'''Penza Oblast''' (Russian: _P_u_~_x_u_~___{_p__ ___q_|_p______ ''Penzenskaya oblast_f'') is a region in the Middle Volga, bordering Tambov Oblast to the west, Ryazan Oblast to the northwest, Mordovia to the north, Ulyanovsk Oblast to the east, and Saratov Oblast to the south.
Regions
Cities
Penza — the large industrial capital city is pleasantly green; be sure to visit the fairytale-like, wooden Museum of Russian folk art
Kuznetsk — the second largest city in the region with a few churches worth seeking out only if you happen to be here
Nikolsk — glass works nuts will want to visit its Museum of Crystal Glass; its glass plant produced fineries for the Tsar of Russia and the Persian Shahs for over 200 years
Serdobsk — a large town with some of the region's more attractive 19th century architecture, including the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel
Zarechny — a small city, built in the 1950s, not a tourist destination by any stretch of the imagination
Other destinations
The somewhat underwhelming ruins of Mukhsha, a medieval city of the Golden Horde
Tarkhani Estate-museum — the childhood home of Lermontov
The estate-museum of V.G. Belinsky
Troitsa-Skanov Monastery and cave complex
Understand
Talk
See Russian phrasebook.
Get in
Penza is the first major stop in Russia on the South Ural route of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which starts in Kharkiv. Daily overnight trains from Moscow take 13 hours and arrive around 09:00.
Penza's modest airport services flights to/from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Saratov.
Get around
See
Itineraries
Do
Hunting, fishing (including wolf hunts!)
Eat
Drink
Stay safe
Get out
The next major stop to the east on the South Ural route of the Trans-Siberian Railway is Samara.