Oryol Oblast (), also known as Orlovshchina (), is a

federal subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(an

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

). Its

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

is the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

. Population:

Geography

It is located in the southwestern part of the

Central Federal District The Central Federal District ( rus, Центральный федеральный округ, p=tsɨnˈtralʲnɨj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the federal districts of Russia, eight federal districts of Russia. Geographically, the di ...

, in the

Central Russian Upland The Central Russian Upland (also: Middle Russian Upland () and East European Upland) is an upland area of the East European Plain and is an undulating plateau with an average elevation of . Its highest peak is measured at . The southeastern porti ...

. In terms of area, at it is one of the smallest federal subjects. From north to south, it extends for more than , and from west to east—for over . It borders

Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kaluga. The Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census found a population o ...

to the north-west,

Tula Oblast Tula Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an Oblasts of Russia, oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in European Russia and is administratively part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of . It has a ...

to the north,

Lipetsk Oblast Lipetsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Lipetsk. As of the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, its population was&n ...

to the east,

Kursk Oblast Kursk Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kursk. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, Kursk Oblast had a pop ...

to the south, and

Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (), also known as Bryanshchina (, ), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1,169,161. Geography Bryansk Oblast lies in weste ...

to the west. There are of black earth soils (

chernozem Chernozem ( ),; also called black soil, regur soil or black cotton soil, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compounds. Chernozem is very fertile soil and can ...

s) in the oblast, which amounts to three-quarters of the world chernozem reserves.

Climate

The climate is temperate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb''). The winter is moderately cold, with an average January temperature from . Summers are warm and humid, with an average July temperature from . Rainfall averages , and snow cover averages 120 days.

Hydrography

On the territory of the Oryol region there are more than 2 thousand rivers and streams with a total length of , but there are no navigable water ways. The rivers of the region belong to the basins of three rivers:

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

, Don,

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. The

Oka river The Oka (, ; ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its total length, ...

, one of Europe's largest rivers, flows through the oblast for part of its course (190 km) and the source of it is in the south of the region. Main tributaries: Zusha (with tributary Neruch), Vytebet, Nugr, Tson, Orlik, Rybnitsa, Kroma. Sosna flows in the eastern part of the region. Main tributaries: Trudy, Tim, Lyubovsha, Kshen, Olym. In the west of the region originate rivers Nerussa, Navlya, Swapa. 1100 lakes and artificial reservoirs of the region cover a total area of about (0,22%).

History

In the 12th century, chronicles mention Mtsensk, known as Novosil then. Then modern Orlovschina was part of the Chernigov Principality. After the death of Mikhail of Chernigov Novosil Principality was formed on these territories. By the end of the 15th century it had disintegrated into four separate principalities and, along with all the other fragments of the Chernigov principality, became a part of

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. In the 16th century, the fortress town of Oryol was founded, and the town of Livny, destroyed in the 13th century, was restored. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the territory of modern Oryol was the borderland of the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

, with many fortifications of the Great Abatis Line. With the reduction of the threat posed by the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

, agricultural activity of the area had intensified. It was created in 1937 by uniting a selection of territories of three other oblasts:

, Western Oblast, and

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...

. It also included present

between 1937 and 1944. In 1941-3 The Region was partly or fully occupied by Germany.

Politics

The building of the House of Soviets IMG 2586

During the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Oryol CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament. The Charter of Oryol Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Oryol Oblast Council of People's Deputies is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor of Oryol Oblast, who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

. The head of administration of Oryol Oblast between 1993 and 2009 was Yegor Stroyev. Stroyev led the region for more than 20 years. In 1985 he became the first secretary of the regional committee of the

CPSU The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

, and after three years (in 1989-1991 he worked as secretary of the

Central Committee of the CPSU The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the Central committee, highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Congresses. Elected by the ...

), in 1991 he returned to Oryol, worked as the director of the Institute of Horticultural Crops Selection, and later was elected governor. On February 16, 2009 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accepted Stroyev's voluntary retirement and nominated Alexander Kozlov as his replacement, which was approved by the Oryol Regional Council of People's Deputies.

Legislature

The Oryol Oblast Council of People's Deputies is a permanent representative and legislative body of state power in the Oryol Oblast. It consists of 50 deputies elected by residents of the region for 5 year terms according to a

mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...

: 25 deputies according to party lists (

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

) and 25 in single-mandate constituencies (

majoritarian representation Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or ideology with an agenda asserting that a majority, whether based on a religion, language, social class, or other category of the population, is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, a ...

) on the basis of universal equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The current 7th Council of People's Deputies was elected in the 2021 Russian regional elections and will last until 2026. Of the 50 deputies, 27 are from

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

, 11 from the

Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; ) is a communist political party in Russia that officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist philosophy. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after United Russia. The youth o ...

, 6 from

A Just Russia – For Truth Socialist Political Party "A Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth" (SRZP), officially abbreviated as A Just Russia – For Truth, is a Social conservatism, social conservative and Social democracy, social-democratic Political parties in Russ ...

, 3 from the

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia LDPR – Liberal Democratic Party of Russia () is a Russian Ultranationalism, ultranationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Russia, political party. It succeeded the Liberal Democratic Party of the ...

, 1 from New People, 1 from the Russian Party of Pensioners for Social Justice, and 1 independent. Leonid Muzalevsky (United Russia) was elected Chairman of the Council.

Administrative divisions

* 3 cities under the oblast's jurisdiction * 24 districts ** 13 urban-type settlements ** 223 rural settlements

Economy

The main industries in Oryol Oblast are the food and light industries, engineering and metalworking, and ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. The

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

industries manufacture production equipment for various industries,

forklift truck A forklift (also called industrial truck, lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th c ...

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

and

agricultural equipment Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the farm implements that they tow or operate. M ...

, and

machinery A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...

for municipal services. Numerous companies in the instrument-making and

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

sectors maintain high scientific and technical potential with the latest high-end technologies and experienced specialists. First digital

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

was introduced in the oblast in 1998.

Agriculture

Most of the oblast's agricultural land is used for plant cultivation. Grain growing is very important, with

winter wheat Winter wheat (usually ''Common wheat, Triticum aestivum'') are strains of wheat that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during the winter and resume growth in early spring. C ...

and

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

being the main crops.

Buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum'') or common buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat originated around the 6th millennium BCE in the region of what ...

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, and

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

are also grown, and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

beets are in great demand. The area planted in feed grains is increasing due to the expansion of

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

farming, which includes

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

and

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

farming,

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

farming,

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

farming for

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

poultry farming Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion c ...

, and

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

Transport

Pipelines and power transmission lines are routed through the region's largest oil-trunk pipeline Druzhba (202 km in area). In the southwestern part of the area lies a small section of the Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod pipeline. Oryol is a major hub of pipelines exporting to Belarus, Western Ukraine and the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, with branches passing through

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

and

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

Automotive

As of 2016, the motorization level of the area was of 314 cars per 1000 people, which is the 15th of any region of Russia and above the national average (285). Main roads of the region: * "Crimea" (152 km through Mtsensk,

Kromy Kromy () is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Kromy, Oryol Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Kromskoy District of Oryol Oblast ;Rural localities *Kromy, Ivanovo Oblas ...

, Trosna) *

—

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

(151 km through Livny) * Oryol —

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

(57 km through Naryshkino) *

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

— Oryol (67 km through Bolkhov) * Trosna — Kalinovka (12 km) * ''54А-1'' Oryol — Yefremov (158 km through Zalegoshch, Novosil)

Railway

The main line is the double track electrified main line Moscow -

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

(136 km through Mtsensk,

, Zmievka and Glazunovka). Other lines: * Oryol —

Yelets Yelets or Elets () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Bystraya Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don River, Russia, Don. Population: History Yelets is the oldest center of the ...

(130 km through Zalegoshch, Verkhovye, Khomutovo and Krasnaya Zarya) ** branch in Livny and Dolgoye * historical

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

— Oryol (64 km through Naryshkino and Khotynets) * Oryol — Dmitriyev (83 km through

) *

— Kolpna (20 km)

Demographics

Life expectancy in Russian subject -Oryol Oblast

Population: Vital statistics for 2024: *Births: 4,509 (6.5 per 1,000) *Deaths: 10,978 (15.9 per 1,000) Total fertility rate (2024):
1.18 children per woman Life expectancy (2021):
Total — 68.97 years (male — 64.04, female — 73.81) ; *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

- 96.1% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

- 1% *Others - 2.9% *17,468 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group. ; According to a 2012 survey, 40.9% of the population of Oryol Oblast adheres to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, 5% are unaffiliated generic

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, 1% are Orthodox Christian believers who don't belong to church or belong to non-Russian Orthodox churches, 1% are adherents of the

Rodnovery The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the Slavic paganism, historica ...

(Slavic native faith) movement, and 1% are

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

. In addition, 34% of the population declares to be "

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), or less commonly "more spiritual than religious", is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not reg ...

", 8% is

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 9.1% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

References

External links

* *
Overview of Oryol Oblast
(''

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

'' newspaper)
Central Eurasian Information Resource: Images of Oryol Oblast
- University of Washington Digital Collection {{Authority control States and territories established in 1937 1937 establishments in the Soviet Union