Voronezh

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).

The Novovoronezhski atomic power station, one of the largest in the Russian Federation, is located 40 km/25 mi from Voronezh.

Voronezh

Oblast (region) in the western Russian Federation; area 52,400 sq km/20,232 sq mi; population (1996) 2,504,000 (62% urban). The capital is Voronezh. Potatoes, wheat, sunflowers, and sugar beet are grown, and there is livestock breeding. Industries include engineering, chemicals, and food processing.

The region is crossed by the River Don (which separates the central Russian upland in the west from the Oka–Don plain in the east). There are rich black earth (chernozem) soils and sparse oak forests. Cities in the region include Borisoglebsk and Buturlinovka.

The region was unpopulated until the 16th Century. It was the scene of anti-Soviet guerrilla warfare in 1919–22, and was partly occupied by the Germans in 1942–43.