Guides to the city of Rostov-on-Don Komarova I.A. Vladimirskiy State University named after the Stoletov brothers Vladimir, Russia Гайд по городу Ростов-на-Дону Комарова И.А. Владимирский государственный университет имени А.Г. и Н.Г. Столетовых Владимир, Россия Geographic situated Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies to the southeast of the East European Plain, on the Don River, 32 kilometers from the Sea of Azov. The southwestern suburbs of the city about the Don River delta. The Rostov region is in the southern part of the East European Plain and partially in North Caucasus region, occupying the extensive territory in the river basin of Nizhny Novgorod of Don. On character of a surface the territory of area represents the plain dismembered by valleys of the rivers and beams. The maximum height above sea level - 253 m. From the North on the territory of area Central Russian Upland comes, east part of Donets Ridge in the West puts, in southeast part of area the Salsk and Manychsky ridge and Yergeni Hills tower. Distance from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don 1226 km. The area occupies the space of 100, 8 thousand sq.km that makes 0,6% of the territory of Russia, has the extent of 470 km from the North to the south, 455 km from the West to the east. The Rostov region has overland and water borders with the following regions: in the West and the northwest 1
- with Donetsk and Lugansk areas of Ukraine the total length of border of 660 km, in the North and the northeast - with the Voronezh and Volgograd areas, in the east and the southeast - with Kalmykia, in the south - with Stavropol and Krasnodar edges, in the southwest is washed by Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov, having sea frontier with Ukraine. In the territory of area one of the largest rivers of Europe Don (2 thousand km) proceeds, the Tsimlyansk Reservoir (volume of 24 billion cubic meters) is located. The main inflows of Don the river the Seversky Donets and Manych are navigable. Lakes occupy only 0, 4% of the territory of area. The area has favorable moderate and continental climate. Average air temperature in January - (- 7C), in July - (23C). Duration of sunshine is equal to 2050-2150 hours a year. From June to September average monthly indicators of duration of sunshine in Rostov-on- Don and Sochi differ from each other a little. So-so the annual amount of precipitation makes 424 mm. Drop out mainly on atmospheric fronts of cyclones. Their quantity decreases in the direction from the West (650 mm) to the east (to 400 mm). High temperatures of summer and the long vegetative period provide the increased productivity of wheat, melon, garden cultures and grapes. The nature of the Rostov region is very various. Steppe open spaces, forest oases, a flood plain of the river Don, the coast of the Sea of Azov, is a haven for more than hundred animal species and valuable trade breeds of fishes. The territory of area lies within a steppe zone, only the extreme southeast is the transitional area from steppes to semi-deserts. The woods and bushes covered 5, 6 percent of land fund while the most part of area is occupied with the farmland, mainly on high-fertile chernozems. Population Population of Rostov-on-Don is 1.300 million people (2009). It is the 10th biggest city in the Russian Federation. Together with its Rostov agglomeration population of the city is 1.8 million people (6th place in the country).there are about 2.57 million people in Rostov-Shakhtinsk conurbation. The population Rostov-on-Don consists generally of Russians, which about 90%. Other residents have the Ukrainian, Armenian, Jewish, Belarusian, Greek, Georgian, Tatar, Korean, Gipsy, Mordovian, Udmurt, German origin. In total in 2
Rostov about 105 nationalities are. In this number and a nationality the Scythian as which ranked themselves (by results of the last census) of 30 residents, answering a question of a national identity. The number of able-bodied population of Rostov-on-Don of 2010 was estimated at 660893 people, the able-bodied 250071 person more young than the able-bodied 137160 people is more senior; from them the man of 45,4%, the woman 54,6%. History The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak. (See the article on Azov for detailed information on those settlements.) Rostov-on-Don was founded on December 15, 1749, as a customs house was set up on the Temernik (a tributary of the Don) to control the trade with Turkey. The custom house was built according to the edict of the Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. Not far from the customhouse grew the fortress. It was named after Russian metropolitan, Saint Dmitry of Rostov, a newly-glorified bishop from the old Northern town Rostov the Great. Later the name was changed to Rostov (in 1806) and then to Rostov-on-Don. As Azov gradually declined, a settlement near the new fortress superseded it in importance as a chief commercial centre of the region. In 1756 the "Russian commercial and trading company of Constantinople" set up there, establishing a settlement on the high bank of the Don known as the "Kupecheskaya Sloboda" ("The merchants' settlement"). In 1796 this settlement received town rights and was renamed Rostov-on-Don, in order to distinguish it from its ancient namesake. Rostov's favorable geographical position on the crossing of trade routes promoted the rapid economic development of the city. The Don River that the city is named for is a major shipping lane connecting southwestern Russia with regions to the north, and Rostov-on-Don is an important river port in both passenger-oriented and industrial shipping. Rostov became a busy trading port, which was visited by 3
Russian, Italian, Greek, Turkish, as well as other foreign merchants. As the most heavily industrialized city of South Russia, it was a bone of contention between the Whites and the Bolsheviks during the Civil War. By 1928, the regional government was moved from the old Cossack capital Novocherkassk to Rostov, which also engulfed the nearby Armenian town of Nor Nakhijevan (Nakhijevan, Proletarskiy district now). After the construction of the Volga-Don Shipping Canal in 1952 Rostov became a port of five seas: the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea, the White Sea and the Baltic Sea. The population of Rostov-on-Don was 15 thousand in 1850 and 110 thousand at the beginning of previous century. In the neighborhood there developed another town, founded in 1779 by the Crimean Armenians, who were granted shelter in the South of Russia. It was Nakhichevan-on-Don. A wheat field was the border between two towns. Nowadays the central square of Rostov-on-Don, Theatre Square, is situated directly on the place of the former town border. In 1928 two cities were united and Nakhichevan became part of Rostov. In Armenian "Nakhichevan" means "the first halt". Thousands of descendants of the Crimean Armenians still live in Rostov. In the Soviet years, the Bolsheviks demolished two of Rostov's principal landmarks - St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1908) and St George Cathedral in Nakhichevan (1783-1807). Much of the city was reduced to rubble by the German forces who occupied it twice during World War II (known locally as the Great Patriotic War) - in 1941 and 1942. The first occupation was in the autumn of 1941. It lasted seven days. In the plans of Hitler's generals Rostov was a city of special importance, a strategic railway junction and a river port, a gateway to the Caucasus, rich in minerals, especially in oil. The city was badly damaged by bombing. The best units of the German panzer army were driven out of Rostov. But in the summer of 1942 the German army managed to occupy the city for the second time. The second occupation lasted seven months. It took ten years to raise the city from the ruins and restore it even further. 4
Nowadays, the most conspicuous feature of the downtown is the enormous Cathedral of Virgin's Nativity (1860-87), designed by Konstantin Thon. Rostov has rich cultural traditions. The names of dozens of well-known figures of art, literature and science are connected with the city: they either lived or worked in Rostov or nearby. They are the poets, writers A.P. Chekhov, M.A. Sholokhov, Zakrutkin, Fadeev, Safronov, Kalinin, A.S. Pushkin, A.M. Gorky, S.A. Yesenin, A.N. Tolstoy, the architect E. Vuchetich, the scientists D.I. Mendeleyev, A.S. Popov, L.P. Pavlov, Solzhenitsyn and Zhdanov, the actress Maretskaya, the composers Zaslavsky, Nazaretov, the great Russian commander A.V. Suvorov and many others. Here Mussorgsky gave his concerts and Maxim Gorky. The Great Russian actor Mikhail Shchepkin performed in the theatre and the celebrated explorer of the Arctic Sea George Sedov dreamt about his expeditions. It is also important to mention the doctors N.Bogoraz and S.Fedosov, the Armenian writer and enlightener M.Nalbandyan, the outstanding Armenian painters Martiros Saryan and Ashot Melkonian. After visiting Rostov in 1831, A.S. Pushkin published his poem "The Don". The monument to A.S. Pushkin on Pushkin Boulevard is dedicated to remind those events. Rostov-on-Don has experienced considerable economic growth in recent years, as the Russian economy recovers nationwide. Numerous start-up companies have established headquarters in the city, the median income is increasing, and the city is being transformed from a place thrown back in time by the collapse of USSR into a modern, industrial and technology-rich hub. Economy Rostov-on-Don is the political, economic and cultural center of the south of Russia, with considerable industrial, banking, trade and scientific potential. The volumes of industrial production counting only large and medium-sized enterprises constitutes about 31 billion rubles a year (about 1,210 million dollars); the growth rates of production output at the industrial enterprises in the city are stable. Almost 50% of the total trade turnover in the region occurs in Rostov. 5
Large enterprises such as OJSC Rostselmash, OJSC Rostvertol, OJSC Baltika-Don, Donskoy Tabak and Yug Rusi are part of the city s image. It is worth mentioning that the products of OJSC Rostselmash cover about 60% of the Russian market; the products of Donskoy Tabak 12%; and the products of OJSC Baltika-Don, 96% of the regional market. OJSC Rostvertol is the only enterprise in the Russian Federation to produce helicopters for different purposes. Yug Rusi is well-known as the largest producer and exporter of the wonderful Don sunflower oil. Large industrial companies have shown significant interest in Rostov as the capital of the region s business. These companies include such leaders in the world markets as Samsung, Canon, Panasonic, Philips, Bosh and Siemens. The city is growing rapidly. Its boundaries are expanding. Over the period of 2002 to 2003 more than 800 thousand square meters of new housing was built in the city, and 420 buildings in the center of the city were reconstructed. The construction of comfortable private homes by individual constructors continues; more housing is being built by the enterprises of different forms of ownership. The volumes of the municipal housing construction increase continuously. The investments in the construction in Rostov Region constitute about 7 billion rubles (about 275 million dollars) every year. The index of the newly built housing per capita is higher than the one in Moscow. By the pace of the newly built housing, Rostov occupies one of the leading positions in the Russian Federation. The industrial potential of the city is constituted by the enterprises of machine building and metal industries (42%), food industry (32%), flour grinding (7%), light industry (6%), chemical industry (3%), construction materials industry (3%) and other branches. The financial sector of the economy includes 80 banks and their subsidiaries. The reliability of Rostov-on-Don as a business partner can be proved by the fact that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been giving out credits for the reconstruction of various facilities of municipal transportation and social services in the city. The project for Free Customs Zone Southern Gates of 6
Russia is being implemented. The project is to consolidate the infrastructures of Rostov-on-Don and Rostov Region in order to broaden the export-import of the goods, capitals and services exchange going through the territory of Southern Russia. Food and Drink. There are many different types of cafes in Rostov-on-Don, each expressing its own individuality. There are cafes and restaurants with European, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Caucasian and even Mexican cuisine. Prices in Rostovon-Don are more than affordable a lunch for one person with beverages costs approximately 200 rubles ($8). Shopping. There are many different types of shops in Rostov-on-Don. There are large supermarkets in every micro-district, and you can always find a shop within walking distance where you can buy the necessities. There are several markets where fresh fruit and vegetables are sold and a meat market where you can choose fresh meat and poultry. Shops selling clothes and footwear are numerous. There are also several large electronics and appliances stores. Healthcare. The level of healthcare in Rostov-on-Don is relatively high. There is a medical and research center, as well as private and state clinics. Drugstores can be found everywhere. If you need any special medication, it is better to bring it with you as it may prove difficult to find a pharmacy with the necessary license to sell your particular medication in Russia. Medical care will be provided to the teachers on the basis of a medical insurance policy. Dental and optical services are at the charge of the teacher, but they are much more affordable than in Europe or America. Language Link in Rostov-on-Don. An English language school is a necessary addition to both secondary and higher education institutions in Rostov. The school is situated in the centre of the city on the corner of Pushkinskaya Street and Universitetsky Street in the student zone. There are buildings of the Rostov State University, the city public library, the Donskaya zonal library and some more major educational institutions nearby. All the necessary conditions for the teacher to work in comfortable surroundings have been created within the school: light, spacious classrooms; the necessary teaching equipment; a library and computers. Sightscreens 7
The Rostov academic drama theater of M. Gorky one of the largest theaters of Rostov-on-Don. Its building defines the image of Theatre Square. It is considered to be date of foundation of the Academic drama theater of Maxim Gorky on June 23, 1863 when the first stationary troupe of theater was created. Construction of the building of theater was conceived in 1929. The waste ground between recently united in one city of Rostov and Nakhichevan - on - Don was chosen as a place. Stylization of a caterpillar, most likely, of the first Soviet Communard tractor was the basis for architectural forms of the building. In 1935 construction was complete The theater opened the performance "Mutiny" according to the story of the same name of D. A. Furmanov. It is known that on the action course the whole cavalry was brought to a scene. In 1936 1940 theater one of the largest Soviet directors of that time Yury Aleksandrovich Zavadsky directs. Together with it to Rostov transfer also part of its troupe: V. P. Maretskaya, R. Ya. Plyatt, N. D. Mordvinov. According to the official version the director "had to set an example in development of a huge scene". In the late thirties the facade was revetted with the Italian marble, other part of theater granite and inkermansky limestone. On the second circle there were gorelyefny compositions "Death of Vendee" and the "An iron stream" executed by the sculptor S. G. Korolkov. In general on construction 7 million pieces of a brick, 8 thousand tons of inkermansky limestone, 3, 9 thousand tons of marble, 3 thousand tons of granite were used. Memorial stele to "Soldiers liberators of Rostov-on-Don from fascist aggressors" it is built on a central square of Rostov-on-Don in honor of release of the city from the German troops. The ceremonial opening of a monument took place on May 8, 1983. This monument is established by day of the 40 anniversary of liberation of Rostov-on-Don and reminds residents and his guests of the tragedy of military years 8
On 72-meter height the coupled stele topped with a 100-ton top in the form of a rostrum shot up. From Don the steel is decorated by a sculpture of the winged goddess of a victory Nika (in Soviet period it was claimed that is the Motherland), from Theatre Square the model of an award of Patriotic war of the I-st degree. The bottom of a stele has a bowl with water and an eternal flame, the basis of a stele surrounds a relief from a tufa on which the subjects "Front", "Back", "World" are presented. The relief, in turn, forms a contour in which the belfry from twelve bells is suspended. On the architect's plan thus in a memorial height, water, fire, light and a sound are combined. Alexander Column the monument located in Rostov-on-Don in park of Vitya Cherevichkin. The monument was open in 1894 in the city of Nakhichevan - on - Don (nowadays as a part of Proletarsky district of Rostov-on-Don). Alexander Column is the only pre-revolutionary city monument which escaped in Soviet period. The column has the status of object of cultural heritage of local value. 9
References 1. http://russiatrek.org/rostov-on-don-city 2. http://en.russia.edu.ru/russia/cities/rnd/ 3. http://dontourism.ru/en/pois.aspx?ctl00_c_dgcontent_page=0& 4. http://english.donland.ru/default.aspx?pageid=53141 5. https://www.ribttes.com/rostov-on-don/ 10