RUSSIA - Ulyanovsk Oblast / Ульяновская область

Ulyanovsk Oblast (Russian: Улья́новская о́бласть, Ulyanovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Ulyanovsk.

Ulyanovsk Oblast borders with Chuvashia (N), Tatarstan (NE), Samara Oblast (E), Saratov Oblast (S), Penza Oblast (W), and Mordovia (NW).

It is located on the northern edge of Central Steppes. A quarter of its territory is covered with deciduous forests; the rest is covered with steppes and meadows. The oblast is divided in half by the Volga River. Hilly areas to the west of the Volga are known as Volga Upland (elevations up to 358 m (1,175 ft) ). Eastern part of the oblast is mostly flat. The water table occupies about 6% of territory. Ulyanovsk Region also has substantial reserves of other raw materials used in industry, such as various kinds of sand, cement materials, clays, and peat. One of the largest quartz sand deposits in the CIS, the Tashlinskoe deposit, is located in the region.

Ulyanovsk and Dimitrovgrad are industrial cities and contain a number of large plants and factories. Rural part of Ulyanovsk Oblast is agricultural and is focused primarily on animal husbandry, to the lesser extent on crop farming. There are two resorts in Ulyanovsk Oblast territory - "Bely Yar" and "Dubki".