Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest

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 ...

and

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 ...

Ryazan Oblast Ryazan 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 Ryazan, which is also the oblast's largest city. Geography Ryazan Oblast ...

, Russia. The city is located on the banks of 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, ...

Central Russia Central Russia is, broadly, the various areas in European Russia. Historically, the area of Central Russia varied based on the purpose for which it is being used. It may, for example, refer to European Russia (except the North Caucasus and ...

, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Ryazan had a population of 524,927, making it the 33rd most populated city in Russia, and the fourth most populated in

after Moscow,

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

, and

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

.An older city, now known as Old Ryazan (), was located east of modern-day Ryazan during the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and served as capital of the

Principality of Ryazan The Principality of Ryazan (), later known as the Grand Principality of Ryazan (), was a principality from 1129 to 1521. Its capital was the city of Ryazan, now known as Old Ryazan, which was destroyed in 1237 during the Mongol invasions. The ...

up until the

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

in 1237. During the

Siege of Ryazan The siege of Ryazan happened in Ryazan on December 1237 during the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'. Ryazan was the capital of the Principality of Ryazan, and was the first Kievan Rus' city to be besieged by the Mongol invaders under Genghis Khan ...

, it became one of the first cities in Russia to be besieged and completely razed to the ground. The capital was subsequently moved to Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky (), and later renamed to Ryazan by order of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

in 1778. The city is known for the

Ryazan Kremlin The Ryazan Kremlin (), the oldest part of the city of Ryazan, is a historical and architectural museum. It is one of the oldest museums in Russia. Located on the top of a steep hill, it is surrounded by rivers and a dry moat. This monument of a ...

, a historic museum; the

Pozhalostin Museum The Pozhalostin Ryazan Regional and State Art Museum () is one of the oldest art museums in Russia. It houses about 12,000 items of Russian and Western Art, mainly paintings, graphics, sculptures, traditional arts and crafts, dating from the late 1 ...

, one of the oldest art museums in Russia; the Memorial Museum-Estate of Academician I.P. Pavlov; and the

Ryazan Museum of Long-Range Aviation Ryazan Museum of Long-Range Aviation () is a Russian thematic museum and exhibition complex located on the territory of the 43rd Air Force Flight Training and Retraining Center at Dyagilevo air base, Ryazan. Exposition of the complex combines a l ...

. In 2022, the Ministry of Construction published an updated rating of the new urban digitalization index. Ryazan entered the top three cities with a population of 250 thousand to a million people.

History

Principality of Ryazan

The first written mention of the city, under the name of Pereslavl, dates to 1095. The city became part of the independent

, which had existed since 1129, centered on the old city of Ryazan. The first ruler of Ryazan was supposedly

Yaroslav Sviatoslavich The Prince of Chernigov () was the ''kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' Principality of Chernigov, a lordship which lasted four centuries straddling what are now parts of Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation. List of princes * M ...

, Prince of

Ryazan and Murom Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

(cities of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

Invasion by Mongols

In the 12th century, the lands of Ryazan – being located on the border between woodlands and the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

– suffered numerous invasions from the southern and northern parts of European Russia. Southern invasions were usually carried out by the

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

s; on the northern side Ryazan was in conflict with

Vladimir-Suzdal The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, commonly known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the ...

, who by the end of the 12th century had burnt the capital of Ryazan several times. In the 13th century, Ryazan was the first Russian city to face Mongolian invasion by the hordes of

Batu Khan Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...

. On December 21, 1237, after a short siege, it was completely destroyed and never recovered. As a result of the takeover, the seat of the principality was moved about to the town of Pereslavl-Ryazansky, which subsequently took the name of the destroyed capital. The site of the old capital now carries the name of Staraya Ryazan (''Old Ryazan''), close to

Spassk-Ryazansky Spassk-Ryazansky () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Spassky District, Ryazan Oblast, Spassky District in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, located on the shores of Lake Spasskoye, southeast of Ryazan, th ...

. Maps of the 16th-18th centuries show Ryazan (Old Ryazan) and Pereslavl-Ryazan together.

Golden Horde

In 1380, during the

Battle of Kulikovo The Battle of Kulikovo () was fought between the forces of Mamai, a powerful Mongol military commander of the Golden Horde, and Russian forces led by Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy, Dmitry of Moscow. The battle took place on 8 September 1380, at Ku ...

, the Grand Prince of Ryazan Oleg and his men came under a coalition of

Mamai Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, ; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful Turco-Mongol tradition, Turko-Mongol military commander in Beylerbey rank of the Golden Horde from Kiyat clan. Contrary to popular misconcep ...

, a strongman of the Tatar

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

, and the Grand Duke of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, against the armies under the command of the Grand Prince of

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

Dmitry Donskoy Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (; 12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389) was Prince of Moscow from 1359 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1363 until his death. He was the heir of Ivan II. He was the first prince of Moscow to openly challenge Mongol ...

. Late in the 13th century, the Princes of Ryazan moved their capital to Pereyaslavl' (), which is known as Ryazan from the 16th century (officially renamed in 1778). The principality was finally dissolved and incorporated into the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...

in 1521. The principality's last duke,

Ivan V of Ryazan Grand Prince Ivan V of Ryazan (Ivan Ivanovich, ) (1496 – 1533 or 1534) was the last nominally independent ruler of Ryazan Principality. Ivan V of Ryazan was the only son of Prince Ivan Vasilievich and his wife, Agrippina (Agrafena) Vasilyev ...

, was imprisoned for a short time for being suspected in a treasonous attempt to seal a treaty with

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

in order to outweigh Moscow's influence. The duke fled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where he died no later than 1534. Being the southernmost border of Rus' lands at the time, Ryazan continued to suffer from invasions of

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

and their allies.

Grand Duchy of Moscow

Tsardom of Russia

Time of Troubles

In June of 1605 Ryazan became a seat for

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 737,196 Cypri ...

-born Patriarch Ignatius, a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who was sent by

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 ...

to serve as an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Ryazan. He was notorious for becoming the first church official to recognize a Poland-backed impostor False-Dmitry as a legitimate monarch, alleged Czar of

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. ...

, after meeting with his forces in Tula. Around that time Ryazan ex-duchy became a home for various noble families, most notable of which are Lyapunovs, whose brothers Prokopy and Zakhary Lyapunovs played a significant roles in shaping Russian history during Times of Troubles.

Soviet Union

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ryazan was repeatedly bombed by German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. Immediately after the war, rapid development of the city began, and it became a major industrial, scientific, and military center of the European part of Russia. On October 19, 1960 a

petroleum refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petr ...

produced its first gasoline. Ryazan housed the USSR's only producer of potato-harvesting equipment at the time. Ryazselmash factory (), an accounting machines plant, and a heavy forging equipment plant, among others, were also built. Because of the city's industrialization, Ryazan Oblast's share of workers employed in the agrarian sector shifted into the industrial sector. Ryazan was developed as a military center, and became the main training center of the

Soviet Airborne Forces The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed b ...

. Several positioned

man-portable air-defense system Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable Shoulder-launched missile, shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. They are guided missile, guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters and ...

s protect the urban sky. Besides the Airborne School (at the time named after

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov ( ; ), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (; 4 February 1881 – 2 December 1969), was a prominent Soviet Military of the Soviet Union, military officer and politician during the Stalinism, Stalin era (1924–195 ...

), Ryazan has the Automobile School and Institute of Communications, a regiment of

railway troops Railway troops are soldiers who are also railway engineers. They build, repair, operate or destroy militarily relevant railway lines and their associated infrastructure. History The establishment of railway troops by the great powers followe ...

, airbase strategic bombers, and a training center in Diaghilev. Ryazan developed particularly rapidly while Nadezhda Nikolaevna Chumakova served as Chair of the Council of People's Deputies of Ryazan and Ryazan mayor. Under Chumakova, the city's population increased from 72,000 to 520,000. Chumakova oversaw the construction of social and cultural amenities, more than 20 urban areas, and hundreds of kilometers of trolleybus, tram and bus routes. Landscaping became a fundamental strategy for the development of the city at that time. A "green" ring of forests, parks, and garden associations surrounded Ryazan, with large parks located in each area of the city, and compositions of flowers and vertical gardening became customary, not only for the main streets, but also for industrial zones and factory buildings. Ryazan repeatedly won recognition among the cities of the Soviet Union for its landscaping. During her 26 years in office, Chumakova often accepted awards of the

Red Banner In politics, a red flag is predominantly a symbol of left-wing ideologies, including socialism, communism, anarchism, and the labour movement. The originally empty or plain red flag has been associated with left-wing politics since the French ...

of the USSR on behalf of Ryazan.

Post-Soviet period

By the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, more than half of the city's GDP was being exported into its

satellite state A satellite state or dependent state is a country that is formally independent but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objects orbiting a larger ob ...

s. In the 1990s, Ryazan experienced significant economic troubles as part of the

1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the Russian rouble, ruble and sovereign default, defau ...

, with many ex-Soviet and newly established companies going bankrupt by the end of the decade. In September 1999, Ryazan suffered a series of attempted apartment bombings (see Ryazan Incident below). As of 2001, Ryazan remained significantly politically and economically influenced by the neighboring

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

Culture

Architecture

Ryazan's churches were built between the 15th and 19th centuries. File:Lenin Street 57 2017-06 1497450946.jpg, Pochtovaya street. File:Ryazan P5210580 2350.jpg, Old buildings in the city. File:Ryazan. Summer Club of the Noble Assembly P5210632 2350.jpg, Noble Assembly Summer Club. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

of 1917 it was renamed a Palace of people's arts.

Community

In 2006 and 2007, the Public Committee in Defense of the Historical and Architectural Museum "Ryazan Kremlin" campaigned against attempts by the

Diocese of Voronezh The Diocese of Voronezh () is an eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church with its center in the city of Voronezh. It Combines parishes and monasteries in the Voronezh Oblast. The official holiday is on August 28. History Until the establishment of ...

to establish ownership over the

. A number of environmental groups are active in the city, campaigning for the removal of illegal landfills and volunteering for water area clean up. In 2019 and 2020, these groups organized and staged ecological pickets and protests.

Religion

Ryazan is the seat of Diocese of Ryazan and Kasimov, an

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

of the

. Assumption Cathedral is in the city's

section.

Geography

Environment

As of 2021 an environmental pollution of air in the city remain relatively high. Excessive emissions of toxic fumes and gaseous substances such as

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...

(SO₂) from neighbouring industries (i.e. oil refinery) located next to the city are often reported by local media. In December 2020 local government was trying to address the problem by fining local commercial organizations.

Climate

Ryazan has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfb''). The highest temperature recorded is in August 2010 while the lowest temperature recorded is in January 1940.

Government

The Ryazan city governing body is divided among City's legislature (Ryazan City Duma), City administration and district's courts. Executive powers of the city are administered by a city governour, his advisers and deputies. Formal control over activities of authorities is exercised by the Public Chamber of the city of Ryazan, who work with youth involved in the headquarters of youth activists. The City Duma is a local parliament authorized to make city-wide laws. It's divided into sub-committees. Ryazan is also a system of community councils areas which are deliberative bodies coordinating the work of services housing and communal services and the Department of Public Works on urban areas.

Regional authorities

The city also hosts different regional governing bodies: Ryazan Oblast Duma (regional parliament), Government and the Governor of the Ryazan Oblast. In two urban and one suburban residence being received at the highest level.

Administrative and municipal status

Ryazan is the

of the

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 ...

Law #128-OZ and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Ryazansky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the city of regional significance of Ryazan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. As a municipal division, the city is incorporated as Ryazan Urban Circuit.Law #75-OZ

City districts

The city of Ryazan is divided into four administrative districts: * Moskovsky (North-Western) * Oktyabrsky (Eastern) * Sovetsky, including a separate Solotcha district (North Eastern) * Zheleznodorozhny (Southern)

Protests

In January 2021 the city saw a spike in protest activity. As many as 2000 people have participated in rallies in Ryazan alone as part of the

2021 Russian protests Protests in Russia began on 23 January 2021 in support of the Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he was immediately detained upon returning to Russia after being sent to Germany for treatment followin ...

Education

Important educational institutions in the city include: * Ryazan State Radio Engineering University (RSREU) **The university studies mechanical and electrical engineering, software development and others fields. **As of 2016 RSREU in a joint mission with EPAM offered free courses in software testing automation, front-end web software development (C# and .NET), and programming in

JAVA Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. * Higher Paratrooper Command Academy (HPCA), Russia state-run military school training officers for the airborne forces. Because of HPCA the city is often referred as the "paratrooper capital" (). In 2010 the institution discontinued enrollment to its paratrooping program, and now focuses on training professional sergeants for the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. * Gorky Library serves Ryazan as well as Ryazan Oblast. It is the largest library in the region. * Ryazan State Medical University (RSMU) * Ryazan State University *Various technological colleges

Crime

1990s gangs

Ryazan, like many cities in Russia after the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, saw a rise in crime during the 1990s. () (Slony for short), one of the largest gangs in Russia, managed to monopolize the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

area and the

criminal underworld Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...

of Ryazan. The name is literally translated as "Elephants", after one of its leaders' height and power: Vyacheslav Ermolov Evgenievich (born 1962) nicknamed "Elephant". Before his criminal career started he was a taxi driver. The other leader was a personal driver of the vice prosecutor of the city. In 1991, the gang became heavily involved in the

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

of newly-

privatized Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

industries, motor vehicle sales, real estate,

contract killings Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

in other regions, participated in

gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

s, and committed at least one armed attack on rivals which left eight or ten dead in November of 1993. According to Russian TV channel

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...

, the gang was linked to local authorities. By 1995, Slony managed to briefly seize control over almost the entire business community of Ryazan. This situation continued up until 1996 when local law enforcement managed to apprehend some suspects linked to the gang. By 2000 the gang was almost completely eliminated. Some members were either sentenced to jail or were on the run. One member of the group allegedly committed suicide in a detention center of

Tolyatti Tolyatti or Togliatti ( , ; , ), known before 1964 as Stavropol, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which is neither the administrative center of a federal subjects of Rus ...

in 2016 and another in Ryazan according to Russian sources. Slony's chief leader, Ermolov, was still wanted as of August 2021. In the same period, evidence was gathered against the former (4th) mayor and chairman of city

duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

, . Provotorova held powerful positions in the city for eight years, and, according to local authorities, was associated with the activities of the Slony gang. Besides Slony, there were two other powerful criminal groups which rivaled Slony and were active in 1996-2001: and . By the 2018 many of Elephants had served their prison terms and were freed. Some of members of the Osokyn's gang were sentenced up to 20 years in 2011. Its leader, who is currently a fugitive, was allegedly apprehended in 2016 by Ukrainian authorities in Ukraine.

Ryazan Incident

In 1999 a group of allegedly plain-clothes FSB officers attempted to blow up a building on the East side of the city. The event is known as the Ryazan Incident.

2000s

Today, the crime rate in Ryazan is one of the lowest among the cities 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 ...

according to the

Russian Interior Ministry The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; , ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enforcement in Russia through its agencies the Police of Russia, Migrati ...

. In the first six-months of 2012, 579.6 crimes were reported per hundred-thousand people, almost half the Central Federal District average of 839 reported crimes per hundred-thousand people. The low crime rate in Ryazan is often attributed to increased number of police patrols, high number of military schools, and voluntary militias headquarters distributed throughout the city's districts.

Economy

Major industry enterprises in the city include a military radio electronics production plant and an oil refinery (subsidiary) of

Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and pet ...

, JSC Ryazan Oil Refining Company). The plant can refine 17 million metric tons of oil per year and is the city's largest employer. Around a quarter of the city's population works in the electronics industry. The most notable company in this sector is Plazma, which produces plasma screens for products including tanks and locomotives. In 1994, the company created a 50-50 research and development joint-venture with the South Korean company Orion PDP. In addition to plasma technology, Plazma produces LCD screens, industrial gas lasers and medical lasers. The company exports its products to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, among others. In 1993

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

company

EPAM Systems EPAM Systems, Inc. is an American company that specializes in software engineering services, digital platform engineering, and digital product design, operating out of Newtown, Pennsylvania. EPAM is a founding member of the MACH Alliance. Hi ...

entered the Ryazan market. As of 2016 it worked in joint venture with RSREU helping to teach students for free. In 2012 Russian search giant

Yandex Yandex LLC ( rus, Яндекс, r=Yandeks, p=ˈjandəks) is a Russian technology company that provides Internet-related products and services including a web browser, search engine, cloud computing, web mapping, online food ordering, streaming ...

launched the 40MW data center in Sasovo; it is expected to accommodate 100,000 servers by 2019. A steel casting company in the northwestern section of the city produces heavy steelworks and product, including industrial steel pipes for use in

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s. The plant employs a centrifugal casting method.

Public transportation

A railway connects city to the Moscow (since 1864) via two train stations: and ; both of which are part of the Ryazan railroad

transit system Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

within the city's borders. Ryazan LiAZ-5280 trolley 03-2014.jpg, A LiAZ-5280

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

in Ryazan Liaz-6212ryazan.jpg, LiAZ-6212 articulated bus VL80S-1906+1573B, Russia, Ryazan region, Ryazhsk-I station (Trainpix 215018).jpg, Electric locomotives are common transportation used throughout Russia.

Airports

The

Dyagilevo Dyagilevo (also given as Dyagilevo, Ryazan Dyagilevo) is a military air base in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, 3 km west of Ryazan. It serves as a training center for Russia's strategic bomber force. , the base was home to the 203rd Guards Orlovsky ...

strategic bomber base is just west of the city, and the Alexandrovo air base is to the southeast, as is Turlatovo Airport.

Notable people

Arts

* Alexander Alexandrov (1883–1946), composer *

Erast Garin Erast Pavlovich Garin (September 4, 1980, born Gerasimov) was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter. He was, together with Igor Ilyinsky and Sergey Martinson, one of the leading comic actors of Vsevolod Meyerhold's company and of ...

(1902–1980), comic actor *

Alexander Genis Alexander Genis (born February 11, 1953) is a Russian–American writer, broadcaster, and cultural critic. He has written more than a dozen non-fiction books. Genis, an American citizen, resides in the New York City area. He is the father of Da ...

(born 1953), writer, broadcaster and cultural critic *

Yuri Kholopov Yuri Nikolaevich Kholopov (, ; 14 August 1932, Ryazan – 24 April 2003, Moscow) was a Russian musicologist and educator. Biography After graduating from Ryazan Music Regional College he studied at the Moscow Conservatoire from 1949 to 1954 with ...

(1932–2003), musicologist, music theorist, doctor of arts, and professor of the Moscow Conservatoire * Maximilian Kravkov (1887–1937), writer * Andrei Mironov (born 1975), painter *

Konstantin Paustovsky Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky (, ; – 14 July 1968) was a Soviet writer nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1968. Early life Konstantin Paustovsky was born in Moscow. His father was a railroad statist ...

(1892–1968), writer *

Alexander Pirogov Alexander Stepanovich Pirogov (; 1899–1964), was a Russian bass opera singer. Pirogov was born in Ryazan, one of five sons of a musical father. Four of the five brothers became singers, most notably Grigory, also a bass. From 1924 through 1954 ...

(1899–1964), bass opera singer *

Yakov Polonsky Yakov Petrovich Polonsky (; ) was a leading Pushkinist poet who wrote poems faithful to the traditions of Russian Romantic poetry during the heyday of realistic prose. Of noble birth, Polonsky attended the Moscow University, where he befriended ...

(1819–1898), writer *

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin ( rus, Михаи́л Евгра́фович Салтыко́в-Щедри́н, p=mʲɪxɐˈil jɪvˈɡrafəvʲɪtɕ səltɨˈkof ɕːɪˈdrʲin; – ), born Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov and known during ...

(1826–1889), satirist *

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and Soviet dissidents, dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag pris ...

(1918–2008), writer *

Sergei Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin (, ; 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century. One of his narratives was "lyrical evocations ...

(1895–1925), poet *

Semen Zhivago Semen Afanasyevich Zhivago (, 1807–1863) was a Russian historical painter. Biography The son of a merchant from Ryazan, he taught himself how to paint from a young age. In 1826, he presented his work to Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia, ...

(1807–1863), historical painter

Athletics

Anton Belov Anton Sergeyevich Belov (; born 29 July 1986) is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has previously playe ...

(born 1986), professional ice hockey defenceman * Olga Kaliturina (born 1976), high jumper * Maria Kalmykova (born 1978), basketball player * Yuri Kuleshov (born 1981), professional football defensive midfielder * Irina Meleshina (born 1982), long jumper *

Ivan Nifontov Ivan Vitaliyevich Nifontov (; born 5 June 1987, in Pavlodar) is a Russian judoka. He won the bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an i ...

(born 1987), judoka * Sergei Panov (born 1970), basketball player * Konstantin Selyavin (born 1974), former Russian professional football player * Kirill Sosunov (born 1975), long jumper *

Alexandra Trusova Alexandra "Sasha" Vyacheslavovna Ignatova (née Trusova; rus, Александра Вячеславовна Игнатова née Трусова, , ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈtrusəvə; born 23 June 2004) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 O ...

(born 2004), figure skater

Engineering and science

* Andrey Arkhangelsky (1879–1940), geologist * Victor Balykin (born 1947), Russian physicist *

Vladimir Gulevich Vladimir Sergeevich Gulevich (; 18 November 1867 – 6 September 1933) was a Russian and Soviet biochemist who first isolated carnosine from mammalian muscle. Biography Gulevich graduated in 1890 and received the degree of doctor of medicine in 18 ...

(1867–1933), biochemist *

Aleksei Kozhevnikov Aleksei Yakovlevich Kozhevnikov (; 5 March 1836 - 23 October 1902) was a Russian neurologist and psychiatrist who was a native of Ryazan. Biography From 1853 until 1858 he studied medicine at the University of Moscow, and furthered his education ...

(1836–1902), neurologist and psychiatrist *

Nikolai Kravkov Nikolai Pavlovich Kravkov (in Russian Николай Павлович Кравков) was a prominent Russian pharmacologist, Full Member of the Imperial Military Medical Academy (1914), Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Science (1 ...

(1865–1924), pharmacologist * Sergey P. Kravkov (1873–1938), soil scientist * Sergey V. Kravkov (1893–1951), psychologist and psychophysiologist *

Nataliia Lebedeva Nataliia Ivanova Lebedeva (July 19, 1894 – May 19, 1978) was a Soviet ethnographer and anthropologist known for her studies of textiles in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. She was born and died in Ryazan. She was a pioneer in the study of material ...

(1894–1978), ethnographer and anthropologist *

Andrey Markov Andrey Andreyevich Markov (14 June 1856 – 20 July 1922) was a Russian mathematician best known for his work on stochastic processes. A primary subject of his research later became known as the Markov chain. He was also a strong, close to mas ...

(1856–1922), mathematician * Ivan Michurin (1855–1935), biologist * Sergey Nepobedimy (1921–2014), designer of rocket weaponry *

Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...

(1849–1936), physiologist *

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (; rus, Константин Эдуардович Циолковский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj, a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) was a Russi ...

(1857–1935), engineer

Others

Dmitry Andreikin Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin (, born 5 February 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster, World Junior Chess Champion in 2010 and two-time Russian Chess Champion (2012 and 2018). He won the Tashkent leg of FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15 and finish ...

(born 1990), chess grandmaster *

Roman Putin Roman Igorevich Putin (; born 10 November 1977) is a Russian businessman and president of the Russian Taekwondo Federation. He is the son of businessman Igor Putin who is a first cousin of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Early life and educa ...

(born 1977), businessman * Lydia Fotiyeva (1881–1975), Bolshevik revolutionary

Twin towns and sister cities

Ryazan is twinned with: *

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

, Italy *

Bressuire Bressuire (; ; Poitevin: ''Beurseure'') is a commune in the French department of Deux-Sèvres, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton. Notable buildings Bressuire ha ...

, France * Brest, Belarus *

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, Italy *

Lovech Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of ...

, Bulgaria *

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

, Germany *

New Athos New Athos or Akhali Atoni is a town in the Gudauta Municipality of Abkhazia situated some from Sokhumi by the shores of the Black Sea. The town was previously known under the names Nikopol, Acheisos, Anakopia, Nikopia, Nikofia, Nikopsis, Absara ...

, Georgia *

Ostrów Mazowiecka Ostrów Mazowiecka (; ) is a town in eastern Poland with 23,486 inhabitants (2004). It is the capital of Ostrów Mazowiecka County in Masovian Voivodeship. History Ostrów was granted town rights in 1434 by Duke Bolesław IV of Warsaw. Its name ...

, Poland *

Xuzhou Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 Chinese census, 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in ...

, China

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Ryazan

Unofficial website of Ryazan

Unofficial website of Ryazan region

Photos of RyazanPhotos of Ryazan

(inside the Ryazan kremlin)

(motherland of the

) and other photos.
Photos of historical part of Ryazan
{{Authority control Ryazansky Uyezd Populated places established in the 11th century