Ryazan

Kasimov: Oka River

Ryazan, also spelled Riazan or R’azan, oblast (region), western Russia. It occupies the middle Oka River basin and extends southward across the northern end of the Central Russian Upland and Oka-Don Plain to the upper Don River basin. North of the Oka is the Meshchera Lowland, with extensive swamps of reed and grass marsh and mixed forest of oak, spruce, pine, and birch. Considerable swamp reclamation has taken place since the 1870s, but the area is still thinly populated. South of the Oka, nearly all the gray forest and leached soils of the forest-steppe have been plowed. Agriculture and the processing of farm produce in the small towns dominate the economy. Grains are the main crop, with flax and hemp in the north and sugar beets and tobacco in the south. Vegetables are important along the Oka. Industry is concentrated in Ryazan city, the oblast headquarters. Area 15,300 square miles (39,600 square km). Pop. (2008 est.) 1,164,530.