Oryol Oblast

   An administrative region of the Russian Federation. Oryol is a small, particularly riverine oblast in the Central Economic Region and Federal District. Seventieth in size among federal subjects, the region covers an area of 24,700 square kilometers and has a population of 860,000. It is bordered by the Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula, Lipetsk, and Kursk oblasts. At its closest point, the oblast is less than 60 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Its geography is dominated by steppe and forest steppe, and it is part of the chernozem belt of European Russia.

   The regional economy is balanced between agriculture and heavy industry. The oblast is a center of milk production for European Russia, as well as an exporter of sugar beets, potatoes, and grains. Post–World War II reindustrialization endowed the region with steel-rolling plants and other large factories. Instrument making, metallurgy, food processing, and light industry are major sources of employment. There are significant, but undeveloped iron ore deposits in the region, which is part of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. Much of the oblast’s energy needs are met by nuclear energy plants in neighboring regions. Along with its western neighbors, the oblast continues to suffer the effects of the Chernobyl disaster, including high levels of thyroid diseases among the population.

   Oryol supported Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) candidates during the 1990s, making it a dependable Red Belt region (the region is home to KPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov). In the wake of the constitutional crisis of 1993, the KPRF governor was dismissed and replaced by Yeltsin appointee Nikolay Yudin. He was quickly unseated by Yegor Stroyev, a former member of the Soviet Politburo; Stroyev advocated a statist approach to economic reform based on the model employed by the People’s Republic of China. During much of his governorship, Stroyev held a senior position within the Federation Council until he was forced to step down from national office due to new legislation. Despite his leadership of the oblast, Stroyev was a vehement critic of power-sharing agreements between Moscow and its federal subjects. After several reelections, including one in 2001 where Stroyev won 90 percent of the vote, Vladimir Putin reappointed the governor in 2005. As early as 2000, Stroyev publicly endorsed Putin’s plans to create a vertical of power within the Russian Federation after having urged Yeltsin to step down in 1999; he was later elected to an executive position with the pro-Putin United Russia party. Stroyev maintained an international profile by meeting with heads of state from Finland, Nigeria, Romania, and other countries. In early 2009, he stepped down along with several other regional executives; President Dmitry Medvyedev appointed Aleksandr Kozlov to replace him.