It borders Estonia, Finland, Karelia and the Pskov, Novgorod, and Vologda regions.  The region has many water resources including the Neva river, which empties into the Gulf of Finland, and Lake Ladoga. 

Urban Population: 66%,  Rural Population: 34%

Economy:  Because of the region's water resources and its proliference of forests, forestry and shipping are the region's major industries.  The many architectural and historical monuments located in and around St. Petersburg also make tourism a major sector of the region's economy.

Leningrad Region property fund has held an open tender to sell a 20% stake in Leningradslanets, won by Chahaville Management Ltd. with a 20 million Rubles bid. Chahaville plans to acquire a blocking stake by purchasing the number of required shares from private persons and minority owners.

Customs payments to the federal budget in the Leningrad Region rose by 20% in 2006 against 2005 to Rbs679 bln ($25.55 bln). The biggest payments in December 2006 came from the Vyborg customs on the border with Finland, which accounted for over 50% of the total collected by the Northwest Customs.

The project to build a Nissan Motors plant has been accorded strategic importance by the City's administration. Maxim Sokolov, head of the investment and strategic projects committee, said the construction and test piling at the Kamenka-1 site would begin in March. The plant is to be built within 2007, while production (50,000 cars annually during the first stage) will start in January 2009 .

2007 Outlook:
Kress Neva plans to complete its tobacco processing expansion in the Lomonosov District in February 2007 (investment evaluated at $40.5 mln), and Danish Aller PetFood will open a pet foor production facility in Kuzmolovo of the Vsevolozhsk District ($7 mln).
Finland’s Onninen intends to complete the construction of a distribution and logistic centre in the Vsevolozhsk District (€8 mln) in April.
The Construction Blocks Pilot Plant is building a factory in Gatchina ($94.6 mln).
The Baltic Timber Holding intends to commission a factory to produce wood fuel granules worth $7.5 mln in the Kingisepp District in the first quarter of 2007.
The Universal Reloading Complex will build an ore terminal in the Kingisepp District ($59.6 mln). 
Kraft Foods will produce sublimated coffee in the Lomonosov District ($30 mln).
Parus plans to finish the modernisation of premises leased from the Selkhoztekhnika agricultural machinery company in Malye Kolpany of the Gatchina District ($237 mln) in Q407 for the production of corrugated packaging.
The EvroAeroBeton producer of aerated concrete will complete the construction of a factory producing construction materials from porous concrete in Slantsy in the third quarter ($16.9 mln).
French Lexel plans to finish building a packaging materials factory in the Gatchina District in the fourth quarter ($12 mln). 
Finland’s Containerships East is to complete the construction of a multimodal system of container processing of cargoes and a logistic terminal in Yanino of the Vsevolozhsk District by the end of the year ($35 mln).

Official website: http://www.lenobl.ru

Contact Information
Governor
Valery Pavlovich Serdukov
Tel.: +7 (812) 315 86 65

Chairman of Legislative Assembly
Kirill Valentinovich Polyakov
67 Suvorovsky prospekt
St. Petersburg 191311
Tel.: +7 (812) 274 68 73
Fax: +7 (812) 274 85 39
Email: mail@lenoblzaks.ru

Press center of Legislative Assembly
Tel.: +7 (812) 274 57 75
Email: press_centre@lenoblzaks.ru

last updated August 23, 2005