ABSTRACT
This chapter provides all basic political, economic, and demographic data on a territorial unit of the Russian Federation, Kaluga Oblast, which is located in central Russia and borders Moscow, Tula, Orel, Bryansk, and Smolensk oblasts. The oblast center, the city of Kaluga, is located 190 km southwest of Moscow. Until 1917, the region was one of the most industrially backward areas in the country; however, it was industrialized during the first decades of the Soviet regime. Although the oblast lacks special legislation offering investment incentives, investment risk declined there by 13 points between 1997 and 1998. According to a 1998 Ekspert survey, the oblast is ranked 40th among Russia’s 89 regions in terms of investment potential and 23rd in terms of risk. A 1998 survey by Bank Austria ranked the oblast 47th in terms of investment climate.
