ROSTOV-ON-DON. The Gateway to the Caucasus

ROSTOV-ON-DON

The Gateway to the Caucasus

THE BASICS:

City Population: 1, 060, 000

Major Industries: Machine building. Shipping and Transport. Agriculture. Coalmining. Food. Light industry. Chemical production.

The first settlers of the Don River were called Cossacks. They were serfs who had escaped from Moscow in the 16^th century.

By Russian standards, Rostov is a young city. It was founded first as a customs house on the bank of the Don River in 1749. Twelve years later, in 1761, the daughter of Peter the Great, Empress Elizabeth, ordered the construction of a fortress at the place which is now Kirov Square. The fortress was one of the main military bases of the Russian Army on the Azov coast during the Russian-Turkish War. The famous Russian General Suvorov visited the fortress in 1788. In honour of this visit one of the streets of Rostov is called Suvorov Street. A city grew up around the fort and it was named after the Russian Saint, Dmitri Rostovsky. In 1806 Emperor Alexander added “-on-Don” to the city`s name to distinguish it from the smaller, Golden Ring city of Rostov the Great in the Yaroslavl region.

Rostov-on-Don is a railway junction and major river port. Rostov is linked by waterways to five seas. It connects the European part of Russia with the Caucasus. It is called the Gateway to the Caucasus.

Rostov is one of the most culturally diverse cities in Russia. It is a city of science and students. There are many educational establishments here including: Southern Federal University, the Medical University, the Don State Technical University, and the Academy of National Economy.

Rostov-on-Don has many theatres, cinemas, museums, stadiums and hotels. The main street, Bolshaya Sadovaya, runs parallel to the River Don. Bolshaya Sadovaya leads to Theatre Square, where demonstrations and festivals take place on holidays. The Maxim Gorky Drama Theatre, a building of unique design, resembles a tractor. It was erected on this square in 1936. Besides the Drama Theatre, guests of Rostov may visit the Musical Comedy Theatre, the Philharmonic Society, the Theatre of Young Spectators, the Puppet Show Theatre and the Circus. The city’s museums display interesting exhibits and collections. The Museum of Fine Arts on Pushkin Street has oil paintings by the well-known battle painter, Vereshchagin, and pictures by Aivazovsky, Shishkin, Levitan, Perov, Repin and others. It is open to all who wish to get acquainted with these Russian masters. The Museum of Local Lore offers tourists many interesting exhibits which reveal the history of the freedom-loving Cossacks.

Rostov is a beautiful and lively city. The Rostovites love their famous Quiet Don. The Nobel Laureates Mikhail Sholokhov (from Veshenskaya) whose novel Quiet Flows the Don is a local favourite and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who studied mathematics at Rostov State University, both called Rostov home. Anton Chekhov was raised and educated in Taganrog.

More than 20 different nationalities live and work together in Rostov giving it the atmosphere of cultural tolerance and friendship.

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