Ivanovo Oblast

Ivanovo Oblast is a region in Central Russia, which borders Yaroslavl Oblast to the west, Kostroma Oblast to the north, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to the east, and Vladimir Oblast to the south.

• Ivanovo — the capital of the region is also a former world capital of the textile industry; for the hundreds of thousands of women who worked in the textile industry, Ivanovo has been called "The City of Brides"
• Kineshma — the second largest city in the region has a prominent cathedral and several estate-museums, including that of the great 19th century composer Alexander Borodin
• Palekh — a town famous for its 19th century school of icon and mural painting and for its contemporary lacquer-painted miniatures
• Plyos — an exceptionally pretty town of the Golden Ring and also the smallest, home to the Isaac Levitan House Museum
• Shuya — visit nearby Nikolo-Shartomsky Abbey, one of Russia's largest monastic communities and home to the world's largest freestanding bell tower
• Staraya Vichuga — a small town with a neglected but nonetheless grandiose palace of Count Tatishchev

Everyone speaks Russian; few speak much else.