Voronezh (Воро́неж) is a large city in the south of Central Russia, not far from Ukraine. It is located on the river Voronezh and is the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. Geographical location . Population (census 2002): 848,700.

Voronezh was founded in 1586 by tsar Feodor I as a fortress protecting the Russian state from the raids of invaders. However, settlements were present here since the Stone Age. The name Voronezh is also very old and its exact meaning is unknown.

Tsar Peter the Great built his fleet here. During his reign Voronezh became the largest city of the Russian empire in the South and administrative centre of the large southern region.

Now Voronezh is the economical, industrial, cultural and scientific center of the so called Black Earth Region. In the city there are 7 theaters, 12 cinemas, 19 high schools; it is also home to Voronezh State University. The city's large student population includes many foreigners as foreign students in Russia usually take one year of Russian language in Voronezh before moving on to universities elsewhere. This has led in the past to tension between foreign students and the indigenous population.

As an industrial centre, Voronezh was integral to the Soviet aircraft construction industry, including the so-called Concordski Tupolev Tu-144.

In 1991-2000, the city high in unemployment became a part of the Communist-voting region known as Russia's Red Belt.

Many famous people were born in Voronezh and not far from it. Among them poets and writers Platonov, Bunin, Koltsov , Nikitin , Marshak , Troepolskii ; painters Kramskoi, Gay , Kuprin, the physicist Cherenkov; gymnasts Davydova, Tkachyov; the anarchist Voline, etc.

The famous Russian punk band Sektor Gaza was founded in Voronezh.

Around Voronezh there are a lot of kurgans and other interesting archaeological objects.

Nearby Novovoronezh ("New Voronezh") serves nuclear power plants.

On October 9 1989, an official news agency in the Soviet Union reported the landing of a UFO in Voronezh.

External links

• Voronezh (Russian)