Oryol Oblast.

History

The chronicles mention Mtsensk in the 12th century; the land belonged to the Principality of Chernigov, then to Novosil, and by the 15th century had fallen to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Oryol was founded in 1566 by order of Ivan the Terrible as a fortress on the southern frontier. A separate Oryol Governorate appeared in 1778, and the present oblast was carved out in 1937. The city was badly damaged in the Second World War; on 5 August 1943 its liberation was marked by the first victory salute, earning it the name City of the First Salute.

Culture & traditions

Spasskoye-Lutovinovo near Mtsensk is the family estate Turgenev inherited after his mother's death, now a museum reserve of federal importance. Oryol has a combined literary museum named after Turgenev, which includes the Leskov House Museum and a Bakhtin Museum opened in 2005. The village of Ilyinskoye has the Turgenev Polesye museum. Each year the Za Okolitsey festival is held in Mtsensk District near the former estate of the poet Afanasy Fet.

Nature

The region has more than 2,000 rivers and streams. The Oka rises here and flows 190 km through the oblast, with the Zusha as a major tributary. The soils are largely black earth. Orlovskoye Polesye National Park, created in 1994, covers almost 78,000 hectares and is known for its European bison and birch and larch woods.

Sport

The region's main football club is FC Oryol. The city is also known for korfball, a Dutch game in which Oryol players represent Russia at international tournaments.

Food & drink

Oryol is farming country, growing wheat, rye, buckwheat, potatoes and sugar beet, and it ranks among Russia's leaders in sunflower and buckwheat yields. Four sugar mills process the local beet.

Practical information

Oryol is 368 km from Moscow, linked by rail since 1868, and the M2 highway runs through Mtsensk, Oryol and Kromy. The city airport has no regular flights, so most people come by train. The region runs on Moscow time. The climate is humid continental, with −9 to −11°C in January, +19 to +21°C in July and about 120 days of snow cover. May to September is the best time to visit the estates and parks.

What to see

• Spasskoye-Lutovinovo — Turgenev's family estate near Mtsensk
• Turgenev Literary Museum in Oryol — a group of museums devoted to Oryol's writers
• Leskov House Museum — one of Oryol's literary museums
• Orlovskoye Polesye — a national park with bison and birch and larch woods
• Mtsensk — a town recorded in the chronicles since the 12th century

Cities on the map

• Oryol 303,169