Where is it? Vologda Oblast is a region in northwestern Russia. It borders on the regions of Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Tver, Novgorod and Leningrad, as well as the Republic of Karelia. It is in the same time zone as Moscow. You can find the current local time here.

What's the biggest city? Cherepovets, which is located about 300 miles from both Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city's population was 311,869 as of the 2002 census, out of some 1.3 million inhabitants in the region at large. Other major cities include the administrative center of Vologda (pop. 293,046).

Who lives here? Mostly ethnic Russians. But the industries that make Cherepovets and the entire region hum have attracted workers from all over the former Soviet Union.

What do they do here? This is the industrial heartland of Russia. It is home to one of the country's biggest steel companies, Severstal, owned by billionaire Alexei Mordashov. Volodga also, paradoxically, is said to produce the best butter in Russia, which is why you'll find all sorts of pictures of cows on the photo Web sites about the region.

How do I get here? Severstal Airlines grew out of the steel company of the same name. It flies from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Helsinki to Cherepovets Airport. You can also take a train from either Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Which adoption agencies work here? The Gladney Center for Adoption. Russian authorities have just given the green light to SOS-Kinderdorf International to build one of its children's villages here.

Which Russian adoption bloggers have been here? Folks, I've come up with a big zero on this one--no adoption bloggers, no Russia Forum members who have been to either Vologda or Cherepovets. There is a small Yahoo! group, Vologda, but it is not limited to adoption.

Truly trivia: Severstal, the giant Russian steel company that has its base of operations in Cherepovets, bought U.S.-based Rouge Steel in 2004. Severstal also owns one of Russia's top hockey teams, Severstal Cherepovets, so maybe you can catch a game while you are in town.

Need more information? "Way To Russia" hasn't found its way here, despite the presence of what seem to be fascinating tourism destinations like the Spaso-Prilutsky monastery (that's the picture on this post!). Thankfully, Kommersant has been. The region has an English-language Web site, too. Here's the current weather in Vologda.


Image Credit: ikarus91