RUSSIA - Vologda Oblast / Вологодская область

Vologda Oblast (Russian: Вологодская область, tr. Vologodskaya oblast, is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The largest city is Cherepovets, the home of the Severstal metallurgical plant, the largest industrial enterprise in the oblast.Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Ferapontov Monastery (a World Heritage Site) with the frescoes of Dionisius, medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk, and baroque churches of Totma and Ustyuzhna.Large reserves of wood and fresh water are the main natural resources. 

Vologda Oblast borders with Arkhangelsk Oblast in the north, Kirov Oblast in the east, Kostroma Oblast in the southeast, Yaroslavl Oblast in the south, Tver and Novgorod Oblasts in the southwest, Leningrad Oblast in the west, and the Republic of Karelia in the northwest.

Vologda Oblast is located on the East European Plain, and most of it represents forested hilly landscape. The southwest of the oblast, along the Sheksna and the Mologa, is flat. The northwestern part is mostly of glacial origin, with the Andoma Hills, the Veps Hills, and a number of minor hill chains. In the east of the oblast, the valleys of the Vaga, the Sukhona, and the Yug are cut through the hills. The southeast of the oblast is occupied by the Northern Ridge, which is located south of the valley of the Sukhona.