Penza Oblast

Penza Oblast (, Penzenskaya oblast) is a  administrative division of Russia.

Geography
thumb |310px |View of the Sura River in Penza Oblast

Penza Oblast has over 3000 rivers; the overall length is 15,458 km. In the waters of the Oblast, there are about 50 species of fish.

History
The regional center of Penza was built in 1663 as a Russian fortress.

Economy
Penza Oblast is a part of the Volga economic region.

 People 
Population of this oblast: 1,386,186 (2010).

Ethnic composition (2010):
 Russians - 86.8%
 Tatars - 6.4%
 others - 6.8%

 Notable people 
 Aristarkh Lentulov, avant-garde artist
 Mikhail Lermontov, poet, writer, dramaturge, painter and officer.
 Victor Skumin, philosopher, writer, psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and medical doctor.

Related pages
 Russia

 References 

 Other websites 
People born in Penza Oblast