This part of southern European Russia(1) comprises just over 100 thousand kilometers. It is divided into a western and eastern half by the Volga River(2), which flows south-southwestward across the east-center of the oblast. West of the river valley are the Pre-Volga Heights(3), a low plateau that falls off eastward. In the east are low plains.
The Volga's chief tributary within the oblast is the Great(4) Irgiz on the left (east) bank.
To the right of the great river, the Pre-Volga Heights separate the valley from the Don's system(5). Two south-heading feeders of the Don are the Khoper(6) in the oblast's west, and the Medveditsa(7) further east.
This part of the Volga is lake-width in most parts, constituting part of the Saratovskoye(8) Reservoir(9) in the north, and part of the Volgogradskoye(10) Reservoir in the south. There are large islands in these parts of the river.
In 2002, 2.7 million people lived here. More than 17 in 20 spoke Russian as their first language; no other language accounted for as much as one in 20. At least nine in ten are Russian Orthodox Christian in belief or background; the degree of observance varies widely--a relic of communist aetheism. At least one in 20 are Moslems.
Saratov, the oblast's capital, is the only local metropolis with a million people.
Indo-European peoples either evolved in this area and in adjacent areas, or--more likely--moved into this area from further west. Iranian peoples, the Scythians or Shakas, lived here early in the first millenium C.E. Numerous nomadic peoples passed through: the Turkic Bulgars and Khazars among them. The Iranian peoples probably mixed common Indo-Aryan religious elements with shamanism. The Turkic peoples probably started by worshipping Tangri, a sky god, and the adopted Christianity and Islam predominantly, with some Khazars adopting Judaism.
In the 13th century the Mongols conquered the area. Their administrators included Tatars. Both group's religions soon switched to Islam. The empire disintegrated over time, and the Russians incrementally conquered the area, first west of the Volga and then more gradually east, with the process completing in 1920. The new rulers not only introduced their language, but re-introduced Christianity. By the time the process ended, however, Russia's rulers had become--temporarily--aetheists.
A minority of German-speaking Christians moved into the area; by 1920 there were 900 thousand across the bridge from the city of Saratov. But they have mostly left by now, at first forcibly, more recently voluntarily.
Volga Federal District
Russo-Eurasia
(1) Rossiya or Rossija in strict transliteration from Russian.
(2) Europe's longest river.
(3) Privolzhskaya Vozvyshennost' or, with two diacriticals, Privolzskaja Vozvysennost' in transliterated Russian.
(4)Bol'shoy or, with a diacritical on the s, Bol'soj in transliterated Russian.
(5) Europe's fifth longest river.
(6) Also transliterated from Russian as Chop'or.
(7) Also transliterated from Russian as Medveditca.
(8) Also transliterated as Saratovskoye.
(9) Reservoir is vodokhranilschche or, with two diacriticals, vodochranilsce in transliterated Russian.
(10) Also transliterated from Russian as Volgogradskoje.