Ryazan (Рязань) is a city in Central Russia federal district, an administrative center of the Ryazan Oblast. It is located on the Oka River 196 km south-east of Moscow.
Population: 521,700 (census 2002)
Ryazan is twinned with Münster.
History
It is argued that the Ryazan kremlin was founded in 1095 by Russian settlers, as a step of their drive into the territory previously populated by fennic peoples. Initially it was built of wood, gradually replaced by masonry. The oldest preserved part of the kremlin dates back to the 15th century. However, the city is first mentioned as Pereslavl'-Ryazansky only in 1301. At the time it was part of the Ryazan Principality, independent from the middle of the 12th century. The first ruler of Ryazan was supposedly Yaroslav Sviatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov (a city of Kievan Rus'), later Prince of Murom-Ryzan. This area, situated as it is at the junction of forest and steppe zones, suffered from numerous invasions from the south: khazars, pechenegs, polovtsians. The early capital of the principality, Ryazan was the first Russian city to meet the Mongols of Batu Khan. On December 21, 1237 it was devastated and failed to recover to its previous position. This site is now known as Staraya Ryazan (Old Ryazan) and is situated some 50 km from the actual Ryazan (then Pereslavl-Ryazansky). Late in the 13th century the Princes of Ryazan moved their capital to Pereslavl, which is known as Ryazan from the 16th century (officially renamed in 1778). The principality was finally incorporated into that of Moscow in 1521.
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