My native town

My native town is Voronezh. I am proud to be its citizen. The history of Voronezh is bound up with the history of Russia.

The first mention of Voronezh can be found in the Russian chronicles dated back to the 12-th century. At that time a multy-towered fortress was erected on the right bank of the Voronezh River to shield off the Russian land from the nomadic tribes.

By the middle of the 16-th century Voronezh developed into a bustling, densely populated city. At the turn of the 17-th century Peter the Great built his first flotilla here. In 1812 in the battle of Borodino the Voronezh popular levy stood the ground. The Voronezh people participated in the revolts against the serfdom; they took part in Narodnic organizations, in three revolutions and in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45.

Today Voronezh is one of the largest industrial cities of Russia. The trade mark of Voronezh can be seen on farm? machinery, TV-sets, radio receivers, tyres and aluminium construction parts. The Il-86 and Il-96 aircraft came off the line here.

Voronezh is a city of science. It has dozens of research centres, a university, nine colleges. The city has rich cultural traditions. Its first drama theatre lifted its curtain in 1802.

Voronezh land is proud of Koltsov's verses, Nikitin's poetry, Kramskoy's paintings, fairy tales collected by A. Afanasyev, folk songs gathered by M. Pyatnitsky.

In Voronezh one can visit the Opera and the Ballet Theatre, the Puppet Theatre, the Philharmonic Society, the Russian Folk Choir, the Kramskoy's Fine Arts Museum, the Nikitin's Literary Museum and the Museum of Local Lore.

The city of Voronezh honours its past and is full of creative effort and vitality.