Taganrog

Seaport city in Rostov oblast (region) of the southwestern Russian Federation, on the Sea of Azov, 75 km/47 mi west of Rostov-na-Donu; population (1996 est) 292,000. It is a major industrial centre; factories here produce iron and steel (since 1897), aircraft, ships, and other heavy-engineering products, such as combine-harvesters, boilers, and machine tools. The city also has tanneries and food-processing industries.

Taganrog was founded by Peter (I) the Great in 1698 as a naval base, destroyed after the Pruth Treaty with Turkey in 1712, and rebuilt 1769–74. It was occupied by the Germans in 1918 and 1941–43. Taganrog is the birthplace of the 19th-century writer Anton Chekhov.