Editing Amur Oblast (section)

==History==
===Early history===
According to the ''Bei Shi'' (Dynastic History of Northern Dynasties) and the ''Sui Shu'' (Chronicles of the [[Sui dynasty]]), both Chinese records, this area belonged originally to the territory one of the five semi-[[nomad]]ic [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]], the Bo Shiwei tribes ({{zh|c=钵室韋}}). Their settlements were located on the north of the Yilehuli Mountains in the upper reaches of the [[Nen River]], south of the [[Stanovoy Range]], west of the [[Bureya Range|Bureya]] and the [[Malyi Khingan]] ranges and reaching the [[Okhotsk Sea]] on the northeast. They brought tributary presents to the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] court and disappeared at the dawn of the tenth century with the foundation of the [[Liao Dynasty|Liao]] empire.

Later, in the 13th century, the middle-[[Amur River|Amur]] and the [[Zeya River]] basin area became the homeland of the [[Daur people|Daurs]] and (further south) the [[Ducher]]s. The ancestors of the Daurs are thought to be closely related to the [[Khitan people|Khitans]] and the [[Mongols]], while the Duchers may have been a branch of the [[Jurchen people]], later known as the [[Manchus]].

The area was conquered by the [[Manchu people|Manchus]] in 1639–1640, after defeating the [[Evenks|Evenk]] Federation led by [[Bombogor (Evenk chief)|Bombogor]]. It was returned to the [[Qing dynasty]] in the [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]] with the [[Tsardom of Russia]].

===Russian Empire===
The region was [[Amur Annexation|annexed]] by Russia in 1858 in the [[Treaty of Aigun]] between Russia and the Qing dynasty. [[Amur Oblast (Russian Empire)|Amur Oblast]] was established with its center in [[Blagoveshchensk]].<ref>[http://archive.predistoria.org/index.php?name=Pages&op=page&pid=8 Military Governors of the Amur Oblast. Part II]</ref>

The region received its first influx of Russian settlers in the mid-seventeenth century. They were looking for a more temperate climate as an escape from the north. After the [[Opium War]], when the Chinese Empire was exposed to the outside world, Russian explorers once again moved to the region (mostly Cossacks and peasant farmers). The last influx of people arrived upon the completion of the [[Trans-Siberian Railroad]].

===Modern history===
In April 1920, the [[Far Eastern Republic]], with its capital in Chita, was formed from Amur, Transbaikal, [[Kamchatka]], [[Sakhalin]], and Primorye regions as a democratic "buffer" state in order to avoid war with Japan. It existed until November 1922, when it joined the [[Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic|Russian SFSR]].

In January 1926, the territory of Amur Oblast was split between the East Siberian Krai and the [[Far Eastern Krai]]. The [[East Siberian Oblast]] was divided into [[Irkutsk Oblast]] and [[Chita Oblast]] in 1937 and the part of Amur within it became part of Chita Oblast. The Far Eastern Krai was divided into [[Khabarovsk Krai]] and [[Primorsky Krai|Primorye Krai]] in 1938. The territory of Amur Oblast that was in Far Eastern Krai was included in [[Khabarovsk Krai]].

In 1948, Amur Oblast was finally separated from Khabarovsk Krai and Chita Oblast to become an independent region of the RSFSR. Rapid economic growth based on gold production began at that time, and living standards improved with the arrival of young specialists. As the Far Eastern District expanded, the demand for services such as electric power and [[House|housing]] also increased, which stimulated a new round of construction projects. New cities were built, along with the [[Zeya Hydroelectric Power Plant]] (Zeiskaya GES), which still supplies electricity to most of the Far Eastern District.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kommersant.com/p-34/r_377/Amur_Region/ |title=Amur Region |publisher=Kommersant.com |access-date=2013-08-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013034609/http://www.kommersant.com/p-34/r_377/Amur_Region/ |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> On 21 May 1998 Amur alongside [[Ivanovo Oblast|Ivanovo]], [[Kostroma Oblast|Kostroma]], [[Voronezh Oblast]], and the [[Mari El|Mari El Republic]] signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.<ref name= "newsline2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1141661.html|title=Newsline - May 22, 1998 Yeltsin Signs More Power-Sharing Agreements with Regions|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=June 20, 2008 |language=en|access-date=2019-05-02}}</ref> This agreement would be abolished on 18 March 2002.<ref name= "demokratiztsiya">{{Cite journal|last=Chuman|first=Mizuki|title=The Rise and Fall of Power-Sharing Treaties Between Center and Regions in Post-Soviet Russia|url=http://demokratizatsiya.pub/archives/19_2_L7H017206G216817.pdf|journal=Demokratizatsiya|pages=146|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308002915/http://demokratizatsiya.pub/archives/19_2_L7H017206G216817.pdf|archive-date=March 8, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>