Moscow Oblast – Map, Location & Key Details

Moscow Oblast is a federal subject (in most informal usage called Podmoskovye) of the Russian Federation. Completely surrounding or enclosing the city of Moscow but not including it in itself, it serves as a belt of suburban and industrial areas around the capital. It is 55th in the index of area among the federal subjects of Russia, covering an area of some 44,329 km². Having a population of 8.5 million people (2021 Census), it is the second most populous region in the country, after the city of Moscow itself, thus being one of the most densely populated regions in Russia.

History

The existence of modern Moscow Oblast territory dates back more than 20,000 years, long before the birth of Muscovy. Palaeolithic camp sites, fortified sites typical of the Iron Age and burial mounds have all been archaeologically found, which testify to the continuous presence in the region. Until the 9th-10th century, the Moskva River basin was a province of Finnic peoples, especially the Merya and Muroma, and East Slavic tribes started to gradually settle this region in the 10th century, assimilating these natives.

The lands of the Moskva River were absorbed by the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal in the course of the medieval period. Moscow was mentioned in chronicles as a meeting place of the regional princes for the first time in 1147, although it was a very small settlement. During the 187th century and 1878, in the reign of the Rurikid princes, most importantly and prominently amongst them was Daniel of Moscow and his heirs, the region was increasingly notable as the birthplace of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. By the end of the 14th century, Moscow was the major cultural and administrative centre of northeastern Rus group gradually replacing more senior importance held by such cities as Tver and Novgorod.

At the beginning of January 1929, the Soviet government merged some governorates and regions to form the Central Industrial Oblast, which was immediately renamed to Moscow Oblast. Such a new rearrangement was established to streamline administrative control and speed industrial development in the centre of the Soviet Union. In the 1930s, Moscow Oblast was a model of Soviet industrialisation, and new factories, hydroelectric power plants and rail connections increased the output and urbanisation.

Historically, the battle of Moscow (October 1941 to January 1942) during the period of World War II served as one of the turning points in the history of the oblast and the country in general. The capital of Russia was threatened as Nazi troops came to the suburbs of Moscow Oblast. A huge Soviet counter-offensive turned away invaders, forcing them to postpone their progress to the depths of the Soviet Union coalition side, which forced the war on the east unbalanced. A number of towns and villages within the oblast experienced fierce battles and occupation, creating a legacy of war memorials, and realising the defence of the homeland.

Moscow Oblast was a place which was quickly reconstructed and urbanised after the war. New towns and microdistricts appeared as a result of the growth of suburbs that was caused by the reverberating effect of Moscow. The oblast, which currently hosts a large centre of gravity in high-technology research areas, scientific centres and a budding service industry, on top of balancing heavy industry, has remained a hinterland vital to the country's capital throughout the late Soviet regime and during modern Russia itself.

Culture

The cultural setting of Moscow Oblast is based on the historic importance of that area as the entry point into Russia since very old times, with a mix of ancient and urban influence. There are more than 6,000 official sites of cultural heritage in the area, including the monasteries of the Middle Ages to manors of the 19th century manor parks.

Kolomna and Zaraisk have 16th-century kremlins, and these were built as fortresses against the Tatar raids. Today, the Kremlin of the city of Kolomna harbours a local history museum and a museum of the so-called “pastila” confection, and Zaraisk provides guided tours around the totally preserved walls and towers of its fortress. Dmitrov possesses a water-flanked moat and a cathedral dating back to 1509, the combination of defensive and church structures of the Grand Duchy period.

Borodino Day is a commemoration of the Patriotic War of 1812 in the historic reenactment on the field of Borodino, approximately 120km west of Moscow. The Dushonovsky Manoeuvres, the battle of Molodi, and the battles at the Vokhna River are festivals that reflect on different military traditions in Russia, and people interested in this and historians from all over the country attend these events. Abramtsevo and Arkhangelskoe estates also belong to the lineage of neoclassical and Slavophile trends of the 19th century, with the collections of ceramics, paintings, and furniture. Gorki Leninskiye, the last dacha of Lenin, provides an understanding of the early days of the Soviet system; the Melikhovo estate of Chekhov shows the creative world of the playwright and the local productions on the stage.

The cuisine of Moscow Oblast is a blend of Bulgarian countryside food and city food. Closer to Moscow, there is market gardening by Mrs. Jones. She feeds the capital in berries, mushrooms, and dairy products. Local delicacies can be heavy rye breads, sour-baked cream called “ryazhenka”, and mushroom julienne developed in the sanatoriums of the area. Special religious holidays are dedicated to harvests and forest abundance, highlighting the agrarian background of this oblast behind the industrial mask.

Language

Moscow Oblast only has a single official language, Russian, which is used in all official papers, road signs and education. Being one of the central areas, it is closely connected with Moscow, and, as such, is a linguistic norm in modern Russian, affecting broadcast media, literature, and administrative speech.

However, the population of the oblast, which is rather large and heterogeneous, consists of ethnic minorities preserving their native languages in the family and communal context. The 2010 Census revealed that the population is composed of about 87.4 per cent ethnic Russians. Other groups are Ukrainians (1.7 per cent), Armenians (0.9 per cent) and Tatars (0.8 per cent). Although Russian is the language of these minorities, and it is a spoken language in public life, a significant number of them maintain the Ukrainian, Armenian, and Tatar cultures, retaining their languages through cultural associations, weekend schools and religious organisations.

Geography

As part of central European Russia, Moscow Oblast runs north to south between the latitude lines 57 to 54 north (in particular) and east to west along the lines 41 to 35 east (in particular). It borders Tver Oblast on the northwest, Yaroslavl Oblast on the north, Vladimir Oblast on the northeast and east, Ryazan Oblast on the southeast, Tula Oblast on the south, Kaluga Oblast on the southwest and Smolensk Oblast on the west.

Moscow Uplands A series of moraine ridges which lie across the western and northern areas have an elevation of up to 310 m near Shapkino, and these are leftovers of Pleistocene glaciations. Ridges are well punctuated with kettle lakes like Nerskyeth and Krugloye, which were formed as a result of melting blocks of ice left behind by glaciers that receded. Verhnevolzhsk Depression, above the Uplands, there is a marshy basin of small height, 120-150 m topography along the upper tributaries of the Volga. It has massive peat bogs and small lakes of glacial origin.

Moskvoretsko-Oksk Plain south of the central highlands, this somewhat meeting plain is wakeful by the valleys of the Moskva River and the Oka River. It rises as high as 254 m at Tyoply Stan at the southern outskirts of Moscow and contains karst depressions, such as Serpukhovsky District. Central Russian Upland To the south-southwest of the Oka, in the far south, the terrain sweeps down to the Upland: it is ravined, gullied and rises to 236 m at Pushchino. This belt makes way to the fertile soils of the larger Russian Plain.

Meshchera Lowlands The large wetlands, grass marsh, and peat bogs occupy the better part of the eastern oblast, and they sit at 120-150 m above sea level, with the lowest point being 97 m on the Oka River. They are drained by a pure and strong river network, and they provide natural reserves. The oblast is drained by three great rivers flowing in different directions: The Moskva, which runs westwards through the capital and into the Oka; the Oka, the large river of the Volga; and the Klyazma in the northeast. The Moscow Canal connects the Moskva with the basin of the Volga to become one of the important water routes for cargo and leisure sailing.

The weather is humid continental and is highly seasonal. Winters are long and cold, with average January temperatures in the west being -9 °C and -12°C in the east, and summers are short and warm, with July averages in the west being closer to +20 °C and +18 °C in the east. The duration of frost-free seasons amounts to 170-180 days. The annual rainfall ranges between 550 mm and 450 mm at the Klin-Dmitrov Ridge and southeast maximum during summer. Snow cover also lasts late in November to early April, which maintains lush mixed forests, which were previously occupied only by spruce trees, pine trees, oak trees and birch trees.

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