Oryol

While there are no historical records, archaeological evidence shows that a fortress settlement existed between the Oka River and Orlik Rivers as early as the 12th century, when the land was a part of the Principality of Chernigov. The name of the fortress is unknown; it may not have been called Oryol at the time. In the 13th century, the fortress became a part of the Zvenigorod district of the Karachev Principality. In the early 15th century, the territory was conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The city was soon abandoned by its population after being sacked either by Lithuanians or the Golden Horde. The territory became a part of the Tsardom of Russia in the 16th century.

File:Орёл, памятник 400 лет Орлу.jpg

Ivan IV Vasilyevich decreed that a new fortress be built on the spot in 1566 for the purpose of defending the southern borders of the country.{{citation needed|date=June 2010}} The fortress was built starting in the summer of 1566 and ending in the spring of 1567. The location chosen was less than ideal strategically, as the fortress was located on a seasonally flooded low ground easily targeted from the neighboring high ground. False Dmitry I and his army passed through Oryol in 1605; Ivan Bolotnikov in 1606; False Dmitry II camped in Oryol for the winter of 1607–1608. Polish forces sacked it in 1611 and 1615. While the population fled after the second sacking and moved to Mtsensk, the Orlovsky Uyezd continued to exist administratively.

Oryol was rebuilt in 1636. The question of moving the fortress to the more advantageous high ground was debated until the 1670s, but the move was never made. The fortress was deemed unnecessary and taken apart in the early 18th century.

File:Oryol Bolkhovskaya street 5.jpg

In the mid-18th century Oryol became one of the major centers of grain production, with the Oka River being the major trade route until the 1860s when it was replaced by a railroad.

Oryol was granted town status in 1702. In 1708, Oryol was included as a part of Kiev Governorate; in 1719, Oryol Province was created within Kiev Governorate. The Province was transferred to the newly created Belgorod Governorate in 1727. On March 11 (February 28 old style), 1778 Oryol Vice-Royalty was created from parts of Voronezh and Belgorod Governorates. In 1779, the city was almost entirely rebuilt based on a new plan; and the Oryol River was renamed Orlik (lit: "little eagle").

After the October Revolution of 1917, the city was in Bolshevik's hands, except for a brief period between October 13 and October 20, 1919, when it was controlled by Anton Denikin's White Army.

Oryol was once again moved between different oblasts in the 1920s and 1930s: first as Oryol Governorate until 1928, then Central Black Earth Region between 1928 and 1934, finally in Kursk Oblast), finally becoming the administrative center of its own Oryol Oblast on September 27, 1937.

The Oryol Prison was a notable place of incarceration for political prisoners and war prisoners of the Second World War. Christian Rakovsky, Maria Spiridonova, Olga Kameneva and 160 other prominent political prisoners were shot on September 11, 1941 on Joseph Stalin's orders in the Medvedev Forest massacre outside Oryol.

File:Bahnhof_von_Orjol_im_September_1941.jpg

During World War II, Oryol was occupied by the Wehrmacht on October 7, 1941.

The French air squadron Normandie-Niemen fought in the skies over Oryol.

Oryol was liberated on August 5, 1943 during the Oryol strategic offensive operation "Kutuzov" on the Oryol-Kursk Bulge. The city was almost completely destroyed. By Order No .2 of I. V. Stalin of August 5, 1943, on this day in Moscow, an artillery salute was given to the troops that liberated Oryol. Since then, the city has had the nickname, "City of the First Salute", and the day of the liberation from the German invaders was celebrated as the city's day.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

On September 19, 1943, in the Oryol, was the first parade of partisan units stationed in the Oryol region during the war.

File:NASA FIRMS 2024-12-14 Oryol.png's FIRMS detected fire at a Oryol oil depot on 14 December 2024 00:20:00 (UTC)]]

On December 14, 2024 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine an oil depot in Oryol was attacked and set on fire by Ukrainian drones. Russian social media reported explosions and the governor confirmed a fire had broken out at an "infrastructure facility".{{Cite news |date=2024-12-14|title= Defense forces hit large oil depot in Oryol, Russia |url= https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/defense-forces-hit-large-oil-depot-in-oryol-1734167516.html |work=RBC-Ukraine}} A fire at the oil depot was detected by NASA's FIRMS.

File:Oryol2006.jpg

Oryol has the same time zone as Moscow (Moscow time), or UTC+03:00.{{cite web|title=Статья 5. Часовые зоны|url=http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_114656/b2707989c276b5a188e63bc41e7bcbcc18723de8/|website=consultant.ru}}

Oryol stands on the banks of the Oka River and its tributary Orlik river in the Central Russian Upland of the East European Plain, approximately {{convert|368|km|mi|abbr=on}} south-southwest of Moscow.

Oryol was founded at the behest of Ivan the Terrible in 1566, in the area between the Oka and Orlik rivers. Little information exists about its early history; the earliest data available refers to 1636, when the city was rebuilt after its destruction during the Time of Troubles. According to historian T. G. Svistunova, the 16th-century Oryol fortress had three lines of fortifications and consisted of a city, an ostrog and a posad surrounded by gaps. The city housed a cathedral, a voivode's (warlord or military leader's) house, government buildings and courts for the boyar children; the prison consisted of gunners' yards, a blacksmith, and two parish churches near the prison towers. In the posad was a sloboda. In 1636, Oryol was rebuilt by the voivode B. Koltovsky; it expanded with annexation of land beyond the Oka. Oryol remained a fortress city with a corresponding garrison; Pushkarskaya Sloboda was still located in the prison, boyar children and nobles settled on the left bank of the Orlik, and a Cossack sloboda developed near the Oka. Oryol lost its military character after the 1689 fire, when the partially-burned city fortress was not rebuilt.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

In central Oryol, streets fan out from the fortress; two main axes are the Upper and Lower Korchak Roads. Opposite the fortress was probably a second marketplace in the Zaotsk section, where the dragoon settlements had a relatively-regular layout along the river. Away from the river, the grid becomes a fan. The city{{snd}}its fortress, three marketplaces, two monasteries and a number of parish churches{{snd}}was developed from the river. Its structure was visible from the Oka: the central fortress, the fan-shaped center and the grid of the Zaotsk settlements. The city was connected by bridges, making Oryol a military fortress and a trade center.{{cite thesis|title=Масштабность в планировке городов Центральной России : На примере Калуги, Тулы, Рязани, Орла, Брянска, Курска, Белгорода|lang=ru|author=Татьяна Николаевна|pages=84–86|place=Moscow|year=2001}}

The city's earliest plans, by Mikhail Buzovlev and Petr Botvinev, date to 1728. A 1778 plan fixed its radial layout, and a radial-semicircular system was proposed the following year. In 1848, a new plan including Polesskaya Square was approved.

Oryol's modern layout was developed in 1939 by Suborov, an architect at the leningrad-based Russian State Research and Design Institute of Urbanism. The first post-war reconstruction plan was made in Lengiprogor under the direction of architect V. A. Gaikovich. Oryol's development required a new general plan, which was drawn up in 1958 by V. A. Gaikovich and A. M. Suborov of Lengiprogor. The city's center was Lenin Square, on which the House of Soviets was built in 1961. In 1966, construction of flood-control embankments in the central city began.{{cite thesis|title=Масштабность в планировке городов Центральной России : На примере Калуги, Тулы, Рязани, Орла, Брянска, Курска, Белгорода|lang=ru|author=Татьяна Николаевна|pages=120–123|place=Moscow|year=2001}}

Oryol has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). Winters are moderately cold and changeable. The first half is softer, second with often warmings. Summers are warm, in separate years — they can be rainy or hot and dry.

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location=Oryol (1991–2020, extremes 1948–present)

|metric first=yes

|single line=yes

|Jan record high C = 7.4

|Feb record high C = 9.4

|Mar record high C = 23.0

|Apr record high C = 29.0

|May record high C = 32.8

|Jun record high C = 35.4

|Jul record high C = 38.7

|Aug record high C = 39.5

|Sep record high C = 31.3

|Oct record high C = 26.3

|Nov record high C = 17.5

|Dec record high C = 9.7

|year record high C = 39.5

|Jan high C = −3.6

|Feb high C = −2.8

|Mar high C = 3.0

|Apr high C = 12.9

|May high C = 20.1

|Jun high C = 23.5

|Jul high C = 25.6

|Aug high C = 24.6

|Sep high C = 18.2

|Oct high C = 10.5

|Nov high C = 2.5

|Dec high C = -2.1

|year high C = 11.0

|Jan mean C = -6.1

|Feb mean C = -5.8

|Mar mean C = -0.8

|Apr mean C = 7.6

|May mean C = 14.3

|Jun mean C = 17.9

|Jul mean C = 19.8

|Aug mean C = 18.5

|Sep mean C = 12.7

|Oct mean C = 6.4

|Nov mean C = 0.0

|Dec mean C = -4.3

|year mean C = 6.7

|Jan low C = −8.7

|Feb low C = −8.9

|Mar low C = −4.3

|Apr low C = 2.8

|May low C = 8.7

|Jun low C = 12.4

|Jul low C = 14.5

|Aug low C = 12.9

|Sep low C = 8.0

|Oct low C = 3.0

|Nov low C = −2.2

|Dec low C = −6.7

|year low C = 2.6

|Jan record low C = −35.4

|Feb record low C = −37.2

|Mar record low C = −37.8

|Apr record low C = −17.2

|May record low C = −5.0

|Jun record low C = -0.4

|Jul record low C = 3.9

|Aug record low C = -2.2

|Sep record low C = −5.0

|Oct record low C = −13.0

|Nov record low C = −26.4

|Dec record low C = −35.0

|year record low C = −37.8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 46

|Feb precipitation mm = 41

|Mar precipitation mm = 39

|Apr precipitation mm = 40

|May precipitation mm = 50

|Jun precipitation mm = 69

|Jul precipitation mm = 87

|Aug precipitation mm = 54

|Sep precipitation mm = 57

|Oct precipitation mm = 56

|Nov precipitation mm = 44

|Dec precipitation mm = 47

|year precipitation mm = 630

|Jan snow depth cm = 14

|Feb snow depth cm = 22

|Mar snow depth cm = 15

|Apr snow depth cm = 1

|May snow depth cm = 0

|Jun snow depth cm = 0

|Jul snow depth cm = 0

|Aug snow depth cm = 0

|Sep snow depth cm = 0

|Oct snow depth cm = 0

|Nov snow depth cm = 2

|Dec snow depth cm = 7

|year snow depth cm = 22

|Jan rain days = 6

|Feb rain days = 5

|Mar rain days = 8

|Apr rain days = 13

|May rain days = 14

|Jun rain days = 15

|Jul rain days = 15

|Aug rain days = 12

|Sep rain days = 15

|Oct rain days = 14

|Nov rain days = 11

|Dec rain days = 8

|year rain days = 136

|Jan snow days = 23

|Feb snow days = 21

|Mar snow days = 14

|Apr snow days = 4

|May snow days = 0.4

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0.3

|Oct snow days = 3

|Nov snow days = 13

|Dec snow days = 22

|year snow days = 101

|Jan humidity = 84

|Feb humidity = 82

|Mar humidity = 77

|Apr humidity = 68

|May humidity = 64

|Jun humidity = 71

|Jul humidity = 72

|Aug humidity = 72

|Sep humidity = 78

|Oct humidity = 82

|Nov humidity = 87

|Dec humidity = 86

|year humidity = 77

|source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net{{cite web

| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/27906.htm

| title = Weather and Climate - The Climate of IOryol

| access-date = 8 November 2021

| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)

| language = ru}}

|date=February 2012

}}

Oryol is the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Orlovsky District, even though it is not a part of it.Law #522-OZ As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the city of oblast significance of Oryol—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Oryol is incorporated as Oryol Urban Okrug.Law #467-OZ

File:Орел Гостиная улица 3.jpg

{{multiple image |align=right |caption_align=center |perrow=3 |total_width=400

|image1 = Церковь Михаила Архангела (г. Орёл).jpg

|image2 = Adventist Church in Oryol, Russia.jpg

|image3 = P1070864 Инославные церкви Орла.jpg

|caption1 = Saint Michael Orthodox Church

|caption2 = Adventist Church

|caption3 = Immaculate Conception Catholic Church}}

Administratively, the city is divided into four districts:

• Severny (Северный) — population: 65,815 (2021)
• Sovetsky (Советский) — population: 74,315 (2021)
• Zheleznodorozhny (Железнодорожный) — population: 60,278 (2021)
• Zavodskoy (Заводской) — population: 103,288 (2021) (the biggest, oldest, and most populous)

In February 2012, the city duma abolished the direct election of mayor. In December 2013, a referendum was held and 71% of the people supported the return of direct mayoral election.{{Cite web|url= http://www.rg.ru/2013/12/10/reg-cfo/opros-anons.html|title=В Орле голосуют за возвращение прямых выборов мэра |publisher=Rossiyskaya Gazeta|date=December 10, 2013|access-date=25 January 2014}}

• 1991–1997: Alexander Kislyakov
• 1997–2002: Yefim Velkovsky
• 2002–2006: Vasily Uvarov
• 2006–2009: Alexander Kasyanov
• 2009–2010: Vasily Eremin
• 2010–2012: Viktor Safianov
• 2012–2015: Sergey Stupin
• 2015–2020: Vasily Novikov
• 2020–present: Yuri Parakhin

City-managers:

• 2012–2015: Mikhail Bernikov
• 2015–2017: Andrey Usikov
• 2017–2020: Alexander Muromsky

{{Historical populations|1897|70000|1926|75594|1939|110564|1959|151521|1970|232216|1979|304971|1989|336862|2002|333310|2010|317747|2021|303169|type=|footnote=Source: Census data}}According to the Federal State Statistics Service, in January 2020 the number of residents came to 308 838. It is the 66th place among 1117 cities of Russia for 2019.

Largest ethnic groups in 2010:

• Russians (96,8%)
• Ukrainians (1,1%)
• Armenians (0,4%)
• Belarusians (0,3%)
• Azerbaijanis (0,2%)
• Tatars (0,1%)
• Jews (0,1%)

The formation of the Oryol as an important transportation hub is due to the favorable geographical position of the city on the borders of the Central and Central Black Earth economic regions.

The city has trolley, tram and bus systems. These kinds of public transport cover the entire territory of the city. Each bus, tram and trolley is equipped with route indicators that inform about the route through the city, designated stops. There are also taxis and rental cars.

In past years, in the summer on the Oka River waterbus operated as a form of transport excursion and walking orientation.

In the Oryol converge important highways of federal and regional values:

• {{Jct|country=RUS|E|105|M|2}} "Crimea"
• {{Jct|country=RUS|R|92}}
• {{jct|country=RUS|R|119}}
• {{jct|country=RUS|R|120}}
• 54А-1
• 54К-16

The main intercity terminal: Oryol Bus Station

File:Trolza16.05 orel.jpg]]

On 29 October 1968, a regular movement was opened. Length of the contact network {{convert|76.51|km|mi|abbr=on}}. There are 4 routes for 2019.

Since 1868, there has been a railway connection between Oryol and Moscow.[http://www.nnov-airport.ru/rus/wokzal_orel.html Train Station in Oryol {{in lang|ru}}] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323173327/http://www.nnov-airport.ru/rus/wokzal_orel.html |date=March 23, 2012 }} Here converge 5 railway lines: on Yelets, Moscow, Kursk, Bryansk, Mikhailovsky mine.

The main terminals: Oryol Station, Station Luzhki-Oryol.

File:Oryol_Tram2_(cropped).jpg

File:Oryol tram map 2020-10-03.svg

On November 3, 1898, Oryol inaugurated an electric tram. The draft was prepared by the Belgian entrepreneur FF Gilon and firm «Compagnie mutuelle de tramways», which won the right to build not only a tram, but also lighting in the city. Oryol tram is one of the oldest electric tram systems in Russia. It is 1 year older than Moscow and 9 years — St. Petersburg. In 2017, the length of the lines in double-track calculation was {{convert|18.3|km|mi|abbr=on}}. For 2019, there are 3 routes, which are operated: Tatra T3 (74 units), Tatra T6B5 (13 units), 71-403 (1 unit), 71-405 (1 unit).{{explanation needed|date=May 2025}}

File:Obelisk in honor of the aviators, Oryol.jpg) to Soviet pilots who fought for the liberation of Oryol land from Nazi invaders (photo 2018)]]

The city is served by the Oryol Yuzhny Airport, which is currently not working.

There are six institutions of higher education in Oryol, as well as four branches of such institutions from other cities.

;Local

• Oryol Law Institute
• Oryol State Agrarian University
• Oryol State Institute of Culture
• Oryol State Institute of Economics and Trade
• Oryol State University
• Russian Federation Security Guard Service Federal Academy

;Branches

• Oryol Branch of the Russian University of Transport (Moscow)
• Oryol Branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Moscow)
• Oryol branch of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow)
• Oryol branch of the Voronezh Institute of Economics and Law (Voronezh)

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}

File:P1080267 Орловский государственный академический театр имени И. С. Тургенева.jpg

Oryol is twinned with:{{cite web |title=Партнерские связи|url=http://www.orel-adm.ru/ru/org/international/|website=orel-adm.ru|publisher=Oryol|language=ru|access-date=2020-02-02}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• {{flagicon|BUL}} Razgrad, Bulgaria (1968)
• {{flagicon|GER}} Offenbach am Main, Germany (1988)
• {{flagicon|NED}} Leeuwarden, The Netherlands (1990–2002)
• {{flagicon|BLR}} Zhodzina, Belarus (2016)
• {{flagicon|TKM}} Mary, Turkmenistan (2017){{Cite web|url=https://iz.ru/653603/2017-10-03/orel-i-turkmenskii-mary-stali-gorodami-pobratimami|title = Орел и туркменский Мары стали городами-побратимами|date = October 3, 2017}}

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• {{flagicon|RUS}} Kaluga, Russia (2003)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Kolpino, Russia (2010)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Kolpinsky District, Russia (2010)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Novosibirsk, Russia (2014)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Volokolamsky District, Russia (2014)
• {{flagicon|SRB}} Novi Sad, Serbia (2017)
• {{flagicon|SVN}} Maribor, Slovenia (2017)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Penza, Russia (2018)

{{div col end}}

• Leonid Andreyev, writer
• Mikhail Bakhtin, literary criticDavid Lodge, After Bakhtin: Essays on Fiction and Criticism, London & New York: Routledge, 1990, p. 1
• Fedor Baranov, fisheries scientist
• Denis Boytsov, boxer
• Yulia Bravikova, rhythmic gymnast
• Felix Dzerzhinsky, security chief
• Afanasy Fet, poet
• Nikolai Getman, painter and Gulag survivor
• Timofey Granovsky, historian
• Vasily Kalinnikov (1866–1901), composer
• Yakov Kasman, pianist
• Anna Petrovna Kern, socialite
• Stanislav Lebamba, association football player
• Josef Lhévinne, pianist and piano teacher
• Nikolai Leskov, novelist
• Denis Menchov, cyclist
• Artem Mikoyan, founder of the MiG aircraft manufacturer
• Fritz Noether, mathematician
• Nikolai Polikarpov, aviation designer
• Yevgeni Preobrazhensky, statesman
• Vladimir Karlovich Roth, neuropathologist
• Valerian Safonovich, statesman
• Aleksandr Selikhov, footballer
• Alexey Stakhanov, celebrated miner/engineer
• Pyotr Stolypin, statesman
• Maksymilian Stratanowski, painter
• Yakov Sverdlov, Bolshevik revolutionary
• Ivan Turgenev, novelist and playwright
• Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov, military general
• Gennady Zyuganov, politician
• Alexander Nikishin, Professional Ice Hockey Player for the Carolina Hurricanes

{{Reflist}}

• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|orl|adm|law}}
• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|orl|mun|list|oryol}}
• {{RussiaAdmMunRef|orl|mun|list|orlovsky}}

• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Orel (town) |volume= 20 | page = 251 |short= 1}}
• [http://www.orel-adm.ru/ Official website of Oryol] {{in lang|ru}}
• [http://infoorel.ru/ Unofficial website of Oryol] {{in lang|ru}}
• [http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=765 The murder of the Jews of Oryol] during World War II, at Yad Vashem website.

{{Oryol Oblast}}

{{Cities of Military Glory}}{{Authority control}}

Category:Orlovsky Uyezd (Oryol Governorate)

Category:Holocaust locations in Russia