Ryazan.

History

The town is first mentioned in 1095 under the name Pereslavl. Its story is unusual: the old capital of the Ryazan principality, now called Old Ryazan, was completely destroyed in the Mongol invasion of 1237, and the capital moved to Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky. Over time it took on the name of the lost city, and in 1778 Catherine the Great officially renamed it Ryazan. The medieval era survives in the kremlin, with churches from the 15th to 19th centuries, which is now a museum.

Culture & traditions

The Ryazan Kremlin with its Assumption Cathedral is the city's main historical museum. The Pozhalostin Art Museum is regarded as one of the oldest art museums in Russia. The Memorial Museum-Estate of Academician Ivan Pavlov tells the story of the great physiologist. Ryazan and its villages are linked with the poet Sergei Yesenin, a native of Konstantinovo, the scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who lived in the city.

Sport

Ryazan has produced many well-known athletes, among them figure skater Alexandra Trusova, ice hockey player Anton Belov, high jumper Olga Kaliturina and judoka Ivan Nifontov.

Practical information

Ryazan has been linked to Moscow by rail since 1864 and has two main stations. Turlatovo airport has no regular passenger flights, so air travellers usually come via Moscow. The climate is humid continental, with cold winters and warm, sometimes hot summers, so May to September is the best time to explore the kremlin and the Oka banks.

What to see

• Ryazan Kremlin — a museum-reserve with 15th–19th-century churches above the Oka
• Assumption Cathedral — the kremlin's principal church
• Pozhalostin Art Museum — one of Russia's oldest art collections
• Pavlov Memorial Museum-Estate — the world of the great physiologist
• Konstantinovo — Sergei Yesenin's home village in Ryazan Oblast