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The Rostov Region
GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION
Rostov-on-Don was founded in 1749 and is a city of approximately 1.5 million people located in the southwest corner of Russia. It is located at 47.11 latitude North and 39.38 longitude East. Rostov is situated about 25 km up the Don River from the Sea of Azov.
OVERVIEW
Rostov-on-Don is not just "another city in Russia". For many years it has been known as a land where people seek freedom. Feudal slaves from all Russian cities used to escape there. Rostov region vigorously resisted the Communist movement at the beginning of the 20th century and it became one of the last regions taken over by communists. In fact, spirit of free enterprise survived in Rostov through all dark times and now gives an advantage for numerous private businesses in the city. People of different nationalities have lived in the Rostov-on-Don area for centuries, in the atmosphere of cultural tolerance and friendship. Rostov region is rich in history, culture, architecture and beauty.
HISTORY
The land on which Rostov stands has long been sacred for the Russian people. Here the Russian warriors of old crossed swords with the nomads who ravaged the domains of Kiev Rus. Here the Don Cossacks (former serfs who had fled to the Don and the Northern Donets to escape the oppression of their owners) valiantly defended the southern frontiers of Russia. It was in this area that the Cossack atamans Stepan Razin, Kondraty Bulavin and Yemelyan Pugachov started the famous uprisings which shook Russia in the 17th and 18th centuries. The city is considered to be founded in 1749 when the Temernik frontier custom house was opened on the high western bank of the Don. This custom house was established on the site of present-day Rostov-na-Donu. A fortress was built here in 1761, and in 1797 the settlement achieved city status. In the 19th century it grew as an important trading port. During World War II the city was held twice (1941, 1942-1943) by German forces and was damaged considerably.
PRESENTLY
Rostov is one of the biggest industrial centers in Russia. Today the city produces combine harvesters and transport helicopters, furniture and refrigerators, cultivators and footwear, champagne and tobacco goods. After the construction of the Volga-Don navigation canal Rostov became a five-sea port, accessible from the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Baltic, White and Caspian Seas. And famous Russian river-to-sea-going motor vessels now make regular runs from Rostov to many Mediterranean ports. At Rostov the Don flows quiet no longer. Its smooth waters are ruffled by modern motor vessels, speedy Raketa hovercrafts and Meteor hydrofoils, tug-boats, motorized barges and yachts.
CULTURE AND SCIENCE
The city has cultural traditions. The old-timers invariably take pride in naming you dozens of illustrious figures in literature, art, science and technology, whose lives and work were associated with Rostov. Here Moussorgsky gave concerts, the great Russian actor Mikhail Shchepkin played in the theatre, Alexander Solzhenitsyn studied at Rostov State University, the famous physiologist Pavlov performed his research. Among the famous names who hailed originally from Rostov are the outstanding doctor N. Bogoraz, the composer M. Gnesin and that celebrated explorer of the Arctic seas, Georgi Sedov. Today Rostov-on-Don is the site of the North Caucasian science centre. It has several higher educational institutes training specialists for various fields of the national economy and dozens of research institutes working on complex theoretical problems The residents and visitors have a choice of four theatres, a philharmonic, a Sports Palace and over 900 libraries, including the Central City Public library, one of the largest in the country linked to the Internet and other famous electronic library systems including US Library of Congress via satellite channels. Rostov puts out numerous books, newspapers, and other publications, including the literary journal Don. The works of many writers from the Don area (Sholokhov, Zakrutkin, Kalinin and others) have won the affections of readers far beyond the borders of our country. The Rostov regional film studio puts out documentaries, newsreels and scientific films that are known throughout the country, and programs from the local TV centre are transmitted far a field. The city also boasts a fine local lore museum, which gives visitors a good idea of Rostov and its environs (their history and terrain). The Rostov museum of fine arts is rich in exhibits, including some genuine works by such masters of Russian painting as Repin, Sunkov, Perov and Levitan.
ARCHITECTURE AND LAYOUT
Rostov's busiest thoroughfare is Bolshaya Sadovaya Street,  which bisects the city and runs parallel to the Don from the river Temernik to the vast Theatre Square. Towering over the Square is the Gorky Drama Theatre, a veritable palace of glass and marble, which was built in 1935 to a design by Academicians V. Shchuko and V. Geilfraikh. The nazis burned the theatre when they retreated but its original appearance was subsequently restored. This superb edifice is set off by the picturesque greenery of Theatre Square. Rostov as a whole is rich in greenery with plenty of parks, boulevards and newer gardens. Some of these parks are October Park, Student Park, First of May Park, Pioneer Park, University Park, Gorky Park, the lovely gardens around its central bookstore and on the Gagarin Square and so forth. In Frunze Park a memorial has been designed to those who fell during the Great Patriotic War. The people of the city take pride in their botanical garden, which features a large selection of trees and bushes from East, South and Central Asia, South Europe, the Caucasus and the Crimea. Its glasshouses have become a second home for some 500 species of tropical plants. The lower reaches of the Don are indescribably beautiful with their tranquil lagoons ringed by thickets and (on the western bank pebbly strands and rocky outcrop) here lies Rostov-on-Don, loved by all who were born there, lived there or whose fate was otherwise bound up with it, and never to be forgotten by all who visit it.
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