uzh banking and finance master thesis

Service Navigation

Banking and Finance

Degree program: master of arts uzh in business and economics (rvo22).

General description Admission requirements Branch of studies Educational goals Career possibilities ECTS credits Program structure Major/minor subject combinations Examination and assessment regulations Language of instruction

General description

Master's programs provide an advanced academic education and allow students to complete independent academic and project-based work. 120 ECTS credits must be completed, consisting of a major study program (90 ECTS credits) and a minor study program (30 ECTS credits). The major study program in Banking and Finance is made up of compulsory modules designed to examine basic principles in greater depth and core elective modules from the areas of banking and finance. Students may also choose from the free elective area. Rounding off the study program is a Master's thesis comprising 30 ECTS credits.

Admission requirements

In order to be admitted to a Master's degree program, an applicant must meet the requirements set out in the ordinance on admission to studies at the University of Zurich. Student Services review the application in this regard. The Faculty will then subject the application documents to a specialized academic review and determine the applicant's level of study. The decision is based on an evaluation of the curriculum of the program of studies completed, as well as other documents. www.oec.uzh.ch/en/admission-master

Branch of studies

Educational goals.

Master's degree programs provide students with an advanced academic education and allow them to shape their own profiles. The Master's degree qualifies graduates for demanding activities, such as starting a professional career or, for suitable candidates, continuing their academic career in a Doctoral program.

Career possibilities

Graduates are ideally qualified to assume specialized or management roles of significant responsibility in the banking, insurance and consulting industries and in the public sector. Careers as an investment banker, financial analyst, risk manager, portfolio manager or financial consultant represent only a small selection of a broad array of professional options. Moreover, graduates with the right aptitude have the opportunity to pursue academic research by completing a doctorate.

ECTS credits

90 ECTS Credits

Program structure

60 ECTS credits to be earned from compulsory, core elective or elective modules according to the regulations: www.oec.uzh.ch/en/regulations
Master’s thesis comprising 30 ECTS credits
Complemented by a minor program of choice comprising 30 ECTS credits and selected from the current programs on offer: www.degrees.uzh.ch/en/
Normal period of study: four semesters
Title awarded upon graduation: Master of Arts UZH in Wirtschaftswissenschaften (corresponds to Master of Arts UZH in Business and Economics)

Major/minor subject combinations

In addition to the major study program comprising 90 ECTS credits, a minor study program comprising 30 ECTS credits is selected from the Faculty.

Examination and assessment regulations

Assessments are evaluated with grades or on a pass/fail basis. Grades from 1 to 6 are assigned to graded assessments, where 6 indicates the highest grade and 1 the lowest. A grade of 4 or higher is sufficient to pass. Half and quarter grades are permitted.

Language of instruction

Home Contact Sitemap © University of Zurich 27 Mar 2023 About this site Accessibility Data Protection Statement

Navigation auf uzh.ch

Master of Science UZH ETH in Quantitative Finance

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, thesis guidelines.

The Master's thesis is written towards the end of the Master of Science UZH ETH in Quantitative Finance over a period of 6 months. It is graded and accounts for 30 ECTS credit points.

The students of the joint program MSc UZH ETH in Quantitative Finance have to conclude the program with a colloquium talk of 30 minutes in which they present their Master's thesis. The colloquium talks are open to the public.

An information event on Master's Thesis and Graduation is organized every spring for MSc QF UZH ETH students.

Purpose of the Master's Thesis

We want to appraise your ability

to identify and analyze a problem on your own; and
to apply the tools, techniques and concepts you have learned in the courses with little or even no guidance.

Nature of the Master's Thesis

You have a lot of flexibility in your choice of project:

One possible choice is to write a 'clinical paper' such as those published regularly in the Journal of Financial Economics. A clinical paper is an extended case study, which uses rather more empirical finance techniques than do the more classical, Harvard-type case studies.
Another possible choice is to conduct an empirical study on a sample of companies, rather than the single company that is the focus of a clinical paper.
Yet another choice is to write a theory paper like those published in Mathematical Finance or Finance and Stochastics .

Whatever the choice you make, you should guard against writing a simple survey of the literature. Such surveys do not fulfill the requirements for the Master's thesis.

Experience shows that a Master's thesis is in general not ready for a publication, because it is - and should be - more detailed than a published paper. Therefore, if you aim for a publication, plan on investing substantial time after handing in your Master's thesis.

Master's Thesis in Groups

Group work is not permitted.

Master's Thesis Presentation

The Master's thesis presentation consists of a 30 minutes presentation followed by questions. It is open to the public and will be officially announced.

Choice of Topic

Any field of (mathematical) finance is acceptable, insurance related topics included. Examples of possible topics are mergers and acquisitions, distribution policy, financing policy, investment policy, restructuring activity, real options valuation, derivatives pricing, hedging, fixed-income valuation, interest rate contingent claims valuation, credit-sensitive contingent claims valuation, operational risk modelling, model risk issues, securitization, numerical methods for option valuation, time series modelling, capital allocation, performance measurement, risk measurement, and many more.

Students can also choose or propose subjects for their Master's thesis in the DBF Theses Market of the Department of Finance of the University of Zurich.

Finding a Supervisor and a Topic

Any professor from the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics at the University of Zurich and any professor from the Department of Mathematics of ETH Zurich can be your thesis supervisor. In case you consider writing a Master's Thesis with a professor from the Department of Finance please proceed via the DBF Thesis Market .

Since we encourage a strong cooperation with the financial industry, consider also the following thoughts:

Your thesis is officially supervised by a local professor, but a practitioner comes up with the precise topic and gives you the needed guidance.

You already have contacts to the financial industry (because you have received a tuition fee grant, for example) and you use these contacts to negotiate for an interesting project and guidance.

You are eager to work on a practical project, but you currently lack the industry contacts. In this case, ask one of the lecturers or the Director of the MSc UZH ETH in Quantitative Finance program for contact persons.

You might want to combine the Master's thesis with a part-time internship in the financial industry.

In any case, make sure your thesis supervisor is really interested in the topic you plan to work on.

In case of conflicts of interests, please look at the guidelines - conflicts of interest (PDF, 169 KB)

Role of the Supervisor

The supervisor has an important, but limited role. He/she is to ensure that the topic you have agreed on is both acceptable and feasible in the limited time, and that the method of analysis you have chosen is appropriate and correct. Once this is done, you are essentially on your own until you hand in the Master's thesis for grading.

The thesis supervisor is not expected to read a first draft of the report. However, arrange for meetings with your supervisor to report briefly about your progress so that he/she can give you some suggestions and bring you on the right track again if necessary.

Suggested Length and Form

The Master's thesis should be about 20-60 pages long, but it is quality and not quantity that matters. In essence, you should tell us as much as - and no more than - we need to understand what the problem is, what we can learn from it or how you have solved it.

You should familiarize yourself with the necessary text processing or typesetting software you plan to use before you start to work on your Master's thesis. If you plan on writing a mathematically-orientated thesis (i.e., lots of formulas), the free TeX/LaTeX typesetting software is a good option, but requires a substantial initial time investment.

The thesis has to be written in English and be typed and printed in reasonable quality. Exact proofreading is required and use of a spelling checker recommended.

The period allowed for completion of the Master's thesis is 6 months and starts with the formal issuance of the topic. The oral presentation of the Master's thesis has to be done within 4 weeks after the submission of the thesis. If your Master's thesis is the last module before the completion of your studies please look at the Dean's Office degree deadlines .

Evaluation and ECTS Credit Points

The Master's thesis is graded. The supervising professor will assess the work submitted including the public presentation and will inform the student in writing of the grade awarded. 30 ECTS credit points are awarded for the completion of the Master's thesis if the grade is at least 4.

Note on Publication Request

After completing their final theses, students repeatedly receive requests from (mainly) German publishers for a publication. Such requests should be treated with caution. Clarify any publication with your supervisor in advance. The supervisor can impose conditions for a publication.

Ultimately however, it is your decision whether you want to publish with a publisher. You should be aware that this is not to be equated with a publication in a scientific journal.

Further information

Please check the program regulations . This page is solely for information purposes and has no legal validity.

Further information also on:

Thesis at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics

Thesis at the Department of Finance - DBF Thesis Market

Navigation auf uzh.ch

Department of Business Administration Evidence-Based Strategic Management

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, thesis guidelines, requirements.

We accept both Master and Bachelor theses. Interested students should have completed at least one prior course with our chair.

Topic Areas

We supervise bachelor and master theses in the field of strategy and strategic decision making..

We welcome both empirical theses and literature review theses.
Your detailed topic is typically defined in exchange with your supervisor.
The allocation of the supervision is mainly based on the topic.
You can apply for a thesis at our chair at any time.
Allow at least four weeks between your application and the potential registration of your thesis.
It is the student's responsibility to adhere to program regulations regarding timing. Detailed information about the official registration process can be found here: https://www.oec.uzh.ch/de/studies/theses.html

Application

Students must submit their transcripts showing prior courses attended and grades obtained (Bachelor and Master level) to [email protected] .
Prospective students will discuss their topic domain with a supervisor.
After familiarizing themselves with the topic domain, applicants need to reconfirm their interest before the finalized topic is registered via OLAT (Instructions regarding OLAT can be found under the link above)
Within one month of topic assignment, you are required to submit a proposal (exposé) that includes:
Research question/problem statement
Provisional table of contents
A summary of intended research, including potential data and research methods, and expected outcomes/ objective of the work
A short literature review
Afterwards, you are expected to work independently. Further meetings will be arranged with your thesis supervisor as needed.
Theses must be submitted no later than six months after topic assignment via OLAT.
Empirical thesis require submitting the data set, code, interviews, and any other relevant materials.
We encourage the use of AI tools to support your thesis work.
However, be cautious as most AI applications (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, Bing Chat) are not scientific tools or sources and require critical verification by the student. In general, when using any source, it is essential to consider its relevance, currentness and reliability.
Any Bachelor or Master thesis must be an independent academic work of the student, not the AI tool.

Evaluation Criteria

It is essential to adhere to formal standards for your thesis. Hence, proper citation (following established standards (e.g., APA)), structure and formatting are required.
Information can be found in the thesis guide Click here to download thesis guidelines
We do not impose any requirements regarding the word processing program.

Guidelines for the Structure of a Scientific Paper

Generally, the argumentation of a scientific paper should be logically structured ("red thread"). the reader should be able to follow the author's train of thought..

a) Title Page

The title page contains the title of the work, the field of study, the name of the institute and the supervising professor or assistant, the name of the author with complete address (including phone number, email address, and student ID), and the submission date.

b) Abstract

The abstract provides the reader with a brief summary of the essential aspects of the work (research question, methodology, and conclusion).

c) Table of Contents

Ensure the table of contents does not exceed three levels of hierarchy

d) List of Figures, Tables, Abbreviations

When using figures, tables, or abbreviations, they should be listed in separate directories. It is expected that these are explained in the corresponding text. Figures and tables should be numbered separately. Furthermore, the sources must be provided. Modifications to tables or figures should be marked with the indication "adapted from." Self-created figures and tables should be marked as "own representation." Tables and Figures should be consecutively numbered.

e) Numbering

The page numbering of the title page, abstract, table of contents, list of figures, tables, and abbreviations is done in Roman numerals. The page number is not listed on the title page.

f) Text Section

The text section consists of an introduction, main body, discussion and conclusion. The page numbering of the text section continues consecutively in Arabic numerals. The specific structure of the main body depends on whether you have chosen to write a literature review thesis or an empirical thesis. For an empirical thesis, it is advisable to have a literature review section, methodology section, data section and results section.

g) Bibliography

The bibliography includes all sources cited in the work, arranged alphabetically by the authors' last names. The Arabic page numbering from the text section continues.

h) Appendix

The appendix contains additional supplementary information and documents that would disrupt the flow of the text. This may include used questionnaires, verbatim interviews, a list of interviewees (with name, surname, company, position, location, and date of the interview), or other documents used in the work. It should be noted that each representation within the appendix should be renumbered. The Arabic page numbering from the text section continues.

i) Declaration of Authorship

The thesis must contain a declaration of authorship with the place, date, and signature of the author (see sample text below): The undersigned author declares on oath that he/she has independently, without external assistance and without using other than the specified aids, prepared the present work. Thoughts taken directly or indirectly from external sources (including electronic sources) are invariably indicated as such. The work has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in the same or a similar form, for another examination.

Formal Formatting Guidelines

a) Length of Scientific Papers

Bachelor's Thesis: 45-60 DIN-A4 pages
Master's Thesis: 60-80 DIN-A4 pages
These figures refer to the pure text part of the work, i.e., excluding the title page, bibliography, and other lists, as well as the appendix.

b) Layout of Scientific Papers

Font: Times New Roman or a similar font
Font Size: 12 pt (adjusted to the font)
Smaller font size may be appropriate for footnotes or other material outside of the main text
Line Spacing: 1.5 with the exception of lists, graphs, charts, footnotes, bibliographic entries, items within tables and lists in appendices
Justified alignment with hyphenation
Left margin of approximately 3 cm and a right margin of 3-4 cm for corrections.

Navigation auf uzh.ch

Center of Competence for Sustainable Finance

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, selected theses, table of contents, master theses, bachelor theses.

Economic and Financial Drivers of Forest Cover Change (PDF, 6 MB) Gretener Jerome CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 40, 2023

The Performance and Flows of Sustainable Actively Managed Mutual Funds during the COVID-19 Crisis (PDF, 1 MB) Notaro Alberto CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 38, 2023

Driving Factors in Economic Crises and their Influence on Money Laundering (PDF, 40 MB) Dora Maurus CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 34, 2022

Optimizing Algorithmic Trading Strategies Through Reinforcement Learning (PDF, 28 MB) Mathur Akhilesh CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 33, 2021

Semantic Text Analysis of Central Bank Communication: Evidence for Spillover Effects in Foreign Exchange Spot Markets (PDF, 2 MB) Mazidi Manuel CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 30, 2021

Divesting from Coal: Implications on Industry Structure and Borrowing Costs (PDF, 1 MB) Egloff Dominik CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 29, 2021

Sustainability and Crisis Resilience of European Stocks in Times of Covid-19 (PDF, 1 MB) Köferli Valentin CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 28, 2021

Infrastructure Project Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa - A Comprehensive Analysis (PDF, 4 MB) Haab Mirjam CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 27, 2021

ESG and Alternative Factors in Corporate Bond Returns (PDF, 1 MB) McCarthy Tobias CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 25, 2021

How does social performance affect financial performance in microfinance? (PDF, 1 MB) Keller Sergey CSP Thesis (Formerly CMF Thesis) Series No. 24, 2019

Risk, Return, Responsibility – Inclusion of ESG Criteria in a Portfolio Optimization Framework (PDF, 1 MB) Zuber Pascal CSP Thesis (Formerly CMF Thesis) Series No. 23, 2017

The Development of Microfinance Institutions in a Multi-Tier Framework (PDF, 668 KB) Tosun Eren CMF Thesis Series No. 19, 2015

Chancen und Grenzen von ESG-Ratings (PDF, 1 MB) Keller Sarah CMF Thesis Series No. 17, 2015

Extra-financial performance in socially responsible investment (PDF, 1 MB) Taiana Luca CMF Thesis Series No. 11, 2012

The Effects of Consumer Lending and Consumer Loans on Microfinance Institutions (PDF, 946 KB) Bachmann Fabia CMF Thesis Series No. 10, 2011

Country risk management of microfinance investment vehicles (PDF, 4 MB) Iossifides Christos CMF Thesis Series No. 9, 2010

Microfinance Wholesale Funds: The Case of China Buchmann Christian Editor: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Graduate School of the People's Bank of China, World Microfinance Forum Geneva CMF Thesis Series No. 7, 2010

Das Verhältnis von sozialen und finanziellen Erfolgserwartungen von Mikrofinanzinstitutionen am Beispiel des IPO der Compartamos Bank in Mexiko (PDF, 1 MB) Andorfer Melanie CMF Thesis Series No. 2, 2010

Catastrophe Bonds als Instrument des Risikotransfers und die Frage nach der Anwendbarkeit auf Entwicklungsländer (PDF, 385 KB) Rössner Christian CMF Thesis Series No. 1, 2010

Investment Flows between ETFs and Stocks during a Crisis Times (PDF, 1 MB) Künzli Nicolas CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 39, 2023

Nachhaltigkeitsvergleich bedeutender Zentralbanken (PDF, 1 MB) Graber Tim CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 37, 2022

Gender Diversity on the Board of Directors and ESG Performance in Banking – An Analysis of European Banks (PDF, 1 MB) Gerber Naomi CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 36, 2022

Swiss Sight Deposit Exemption Thresholds and the SARON (PDF, 2 MB) Meier Thomas CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 35, 2022

Do Equity-Based Crowdfunding Platforms Offer a Better Source of Early-Stage Financing for Sustainable Startups in Comparison to Venture Capital Funds? (PDF, 1 MB) Marques Simon CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 32, 2021

Einfluss von Nachhaltigen Investoren auf die Wealth Management Branche (PDF, 1 MB) Zlomlisic Ivana CCSF Thesis (Formerly CSP/CMF Thesis) Series No. 31, 2021

Der Einfluss makroökonomischer Faktoren auf die Rendite der italienischen im Aktienindex FTSE MIB enthaltenen Firmen Scafiti Giuseppe CSP Thesis (Formerly CMF Thesis) Series No. 26, 2019

The Relationship between Relative Maturity and Depth of Outreach of Microfinance Institutions (PDF, 15 MB) Durrer Damian CMF Thesis Series No. 22, 2017

Kann mit Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) eine Überrendite erzielt werden? (PDF, 993 KB) Boll Pascal Patrik CMF Thesis Series No. 21, 2016

Determining Client Satisfaction of Youth Microfinance Clients: Results from a Primary Data Collection in Mongolia (PDF, 994 KB) Kralikova Stepanka CMF Thesis Series No. 20, 2015

Information Sharing as a Way to Overcome Information Asymmetries in Microfinance Markets (PDF, 4 MB) Pauli Ramon CMF Thesis Series No. 18, 2014

Sustainable Fixed Income Investments (PDF, 1 MB) Leibundgut Philipp CMF Thesis Series No. 15, 2014

Frauen als Mikrofinanzkunden: Ein internationaler Vergleich (PDF, 663 KB) Ruckstuhl Florentin CMF Thesis Series No. 16, 2013

An Analysis of Business Models for Delivering Mobile Savings Services (PDF, 1 MB) Lüchinger Michelle CMF Thesis Series No. 13, 2013

The Chinese Regulatory Framework for Inclusive Finance in the Context of International Best Practices Delius Nikolaus Editor: World Microfinance Forum Geneva CMF Thesis Series No. 12, 2012

Screening Methoden für Socially Responsible Investments (PDF, 1 MB) Wittwer Florian CMF Thesis Series No. 8, 2011

Eine informationsökonomische Analyse der Kreditvergabe (PDF, 482 KB) Hänni Martina CMF Thesis Series No. 6, 2011

The Microfinance Sector in Bangladesh: Innovation or Stagnation (PDF, 1 MB) Pine David CMF Thesis Series No. 5, 2010

Structured Finance Vehicles in Microfinance – Investment Banking für sozial Benachteiligte (PDF, 1 MB) Greuter Marc CMF Series No. 4, 2010

Measuring Social Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Peru (PDF, 433 KB) Li, Diana Chau CMF Thesis Series No. 3, 2010

Navigation auf uzh.ch

Department of Finance

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, master’s degrees.

The Department of Finance offers two Master’s programs: the Master of Arts in Banking and Finance and the Joint Master of Science in Quantitative Finance , which is offered in collaboration with ETH Zurich. Both programs aim to provide students with an excellent preparation for challenging tasks in the professional world and lay the groundwork for further academic pursuits such as a doctoral degree.

The Master's programs at our department are known for their high level of expertise, which is made possible by the department's professors who are experts in various areas of banking and finance. Graduates of both programs are well-prepared for careers in the financial sector and related industries.

Russian cities and regions guide main page

Visit Our Blog about Russia to know more about Russian sights, history
Check out our Russian cities and regions guides
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to better understand Russia
Info about getting Russian visa , the main airports , how to rent an apartment
Our Expert answers your questions about Russia, some tips about sending flowers

Russian regions

Chelyabinsk oblast
Magnitogorsk
Khanty-Mansi okrug
Kurgan oblast
Sverdlovsk oblast
Tyumen oblast
Yamalo-Nenets okrug
Map of Russia
All cities and regions
Blog about Russia
News from Russia
How to get a visa
Flights to Russia
Russian hotels
Renting apartments
Russian currency
FIFA World Cup 2018
Submit an article
Flowers to Russia
Ask our Expert

Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia

The capital city of Chelyabinsk oblast: Chelyabinsk .

Chelyabinsk Oblast - Overview

Chelyabinsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Southern Urals, part of the Urals Federal District. Chelyabinsk is the capital city of the region. It is the place where Europe borders with Asia.

The population of Chelyabinsk Oblast is about 3,419,000 (2022), the area - 88,529 sq. km.

Chelyabinsk oblast flag

Chelyabinsk oblast coat of arms.

Chelyabinsk oblast map, Russia

Chelyabinsk oblast latest news and posts from our blog:.

26 July, 2024 / Magnificent Landscapes of Ayskiye Pritosy .

18 July, 2018 / Bolshiye Pritesy Cliff in the Chelyabinsk Region .

12 June, 2018 / Frosty Dawn in Taganay National Park .

8 June, 2018 / Colors of the Dead World of Karabash .

6 January, 2018 / Chelyabinsk - the view from above .

History of Chelyabinsk Oblast

People began to settle in the Southern Urals in the Paleolithic era. Bogdanovka site on the Ural River (Kizilsky district) is the most ancient archaeological site found on the territory of the region (about 70 thousand years). The age of Paleolithic layers in Ignatievka cave (Katav-Ivanovsky district), famous for its wall paintings, is about 15 thousand years. There are numerous archaeological sites of the Stone Age, settlements of the Bronze and Iron Ages.

In the 13th century, the territory of the Southern Urals was part of the Mongol Empire. Kesene mausoleum, preserved to our days near Varna village, is an outstanding monument of the late Horde time. The first Russian settlements in what is now the Chelyabinsk region appeared in the late 17th century.

Administratively the formation of the region began in the 18th century. It was the result of Peter’s I policy aimed at developing producing forces of the country and the expansion of its borders. This was reflected in the activities of the Orenburg expedition. For military and commercial purposes the expedition founded a number of fortresses, one of them was the fortress of Chelyabinsk (1736).

More Historical Facts…

In 1737, Isetskaya province was founded that included the northern part of the present Chelyabinsk region and the Kurgan region. In 1743, Chelyabinsk became the center of the province. In 1744, Orenburg gubernia was formed, it included Isetskaya and Ufimskaya provinces.

In the second half of the 18th century, mining and metallurgical areas of the Southern Urals began to grow rapidly. Several large mining plants were built, which became the basis for future towns. The first towns were Chelyabinsk, Verhneuralsk (1781) and Troitsk (1784).

In the early 19th century, most of the territory of the region was part of the Orenburg gubernia. Since the mid-19th century, Orenburg Cossacks started the rapid development of the steppe areas. New settlements were named in honor of the battles and victories of the Russian army: Varna, Fershampenuaz, Borodino, Paris and others.

After the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway (1891-1916), the province became the largest transportation hub connecting central Russia, the Urals and Siberia.

In 1919, Chelyabinsk gubernia was formed. November, 3, 1923, Ural Oblast with the capital in Yekaterinburg was formed. January 17, 1934, Ural Oblast was enlarged and was named Chelyabinsk Oblast. Later on, the territory of the region was diminished not once. In 1943, 32 districts were transferred to the newly formed Kurgan Oblast. After that, the borders of Chelyabinsk Oblast remained almost unchanged.

During the Second World War, this region played an important role producing metals, ammunition and military equipment. After the war, Chelyabinsk became the supplier of equipment and human resources for the restoration of Stalingrad, Donbass and other areas of the USSR.

In the 1950s, part of the territory of the region was subjected to radioactive contamination as a result of the accident at the plant for processing waste “Mayak”.

The collapse of the USSR had a negative impact on the economic situation in the region. From 1990 to 2000, rail transportation halved. In 1995, the decline in production in all sectors was 52%, in agriculture - 44%.

February 15, 2013 a relatively large meteorite flew over the territory of the oblast. It became known as the Chelyabinsk meteorite (diameter - about 17 meters, weight - about 10 thousand tons). The meteorite exploded in the vicinity of Chelyabinsk, at an altitude of 15-25 km. Several fragments of it fell in the area of Lake Chebarkul.

Nature of Chelyabinsk Oblast

Summer in the Chelyabinsk region

Author: Olga Yartseva

Chelyabinsk oblast - the land of lakes

Author: Rauer Yury

Wheat field in Chelyabinsk Oblast

Author: Alexander Pridvizhkin

Chelyabinsk Oblast - Features

Chelyabinsk Oblast is located about 1,800 km east of Moscow. The main cities are Chelyabinsk (1,179,000), Magnitogorsk (412,000), Zlatoust (159,700), Miass (150,300) and Kopeysk (145,000). Chelyabinsk and Miass are the stations on the Trans-Siberian railway.

The southeastern part of Chelyabinsk Oblast has the state border - the border with Kazakhstan. The length of the region from north to south - 490 km, from west to east - 400 km. It is comparable to the size of Hungary, Portugal, Austria, more than 2 times larger than Denmark and Switzerland, 3 times larger than Belgium and the Netherlands.

Not far from the station of Urzhumka (8 km from Zlatoust), on Uraltau Pass, there is a stone pillar. On one side it says “Europe”, on the other - “Asia”. The cities of Zlatoust, Katav-Ivanovsk, Satka are located in Europe, Chelyabinsk, Troitsk, Miass - in Asia, Magnitogorsk - in both parts of the world.

Chelyabinsk Oblast has a highly developed industry. Metallurgical, machine-building, fuel and energy, construction, agri-industrial complexes determine the industrial development of the region. Iron and steel industry stands out in the structure of the local industry (about half of the total output).

The city of Magnitogorsk is situated in the middle of one of the largest and richest iron ore deposits in the world. Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) is one of the largest steel mills in the world. Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau in Miass is a major supplier of strategic ballistic missiles for the Russian submarine fleet.

Tourism in Chelyabinsk Oblast

Chelyabinsk Oblast has unique natural and climatic conditions: picturesque landscapes, lakes, forests, caves and natural healing springs. It is the main basis for the development of tourism and recreation. Winters are cold and long, summers are relatively hot.

The northwestern part of the region is covered by forests and mountains, the rest - steppes and forest steppes. Forests cover about 24% of the territory. The highest point is Mount Bolshoy (Big) Nurgush (1406.6 meters).

Chelyabinsk Oblast is called “the land of lakes”. There are 3,170 lakes on its territory, 98 of them have areas of more than 5 sq. km., the largest lake - Uvildy - occupies 68 sq. km. The most picturesque lakes are Turgoyak and Uvildy. Many lakes have unique mineral waters and therapeutic muds. There are a lot of health resorts on the territory of the region.

There are more than 200 specially protected natural areas, including Ilmen State Nature Reserve, the historical and archaeological museum “Arkaim”, “Tanagai” and “Zyuratgul” national parks.

Skiing is actively developing. Altogether there are about 20 ski resorts, including “Abzakovo”, “Adzhigardak”, “Zavyalikha”, “Metallurg-Magnitogorsk”, “Solnechnaya Dolina”, which meet the highest European standards and are very popular.