Oryol Oblast
Oryol Oblast (, "Orlovskaya oblast"), also known as Orlovshchina () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Oryol. Population: 724,686 (Estimate 2021) (2010 Census — 786,935). Geography. It is located in the southwestern part of the Central Federal District, in the Central Russian Upland. 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 . Kaluga Oblast border it to the north-west; Tula Oblast is located to the north; Lipetsk Oblast — to the east ; Kursk Oblast — to the south, and Bryansk Oblast is to the west. There are of black earth soils (chernozems) in the oblast, which amounts to three-quarters of the world chernozem reserves. Climate. The climate is temperate (Köppen: "Dfb"). The winter is moderately cold, with an average January temperature is . Summers are warm and humid, with an average July temperature is . 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. The rivers of the  region belong to the basins of three rivers: Volga, Don, Dnieper. The Oka river, one of Europe's largest rivers, flows through the oblast for part of its course (190 km) and the source of which 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, along with all the other fragments of the Chernigov principality became a part of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 16th century, the fortress town of Oryol was founded, restored destroyed in the 13th century, Livny. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the territory of modern Oryol was the borderland of the Tsardom of  Russia, there are many on the strengthening of large defense line. As the reduction of the threat posed by the Tatars, agricultural activity of the area had intensified. It was created in 1937 out of three other oblasts: Kursk Oblast, Western Oblast, and Voronezh Oblast. It also included present Bryansk Oblast between 1937 and 1944. Politics. During 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 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, and after three years (in 1989-1991  he worked as secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU), 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. Economy. The main industries in Oryol Oblast are the food and light industries, engineering and metalworking, and ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. The engineering and metalworking industries manufacture production equipment for various industries, forklift trucks, construction  and agricultural equipment, and machinery for municipal services. Numerous companies in the instrument-making and electronics sectors maintain high scientific and technical potential with the latest high-end technologies and experienced specialists. First digital telephone exchange 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 and rye being the main crops. Buckwheat, oats, barley, and potatoes are also grown, and sugar beets are in great demand. The area planted in feed grains is increasing due to the expansion of livestock farming , which includes beef and dairy cattle farming, pig farming, sheep farming for meat and wool, poultry farming, and horse breeding. Transport. Pipelines and power transmission lines Routed through the region's largest oil-trunk pipeline Druzhba (202 km in area). In the southwestern part of the area being a small section of the Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod. Oryol is major hub pipelines including export to Belarus, Western Ukraine and the Baltic states, with branches passing through the Bryansk and Kursk. Automotive. As of 2016, the population of the area was motorization level 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: Railway. Main line is double track electrified main line Moscow - Kharkiv - Simferopol (136 km through Mtsensk, Oryol, Zmievka and Glazunovka). Other lines: Demographics. Population: 724,686 (est.2021); Total fertility rate: 2017 - 1.42 | 2016 - 1.59 | 2015 - 1.60 | 2014 - 1.55 | 2013 - 1.53 | 2012 - 1.54 | 2011 - 1.43 | 2010 - 1.50 | 2009 - 1.45 Ethnic composition (2010): Religion. According to a 2012 survey, 40.9% of the population of Oryol Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 5% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1 % are Orthodox Christian believers who don't belong to church or belong to non-Russian Orthodox churches, 1% are adherents of the Rodnovery (Slavic native faith) movement, and 1% are Old Believers. In addition, 34% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 8% is atheist, and 9.1% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.