Orėl, also Oryol, city, capital of Orėl Oblast, western Russia, on the Oka River. The city is a road and railroad junction and a center of agricultural trade. Manufactures include machinery, clothing, flour, and beer. The childhood home in Orėl of the writer Ivan S. Turgenev is now a museum. Orėl was founded in 1564 by Ivan IV as a defense post against Tatar invasions. The city suffered extensive damage during World War II (1939-45). Population (1999 estimate) 342,800.
