Southern Administrative Okrug

Year established: 1991.

Districts: Biryulyovo Vostochnoye, Biryulyovo Zapadnoye, Brateyevo, Chertanovo Severnoye, Chertanovo Tsentralnoye, Chertanovo Yuzhnoye, Danilovsky, Donskoy, Moskvorechye-Saburovo, Nagatino-Sadovniki, Nagatinsky Zaton, Nagorny, Orekhovo-Borisovo Severnoye, Orekhovo-Borisovo Yuzhnoye, Tsaritsyno, Zyablikovo — 16 districts.

Area: 132 square meters (12.2% of the total area of Moscow).

Population: 1,574,600 people (15%  of the total population of Moscow).

Manufacturing. The okrug currently has 13 industrial zones and 364 enterprises and organizations, including 120 major industrial enterprises. A total of 14,500 small businesses operate in the okrug. In recent years, the administrative okrug has been paying a great deal of attention to the development of the scientific and technical potential of institutes and enterprises, many of which are flagship representatives in their sectors. The pioneering work of our scientists — as well as projects carried out by small innovative enterprises like the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPI) technopark, NPO ITELMA, EVRAAS, and ASPO —have become the Southern Administrative Okrug’s business card both in Russia and abroad. A large-scale experiment got underway in the okrug to reorganize its industrial zones. Loss-making enterprises are making way for compact IT production facilities, which will become a core element of the capital’s manufacturing sector in the future.

The Southern Administrative Okrug is a leader in terms of the level of small business development in Moscow. Some 15,000 small businesses provide a total of around 150,000 jobs to its inhabitants.

Consumer market and services. The okrug is home to 4,699 consumer sector companies. Its population is served by 25 markets and 9 shopping complexes. The Southern okrug also boasts 75 healthcare institutions, while over 180,000 children and adults study in its 532 educational institutions. Some of the okrug’s most prominent higher-education institutions are Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (State Technology University) (MEPI), Moscow State Academy of Water Transport, Kosygin Moscow State Textile University, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow Financial-Juridical Academy, Moscow Institute of Economics, Management and Law, and Ordzhonikidze Moscow State Geological Prospecting University, to name just a few.

Arts and sports. Over 200 art institutions and over 400 sports facilities (including 63 swimming pools, 3 mountain skiing bases, the Bitsa equestrian centre, and 14 sports complexes) are located in the administrative okrug. The roofed-in skating rink Yuzhny was recently built and put into operation in the Biryulyovo Zapadnoye district.

The Southern Administrative Okrug features 22 sites of nature classified as natural monuments of local importance, such as the Gorodya River valley, Arshinovsky Park, the Zagorye estate, and the Shmelyovsky and Tsaritsynsky creeks with valleys. The Tsaritsyno natural history park spans over 100 hectares, from the Tsaritsyno district to the suburban town Vidnoye, and holds the status of a specially protected natural area of regional importance. Other sites of attraction in the administrative okrug include the historic 16—19^th century Donskoy Monastery architectural ensemble, one of Moscow’s most ancient areas — the Kolomenskoye open-air museum. and the 16—18 century Simonov Monastery architectural complex.