Voronezh (city)

River port and capital of Voronezh oblast (region), in the western Russian Federation; population (1996 est) 909,000. Voronezh is situated 290 km/180 mi northeast of Kharkov on the Voronezh River 18 km/11 mi west of its confluence with the Don. It stands at the centre of the black soil (chernozem) region, which has high agricultural yields. The city has important manufacturing industries, for example engineering works (producing agricultural and food industry equipment, excavators, and diesel motors) and chemical plants (manufacturing synthetic rubber and pharmaceuticals). Other products include building materials and foodstuffs.

A settlemement at Voronezh was first documented in 1177; the city was founded in 1586 as a Muscovite frontier post against the Tatars. Industry developed here in the late 17th century, with the city building ships for Peter (I) the Great's Azov campaign of 1695–96. It was made the provincial capital in 1711, and has been an important commercial and cultural centre since the 1830s. From 1928–34. it was the capital of the central black earth region. Intense fighting took place around Voronezh during the Russian Civil War (1919), and World War II (1942–43).