ABSTRACT
This chapter provides all basic political, economic, and demographic data on a territorial unit of the Russian Federation, Kemerovo Oblast, which is located in southwestern Siberia, where the West Siberian Plain meets the South Siberian mountains. Despite the solid investment the oblast had received, its investment potential had decreased by 6 points in 1998, according to a survey by Ekspert magazine. On the other hand, the same survey pointed out that investment risk in the region also had fallen by 11 points since 1997. Aman Tuleev is a well-known figure on Russia’s political scene. Before becoming governor of Kemerovo Oblast, Tuleev held multiple regional and federal political positions, and even ran for president of Russia in 1991 and abortively in 1996 and again in March 2000. Tuleev’s populist appeal resonates strongly in economically depressed Kemerovo.
