Where is it? Ryazan Oblast, or region, is located in the center of the European side of Russia, southeast of Moscow Oblast. It is also bordered by the oblasts of Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Tambov, Lipetsk and Tula, and the Republics of Mordovia. Ryazan is in the Moscow time zone .

What's the biggest city? Ryazan, which accounts for 535,000 of the region's 1.2 million people, according to the 2002 census. Kasimov, Sasovo, Skopin and Ryazhsk are its other large cities. The city of Ryazan is more than 900 years old, making it one of the oldest in Russia. The oldest extant parts... more