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

The territory of the Kaluga region has been inhabited since ancient times. The most ancient sites surveyed by archaeologists date back to the Mesolithic era (10-6 thousand years BC). The burial grounds of dark-skinned cattle breeders of the Fatyanovo culture belong to the Bronze Age.

In the 3rd-5th centuries, there was a fortified settlement of the Moshchin culture on the Devil's Settlement.

In the early Middle Ages, Vyatichi lived on the territory of the Kaluga region.

The first mention of the Kaluga cities appear in connection with the events of the XII century, namely, with the feudal war of the Olgovichi and Monomakhovichi (Kozelsk, as part of the Chernigov Principality - 1146, Serensk - 1147, Vorotynsk - 1155, Mosalsk - 1231).

The defense of Kozelsk from the Mongol-Tatars in the spring of 1238 gained fame. Batu burned the city to the ground and called Kozelsk the "Evil City".

In the 15th century, the Kaluga region was a place of constant confrontation between Lithuania and Moscow.

In 1371, the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, in a complaint to the Patriarch of Constantinople Philotheus against Metropolitan Alexei of Kyiv and All Rus', named Kaluga among the cities taken from him by Moscow for the first time. It is traditionally believed that Kaluga arose as a border fortress to protect the Moscow principality from an attack from Lithuania.

After the death of Grand Duke Roman Mikhailovich, Mtsensk and Lubutsk were not preserved behind Bryansk and entered in 1408 into the governorship established by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt of Mtsensk-Lyubutsk. By the middle of the 15th century, these cities were subordinated to Smolensk with the preservation of a special governorship in them.

In 1480-1481, an important event for the entire Russian history took place on Kaluga land - "Standing on the Ugra River", which resulted in the liberation of Russian land from the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the transformation of Moscow into a sovereign state. In the XVI-XVII centuries, Kaluga was not only a military-defensive point, trade and crafts were actively developing in the region. Sources testify that the art of wood carving and jewelry were developed in the rich city.

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. By decree of Catherine II of August 24, 1776, the Kaluga governorship was established, which united the Kaluga and Tula provinces. The vicegerency center took on a new look, the layout and development of Kaluga and to this day is a brilliant achievement of Russian urban art of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. During the reign of Paul I in 1796. The Kaluga governorship was transformed into a province. The end of the XVIII - the first thirty years of the XIX century - the time of economic stability of the region. Kaluga continues to play an intermediary role, trading with Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ukraine, Siberia, Poland and German cities.

After the October Revolution of 1917, Kaluga Governorate became part of the RSFSR formed in 1918. By the Decree 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, from October 1, 1929, the Kaluga province was abolished and the Western Region was formed with the center in the city of Smolensk. The territory of the Kaluga Governorate became part of the Kaluga District of the Central Industrial Region (from June 3, 1929 - the Moscow Region) and the Sukhinichsky District of the Western Region.

During the Great Patriotic War, units of the 10th, 16th, 33rd, 43rd, 49th, 50th, 61st armies, the 20th tank brigade took part in the liberation of the region from the Nazi invaders , 1st Air Army, 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, Normandie Squadron.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 5, 1944, the Kaluga Region was formed, which included 27 districts from the Smolensk, Oryol and Tula regions. Kaluga became a regional center.

After the demise 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”.

 

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"