PENZA, a province of the Russian S.F.S.R., surrounded by those of Saratov, Tambov, Ryazan, Nizhegorod and Ulianovsk. Area 45,903 sq.km. Pop. (1926) 2,207,668. The province forms part of the Central Russian plateau, here reaching a height of goo ft. It is deeply dissected by rivers, the chief being the Moksha, flowing north to the Oka, the Sura to the Volga, and the Khoper flowing south to the Don. The Moksha and Sura are navigable and other streams are available for floating timber. Patches of forest occur in the west, and also to the east of the Sura river, but are insufficient for local timber needs, most of which are supplied by timber floated down the rivers from the north. Of the land favourable for cultivation, 82.2% is used and agriculture is the main occupation. Marshes exist in the Krasnoslobodsk district, and sandy stretches along the rivers, but there is much fertile black earth.
The climate is severe, with five months of frost, a brief and hot summer, and a rainfall averaging 16-18 inches. The tradi tional three field system and primitive implements are obstacles to agriculture, and the low literacy rate, 24.4%, makes progress
difficult. Winter rye and oats are the chief crops, lentils are pro duced for export, and peas, sunflower seed, potatoes, beetroot, fruit and vegetables are successfully grown. Efforts are being made to introduce maize cultivation and to discourage the sowing of buckwheat, because of its variable yield. Sheep, dairy and working cattle, pigs and horses are bred, the sheep providing wool for the felt and woollen industry and fat for tallow. Factory in dustries include saw-milling, paper and match manufactures, and woollen cloth, felt, glass, leather, tobacco and oil pressing works. There is a comparatively good railway net, but the only town with a population of over 16,000 is Penza (q.v.). There are Great Russians, Tatars, Mordvinians and Mescheryaks among its mixed population, and the north was mainly settled by refugee Raskolniks (Dissenters).