Kaluga Oblast, Russia

Kaluga region is located in Central Russia. The Kaluga region borders on the Moscow region in the northeast, with the Tula region in the southeast, the Oryol region in the south, the Bryansk region in the southwest, and the Smolensk region in the northwest.

 

Cities

Kaluga is the administrative center of the region, located on the Oka, a large industrial center that has preserved interesting objects of temple architecture and urban development, in which objects of the history of astronautics are successfully intertwined.
Borovsk is a historical city, known since the middle of the 14th century, there has never been a heavy industry here, and the city as a whole has retained its historical appearance. Now Borovsk is interesting for its preserved architecture of the 17th-19th centuries, the atmosphere of a small county town and modern street frescoes.
Kozelsk is an ancient Russian city that gained fame during the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
Maloyaroslavets is a city-monument of the Patriotic War of 1812, where one of the most important battles with Napoleon's army took place. In 1941, the borders of Maloyaroslavets were no longer defended by the entire Russian army, but by cadets of the Podolsk military schools, but the battles turned out to be no less heroic. Following the results of two Patriotic Wars, the city received the honorary title of "City of Military Glory".
Meshchovsk
Obninsk is the second largest city in the region, the center of a fairly large agglomeration. In 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant was built here, which has now been turned into a scientific memorial complex. And in 2000 Obninsk became the first Russian science city.
Tarusa is a city on the banks of the Oka with a unique literary heritage
Medyn
Mosalsk
Yukhnov

 

Other destinations

Art Park "Nikola-Lenivets"
Kaluzhskie Zaseki Nature Reserve
Ugra National Park
Optina Monastery
Tikhonova Pustyn
Bird Park Sparrows in the village. Sparrows of the Zhukovsky district. Parrots, pheasants, ostriches and other birds live in the park, and ostrich egg omelettes are prepared in the cafe at the park.
Tarutino. In the war of 1812 - the site of the Tarutinsky maneuver, which turned the course of the war in favor of the Russian army.

 

Getting in

By train
By train, express or long-distance train from Moscow from the Kievsky railway station.

By car
From Moscow on the highways M3 and A101.

 

History

Prehistoric period

Paleolithic

The most ancient finds in the territory of the modern Kaluga region belong to the early Paleolithic, presumably to the Acheulean culture. Among them are cores, scrapers and flakes, they were found on the left bank of the Oka. Similar material was collected near the villages of Puchkovo and Nekrasovo, on the right bank of the Oka. Presumably, the elongated Mousterian point found near the village of Gordikovo on the right bank of the Zhizdra (left tributary of the Oka), two points and tools with notches from a quarry near the village of Shatrishchi belong to the Middle Paleolithic. The remains of Upper Paleolithic sites were found near the village of Troitskoye on the right bank of the Oka, near the Chertovo settlement on the right bank of the Pesochenka River (right tributary of the Zhizdra), near the village of Shatrishchi, in Kaluga on the territory of the Annenki microdistrict.

 

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic era (10-6 thousand years BC) includes the Gremyachevo, Bragino, Resseta, Neruch, Ladyzhino 1-3 and Krasnoye-3 sites. The earliest Mesolithic culture in the Kaluga region is the Ressetinskaya.

 

Neolithic

The Neolithic of the Kaluga region is represented by the sites of the Belevskaya Neolithic culture (5th-3rd millennia BC). Monuments of this culture were found near the villages of Nekrasovo, Kvan, Annenki, Nikolskoye, Timoshovka, Usadye, Peski, Voronino, Vislyaevo, Borshchovka, Kovrovo, Dugna, Troitskoye, Andreyevskoye, Borovaya, Golodskoye, Peremyshl. Near the village of Krasnoye in the 4th-3rd millennia BC there was the Desninskaya culture. A site of primitive man was discovered in the floodplain of the Luzha River. The Voroninskaya site is located on the left lowland bank of the Oka River in the Zharki-Karovo area, not far from the former village of Voronino (Nikolaevka). The Kovrov site was found downstream of the Oka River, near the village of Kovrovo.

 

Bronze Age

The burial grounds of the Indo-Europeans of the Fatyanovo culture (Mozhilovo) date back to the Bronze Age. The Fatyanovo people mastered the technique of making polished stone tools similar to metal ones. Fatyanovo polished stone tools and characteristic clay ceramics with "cord" and "geometric" ornaments, stone axes-hammers, flint arrowheads, darts, knives, and scrapers were found near the villages of Detchino and Mikheevo.

 

Iron Age

The Yukhnov culture of the Iron Age was formed on the basis of the tribes of the Fatyanovo culture. The culture is named after the Kaluga city of Yukhnov, near which artifacts from this time were found. This culture is identified with the Budins of Herodotus. In the village of Sobolevka in the Serpeisky district, Roman coins were found with the name of the consul Mark Antonius Gordianus (hereinafter Emperor Gordian III), who fought with the Goths in 237 AD on the Dnieper. This proves that the locals had relations with the Goths or Romans. At that time, the Moshchinskaya culture dominated in the Kaluga region, associated with the chronicle Golyad', an early archaeological site of whose habitation is the Ichskoye settlement. The fortified settlement of the Moshchinians on the Devil's settlement dates back to the 3rd-5th centuries.

 

Old Russian period

According to one version, in the 5th century, the Slavic tribe of the Vyatichi came to the Oka from the Vistula.

In the city of Lyudinovo, the early medieval settlement Lyudinovo 1 dates back to the 8th-10th centuries.

In 964, Svyatoslav Igorevich met the Vyatichi on the Volga and Oka. According to Nestor, the Vyatichi paid tribute to the Khazars at that time, "a ton from a plough."

At the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, the Vyatichi hieromonk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Kuksha, brought Christianity to the Kaluga region.

The first mentions of Kaluga cities as part of the Chernigov Principality appear in connection with the events of the 12th century, namely, with the feudal war of the Olgovichi and Monomakhovichi (Monomashichi) under Svyatoslav Yaroslavich (Kozelsk (as part of the Chernigov Principality) - 1146, Serensk - 1147, Vorotynsk - 1155, Mosalsk - 1231, Gorodensk - 1158).

The Mongol invasion of Batu leads to the devastation of the Chernigov Principality. The city of Kozelsk covered itself with unfading glory, having put up heroic resistance to the Mongols in 1238. After the death of the last Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich in 1246, the territory of the Kaluga region was divided between the Karachev and Tarusa principalities. Yuri, the son of the last prince of Chernigov, became the head of the latter. From the Karachev principality, Kozelsk emerged, and from that, Mezetsk and Mosalsk.

There were also Vorotynsk and Peremyshl principalities (ruled by the descendants of Mikhail Vsevolodovich), as well as the Mezetsk principality. Medyn went to the Smolensk principality, and Borovsk, Maloyaroslavets and part of the Kaluga district went to Suzdal.

 

Lithuanian-Moscow borderland

The numerous appanages of the Kaluga land became known as the Verkhovka Principalities, which became a place of constant confrontation between Lithuania and Moscow. In 1371, the Kozelsk Principality became a vassal of Lithuania. In the same year, the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, in a complaint to the Patriarch of Constantinople Philotheus against the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus' Alexei, for the first time named Kaluga among the cities taken from him by Moscow. It is traditionally believed that Kaluga arose as a border fortress to protect the Moscow Principality from attacks by Lithuania. In 1408, as a result of the stand on the Ugra, the Moscow prince Vasily I Dmitrievich recognized the Lithuanian jurisdiction of the Verkhovka Principalities.

In 1445, the troops of the Lithuanians and the Moscow principalities fought on the Sukhodrev River.

In 1480-1481, an important event for the whole of Russian history took place on the Kaluga land - the "Stand on the Ugra River", which resulted in the liberation of the Russian land from the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the transformation of Moscow into a sovereign state. In 1485, the first monastery of Tikhonov Pustyn appeared on the territory of the region, founded by Saint Tikhon, a monk of the Moscow Chudov Monastery. Optina Pustyn also appeared at the same time. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Kaluga Principality existed as part of the Muscovite Kingdom, ruled by Ivan III's son Semyon.

During the Time of Troubles, the Lisovchiks captured Przemysl in 1615, and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, sent to pacify them, established himself in Kaluga. After the reunification of Russia and Ukraine in 1654, Kaluga became an intermediary in trade between Moscow and Ukraine, which greatly contributed to further economic development.

 

Kaluga Governorate

Peter I created the Kaluga Province in 1719 as part of the Moscow Governorate. By decree of Catherine II of August 24, 1776, the Kaluga Viceroyalty was established. The center of the viceroyalty took on a new appearance, the planning and development of Kaluga and to this day is a brilliant achievement of Russian urban planning art of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. During the reign of Paul I in 1796. The Kaluga Viceroyalty was transformed into a governorate. In 1799, the Kaluga Diocese was created.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, on Kaluga land, the Russian army of Kutuzov defeated the French army of Murat for the first time near Tarutino. During his retreat from Moscow, Napoleon stopped in Borovsk. Then he planned to move towards Kaluga, but the defeat near Maloyaroslavets upset his plans.

Kaluga province was among the regions that received food aid during the famine of 1891-1892. Since 1892, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky worked in Kaluga. The future Soviet Marshal Zhukov (1896-1974) came from the peasants of Kaluga province.

After the October Revolution of 1917, Kaluga province became part of the RSFSR formed in 1918. The Kaluga Soviet Republic with its own Council of People's Commissars, whose armed detachments were engaged in confiscations and expropriations, existed on the territory of the region for a short time. The head of the self-proclaimed republic was the Bolshevik P. Ya. Vitolin. In the autumn of 1918, an anti-Soviet uprising broke out on the territory of Kaluga province, in Medynsky district.

 

Kaluga Region

By the Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee "On the formation of administrative-territorial associations of regional and regional significance on the territory of the RSFSR" dated January 14, 1929, the Kaluga Governorate was abolished on October 1, 1929, and the Western Region was formed with its center in the city of Smolensk. The territory of the Kaluga Governorate became part of the Kaluga District of the Central Industrial Region (since June 3, 1929 - Moscow Region) and the Sukhinichsky District of the Western Region.

In early October 1941, Podolsk cadets delayed the advance of the German armies for several days, but on October 14, 1941, Kaluga was captured by the enemy. During the entire period of the Great Patriotic War, units of the 10th, 16th, 33rd, 43rd, 49th, 50th, 61st armies, the 20th tank brigade, the 1st air army, the 1st cavalry corps, and the Normandy squadron took part in the liberation of the region from the Nazi invaders.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 5, 1944, the Kaluga Region was formed, which included 27 districts from the Smolensk, Oryol, and Tula regions. Kaluga became the regional center. In 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant was launched in the Kaluga Region.

In 1986, as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, the southern and southwestern parts of the region were exposed to radioactive contamination.

After the collapse of the USSR, the Kaluga Region became a subject of the Russian Federation. On March 27, 1996, the Charter of the Kaluga Region was adopted, on June 6, 1996, the Law of the Kaluga Region "On Local Self-Government in the Kaluga Region" was adopted.

In 2015, the number of settlements in the Kaluga Region located within the boundaries of radioactive contamination zones due to the Chernobyl disaster was reduced from 353 to 300.

 

Physical and geographical characteristics

Geography

The Kaluga Region is located in the central part of the East European Plain. The territory of the region is located between the Central Russian (with average heights within the region above 200 m and a maximum elevation of 275 m in the southeast of the region), the Smolensk-Moscow Uplands and the Dnieper-Desninskaya province.

Most of the region is occupied by plains, fields and forests with a variety of flora and fauna. The center of the region is located on the Baryatinsky-Sukhinichskaya Upland. In the western part of the region, the Spas-Demenskaya ridge stands out within the glacial plain. To the south of it there is an elevated outwash plain, which is part of the Bryansk-Zhizdrinsky woodland, the average height of which is up to 200 m. In the north-west of the region there is a moraine plain with ozo-kame formations.

From north to south, the Kaluga region stretches for more than 220 km from 53°30' to 55°30' north latitude, from west to east - for 220 km. The area of the territory is 29.777 thousand km². The most important international highways and railways pass through the territory of the region: Moscow - Kaluga - Bryansk - Kyiv - Lvov - Warsaw. The Kaluga region borders on the Bryansk, Smolensk, Moscow, Tula, Oryol regions, the city of Moscow (since July 1, 2012).

There are 311 municipalities in the region, including 24 districts, 2 urban districts, 26 urban and 259 rural settlements. The largest in terms of area is the Ulyanovsk district, the smallest is Tarussky.

Cities of the Kaluga region: Kaluga, Balabanovo, Belousovo, Borovsk, Ermolino, Zhizdra, Zhukov, Kirov, Kozelsk, Kondrovo, Kremenki, Lyudinovo, Maloyaroslavets, Medyn, Meshchovsk, Mosalsk, Obninsk, Sosensky, Spas-Demensk, Sukhinichi, Tarusa, Yukhnov.

 

Relief

The modern relief of the Kaluga region repeats the pre-glacial one: hilly, with river valleys, gullies and hollows. Some glacial lakes have survived to this day, for example, the deepest lake in the Kaluga region - Bezdon.

The region is located between the Central Russian and Smolensk-Moscow Uplands. On the territory of the region there are both low plains - up to 200 m above sea level, and elevated ones - more than 200 m high. These uplands are separated from each other by the Ugor-Protvinskaya lowland. In the extreme south-west of the region there is the Bryansko-Zhizdrinskoe woodland, and in the center there is the Baryatinsky-Sukhinichskaya plain.

The highest point of the region's relief is located at an altitude of 279 m within the Spas-Demenskaya ridge (Zaitseva Gora), the lowest point is in the Oka River valley (120 m above sea level). Thus, the amplitude of the relief reaches 160 m. The Kaluga Region is located in the central part of the East European Platform. The thickness of the upper (sedimentary) structural stage varies from 400–500 m in the south to 1000–1400 m in the north. Most of the sedimentary cover is composed of Devonian deposits. Their share in the south of the region exceeds 80% of the thickness of the entire sedimentary stratum (including Quaternary formations). On the territory of the Kaluga region, 4 geological and economic regions have been identified: North-Eastern, Central, Southern and North-Western.

 

Climate

The climate of the Kaluga Region is temperate continental with pronounced seasons: moderately hot and humid summers and moderately cold winters with stable snow cover. The average temperature in July is from +18°C in the north to +21°C in the south, in January from -12°C to -8°C. The warm period (with a positive average daily temperature) lasts 205 (north) - 220 (south) days.

A significant amount of solar radiation enters the earth's surface of the region - about 115 kcal per 1 cm². The average annual air temperature ranges from 3.5-4.0 in the north and north-east to 4.0-4.6 degrees in the west and south of the region. The average duration of the frost-free period in the region is 203-223 days. The coldest northern part of the region. Its central part belongs to moderately cold. In the south of the region, in the forest-steppe zone, the climate is relatively warm. The coldest in the region is in the Obninsk region, the warmest is in the Zhizdra region. According to the amount of precipitation, the territory of the Kaluga region can be attributed to the zone of sufficient moisture. The distribution of precipitation over the territory is uneven. Their number ranges from 780 to 826 mm in the north and west to 690-760 mm in the south. The peculiarity of the region's climate is frequent spring frosts, as well as the alternation of hot, dry and cold, humid summers, which determines the risky nature of agriculture in the region.

There are six meteorological stations of Roshydromet in the region.

 

Hydrography

There are 2043 rivers flowing in the region with a total length of 11,670 km. Of these, 280 rivers have a length of more than 10 km, with a total length of 7455 km, and there are 1763 rivers and very small streams (streams) less than 10 km long in the region. Their total length is 4215 km. The average density of the river network is 0.35 km/km². The basis of the water system is the Oka River, other large rivers of the region are the Ugra, Zhizdra, Bolva, Protva, Vorya, Ressa, Shan, Yachenka.

There are 19 reservoirs in the region with a total volume of more than 1 million m³ each. The total volume of reservoirs is about 87 million m³, of which 30 million m³. Reservoirs - Lompad (Upper Lyudinovskoe) on the Nepolot River (a tributary of the Bolva), located in the Lyudinovsky district, the area of \u200b\u200bthe mirror is 870 hectares; Verkhne-Kirovskoye on the Pesochnya River (a tributary of the Bolva), located in the Kirovsky District with a surface area of 215 hectares; Brynskoye on the Bryn River in the Duminichsky District (a tributary of the Zhizdra) with an area of 790 hectares; Milyatinskoye on the Bolshaya Vorona River (a tributary of the Ugra) in the Baryatinsky District with an area of 458 hectares; Yachenskoye reservoir on the Yachenka River with an area of 230 hectares. The number of lakes in the region is small, among them are the lakes Bezdon, Svyatoe, Galkino, Bezymyannoye, Sosnovoe (Baryatinsky, Dzerzhinsky, Yukhnovsky, Kozelsky, Zhizdrinsky districts).

There are about 500 peat bogs on the territory of the region. The area of most of them does not exceed 100 hectares. The swampiness of the region is less than 1%. Bogs are distributed unevenly throughout the region. The most swampy are the northwestern and western regions (the basin of the Ugra River), as well as the Bryansk-Zhizdrinsky woodland. The largest swamps are Ignatovskoe, Kalugovskoe, Krasnikovskoe, Shatino.

 

Minerals

The specific value of the subsoil of the Kaluga region is more than 8 million rubles/km². On the territory of the region, 550 deposits of solid minerals for 19 types of mineral raw materials, 131 deposits of fresh groundwater and 13 deposits of mineral groundwater have been discovered and explored. The mineral resources of the region are represented by phosphorites, brown coals, mineral paints, gypsum, building stones, chalk for construction work, carbonate rocks for liming soils and the pulp and paper industry, refractory and refractory clays, fusible clays for the production of bricks and expanded clay and thermolite gravel, clays for drilling fluids, sand and gravel material, glass and molding sands, sands for construction works and the production of silicate products, peat, sapropel and mineral waters.

There are 24 deposits in the region with industrial reserves of more than 220 million m³ of clay, of which 14 deposits are being intensively developed today. The Ulyanovsk deposit of refractory and ceramic clays is one of the largest in Russia and has not yet been developed by industry. It accounts for 16.2% of the reserves of refractory clays in the Central Federal District (CFD). Such clays are used for the production of refractory products used in metallurgy, cement, glass and other industries in which production processes are associated with high temperatures. With the stable development of construction in the Central Federal District, the demand for clay from the Ulyanovsk deposit will be 600-700 thousand tons per year. The Ulyanovsk deposit has every prospect of becoming the main raw material base for the construction industry and the refractory industry not only in the Kaluga region. The total balance reserves of the brown coal deposit of the Moscow region coal basin are 1,240 million tons, including: Vorotynskoye (410 million tons), Severo-Ageevskoye (151 million tons), Seredeiskoye (150 million tons), Studenovskie areas (103 million t.) and others. Despite the low quality of coal, the raw material is of interest due to its proximity to large consumers. The balance reserves of peat are about 24 million tons. The mineral and raw material potential of the region makes it possible to meet the needs of enterprises in the main types of non-metallic minerals (building stones, sand and gravel, building and silicate sands, fusible clays and loams for the production of bricks and expanded clay).

At the beginning of 2015, 115 licenses for the right to develop subsoil plots containing common minerals, and 15 licenses for the right to develop subsoil plots containing non-common minerals, are valid in the Kaluga Region.

 

Soils

The predominant soils of the region are soddy-podzolic soils (occupying approximately 71%). Soddy-strongly podzolic soils are widespread on the watersheds. In the northern part of the territory in the east and southeast, the regions are predominantly soddy-weakly podzolic, in the floodplains - alluvial. Soddy-podzolic gley and gley soils are widespread in the south. In the central part and in the east, there are predominantly gray and light gray soils (occupying about 12.4%).

 

Vegetation

Forests occupy 45.2% of the territory of the Kaluga region. The total timber stock is 267.7 million m³. 30% are conifers, 67% are softwoods.

As of the beginning of 2015, the allowable volume of timber harvesting is 3 million 801.3 thousand m³ per year. The development of the allowable cutting area is carried out at the level of 30%. The annual growth of plantings is 4.8 million m³.

The forest zone of the region includes two subzones: coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests. In the subzone of coniferous-deciduous forests, various types of spruce forests predominate. The tree layer in such forests is composed of European spruce with an admixture of pine, birch, aspen, linden, and pedunculate oak. In the subzone of deciduous forests, primary forests occupy a small area between the rivers Vytebet, Zhizdra and Oka. The edificatory species in such forests are mainly pedunculate oak, heart-shaped linden, common ash, and elms. These forests, unlike coniferous ones, are polydominant, having up to 7-8 tiers. Usually there is an admixture of birch and aspen in the second tier, plains maple, wild apple, common pear, blackthorn, mountain ash in the third tier. A layer of shrubs is developed (common hazel, warty euonymus, European euonymus, etc.). The grass cover is dominated by early spring ephemeroids and perennials.

Extrazonal vegetation in the region is represented by pine and small-leaved forests, swamps and meadows. Scotch pine forms forests on sandy deposits of ancient alluvial plains, on sandy terraces of river valleys, and on swampy peaty soils. These are white moss burs, green moss burs, sphagnum burs, complex burs. The tree layer of small-leaved and derived mixed forests is formed by silver birch, downy birch, aspen, goat willow, spruce, pine and oak. Meadows are divided into floodplain and continental.

 

Animal world

Over a two-century period of study, several thousand species of invertebrates and 396 species of vertebrates have been recorded on the territory of the Kaluga region.

132 species of vertebrate animals are listed in the Red Book of the Kaluga Region, including 36 from the corresponding list of objects of protection of the Russian Federation.

68 species of mammals have been recorded within the region. Among them are typically forest animals: brown bear, lynx, elk, wolf, hare, squirrel. As well as representatives characteristic of the steppes: hamsters, large jerboa, spotted ground squirrel, common marmot.

Over the past decades, employees of hunting farms have been resettling animals with a low population in the region. Among them are Russian muskrat, beaver, wild boar, roe deer, which have taken root well and increased their livestock.

Animals that had not previously inhabited the territory of the region were acclimatized: raccoon dog, muskrat, spotted and red deer, which in a fairly short time reached commercial abundance. Bison sometimes began to enter the southern regions of the region, after they were released into the Orlovskoe Polesye National Park, they are also kept in the Ugra and Kaluga Zaseki national parks.

Among the inhabitants of the waters of the region, 2 species of lampreys, 41 species of bony fish were noted. The diversity of the ichthyofauna is associated with a large difference in the conditions of existence. Thus, the brook lamprey lives in the Oka basin, and the Ukrainian lamprey lives in the Desna and its tributaries. In stagnant reservoirs, golden and silver carp, tench and many other species are common. In pond farms, carp, silver carp, grass carp and sometimes peled are grown. Of the valuable commercial species, the largest share falls on bream. Of the rare species, you can meet the sterlet, the Russian quicksand, the sculpin, listed in the Red Book of Russia. Among the 11 species of amphibians, the crested and common newts, the red-bellied toad, the common and green toads are common, and the lake, pond, moored and grass frogs are numerous.

Reptiles are represented by 7 species, including snakes: from poisonous ones - an ordinary viper, safe ones - an ordinary snake and copperhead. Lizards are common - a nimble and brittle spindle that lacks limbs and is often confused with snakes.

267 species of birds were registered on the territory of the region, of which 177 were noted for nesting, 58 - only on migration, 32 flew irregularly. There was an increase to 93 species of the proportion of wintering birds, which is associated with anthropogenic transformations of landscapes. The most important habitats of birds of prey are located on the territory of the Kaluzhskiye Zaseki nature reserve and in the interfluve of the Vytebet and Resseta. The most numerous are: among waterfowl - mallard; semiaquatic - black-headed gull; forest dwellers - chaffinch, chiffchaff; along the coasts of the rivers - the coastal swallow; in settlements - rock dove, black swift, rook, tree sparrow.

 

Nature protection and ecological state

According to the state report “On the State and Protection of the Environment of the Russian Federation”, annually published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, the Kaluga Region is one of the cleanest regions of the Central Federal District in terms of environmental.

Ecological expertise, regulation, licensing and state control in the field of environmental protection in the Kaluga region are carried out by several authorized state bodies.

Since 2008, a territorial system for monitoring the state of the environment has been operating in the region. The territorial information resource of data on the state of the environment is in the open access mode on the official website of the Kaluga region.

In 2013, the Investment Council under the Governor of the Kaluga Region made a decision to create an Ecotechnopark. When designing the park, the best technologies will be applied to ensure sanitary and environmental safety. The priority is to solve the problems of protecting the environment from sources of pollution of surface and ground waters, storage and disposal of industrial and domestic waste, radiation safety, and reducing emissions of harmful substances into the air. However, many residents of the village of Detchino, where the construction of an eco-technopark is planned, were categorically against it.

The share of the Kaluga Region in the total volumes of emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air and discharges of polluted wastewater into water bodies of the Central Federal District is insignificant. In terms of capturing and neutralizing harmful substances, the region is in third place, behind the Bryansk and Belgorod regions. The largest part of harmful emissions into the atmosphere comes from Kaluga, Kirov, Obninsk, Lyudinov and the Dzerzhinsky district.

In 1986, as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, the southern and southwestern parts of the region were exposed to radioactive contamination. Radiological monitoring is carried out in 9 districts. The radiation background corresponds to the current radiation situation. On the territory of the region, active work is being carried out to receive, store, move and process non-ferrous and ferrous scrap, glass, and waste paper. In 2015, the number of settlements in the Kaluga region located within the boundaries of the zones of radioactive contamination due to the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was reduced from 353 to 300.

Non-waste technologies are being introduced at the enterprises of the region. Primary sorting of waste is carried out at the MP "Polygon" (Obninsk), etc. Several ecological settlements have been created and are successfully developing in the Kaluga region. ".

 

Population

The population of the region according to Rosstat is 1,070,264 people. (2023). Population density - 35.94 people / km2 (2023). Urban population - 75.24% (2018).

 

Employment

The unemployment rate in the Kaluga region before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was considered not very high - in 2019, the region was in ninth place in the Central Federal District in terms of unemployment. However, by May 2020, the unemployment rate increased markedly, the number of unemployed became 1.5 times higher compared to the same period in 2019. At the end of 2020, the situation improved and the region entered the top 10 regions with the lowest unemployment in the country (8- oh place).

All the largest employers included in the list compiled by the State Employment Service (by the number of vacancies) at the end of 2020 represent medical institutions. These are Kaluga Regional Clinical Hospital, Central Interdistrict Hospital No. 1, Central Interdistrict Hospital No. 5, Clinical Hospital No. 8.

List of the 10 largest industrial enterprises by number of employees (2019):

LLC "Volkswagen Group Rus"
LLC "Kaluga Turbine Plant"
PJSC "Kadvi"
JSC "Typhoon"
JSC ONPP Tekhnologiya named after A. G. Romashina»
JSC Kalugaputmash
PSMA Rus LLC
JSC LTZ
JSC "Kaluga plant" Remputmash ""
JSC "Itera"

 

Economy

Kaluga Oblast is a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. The economic and geographical position of the region is also determined by the geographical proximity of industrial centers of Central Russia, such as Moscow, Tula and Bryansk.

Kaluga Oblast has created all the conditions for the development of not only large, but also small and medium-sized industries. Investors who have located their industries in the region recognize that the investment policy of Kaluga Oblast meets the best world standards. The legislative and regulatory framework of the region guarantees the safety of capital investments. From 2006 to 2018, 112 new enterprises were opened, more than 30 thousand jobs were created. More than 200 international projects are being implemented in the region. Kaluga Oblast received 8.4 points in the monthly rating of socio-political stability of regions from the Petersburg Politics Foundation for November 2018 (a group with maximum socio-political stability).

The largest international corporations have opened their production facilities in the region: Volkswagen, Volvo, Peugeot, Citroen, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Berlin-Chemie and others. Enterprises representing traditional sectors of the economy are actively developing - these are manufacturers of turbogenerators and gas turbine engines, railway equipment, building materials, electronics, optics and much more. New high-tech industries are being created, engaged in research and development in various fields: from nuclear technologies, aviation and astronautics to nano-mechanics and water purification.

 

Industry

The economic policy that is being carried out in the Kaluga Region has changed the structure of the industrial complex, created conditions for the emergence of high-tech industries. In 2017, industrial enterprises of the region produced goods worth 714.5 billion rubles. There are 2,900 large industrial enterprises concentrated in the region. They form about 35% of the GRP and provide more than half of the tax revenues to the regional budget. Almost a third of the region's population works in industry.

Traditionally, the basis of the region's industry is the mechanical engineering complex. Since 2006, the volume of industrial production in the Kaluga Region has increased two and a half times. Over the three quarters of 2017, the growth of industrial production in the Kaluga Region amounted to 113.2%, the volume of shipped products per capita was over 531 thousand rubles.

 

Mechanical engineering and metalworking

The basis of industrial production in the Kaluga Region is mechanical engineering and metalworking. A distinctive feature of the mechanical engineering complex of the Kaluga Region is the wide diversification of its products:

passenger cars and trucks (OOO Volkswagen Group Rus, OOO PSMA Rus, ZAO Volvo Vostok);
electrical equipment for vehicles (OAO KZAE, OAO Avtoelektronika, OOO Continental Automotive Systems Rus);
rebar, angle, channel (OOO NLMK-Kaluga);
Scientific and Production Center for Automation and Instrument-making (FSUE NPC AP — SPZ)
turbines and turbogenerators (OJSC Kaluga Turbine Works);
gas turbine engines and walk-behind tractors (OJSC KADVI);
sand-lime stone, tongue-and-groove partitions and sand-lime brick (ZAO KZSM)
TVs and household washing machines (OOO Samsung Electronics Rus Kaluga);
radio-electronic and switching communication equipment, special-purpose communication equipment (OJSC Kalugapribor, OAO KEMZ, OAO KNIITMU);
products for the defense industry (OJSC Typhoon, JSC ONPP Tekhnologiya im. A.G. Romashin, OAO KNIRTI, OAO KZRTA, OAO KZTA);
electronic tubes and quantum technology products (OAO Voskhod-KRLZ);
apparatus and equipment for nuclear power plants and radiochemical production (OAO PZ Signal);
diesel locomotives, machines and mechanized tools for repair and operation of railway tracks (OAO Lyudinovsky Diesel Locomotive Plant, OAO Kalugaputmash, OAO KZ Remputmash, OAO Kalugatransmash);
measuring instruments (ZAO NPO Prompribor, OOO NPP Metra);
kitchen hoods (OAO Elmat)
steel pipes, aluminum profile, greenhouses (OOO Agrisovgaz);
metal structures and buildings made of sandwich panels (OOO Ruukki Rus);
products made of cast iron, steel and non-ferrous castings (ZAO Krontif-Center, OAO Kirovsky Zavod, OAO Spetslit);
cable products (ZAO Zavod Lyudinovokabel, ZAO Transvok).

 

Pharmaceutical industry

As of 2017, 63 pharmaceutical companies were registered in the region. A pharmaceutical cluster has been formed in the Kaluga Region, the basis of which is made up of enterprises engaged in the development of scientific ideas and the implementation of new technologies.

Production of finished dosage forms:
"Hemofarm" (STADA Group of Companies, Germany) has been operating in the Kaluga Region since 2007. The company was the first in Russia to export medicines not only to Europe, but also to the USA;
"Berlin-Chemie/Menarini", Menarini Group of Companies (Italy);
"Novo-Nordisk" (Denmark);
"Nearmedic PHARMA" (Russia);
"Astra Zeneca" (Sweden-Great Britain). Pilot production of pharmaceutical substances and development of technologies in biopharmaceuticals:
Chemical and pharmaceutical company OOO "BION";
LLC "Scientific and Production Company "Medbiopharm";
CJSC "MIR-PHARM". Services for the disinfection of pharmaceutical substances and finished dosage forms, waste from pharmaceutical production of enterprises included in the Kaluga biopharmaceutical cluster;
LLC "NPP "Omitex".

 

Food industry

LLC "Nestle Russia";
CJSC "Moscow-Efes Brewery" (until 01.10.2013 - CJSC "SABMiller Rus");
OJSC "Obninsk Meat-Processing Plant";
LLC "Invest Alliance";
LLC "Zuegg Russia";
"Obninsk Dairy Plant" - a branch of OJSC "Wimm-Bill-Dann";
OJSC "MosMedynAgroprom" - production of dairy products;
LLC "Agro-Invest" - year-round cultivation of vegetables products;
OOO F-TRAUT — a fish farming complex for growing salmon;
OOO EkoNiva-APK Holding — dairy and meat farming, crop production, professional seed production;
OOO Verny Put — a mushroom growing complex;
ZAO Partner-M — production of food ingredients;
OOO Greenwise (Greenwise LLC) — production of plant-based alternatives to meat products.

 

Light industry

The light industry of the Kaluga region unites about 250 enterprises and organizations of various forms of ownership, 11 of which are large and medium-sized. The main types of light industry production in the region are represented by the following enterprises:
OAO Ermoolino — textile production;
OAO Runo — textile production;
OAO Sukhinichskaya Sewing Factory — clothing production;
OOO Lyudinovskaya Sewing Company — clothing production;
Yukhnovskaya Sewing Factory LLC — clothing production;
Kalita OJSC — shoe production;
Kaluga Obuv LLC;
Forio LLC — shoe production.

When diversifying the economy, great attention is paid to the development of various industries in the region. Kaluga Region enterprises produce paper, cardboard packaging, chipboard and fiberboard, laminated board, brick, ceramic sanitary ware, reinforced concrete structures, rubber and plastic products, pipes, profiles and much more.

 

Investments

Kaluga Region is one of the leaders in attracting foreign investment into the region’s economy. The region has developed an effective investment development strategy and created a favorable investment climate. The key points of the investment strategy are the placement of production facilities in industrial parks and special economic zones, low investment risks, tax incentives and legislatively enshrined administrative support from government bodies and specially created development institutions (Kaluga Region Development Corporation, Regional Development Agency, Innovative Development Agency and Industrial Logistics).

The main product that the region offers investors is the placement of production facilities in 12 industrial parks and on one of the two sites of the Special Economic Zone. The A-Park and B-Park projects offer brownfields. In total, more than 180 investment projects are being implemented in the region.

 

Automotive cluster

More than 1.5 million cars have been produced since 2007. The share of automobile production in the region's industry is 39.2%

The growth in the production of motor vehicles is 103.4% compared to 2016. At the same time, the index of production of bodies for motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers in the period under review was 76.8%. With an increase in the production of components and accessories for motor vehicles - 148.1%, the growth in the production of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers in January-June 2017 compared to 2016 was 108.5%. The volume of production of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers for January-June 2017 exceeded 121 billion rubles.

The three largest OEM car manufacturers in the region are Volkswagen, PCMA Rus and Volvo.

The Volkswagen plant was opened in Kaluga in 2007. In October 2009, full-cycle production was launched. Currently, the Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Tiguan and ŠKODA Rapid cars are manufactured here.

The PCMA Rus car plant is located in Kaluga in the Rosva industrial park. Investments in production at the time of launch amounted to 550 million euros. Previously, the enterprise produced cars in the SKD mode; since July 2012, it has been producing Peugeot 408 in a full production cycle, and since November 2012, Mitsubishi Outlander. In April 2013, production of the Citroen C4 began, and in July - Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. The production capacity of the enterprise allows for the production of up to 125 thousand cars per year.

Several Volvo Group projects are being implemented in the Kaluga Region:
Volvo Trucks plant for the production of Volvo and Renault trucks;
Volvo Truck Center Kaluga - a service center for trucks;
Volvo customs department;
excavator manufacturing plant by Volvo Construction Equipment;
Volvo Group Cab Factory manufacturing cabins for Volvo and Renault trucks.

There are about enterprises manufacturing auto components in the region, including Fuchs Oil LLC (lubricants manufacturing), Continental Kaluga LLC (tires manufacturing), Becema-Kaluga CJSC and Mercator Kaluga LLC (manufacturing attachments for trucks), a branch of Magna Automotive Rus JSC (manufacturing bumpers and front modules), Benteler Automotive LLC (manufacturing suspension parts), etc.

The training of personnel in the auto cluster format is carried out by the training center for the training of specialists for the auto industry, created in 2007, where about 100 training programs are implemented and more than 30 laboratories and workshops have been created. The center has already trained about 12,000 people for the auto industry.

 

Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Biomedicine Cluster

The growth of pharmaceutical production in 2017 was 167.2%, the production of antitumor drugs, cardiovascular drugs, and diabetes treatment drugs increased at the enterprises of the regional pharmaceutical cluster. The volume of shipped products, works, and services by the cluster enterprises at the end of 2016 was 35.3 billion rubles. The enterprises of the pharmaceutical cluster produce 150 types of drugs; more than 80% of the cluster's products are finished drugs.

The pharmaceutical cluster unites 63 participants. The "core" of the pharmaceutical cluster is formed at two sites:
Kaluga (industrial parks "Grabtsevo" and "A-Park") - production base;
Obninsk (industrial zone, high-tech technopark "Obninsk", industrial park "Vorsino") - innovative developments, including the development of small and medium-sized companies.

The development of the pharmaceutical cluster is proceeding in three main directions:
production of pharmaceutical products;
production of substances;
research in the field of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and biomedicine.

The cluster's production unit includes:
Hemofarm LLC (part of Stada AG, Germany) — production of medicines
Novo Nordisk Production Support LLC (a division of Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark) — production of insulin
Niarmedik Pharma LLC (Russia) — production of original medicines
Berlin Pharma CJSC (a division of Berlin-Chemie AG, Germany) — production of solid dosage forms
AstraZeneca Industries LLC (a division of AstraZeneca, Great Britain) — production of innovative medicines
Sfera-Pharm LLC (Russia) — production of medical intravenous solutions

Small and medium-sized innovative enterprises of the cluster (Mir-Pharm LLC, Obninsk Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company CJSC, Medbiopharm Group of Companies, Bion Group of Companies) are aimed at developing and creating new bio- and pharmaceuticals.

Scientific and educational unit and cluster partners:
Obninsk Institute of Atomic Energy of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI with the Faculty of Medicine
Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “Kaluga State University named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky”
Branch of the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation — Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry named after L. Ya. Karpov
Federal State Budgetary Institution “Medical Radiological Research Center”
Federal State Unitary Enterprise of the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation “Physics and Power Engineering Institute named after A. I. Leypunsky”
Scientific and educational center based on the competence alliance "Active Molecules Park"
Kaluga Regional Basic Medical College
Training center for training personnel for pharmaceutical production
Pushchino Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Non-profit partnership "Orchimed"
Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of Lomonosov Moscow State University
Management company of the biotechnology business incubator of Lomonosov Moscow State University

 

Transport and logistics cluster

Since the region borders Moscow, its transit potential is quite large, therefore multimodal transport and logistics terminals, customs, warehouse complexes have been built here, and automobile, railway, and airport infrastructure is being developed. The largest technology park in the region is in Vorsino, on the border of the Kaluga and Moscow regions, in the transport hub near the Kyiv highway, the Vorsino railway station and the Yermoolino airport.

The Freight Village Rosva terminal was created to improve and coordinate the logistics operations of residents of the industrial parks of the Kaluga region (Grabtsevo, Rosva, Kaluga-Yug). By 2018, Rosva had become one of the supporting facilities of the distribution network throughout the Central Federal District. The automobile terminal has an area of ​​5 hectares, the container terminal - 3 hectares. The terminal's capacity is up to 150 thousand TEU per year.

The Freight Village Vorsino terminal has a total area of ​​450 hectares; the capacity of the container terminal at the first stage is 300,000 TEUs per year, then up to 1,500,000 TEUs per year. The investment volume is 1.2 billion euros, of which about 250 million euros are investments in the construction of the logistics park. In total, 6.5 thousand people work in the technology park by 2018. Since January 2016, Vorsino has become part of the New Silk Road infrastructure project: cargo transit from Northeast China and South Korea is carried out through the port of Dalian along the Chinese Eastern Railway and the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The Kaluga International Airport and the Yermolino Airport are also located in the region.

 

Construction

Among the regions of the Central Federal District, Kaluga Oblast ranks third in terms of the volume of residential construction per thousand people. In 2017, 864 thousand m² of new housing was built in the Kaluga Region. The priority segment of the market is the construction of economy class housing.

Among the social facilities put into operation in 2017 were:
a dialysis center of the German company Fresenius on the territory of the medical town in Annenki; the center is equipped with 40 new-generation artificial kidney devices and is designed to help 240 patients;
the Pravyi Bereg - Shopino highway (reconstructed);
a school for 1,360 students - the largest in the region (microdistrict "Koshelev-proekt").

 

Energy

As of the end of 2020, seven thermal power plants with a total capacity of 142.03 MW were operating in the Kaluga Region. In 2020, they produced 217 million kWh of electricity.

In Soviet times, the construction of the Kaluga Hydroelectric Power Station began, but was stopped at the initial stage.

The region is home to the world's first nuclear power plant, the Obninsk NPP, launched in 1954.

The region occupies a leading position in gasification in the Russian Federation. The level of gasification in the region is 81%, including 66% in rural areas. In 2015, more than 1.7 billion rubles of funds from PJSC Gazprom, the regional budget and other sources were allocated to solve the problems of gasification of the region. More than 432 km of gas pipelines have been built. Blue fuel was first supplied to 34 rural settlements with a population of about 3.5 thousand people.

 

Agriculture

As of January 1, 2021, the rural population is 242,217 people, about 24% of the population of the Kaluga Region.

The main specialization of agricultural production is dairy and beef cattle breeding. Along with the main industry, agricultural producers are engaged in poultry farming, growing grain crops, potatoes, and vegetables. In the structure of the land fund of the Kaluga Region, agricultural lands amount to 1 million 817.9 thousand hectares, including agricultural lands - 1.14 million hectares, including 854.6 thousand hectares of arable land. The rural population of the Kaluga Region at the beginning of 2018 is 24% of the total.

The volume of gross agricultural production in farms of all categories in 2017 amounted to more than 43.07 billion rubles, the index of physical volume compared to 2016 was 110%, including in agricultural organizations - 23.06 billion rubles. (115.9%).

The agro-industrial complex of the Kaluga Region includes 219 organizations engaged in agricultural activities, 45 large and medium-sized enterprises of the food and processing industry, 750 peasant (farm) households, 101.0 thousand private subsidiary farms.

 

Livestock

As of January 1, 2021, there were 222.4 thousand (+10.4%) heads of cattle in farms of all categories, including 99.4 thousand (+14.4%) cows, 105.1 thousand (+0.5%) pigs, 39.8 thousand (+7.1%) sheep and goats, 600 (-4.4%) horses. Poultry - 5.5 million heads.

In 2020, farms of all categories in the region produced 137.2 thousand tons of cattle and poultry for slaughter (live weight) (+1.5%), milk production amounted to 428.2 thousand tons (+7.4%), egg production amounted to 179.5 million pieces (+7.4%). The average milk yield in 2020 was 8,070 kilograms per cow, which is the third result in the Central Federal District. (in 2019, 8,056 kilograms, second place in milk yield in the Central Federal District)

 

Dairy farming

Dairy farming in the region is a priority industry and the main source of income for most farms. In January-December 2017, farms of all categories produced 305.9 thousand tons of milk. Dairy complexes of the Kaluzhskaya Niva company were opened in the Peremyshlsky and Ferzikovsky districts for 5,600 heads. Dairy complexes are being built and reconstructed in the Dzerzhinsky, Ulyanovsky, Ferzikovsky, Kozelsky, and Baryatinsky districts. The dairy support program led to an increase in milk yield to 6,648 kg per cow.

Since 2012, the region has been implementing the “100 robotic farms” program, and the technology for robotization of the dairy industry has been implemented and is actively operating, which ensures stable production and high quality indicators with minimal labor requirements. 130 robots are already operating in 32 farms.

 

Beef livestock

In January-December 2017, farms of all categories produced 112.2 thousand tons of livestock and poultry for slaughter (live weight). In January-December 2017, compared to January-December 2016, the volume of livestock and poultry production for slaughter (live weight) increased by 9.3%. The largest project in the direction of meat livestock is being implemented by the Agroholding Miratorg. The sites operate in 5 districts of the region, the number of beef cattle is almost 14 thousand heads. Large producers are the Angus Genetics Center in Babyninsky District, the DIK Enterprise in Babyninsky District, and the Bioprodukt Agro in Zhizdrinsky District.

In Medynsky District, Samson-Farm LLC breeds guinea fowl. In 2016, construction of a rabbit farm designed to simultaneously house 10,000 rabbits was completed at Anna Vysotskaya's farm.

 

Fish farming

There are a number of fish farms in the region. In 2017, the Russkaya Shrimp enterprise in Maloyaroslavets District began growing shrimp. The Kaluzhskaya Trout enterprise in Peremyshlsky District has reached its design capacity.

 

Crop production

In 2020, the gross harvest of grain and leguminous crops amounted to 295.6 thousand tons (in 2019 - 242.8 thousand tons), with a yield of 31.3 c/ha (in 2019 - 30.4 c/ha). In 2016, all categories of farms received about 155 thousand tons of grain. The highest harvest is provided by Peremyshlsky, Zhukovsky, Babyninsky districts.

In the structure of the cost of livestock products, a significant share falls on feed. In 2016, more than 32 c of feed units per conventional head were harvested. Potato production in all categories of farms amounted to 309 thousand tons with a yield of 144 c/ha. In all categories of farms in 2016, 108 thousand tons of vegetables were produced. In 2016, agricultural organizations of the region planted perennial fruit plantings on an area of ​​41.5 hectares. The enterprises "Khozyain Zemli" of the Khvastovichsky district and "Griboyedoff" produced more than 270 tons of mushrooms.

 

Transport

The major transport hubs of the region are Kaluga, Obninsk and Sukhinichi.

The main highway is the M3 "Ukraine", with a traffic intensity of up to 13,800 cars per day (this highway has recently become a toll road) passing through the cities of Balabanovo, Obninsk, near Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga, Sukhinichi and the city of Zhizdra. Of great importance is the federal highway A130 "Moscow - Maloyaroslavets - Roslavl - border with Belarus" (former A-101, Moscow - Warsaw, "Varshavka"), with a traffic intensity of up to 11,500 cars per day, passing through Belousovo, Obninsk, Maloyaroslavets, Medyn, Yukhnov, near Spas-Demensk. In addition, the P132 Vyazma-Kaluga-Tula-Ryazan highway with a traffic intensity of up to 6,750 vehicles per day and the A108 "MBK" section passing through the city of Balabanovo are of regional importance. The length of paved roads is 6,564 km. The density of public paved roads is 165 km per 1,000 km².

The main railway line is Moscow-Kyiv, passing through Balabanovo, Obninsk, Maloyaroslavets, Sukhinichi. In addition, the single-track diesel locomotive lines Vyazma - Kaluga - Tula (via Myatlevo, Polotnyany Zavod, Pyatovsky), Sukhinichi - Smolensk (via Spas-Demensk), Sukhinichi - Roslavl (via Kirov), Sukhinichi - Tula (via Kozelsk), Kozelsk - Belev, Vyazma - Bryansk (via Kirov and Lyudinovo) are important. At the Kaluga-1 station there is a branch of TChE-23 Bekasovo sort. - TCh-44 for maintenance and repair of rolling stock. The length of public railways is 872 km. The density of public railways is 29 km per 1000 km².

There are four airfields in the region, including one civilian - the Kaluga International Airport near Kaluga, military ones in the city of Yermoolino and a large military airfield Shaikovka.

The list of internal waterways of Russia includes the section of the Oka from Kaluga, tourist trips are carried out along the river, excursion lines Serpukhov - Tarusa, Serpukhov - Velegozh are organized, in addition, the Kaluga - Aleksin line is organized by two Luch motor ships. The length of navigable and conditionally navigable internal waterways is 101 km.

In interregional passenger traffic, the express electric train REKS is of particular importance, the Moscow - Kaluga I route (travel time is about 2 hours 40 minutes).

 

Communications

Kaluga Oblast has a developed infrastructure of modern telecommunications. Communication services in the region are provided by more than 160 telecom operators.

 

Cellular communications and Internet

Cellular communications cover about 90% of the region. This service is provided by 5 telecom operators: the branch of PJSC Mobile TeleSystems in Kaluga (MTS), KF PJSC VimpelCommunications (Beeline), Kaluga RO CF PJSC MegaFon, KF PJSC Smolensk Cellular Communications (Tele2), Branch of ZAO Astarta in Kaluga Oblast (Sky Link). The number of cellular subscribers in the region is 1.6 million subscribers. That is, for each resident of the region (including children and senior citizens) there are 1.6 active SIM cards. Wired and wireless Internet access services, including 4th generation LTE networks, are provided by 44 telecom operators in the Kaluga Region. The main operator providing wired Internet services in the urban districts and municipal areas of the region is MRF "Center" of PAO Rostelecom. The largest Internet providers providing wireless Internet services are the above-mentioned cellular operators. More than 70% of the region's population uses Internet services.

 

Telecommunications

At the beginning of 2015, 263 thousand public telephones were installed in the region, including 225.5 thousand for the population. During 2014, the number of fixed-line telephone users decreased by 9%, which is due to the preference for using cellular communications. About 90% of the total volume of fixed-line services in the region is provided by MRF "Center" of PAO Rostelecom.

 

Postal service

There are 451 post offices of the Kaluga Region UFPS, a branch of the Russian Post Federal State Unitary Enterprise, located in the region, of which 346 are located in rural areas, 100 are in urban areas, and 5 mobile post offices operate. A comparative analysis of the network of postal service organizations shows that, in most parameters of technical equipment and staffing with labor resources, the Kaluga Region post office is slightly higher than the average level in the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation. Today, 121 modern POS terminals operate in the post offices of the Kaluga Region, with the help of which you can receive funds using plastic cards, 670 postal and cash terminals. 205 points of collective access to the Internet for 400 workstations have been organized. Post offices have high-speed communication channels, electronic document flow for accepting payments for utilities is carried out, and accelerated money transfers "Forsage" operate.

 

Television and radio broadcasting

The main operator providing broadcasting of television and radio programs in the region is the branch of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network" - "Kaluga Regional Radio and Television Broadcasting Center". Since 2007, television broadcasting has covered 100% of the region's territory. The regional television program and regional news radio program are distributed throughout the region using satellite receiving and transmitting equipment. In addition, cable broadcasting networks are being developed in the region. Since 2013, the transition to digital terrestrial television and radio broadcasting has been carried out with an increase in the number of broadcast channels and an improvement in their quality characteristics.

 

Science, education and culture

Secondary education

As of 2017, there are 322 state daytime general education institutions in the region, with over 90,000 students. Kaluga Oblast is one of 15 regions where the subject Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture was introduced as a regional component of education on September 1, 2006.

 

Higher education

The number of higher education institutions as of 2017 is 13, of which 10 are branches of universities. The leading ones are:
Kaluga State University named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky
Obninsk Institute of Atomic Energy of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI
Kaluga branch of Bauman Moscow State Technical University
Kaluga branch of the Russian State Agrarian University

In 2007, the Center for training specialists for the automotive industry was opened. French, German, and English classes are open for children of foreigners working in Kaluga Oblast.

 

Scientific activity

The first science city of the Russian Federation, Obninsk, is located in the Kaluga Region, where research is conducted in the field of nuclear energy, space technology, telemechanic devices, radio equipment and instrumentation.

Among the largest scientific institutions are:
State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation “A. I. Leypunsky Institute for Physics and Power Engineering”
Obninsk branch of the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation “All-Russian Research Institute “Physicochemical Institute named after L. Ya. Karpova"
SSC RF "Obninsk Scientific and Production Enterprise "Technology"
Federal Scientific and Production Center Kaluga Research Radiotechnical Institute
Medical Radiological Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
Kaluga branch of the Scientific and Production Complex "Microsurgery of the Eye"
Research Institute of Materials of Electronic Engineering
Research Center "Space Materials Science" of the Institute of Crystallography named after A. V. Shubnikov of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Special Design Bureau of Space Instrumentation of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
JSC "KNIITMU"
All-Russian Research Institute of Physiology, Biochemistry and Nutrition of Animals
All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information - World Data Center
All-Russian Research Institute of Electronic Engineering
All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology
All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Meteorology
All-Russian Research Institute of Woodworking Industry

 

Culture

Also in the region there is the Kaluga Regional Drama Theater named after A. V. Lunacharsky, which is loved by Kaluga residents.

Kaluga Region ranks tenth (among all federal subjects) by the number of winners at the annual Youth Delphic Games of Russia.

 

Tourism

According to the results of 2017, the Kaluga Region entered the top ten regions in terms of tourism development. According to data for 2018, the volume of tourist flow to the Kaluga Region amounted to 2,501,400 people, which exceeded the same figure for 2017 by 2.6%.

The region has a rich historical, cultural and spiritual heritage, more than 4,000 historical and cultural monuments.

 

Religious tourism

Famous shrines located in the Kaluga Region:
Holy Vvedenskaya Kozelskaya Optina Pustyn, founded at the end of the 14th century by the repentant robber Opta;
Kazanskaya St. Ambrose Pustyn (Shamordino), founded by St. Ambrose of Optina in 1884;
Borovsky Paphnutiev Monastery, founded in the middle of the 15th century by St. Paphnutius of Borovsky;
Nikolsky Chernoostrovsky Monastery in Maloyaroslavets, associated with the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812;
St. Tikhon's Hermitage is a monastery founded in the 15th century by a hermit, St. Tikhon of Medyn;
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Vorotynsky Monastery (popularly known as Spas-na-Ugra), built in memory of the Great Stand on the Ugra River;
St. George's Meshchovsky Monastery.
Every year, the flow of guests and pilgrims to these shrines is over 100 thousand people. Also, the international Orthodox exhibition and fair "Peace and Clergy" is held annually in Kaluga.

 

Military-historical tourism

In the Kaluga region, battle reconstructions are held annually, in which military-historical clubs from different cities of Russia and abroad participate: the festival "Voinovo Pole" - a reconstruction of the culture and life of Ancient Rus', reconstructions of the Great Stand on the Ugra River in 1480 and the Battle of Maloyaroslavets in 1812, "Red Junkers" - a reconstruction of the feat of Podolsk cadets at the Ilyinsky line in 1941. The memory of these significant events is enshrined in numerous military-historical monuments, museums and dioramas. The city of Maloyaroslavets bears the honorary title of "City of Military Glory". Another city of military glory deserves special mention - Kozelsk, which resisted the Tatar-Mongol hordes for 7 weeks in the spring of 1238, burned to the ground by order of Khan Batu and called him "the evil city".

 

Ecotourism

The main ecotourism sites in the Kaluga Region include protected natural areas: the Ugra National Park and the Kaluzhskie Zaseki Nature Reserve, as well as the Vorobyi Bird Park located in the Zhukovsky District, and the Nikola-Lenivets Landscape Park in the Dzerzhinsky District.

 

Agricultural Tourism

As of January 1, 2019, the number of Kaluga Region entities providing agritourism services was more than 110, and the number of guest houses was over 600 units.

The Rural Summer project is implemented annually in the Kaluga Region. From June to September, a series of festivals on various topics are held at agritourism sites - fishing tournaments, family holidays and active recreation festivals.

 

Active Tourism

Active recreation is becoming more popular every year, so this industry is successfully developing in the region. In the Kaluga Region, there are paintball clubs, go-kart tracks, water parks, equestrian centers, water skiing and hot air balloon clubs, the Kvan ski complex, and kayaking on the Zhizdra and Ugra rivers.

 

Children's tourism

In 2017, a unique cultural and educational project for children "Russia - the birthplace of cosmonautics" was implemented in Kaluga, developed by the Tourist Information Center "Kaluga Region". The project included more than 20 events, in which about 1,000 schoolchildren took part: various master classes, lectures with cosmonauts and space industry workers, excursions, a photo exhibition, a quest game about the "space" attractions of Kaluga.

 

Scientific tourism

Kaluga is home to the country's first State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky, opened in 1967, the house-museum of K. E. Tsiolkovsky, where the scientist spent most of his life, and the only house-museum of A. L. Chizhevsky in Russia.

In Borovsk, where K. E. Tsiolkovsky lived for a year and a half, there is his museum-apartment.

In Obninsk, there is the world's first nuclear power plant, now a memorial complex, and the world's tallest meteorological tower, 310 meters high.

 

Cultural and educational

Kaluga is famous for its noble estates and merchant mansions, including the Zolotarev estate, the Bilibin estate, the Korobov chambers, and the Makarov chambers. The most significant landmark of the city is the Stone Bridge, built in the 18th century.

Near Obninsk, ancient estates have been preserved to this day: Belkino, Turliki, Bugry.

In Meshchovsk, the Museum of the Three Tsarinas was opened, dedicated to the Romanov dynasty and three Russian tsarinas who were born on Kaluga soil: the wife of the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Evdokia Streshneva, the wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, Natalia Naryshkina, and the first wife of Peter the Great, Evdokia Lopukhina.

On the territory of the Dzerzhinsky district there is the historical, architectural and natural museum-reserve "Polotnyany Zavod", where the Goncharov estate and the Shchepochkin house with painting, the second half of the 18th century are located, here is also the only paper museum in Russia "Buzeon".

In the Zhukovsky district there is the Art Museum of Garbage ("MuMu"), an art space where the problems of ecology and reasonable consumption are raised.

In Borovsk there is a monument of architecture of the 19th century, a masterpiece of Russian wooden architecture, the so-called Lace House, or the Shokin estate. Borovsk is also known as an open-air gallery - thanks to the wall paintings of Vladimir Ovchinnikov. Not long ago, the art space "House of Happiness" opened in Borovsk, where there is an exhibition gallery, a souvenir shop and a cafe. On the territory of the Borovsky district near the village of Petrovo there is the ethnographic park "Ethnomir".

In the village of Vorobyovo there is a mansion of the St. Petersburg surgeon Sergei Fedorov in the Art Nouveau style, designed by a Swedish engineer. In 2006, a memorial museum of Sergei Fedorov was opened in the "castle", but it did not exist for long. As of 2023, the building was abandoned.

The artist V. E. Borisov-Musatov, the crystallographer G. V. Wulf, the writer K. G. Paustovsky, the animal sculptor V. A. Vatagin are buried in Tarusa; the poet N. Zabolotsky and the outstanding pianist Svyatoslav Richter lived there for some time. Monuments to Marina Tsvetaeva, Konstantin Paustovsky, and Bella Akhmadulina are installed in the city park. A memorial stone is installed at the place where Marina Tsvetaeva wanted to be buried. The most significant objects include the K. G. Paustovsky House-Museum, the Tsvetaev Family Museum, the Tarusa Art Gallery, and the Poznyakov House Museum and Local History Center.

 

Sport

The Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "Football Club Kaluga" was established in December 2009.

The founders of ANO "FC Kaluga" are the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Kaluga Region, the City Administration of the Municipal Formation "City of Kaluga", and GALANTUS i K LLC. The Board of Trustees is headed by Anatoly Dmitrievich Artamonov (Governor of the Kaluga Region in 2000-2020).

In the games of the Russian Championship of the Second Division of the FNL (Group 3) of the 2021/2022 season, FC Kaluga took 15th place. The club is assigned the SDYUSHOR for football "Torpedo", which allows it to represent the Kaluga Region in the Russian Championship in four age groups.

The educational and training process and games of the official rounds in the Russian Championship are held at the football stadium "Arena Annenki".

 

Mass media

Television in the Kaluga Region is represented by the main federal and regional channels, such as Nika TV, SINV and GTRK Kaluga. The Nika TV channel is part of the only satellite television and radio network in the region, Nika. Nika TV is broadcast throughout the entire Kaluga Region, and thanks to satellite broadcasting, the signal can be received in many regions of Russia, the CIS and abroad. Nika TV is a completely independent TV channel that broadcasts without the inclusion of a network partner. Every weekday, the channel airs 8 news releases. The results of the week are summed up in an hour-long release of the program "Week", which is broadcast on Saturdays. Every weekday, the program "Main" is broadcast live, in which acute and interesting topics are discussed, journalists, experts, government officials take part in the conversation, messages from the forum are read out and calls from TV viewers are received. Various social, informational and analytical, entertainment and educational programs are also broadcast. "Regional Television and Radio Company SINV", winner of the "Teffi-Region" award, cooperates with the federal channels STS, REN TV, Domashniy, as well as the radio station Silver Rain. SINV produces its own advertising and information programs, which it inserts into the broadcasting grid of its partners. VGTRK is represented in the region by the regional branch of GTRK "Kaluga", which controls the release of TV programs "Vesti-Kaluga", "Vesti-Kaluga. Duty Part" and "Vesti-Kaluga. Events of the Week" (TV channel Russia-1), and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise is also responsible for the release of regional radio programs on the waves of "Radio Russia - Kaluga". Radio broadcasting in the Kaluga Region is represented by a fairly extensive list of radio stations. The region receives the signal of most All-Russian radio broadcasting networks. Entertainment radio programs are in demand among the population. The most popular radio stations are represented by the Kaluga Media Group (Europa Plus, Radio Shanson, Russian Radio, Dorognoe Radio, Serebryanaya Ladya), the Vyberi Radio group of companies (Hit FM, Auto Radio, Radio Dacha), local radio broadcasting companies such as Nika FM and Radio 40, as well as radio companies that do not have branches in the region (UFM, Retro FM, etc.). The information and talk radio format is represented in the region by the Radio Mayak station, which does not have a regional office. Also broadcasting in the region is carried out by the general format radio station Radio Rossii, which broadcasts programs covering local topics, such as "On the Morning Wave", "Open Studio", "Musical Gift".

 

Famous natives and residents of the Kaluga Region

Golubitsky, Pavel Mikhailovich (1845-1911) — Russian inventor in the field of telephony, public figure.
Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891) — clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, hieromonk.
Paustovsky, Konstantin Georgievich (1892-1968) — Russian Soviet writer, classic of Russian literature.
Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich (1857-1935) — Russian and Soviet self-taught scientist, researcher, school teacher.
Tsvetaeva, Marina Ivanovna (1892-1941) — Russian poet, prose writer, translator, one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.
Chizhevsky, Aleksandr Leonidovich (1897-1964) — Soviet scientist, one of the founders of space natural science, the founder of space biology and heliobiology, biophysicist, the founder of aeroionification, electrohemodynamics, philosopher, poet, artist.
Berestov, Valentin Dmitrievich (1928-1998) — Russian children's poet, writer, translator.
Blinov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich (1909-1993) — Soviet military figure, Lieutenant General (1958).
Budashkin, Nikolai Pavlovich (1910-1988) — Soviet composer, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1972), laureate of two Stalin Prizes (1947, 1949).
Buravlev, Evgeny Sergeevich (1921-1974) - Russian poet, prose writer, member of the Union of Writers of the RSFSR, member of the board of the Union of Writers of Kuzbass.
Galitsky, Ivan Pavlovich (1897-1987) - Soviet military leader, Colonel General of the Engineering Troops.
Zhukov, Georgy Konstantinovich (1896-1974) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (since 1943).
Ilyin, Vladimir Aleksandrovich (1928-2014) - Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, twice laureate of the USSR State Prize.
Kulikov, Afanasy Efremovich (1884-1949) - Russian painter, graphic artist, illustrator, theater artist, monumentalist.
Lopukhina, Evdokia Feodorovna (1669-1731) — Tsarina, first wife of Peter the Great.
Lyubimov, Nikolai Mikhailovich (1912-1992) — Soviet translator, mainly from French and Spanish. State Prize (1978) for participation in the publication of the Library of World Literature in 200 volumes.
Lyubimov, Nikolai Nikolaevich (1894-1975) — Soviet scientist and economist, Hero of Socialist Labor (1974).
Prokoshina, Alexandra Vasilievna (1918-2005) — singer, People's Artist of the USSR (1979).
Senyavin, Dmitry Nikolaevich (1763-1831) — outstanding Russian naval commander of the late 18th - early 19th centuries, admiral.
Streshneva, Evdokia Lukyanovna (1608-1645) - Tsarina, the second wife of the Tsar of the Romanov House Mikhail Fedorovich.
Terenin, Alexander Nikolaevich (1896-1967) - Russian physical chemist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, laureate of the Stalin Prize.
Tulikov, Seraphim Sergeevich (1914-2004) - Soviet Russian composer, pianist. People's Artist of the USSR (1984).
Chebyshev, Pafnuty Lvovich (1821-1894) - Russian mathematician and mechanic, Honorary Member of the Academic Council of the IMTU.
Kharitonov, Andrei Alexandrovich (1893-1967) - Soviet military figure, Major General (1942).
Yanshin, Mikhail Mikhailovich (1902-1976) - Soviet actor, director, People's Artist of the USSR (1955).

 

Full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory

Alyoshin, Andrey Vasilievich (1905 — 1974)
Alyoshin, Pyotr Nikolaevich (1925 — 1989)
Antonov, Ivan Lavrentievich (1924 — 1963)
Vasichev, Ivan Ivanovich (1922 — 1957)
Goglov, Aleksandr Fyodorovich (1899 — 1974)
Grigoriev, Nikolai Nikolaevich (1918 — 1989)
Grishakov, Aleksandr Egorovich (1926 — 2012)
Evteev, Dmitry Fyodorovich (1924 — 1971)
Egorov, Tikhon Andreevich (1903 — 1945)
Efimov, Anatoliy Filippovich (1924 — 2010)
Zimakov, Vasily Ivanovich (1925 — 1985)
Ivanov, Ivan Vasilievich (1924 — 2006)
Ilyushin, Andrey Danilovich (1917 — 1977)
Kalinin, Konstantin Mikhailovich (1925 — 2009)
Karpov, Dmitry Afanasevich (1911 — 1956)
Kileev, Ilya Andreevich (1922 — 1981)
Kotov, Fyodor Fyodorovich (1922 — 1995)
Lyantsev, Nikolai Vasilievich (1920 — 1987)
Makarov, Konstantin Grigorievich (1916 — 1980)
Mushkarov, Ivan Nikolaevich (1922 — 2000)
Petrov, Vladimir Andreevich (1923 — 1980)
Petrov, Sergey Demyanovich (1925 — 1981)
Rumyantsev, Alexey Vasilievich (1923 — 2014)
Ulyanov, Ivan Ivanovich (1908 — 1970)

 

Generals

Alexander Ivanovich Babaev (1923—1985)
Vernikov, Yakov Ilyich (1920—1993)
Galitsky, Ivan Pavlovich (1897—1987)
Glagolev, Vasily Vasilyevich (1896—1947)
Dushkin, Ivan Ivanovich (1905—1976)
Zhukov, Georgiy Konstantinovich (1896—1974)
Zakharov, Fyodor Dmitrievich (1894—1969)
Lakeev, Ivan Alekseevich (1908—1990)
Manakin, Mikhail Fyodorovich (1924—2009)
Naumov, Pyotr Izotovich (1915—1987)
Pukhov, Nikolai Pavlovich (1895—1958)
Romanov, Semyon Fyodorovich (1922—1984)
Samoylovich, Grigory Fyodorovich (1914—2002)
Sorokin, Anatoliy Ivanovich (1921—1988)
Utin, Aleksandr Vasilievich (1906—1950)
Chugunov, Ivan Yakovlevich (1921—1978)
Shkadov, Ivan Nikolaevich (1913—1991)