Founded in 1095 as Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky, the city became the centre of the Grand Duchy of Ryazan in the early 14th century.
The city's heroic struggle against the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the feat of commander Yevpaty Kolovrat, is a bright page in ancient Russian history. In 1338, Russians won their first victory over the Golden Horde near Ryazan on the Vozha River. The Grand Duchy of Ryazan was the strongest during the reign of Prince Oleg Ivanovich (1350-1402).
Today Ryazan is known as the capital of the Russian Airborne Troops. It has the only Airborne Forces academy in Russia. Ryazan has a research institute and a number of large universities including the Radiotechnical University.
Among the leading enterprises are the Ryazan Oil Refinery, the Ryazan State Instrument Plant, the Ryazan Tannery, Tyazhpressmash, the Ryazan Cardboard and Ruberoid Plant, the Ryazan Radio Engineering Plant, the Tekhnofleks Plant, and Automotive Lighting.
Ryazan's population is 509,400, which constitutes 44.2% of the region's population. The index of industrial production for 2010 reached 108.2%. The production volume of small and medium-sized enterprises equaled 99.194 billion roubles.
As of the end of December 2010, the registered unemployment rate shrank to 0.6%, dropping by 0.2 percentage points against the beginning of the year. The average monthly salary rose 11.1% against the previous year to 18,631 roubles.
Ryazan is a major transport hub: it has railway lines, highways and a river port on the Oka.
The city is home to Pozhalostin Ryazan State Regional Art Museum, the Viktor Ivanov and Ryazan Land Art Gallery (unveiled in 2004), the Pavlov Memorial Museum-Estate, the Airborne Forces Museum. Ryazan has drama, musical, children's and youth theaters, as well as a philharmonic hall and large libraries.
The pearl of Ryazan is its Kremlin, a historical and architectural museum-reserve that is part of Russia's historical and cultural heritage.