Where is it? Astrakhan Oblast is located in the southwestern corner of Russia on the Caspian Sea. It shares a long border to the east with Kazakhstan; Vologda to the north. Astrakhan is in the Moscow time zone, and you can find the local time here.

What's the biggest city? Astrakhan, whose population includes 504,501 of the region's 1,005,276 million people, according to the 2002 census. Because of its location on the Volga River, the city is sometimes called the "Venice of the Volga", and it has an impressive collection of 18th and 19th-century buildings.

Who lives here? Ethnic Kazakhs and Tatars account for about 21% of the population. The rest is primarily ethnic Russians, but many other groups are represented as well.

What do they do here? If you've ever eaten Russian sturgeon, the chances are good that it was caught and process in Astrakhan. There's a diversified industrial and agricultural base. According to a story on Russia Today, Astrakhan is trying to raise its profile as a grower of great-tasting watermelons. It has developed a new golden variety, and is branding them with a "Made In Astrakhan" label. The city of Astrakhan is a key port for ships plying the Caspian Sea.

Does it have any English-language news sources? None that I have found.

How do I see what it looks like? Flickr has a beautiful collection of photos showing the Volga River, which flows through the region, and its ancient, fortified city center.

How do I get here? Though there are rail lines and highways that connect the region to Moscow, most people fly in to Narimanovo Airport. It is served by Aeroflot from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. You can also fly S7 Airlines from Domodedovo airport in Moscow.

Which adoption agencies work here? Children's Hope International is the only one I can find now. Alliance for Children used to be here, but Astrakhan is no longer on the agency's list of active regions.

Which Russian adoption bloggers have been here? Allison at "In A Land Far, Far Away" has been here four times already to adopt two boys. She and her husband are now getting ready for their first trip for adoption number three, a little girl. And as she wryly notes in this post, she'll be treated to another Russian winter. There is a sizeable Yahoo! group, Astrakhankids.

Truly trivia: Though the region shares a name with the pelts obtained from newborn lambs that have become a target for anti-fur activists, they have little in common. The Karakul lambs are largely raised in Uzbekistan, but got the name Astrakhan because they were exported through the city.

Need more information? Head straight to the Astrakhan page on Kommersant. The region's own Web site, in Russian, is here. Here's the current weather.

Image Credit: smurf5342