RUSSIA - Oryol Oblast / Орловская область

Oryol Oblast (Russian: Орло́вская о́бласть, Orlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Oryol.It is located in the southwestern part of the Central Federal District, in the Central Russian Upland. Kaluga and Tula Oblasts border it to the north; Bryansk Oblast is located to the west; Kursk Oblast—to the south, and Lipetsk Oblast is to the east. From north to south, it extends for more than 150 kilometers (93 mi), and from west to east—for over 200 kilometers (120 mi). In terms of area, at 24,700 square kilometers (9,500 sq mi) it is one of the smallest federal subjects.There are 4,800 square kilometers (1,900 sq mi) of black earth soils (chernozems) in the oblast, which amounts to three-quarters of the world chernozem reserves.