LENINGRAD AREA, an administrative division of the Russian S.F.S.R., created in June, 1927, from the provinces of Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, Pskov and Cherepovetz. Area 359,027 sq. kilometres. Pop. (1926) 6,391,964, of whom 1,592,158 are concentrated in the town of Leningrad. The Murmansk dis trict (q.v.), with the Kola peninsula (q.v.), is distinct from the rest of the area in structure, climate and general conditions of life, but has been included in the Leningrad area because of the importance of Murmansk as an ice-free port all the year round, and because of the completion in 1917 of a railway line between Leningrad and Murmansk. The remaining provinces Leningrad, Cherepovetz, Pskov and Novgorod adjoin and consist mostly of flat and marshy land, except for the Valdai plateau (600-1,000 ft.) which extends into the south-eastern part of the province of Novgorod and the small Duderhof plateau (3oo-550 ft.) in the south of Leningrad province.
The whole region is covered with boulder clay, very often arranged in eskers or ridges, the bottom moraine of the Scandi navian and Finnish ice-sheet which covered the region in the glacial epoch. Numerous small lakes, with some large ones, not ably Ladoga, Peipus or Chudskoe (the southern extension of which is often called Pskov), Ilmen and Byelo Ozero, immense marshes, often covered with forests of birch and elm, and small streams flowing either into the Baltic sea, the lakes, or the tribu taries of the Volga and the western Dwina, are the most char acteristic features of the district.
The marshes can be crossed only when frozen. Six centuries ago they were even less accessible, but the slow upheaval of north-west Russia, going on at a rate of three or more feet per century, has exercised a powerful influence on the drainage of the country, while artificial drainage has been carried out on a large scale. The soils consist mainly of glacial sands, post glacial clays, sands and peat bogs, with thick alluvial deposits in the valleys of the Neva and some other streams.
The proximity of the Baltic influences the climate, which is damp and cold, average January temperature at Leningrad, Novgorod, and Pskov respectively i 5° F, 14.5° and 17.1°, average
July temperature 64°, 62.5° and 64.8°. The average annual rainfall is 20 in., with a maximum in July and August and a minimum in spring and the prevailing winds are from the south west. The rivers are frozen from 140 to 160 days, while snow lies on the ground from to 160 days.
Forest covers 5o% of the area, Cherepovetz and Leningrad having most and Pskov least forest ; the oak is found south of a line roughly from the town of Cherepovetz to that of Leningrad, while north of that line are coniferous forests.
Soil and climatic conditions are more favourable to cattle and dairy produce and root, grass and technical cultures than to grain growing, especially as heavy summer rain may ruin grain crops. Leningrad provides a ready market for meat and dairy produce and flax is in great demand for the textile industry and is also exported. But much grain is grown for local needs. Pskov is the most important meat producing region, while Novgorod, Leningrad and Cherepovetz come next. Beef, veal, pork and mutton are produced in quantity, but the town of Leningrad needs more meat than is produced in all four provinces. Milk is pro duced in Leningrad province for sale in the town, while Novgorod and Cherepovetz are the chief butter producing areas; dairying is just beginning intensively in Pskov. Wool is used by the peasants for homespun. Bee-keeping is a supplementary source of income ; honey and wax were exports from Novgorod in very ancient times.
The system of cultivation in the division is still in many cases the uneconomical three-field of tradition, but more productive many field systems, with more frequent sowing of grass and clover are gradually being introduced. The use of manure is increasing, and 4,000 tons of artificial manure were used in 1924-5 as against 1,500 tons in 1923-4, and better agricultural implements have been introduced. The government and co-operative societies grant credit to peasants for the purchase of such instruments.