KALUGA

oblast (province), western Russia. It occupies an area in the upper Oka River basin southwest of Moscow oblast. Broad, often swampy valleys alternate with rolling hills of the Central Russian Upland. The natural vegetationmixed forest of oak, spruce, pine, and birchsurvives over only one-third of the surface; elsewhere the soils have been cleared for agriculture. The climate is continental, with about 24 inches (600 mm) of precipitation a year. Cultivation of grain, flax, hemp, and fodder crops and livestock raising are well developed. The small towns of the oblast are engaged in processing agricultural produce, light engineering, timber working, and, in the northeast, textiles; some lignite (brown coal) is mined. The first Soviet atomic-power plant was built in 1955 in Obninsk. Kaluga city is the administrative centre. Area 11,500 square miles (29,900 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 1,080,000. city and administrative centre of Kaluga oblast (province), western Russia, west of Moscow on the Oka River. Founded in the 14th century as a stronghold against the Tatars on the southern borders of Muscovy, it later became a seat of provincial administration. In the early 17th century it was devastated by Cossacks, plague, and fire, and in the winter of 1941 it was held by the Germans. It has a wide range of industries, producing turbines, railway equipment, and consumer goods. The city is on the VyazmaTula railway near its junction with the MoscowKiev line. Pop. (1991 est.) 366,300.