In terms of physical geography, Ryazan Oblast lies in the central part of the Russian Plain between the Central Russian and Volga uplands. The terrain is flat, with the highest point of no more than 300 m above sea level. Soils are podzolic and boggy on the left bank of the Oka, changing southward to more fertile podzolic and leached black-earths (chernozyom).
Human occupation of the area of the Ryazan Oblast dates from at least the Upper Paleolithic period. East Slavs, Volga Finnic, Tatar tribes inhabited the area and merged into an ethnos, a process virtually completed by the 13th century CE. In 830 the Ryazan area became part of Rus' Khaganate.
Ryazan Oblast was formed out of the Moscow and Voronezh oblasts in 1937. It took its present form in 1954 when some of its southern districts were ceded to the newly established Lipetsk Oblast. Also in 1954, it was ceded parts of southern Moscow Oblast and no border changes happened afterward.
In the post-war period of the Soviet Union recovery in the wake of growing competition between USSR and US several ambitious plans severely undermined the economical stability of the region. In Ryazan Oblast, at the behest of central government led by Nikita Khrushchev a regional administration ordered slaughter of livestock in a futile attempt to boost productivity rates (plans included tripling of meat and milk production). Because of series of misjudgement and overestimations these plans resulted in disastrous failure which is known today as Ryazan miracle (Russian: Рязанское чудо).
Processing industry (metallurgy, oil refining etc.)
26.66%
Energy
3.33%
Utilities (water supply)
0.57%
Construction
4.61%
Wholesale trade and Retail trade, professional services
14.62%
Transportation and warehousing
5.62%
Public services (restaurants and hotels)
0.61%
Information
2.81%
Finance and insurance
0.28%
Real estate
12.84%
R&D
1.69%
Administrative services
1.24%
State, security and social support
6.46%
Education
4.25%
Healthcare & social services
4.77%
Culture, sport, entertainment etc
0.82%
Other
0.35%
Ryazan Oblast is a part of the Central economic region. The oblast is economically favorable due to the water and land routes that pass through it and provide stable domestic and foreign economic ties. It is considered both an industrial and agricultural Oblast. The agriculture in the region is represented by livestock farming and plants cultivation. Livestock farming specializes in raising and fattening cattle and breeding pigs, sheep, and poultry. Beekeeping is also well developed in the region.
74,419 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[20]
According to a 2012 survey[21] 63% of the population of Ryazan Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 3% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% are Orthodox Christian believers without belonging to church or belonging to non-Russian Orthodox churches, 1% are Muslims, and 1% are adherents of the Rodnovery (Slavic native faith) movement. In addition, 15% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 9% is atheist, and 7% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.[21]
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
^Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
Рязанская областная Дума. №115-ОЗ 18 ноября 2005 г. «Устав (Основной Закон) Рязанской области», в ред. Закона №102-ОЗ от 28 декабря 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Устав (Основной Закон) Рязанской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования (22 ноября 2005 г.). Опубликован: "Рязанские ведомости", №251–252, 22 ноября 2005 г. (Ryazan Oblast Duma. #115-OZ November 18, 2005 Charter (Basic Law) of Ryazan Oblast, as amended by the Law #102-OZ of December 28, 2015 On Amending the Charter (Basic Law) of Ryazan Oblast. Effective as of the day of official publication (November 22, 2005).).
Центральный исполнительный комитет СССР. Постановление от 26 сентября 1937 г. «О разделении Московской области на Тульскую, Рязанскую и Московскую области». (Central Executive Committee of the USSR. Resolution of September 26, 1937 On Splitting Moscow Oblast into Tula, Ryazan, and Moscow Oblasts. ).
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