Voronezh
Encyclopedia
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia
, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast
. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River
, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway (connecting European Russia with Ural
and Siberia
, as well as Caucasus
and Ukraine
), as well as the center of the Don Highway (Moscow
—Rostov-on-Don
). Population: 889,989 (2010 Census preliminary results); 660,000 (1970); 447,000 (1959); 344,000 (1939); 120,000 (1926). The city is divided into six administrative districts: Kominternovsky, Leninsky, Levoberezhny, Sovetsky, Tsentralny, and Zheleznodorozhny.
in 1177, but human settlement on the site is attested since the Stone Age
by archeological finds. The present town was founded in 1585 or 1586 by Feodor I
as a fort protecting the Russian state from the raids of Crimean and Nogay Tatars
. The town is named for the river, itself named for an earlier town destroyed by the Mongol invasion, whose name in turn was borrowed from a place name in the Principality of Chernigov, derived from the personal name Voroneg.
In the 17th century, Voronezh gradually evolved into a sizeable town, especially after Tsar Peter the Great
built a dockyard in Voronezh where the Azov Flotilla was constructed for the Azov campaigns
in 1695 and 1696. This fleet, the first ever built in Russia, included the first Russian ship of the line
, Goto Predestinatsia
.
Owing to the Voronezh Admiralty Wharf, for a short time, Voronezh became the largest city of Southern Russia and the economic center of a large and fertile region. In 1711 it was made the administrative center of Azov Governorate, which eventually morphed into Voronezh Governorate.
In the 19th century, Voronezh was a center of the Central Black Earth Region
. Manufacturing industry (mills, tallow-melting, butter-making, soap, leather and other works) as well as bread, cattle, suet
, and the hair trade developed in the town. A railway connected Voronezh with Rostov-on-Don
in 1868 and Moscow
in 1871.
During World War II
, Voronezh was the scene of fierce fighting between Russian and combined Axis troops. The Germans used it as a staging area for their attack on Stalingrad
, and made a key crossing point on the Don River. In June 1941 on Voronezh excavator factory were built two artillery installation БМ13 (Fight machine N 13 "Katusha"). In July the construction of "Katusha" was rationalized so that its manufacturing became easier and the time of volley repetition was shorten from 5 min to 15 sec. More than 300 БМ-13 units manufactured in Voronezh were used in counterattack near Moscow in December 1941. In October 22 of 1941 because of forthcoming of German troops there was opened the city committee of defense. On November 7, 1941 there was parade of troops devoted to anniversary of October revolution. There was only 3 of such parades that year: in Moscow, Kuybyshev
, and Voronezh. In late June 1942, the city was attacked
by German and Hungarian forces. In response, Soviet forces formed the Voronezh Front
By July 6, the German army occupied the western river-bank suburbs before being subjected to a fierce Soviet counter-attack. The city was completely under Axis control by July 24. This was the opening move of Case Blue.
Until January 25, 1943, elements of the Second German Army and the Second Hungarian Army occupied Voronezh. During Operation Little Saturn, the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, and the Voronezhsko-Kastornenskoy Offensive the Voronezh Front exacted heavy casualties on Axis forces. On January 25, 1943, Voronezh was liberated
after ten days of combat. During the war the city was almost completely ruined, with 92% of all buildings destroyed.
At the end of 1950-XX on Voronezh CBCA (design office of chemistry and automatic) there was developed oxygen-kerosene liquid-propellant rocket engine РД-0105 for the 3-d step of carrier rocket "Luna" which in 1959 first time in the world reached the 2-nd space velocity.
On the base of РД-0105 there was designed the rocket engine for the 3-d step of space craft Vostok 1
, on which the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
on 12 April 1961 first in the world made a flight of a man into space.
In 1968, on Voronezh Aviation factory there was established the serial production of supersonic plane Tupolev Tu-144
. On October 1977 there was built first Domestic Aerobus (wide-body plane) Il-86.
Between 1991 and 2000 the city, high in unemployment, became a part of the Communist-voting region known as Russia's "Red Belt". Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the so-called Black Earth Region. It has seven theatres and twelve cinemas; it is also home to Voronezh State University
.
The city's large student population includes many foreigners.
and a number of other affiliate and private-funded institutes and universities.
There are 2000 schools within the city.
(Köppen climate classification
Dfb) with long, cold winters and short, warm summers.
("New Voronezh") which serves a local nuclear power plant.
Both cities are served by Chertovitskoye Airport which is the home of Polet Airlines. Voronezh is also home to Voronezh Pridacha airport, part of a major aircraft manufacturing facility, VASO - Voronezhskoye Aktsionernoye Samoletostroitelnoe Obshestvo (Voronezh aircraft production association) where the Concordski, Tupolev Tu-144
, was built and the only operational one is still stored. Voronezh also hosts Voronezh Malshevo
air force
base in the south-west of the city, which, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council report, houses nuclear bombers.
Nadezhda Mandelstam
's Hope Against Hope, the first volume of her memoirs concerning her husband, the poet Osip Mandelstam
, provides many details about life in Voronezh in the 1930s under Stalinist rule.
From the mid-nineteenth century is the diary of a British soldier, a sergeant in the Royal Welch Fusiliers
, published as "Prisoners of Voronesh (sic)". George Newman was captured in the Crimean War
and then marched under a loose guard with a motley crew of POWs, convicts, etc, to Voronezh.
In 1989, Voronezh was the subject of international media attention after the TASS
newspaper published a story recounting an alleged UFO
landing that occurred in the city's park, and subsequent encounters between citizens and extraterrestrial beings. The account was later reported in America by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
, and received coverage by several other media outlets including the NBC Nightly News
and the ABC Evening News. Details of the incident have been featured in several books, most notably UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat by Jacques Vallée
, The UFO Encyclopedia, Volume 1: UFOs in the 1980s by Jerome Clark
, and UFOs: The Secret History by Michael Hesemann
.
Besides, there are a lot of summer and winter tourist camps, sanatoriums and reserves, monasteries, churches, cultural and historical monuments on the territory of Voronezh oblast of Russia.
The city has 7 theatres, 12 museums, 11 Cinema theatres, Philarmonic Hall, Circus.
There is a number of sport and fitness complexes, night clubs, Casino, Cafe and Restoraunts and also about 100 shoping malls.
with IATA airport code VOZ, is located north of the city. It has a single runway 2300 metres long. There are regular flights to Moscow
with a flight time of about 1 hour.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on June 13, 1934.-Main rivers:*Don*Voronezh*Bityug*Khopyor-Economy:...
. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River
Voronezh River
Voronezh is a river in Tambov, Lipetsk, and Voronezh Oblasts in Russia, a left tributary of the Don. The Voronezh River is 342 km in length. The area of its drainage basin is 21,600 km². It freezes up in the first half of December and stays under the ice until late March. The lower...
, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway (connecting European Russia with Ural
Ural (region)
Ural is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It extends approximately from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the bend of Ural River near Orsk city. The boundary between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern side of...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, as well as Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), as well as the center of the Don Highway (Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
—Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
). Population: 889,989 (2010 Census preliminary results); 660,000 (1970); 447,000 (1959); 344,000 (1939); 120,000 (1926). The city is divided into six administrative districts: Kominternovsky, Leninsky, Levoberezhny, Sovetsky, Tsentralny, and Zheleznodorozhny.
History
The Voronezh River was first mentioned in the Hypatian CodexHypatian Codex
The Hypatian Codex is a compendium of three chronicles: the Primary Chronicle, Kiev Chronicle, and Galician-Volhynian Chronicle. It is the most important source of historical data for southern Rus'...
in 1177, but human settlement on the site is attested since the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
by archeological finds. The present town was founded in 1585 or 1586 by Feodor I
Feodor I of Russia
Fyodor I Ivanovich 1598) was the last Rurikid Tsar of Russia , son of Ivan IV and Anastasia Romanovna. In English he is sometimes called Feodor the Bellringer in consequence of his strong faith and inclination to travel the land and ring the bells at churches. However, in Russian the name...
as a fort protecting the Russian state from the raids of Crimean and Nogay Tatars
Muravsky Trail
Muravsky Trail or Murava Route was an important trade route and according to the Russian historiography a favourite invasion route of the Crimean Tatars during the Russo-Crimean Wars of the 16th and early 17th centuries. It was also used somewhat for peaceful trade...
. The town is named for the river, itself named for an earlier town destroyed by the Mongol invasion, whose name in turn was borrowed from a place name in the Principality of Chernigov, derived from the personal name Voroneg.
In the 17th century, Voronezh gradually evolved into a sizeable town, especially after Tsar Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
built a dockyard in Voronezh where the Azov Flotilla was constructed for the Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns of 1695–96 , two Russian military campaigns during the Russo-Turkish War of 1686–1700, led by Peter the Great and aimed at capturing the Turkish fortress of Azov , which had been blocking Russia's access to the Azov Sea and the Black Sea...
in 1695 and 1696. This fleet, the first ever built in Russia, included the first Russian ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
, Goto Predestinatsia
Goto Predestinatsia
Goto Predestinatsia was the Russian 18th century navy flagship, 58-gun three-masted battleship....
.
In the 19th century, Voronezh was a center of the Central Black Earth Region
Central Black Earth Region
Central Black Earth Region or Central Chernozem Region is a segment of the Eurasian chernozem belt that lies within Central Russia and comprises Voronezh Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Oryol Oblast and Kursk Oblast...
. Manufacturing industry (mills, tallow-melting, butter-making, soap, leather and other works) as well as bread, cattle, suet
Suet
Suet is raw beef or mutton fat, especially the hard fat found around the loins and kidneys.Suet has a melting point of between 45° and 50°C and congelation between 37° and 40°C....
, and the hair trade developed in the town. A railway connected Voronezh with Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
in 1868 and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1871.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Voronezh was the scene of fierce fighting between Russian and combined Axis troops. The Germans used it as a staging area for their attack on Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
, and made a key crossing point on the Don River. In June 1941 on Voronezh excavator factory were built two artillery installation БМ13 (Fight machine N 13 "Katusha"). In July the construction of "Katusha" was rationalized so that its manufacturing became easier and the time of volley repetition was shorten from 5 min to 15 sec. More than 300 БМ-13 units manufactured in Voronezh were used in counterattack near Moscow in December 1941. In October 22 of 1941 because of forthcoming of German troops there was opened the city committee of defense. On November 7, 1941 there was parade of troops devoted to anniversary of October revolution. There was only 3 of such parades that year: in Moscow, Kuybyshev
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
, and Voronezh. In late June 1942, the city was attacked
Battle of Voronezh (1942)
The Battle of Voronezh was a battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, fought in and around the strategically important city of Voronezh on the Don river, south of Moscow, from 28 June-24 July 1942, as opening move of the German summer offensive in 1942....
by German and Hungarian forces. In response, Soviet forces formed the Voronezh Front
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
By July 6, the German army occupied the western river-bank suburbs before being subjected to a fierce Soviet counter-attack. The city was completely under Axis control by July 24. This was the opening move of Case Blue.
Until January 25, 1943, elements of the Second German Army and the Second Hungarian Army occupied Voronezh. During Operation Little Saturn, the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, and the Voronezhsko-Kastornenskoy Offensive the Voronezh Front exacted heavy casualties on Axis forces. On January 25, 1943, Voronezh was liberated
Battle of Voronezh (1943)
The 1943 battle of Voronezh was a Soviet counter-offensive on recapturing the city of Voronezh during the Ostrogozhsk-Rossoshansk and Voronezh-Kastornensk operations on the Eastern Front of World War II. The Nazis had captured the city in a 1942 battle.-External links:...
after ten days of combat. During the war the city was almost completely ruined, with 92% of all buildings destroyed.
1950-1980
By 1950, the reconstruction of Voronezh was accomplished. A lot of buildings and historical monuments were repaired. In 1950-1960 there were created new factories: tire factory, machine-tool factory,the factory of heavy mechanical press and otherOn the base of РД-0105 there was designed the rocket engine for the 3-d step of space craft Vostok 1
Vostok 1
Vostok 1 was the first spaceflight in the Vostok program and the first human spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961. The flight took Yuri Gagarin, a cosmonaut from the Soviet Union, into space. The flight marked the first time that a human entered outer...
, on which the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
on 12 April 1961 first in the world made a flight of a man into space.
In 1968, on Voronezh Aviation factory there was established the serial production of supersonic plane Tupolev Tu-144
Tupolev Tu-144
The Tupolev Tu-144 was a Soviet supersonic transport aircraft and remains one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service, the other being the Concorde...
. On October 1977 there was built first Domestic Aerobus (wide-body plane) Il-86.
Between 1991 and 2000 the city, high in unemployment, became a part of the Communist-voting region known as Russia's "Red Belt". Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the so-called Black Earth Region. It has seven theatres and twelve cinemas; it is also home to Voronezh State University
Voronezh State University
Voronezh State University is one of the main universities in Central Russia.The university was founded in 1918, when some staff, students and property from the University of Tartu were transferred by the Soviet government because of the German occupation of Estonia.The University has 17 departments...
.
The city's large student population includes many foreigners.
Education
Voronezh is a major center of higher education in central Russia. The main educational facilities are:- Voronezh State UniversityVoronezh State UniversityVoronezh State University is one of the main universities in Central Russia.The university was founded in 1918, when some staff, students and property from the University of Tartu were transferred by the Soviet government because of the German occupation of Estonia.The University has 17 departments...
- Voronezh State Technical University
- Voronezh State University of Architecture and Construction
- Voronezh State Pedagogical University
- Voronezh State Agricultural University
- Voronezh State Technological Academy
- Voronezh State Medical AcademyVoronezh State Medical AcademyVoronezh State Medical Academy also called Voronezh N. N. Burdenko State Medical Academy is located in Voronezh, Russia.-Overview:Founded in 1802 as the Derpt University foundation, in 1918 the university was moved to Voronezh...
- Voronezh State Academy of Arts
- Voronezh State Forestry Engineering Academy
- Voronezh State Institute of Physical Training
- Voronezh Institute of Russia's Home Affairs Ministry
- Voronezh Military Aviation Engineering University
and a number of other affiliate and private-funded institutes and universities.
There are 2000 schools within the city.
Notable natives and residents
- Nikolay BasovNikolay BasovNikolay Gennadiyevich Basov was a Soviet physicist and educator. For his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics that led to the development of laser and maser, Basov shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Alexander Prokhorov and Charles Hard Townes.-Early life:Basov was born in...
, Nobel-prize winning physicist, inventor of laser; - Ivan Bunin, The First Russian writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature;
- Pavel Alekseyevich CherenkovPavel Alekseyevich CherenkovPavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov was a Soviet physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1958 with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm for the discovery of Cherenkov radiation, made in 1934.-Biography:...
, Nobel-prize winning physicist; - Mikhail Semyonovich Tsvet, Russian botanist, inventor of adsorption chromatography;
- Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov, Soviet cosmonaut and an eminent space engineer;
- Poets and writers such as PlatonovAndrei PlatonovAndrei Platonov was the pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov , a Soviet author whose works anticipate existentialism. Although Platonov was a Communist, his works were banned in his own lifetime for their skeptical attitude toward collectivization and other Stalinist policies...
, KoltsovAleksey KoltsovAleksey Vasilievich Koltsov was a Russian poet who has been called a Russian Burns. His poems, frequently placed in the mouth of women, stylize peasant-life songs and idealize agricultural labour....
, NikitinNikitinNikitin , or Nikitina is a common Russian surname that derives from the Christian name Nikita. It may refer to:-Artists, fine artists and authors:*Ivan Nikitich Nikitin Nikitin , or Nikitina (feminine; Никитина) is a common Russian surname that derives from the Christian name Nikita. It may refer...
, MarshakSamuil MarshakSamuil Yakovlevich Marshak was a Russian and Soviet writer, translator and children's poet. Among his Russian translations are William Shakespeare's sonnets, poems by William Blake and Robert Burns, and Rudyard Kipling's stories. Maxim Gorky proclaimed Marshak to be "the founder of [Russia's ]...
, PeskovVasiliy Mihaylovich PeskovVasiliy Mikhailovich Peskov , is a Russian writer, journalist, photographer, traveller and ecologist. He has worked in the Russian tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda since 1956. From 1975 until 1990 he conducted the TV programme "In the World of Animals" on Soviet TV.In 1964, he was awarded a...
, Troepolsky; - Painters KramskoiIvan KramskoiIvan Nikolaevich Kramskoi was a Russian painter and art critic. He was an intellectual leader of the Russian democratic art movement in 1860-1880.-Life:...
, GeNikolai GeNikolai Nikolaevich Ge was a Russian realist painter famous for his works on historical and religious motifs.-Early life and education:...
, KuprinAlexander V. KuprinAlexander Vasilievich Kuprin was a Russian painter, a member of the Jack of Diamonds group. Kuprin was born in Borisoglebsk in 1880 and died in Moscow in 1960. His most famous works are various landscape and still life....
, Vikentii TrofimovVikentii TrofimovVikentii Pavlovich Trofimov was a Russian painter.-The Trofimov family:...
; - Valerian AlbanovValerian AlbanovValerian Ivanovich Albanov was a Russian navigator, best known for being one of only two survivors of the ill-fated Brusilov expedition of 1912.-Biography:...
, navigator and polar explorer with ill-fated Arctic ship St. AnnaSvyataya AnnaThe ship Svyataya Anna , named after Saint Anne, was the Philomel-class gunvessel HMS Newport launched in England in 1867. She was sold in 1881 and renamed Pandora II. She was purchased again in about 1890 and renamed Blencathra, taking part in expeditions to the north coast of Russia...
; - Grigory SanakoevGrigory SanakoevGrigory Konstantinovich Sanakoev is a Russian chess grandmaster of correspondence chess, most famous for being the 12th ICCF World Champion in correspondence chess between 1984 and 1991....
, chess player ; - Irina Makarova, mezzo-soprano, soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and La Scala in Milan;
- Yelena DavydovaYelena DavydovaYelena Victorovna Davydova , is a former Soviet gymnast. She is the 1980 Olympic all-around champion, and is now a top coach in Canada.-Childhood training:...
, Alexander Vasilyevich Tkachyov, gymnasts; - Yevgeny Lapinsky, Olympic champion volleyball player
- Valentina PopovaValentina PopovaValentina Vadimovna Popova is a Russian weightlifter who won two olympic medals: the silver medal in the 63 kg class at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal in the 75 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics.-External links:*...
, weightlifter and Dmitri SautinDmitri SautinDmitri Ivanovich Sautin is a Russian diver who has won more medals than any other Olympic diver. He was born in Voronezh.Sautin started diving at age seven; however, his diving career almost ended in 1991 when he was stabbed multiple times in an attack. After spending two months in the hospital,...
, diver; - Voline, the anarchist;
- Serge VoronoffSerge VoronoffSerge Abrahamovitch Voronoff was a French surgeon of Russian extraction who gained fame for his technique of grafting monkey testicle tissue on to the testicles of men for purportedly therapeutic purposes while working in France in the 1920s and 1930s. The technique brought him a great deal of...
, the surgeon. - Osip MandelstamOsip MandelstamOsip Emilyevich Mandelstam was a Russian poet and essayist who lived in Russia during and after its revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union. He was one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school of poets...
, poet, was exiled to Voronezh after his arrest in 1934 and wrote a series of poems there collected under the title Voronezh Notebooks. - Vladimir PatkinVladimir PatkinVladimir Leonidovich Patkin is a Russian former volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics. He is Jewish...
, Olympic medalist volleyball player - Andrei PlatonovAndrei PlatonovAndrei Platonov was the pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov , a Soviet author whose works anticipate existentialism. Although Platonov was a Communist, his works were banned in his own lifetime for their skeptical attitude toward collectivization and other Stalinist policies...
, author, famous for The Foundation PitThe Foundation PitThe Foundation Pit is a gloomy symbolical and semi-satirical novel by Andrei Platonov. The plot of the novel concerns a group of workers in the early Soviet Union attempting to dig out a huge foundation pit, on the base of which a gigantic House for all Proletariat will be built... - The Russian punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Sektor GazaSektor GazaSektor gaza was a Russian rock band formed on 5 December 1987 in the city of Voronezh, Russia. The group is still rather popular in Russia, despite having had a semi-official status during its existence due to obscene lyrics...
was founded there. - Mitrofan Yefimovich Pyatnitsky, musician, gatherer of Russian folk songs. He established the famous Pyatnitsky ChoirPyatnitsky ChoirThe Pyatnitsky Russian Folk Chorus was established by Mitrofan Pyatnitsky in 1910 initially with 18 peasants from Voronezh, Ryazan and Smolensk gubernias. The peasant chorus held its first performance at the Small hall of the Moscow Nobility Club on March 2, 1911.Pyatnitsky focused on...
.
Climate
Voronezh experiences a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb) with long, cold winters and short, warm summers.
Transportation
Not far from Voronezh is the satellite town NovovoronezhNovovoronezh
Novovoronezh is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Don River south of Voronezh. The Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant is located there. Population: -External links:**...
("New Voronezh") which serves a local nuclear power plant.
Both cities are served by Chertovitskoye Airport which is the home of Polet Airlines. Voronezh is also home to Voronezh Pridacha airport, part of a major aircraft manufacturing facility, VASO - Voronezhskoye Aktsionernoye Samoletostroitelnoe Obshestvo (Voronezh aircraft production association) where the Concordski, Tupolev Tu-144
Tupolev Tu-144
The Tupolev Tu-144 was a Soviet supersonic transport aircraft and remains one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service, the other being the Concorde...
, was built and the only operational one is still stored. Voronezh also hosts Voronezh Malshevo
Voronezh Malshevo
Voronezh Malshevo is an air base in Russia located 7 km southwest of Voronezh. The Natural Resources Defense Council listed it as a nuclear bomber base in a nuclear war study....
air force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
base in the south-west of the city, which, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council report, houses nuclear bombers.
Further reading
Charlotte Hobson's book, "Black Earth City", is an account of life in Voronezh at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union based on her experiences after spending a year in Voronezh as a foreign student in 1991–1992.Nadezhda Mandelstam
Nadezhda Mandelstam
Nadezhda Yakovlevna Mandelstam was a Russian writer and educator, and the wife of the poet Osip Mandelstam, who died in 1938 in a transit camp to the gulag of Siberia...
's Hope Against Hope, the first volume of her memoirs concerning her husband, the poet Osip Mandelstam
Osip Mandelstam
Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam was a Russian poet and essayist who lived in Russia during and after its revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union. He was one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school of poets...
, provides many details about life in Voronezh in the 1930s under Stalinist rule.
From the mid-nineteenth century is the diary of a British soldier, a sergeant in the Royal Welch Fusiliers
Royal Welch Fusiliers
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and the imminent war with France...
, published as "Prisoners of Voronesh (sic)". George Newman was captured in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
and then marched under a loose guard with a motley crew of POWs, convicts, etc, to Voronezh.
In 1989, Voronezh was the subject of international media attention after the TASS
Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union , was the central agency for collection and distribution of internal and international news for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations...
newspaper published a story recounting an alleged UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
landing that occurred in the city's park, and subsequent encounters between citizens and extraterrestrial beings. The account was later reported in America by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
, and received coverage by several other media outlets including the NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
and the ABC Evening News. Details of the incident have been featured in several books, most notably UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat by Jacques Vallée
Jacques Vallée
Jacques Fabrice Vallée is a venture capitalist, computer scientist, author, ufologist and former astronomer currently residing in San Francisco, California....
, The UFO Encyclopedia, Volume 1: UFOs in the 1980s by Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note....
, and UFOs: The Secret History by Michael Hesemann
Michael Hesemann
Michael Hesemann is a German historian, journalist and internationally published bestselling author, specialized on Church history.-Life:...
.
Attractions
Beside pine-tree groves in the lowland of the river Voronezh known for their favorable influence on human being, more famous is historical and cultural monument – Divnogorye, and Divnorsky monastery which is an ensemble of unique Orthodox Churches gouged by Russian monks within a huge chalk mountain on the banks of the river Tikhaya Sosna in Liskinsky District.Besides, there are a lot of summer and winter tourist camps, sanatoriums and reserves, monasteries, churches, cultural and historical monuments on the territory of Voronezh oblast of Russia.
The city has 7 theatres, 12 museums, 11 Cinema theatres, Philarmonic Hall, Circus.
There is a number of sport and fitness complexes, night clubs, Casino, Cafe and Restoraunts and also about 100 shoping malls.
Air transport
Chertovitskoye International AirportVoronezh International Airport
Voronezh-Chertovitskoye International Airport is an airport in Russia located 11 km north of Voronezh. It services medium-sized airliners and handles up to 44 mixed aircraft. No military presence at the moment....
with IATA airport code VOZ, is located north of the city. It has a single runway 2300 metres long. There are regular flights to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
with a flight time of about 1 hour.
Rail transport
Rail services form part of the Southeastern Railway of RZD (Russian Federal Railways). There are regular express trains to Moscow that take about 10 hours. Other destinations served direct from Voronezh include K'yiv, Kursk, Novorossiysk, Sochi and Tambov.Local transport
Buses and minibuses provide the bulk of local public transport. There are some trolleybuses but the system has been allowed to degrade. The once extensive tramway network was finally abandoned on 15 April 2009.International relations
| Date | Sister City | |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 |  |
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| 1989 |  |
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| 1991 |  |
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| 1992 |  |
Chongqing Chongqing Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the... , People's Republic of China People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... |
| 1995 |  |
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| 1996 |  |
León León, Spain León is the capital of the province of León in the autonomous community of Castile and León, situated in the northwest of Spain. Its city population of 136,985 makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for more than one quarter of the province's population... , Castile and León Castile and León Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |