The first chronicle references to the word "Voronezh" are dated 1177, when the Ryazan prince Yaropolk, having lost the battle, fled "to Voronozh" and there was moving "from town to town". Modern data of archeology and history interpret Voronezh as a geographical region, which included theVoronezh river (tributary of theDon) and a number of settlements. In the lower reaches of the river, a unique Slavic town-planning complex of the 8th – early 11th century was discovered, which covered the territory of the present city of Voronezh and its environs (about 42 km long, about 13 forts and many unfortified villages). By the 12th – 13th centuries, most of the old towns were desolate, but new settlements appeared upstream, closer toRyazan.[15][16][17][18]
For many years, the hypothesis of the Soviet historianVladimir Zagorovsky dominated: he produced the toponym "Voronezh" from the hypothetical Slavic personal nameVoroneg. This man allegedly gave the name of a small town in theChernigov Principality (now the village ofVoronizh inUkraine[19]). Later, in the 11th or 12th century, the settlers were able to "transfer" this name to the Don region, where they named the second city Voronezh, and the river got its name from the city.[20][21] However, now many researchers criticize the hypothesis, since in reality neither the name ofVoroneg nor the second city was revealed, and usually the names of Russian cities repeated the names of the rivers, but not vice versa.
The linguisticcomparative analysis of the name "Voronezh" was carried out by the Khovansky Foundation in 2009. There is an indication of the place names of many countries in Eurasia, which may partly be not only similar in sound, but also united by common Indo-European languages:Varanasi,Varna,Verona,Brno, etc.[22]
A comprehensive scientific analysis was conducted in 2015–2016 by the historian Pavel Popov. His conclusion: "Voronezh" is a probable Slavic macrotoponym associated with outstanding signs of nature, has a rootvoron- (from theproto-Slavicvorn) in the meaning of "black, dark" and the suffix-ezh(-azh, -ozh). It was not “transferred” and in the 8th - 9th centuries it marked a vast territory covered with black forests (oak forests) - from the mouth of the Voronezh river to the Voronozhsky annalistic forests in the middle and upper reaches of the river, and in the west to the Don (many forests were cut down). The historian believes that the main "city" of the early town-planning complex could repeat the name of the region – Voronezh. Now the hillfort is located in the administrative part of the modern city, in the Voronezh upland oak forest. This is one of Europe's largest ancient Slavic hillforts, the area of which – more than 9 hectares – 13 times the area of the main settlement inKyiv before the baptism of Rus.[18][23]
In[1] it is assumed that the word "Voronezh" means bluing - a technique to increase the corrosion resistance of iron products. This explanation fits well with the proximity to the ancient city of Voronezh of a large iron deposit and the city of Stary Oskol. As well as the name ofVoroneț Monastery known for its blue shade.[non sequitur]
Folk etymology claims the name comes from combining the Russian words for raven (ворон) and hedgehog (еж) intoВоронеж. According to this explanation two Slavic tribes named after the animals used this combination to name the river which later in turn provided the name for a settlement. There is not believed to be any scientific support for this explanation.
In the 16th century, the Middle Don basin, including the Voronezh river, was gradually conquered by Muscovy from theNogai Horde (a successor state of theGolden Horde), and the current city of Voronezh was established in 1585 byFeodor I as a fort protecting theMuravsky Trail trade route against theslave raids of the Nogai and Crimean Tatars. The city was named after the river.[2]
In the 17th century, Voronezh gradually evolved into a sizable town.Weronecz is shown on theWorona river inResania inJoan Blaeu's map of 1645.[24]Peter the Great built adockyard in Voronezh where the Azov Flotilla was constructed for theAzov campaigns in 1695 and 1696. This fleet, the first ever built in Russia, included the first Russianship of the line,Goto Predestinatsia. The Orthodox diocese of Voronezh was instituted in 1682 and its first bishop,Mitrofan of Voronezh, was later proclaimed the town's patron saint.
View of Voronezh in the 18th century
Owing to the Voronezh Admiralty Wharf, for a short time, Voronezh became the largest city of South Russia and the economic center of a large and fertile region. In 1711, it was made the seat of theAzov Governorate, which eventually morphed into theVoronezh Governorate.
In the 19th century, Voronezh was the center of Voronezh Governorate. Manufacturing industry (mills, tallow-melting, butter-making, soap, leather, and other works) as well as bread, cattle,suet, and the hair trade developed in the town. A railway connected Voronezh withMoscow in 1868 andRostov-on-Don in 1871.
DuringWorld War II, Voronezh was the scene of fierce fighting between Soviet and combined Axis troops. The Germans used it as a staging area for their attack onStalingrad, and made it a key crossing point on the Don River. In June 1941, two BM-13 (Fighting machine #13Katyusha) artillery installations were built at the Voronezh excavator factory. In July, the construction ofKatyushas was rationalized so that their manufacture became easier and the time of volley repetition was shortened from five minutes to fifteen seconds. More than 300 BM-13 units manufactured in Voronezh were used in a counterattack near Moscow in December 1941. In October 22, 1941, the advance of the German troops prompted the establishment of a defense committee in the city. On November 7, 1941, there was a troop parade, devoted to the anniversary of theOctober Revolution. Only three such parades were organized that year: in Moscow,Kuybyshev, and Voronezh. In late June 1942, the city wasattacked by German and Hungarian forces. In response, Soviet forces formed theVoronezh Front. By July 6, the German army occupied the western river-bank suburbs before being subjected to a fierce Soviet counter-attack. By July 24 the frontline had stabilised along the Voronezh River as the German forces continued southeast into the Great Bend of the Don. The attack on Voronezh represented the first phase of the German Army's 1942 campaign in the Soviet Union, codenamedCase Blue.
German mechanized forces on their way to Voronezh, July 1942
By 1950, Voronezh had been rebuilt. Most buildings and historical monuments were repaired. It was also the location of a prestigiousSuvorov Military School, aboarding school for young boys who were considered to be prospective military officers, many of whom had been orphaned by war.[25]
In 1950–1960, new factories were established: a tire factory, a machine-tool factory, a factory of heavy mechanical pressing, and others.In 1968, Serial production of theTupolev Tu-144 supersonic plane was established at the Voronezh Aviation factory. In October 1977, the first Soviet domestic wide-body plane,Ilyushin Il-86, was built there.
In 1989,TASS published details of an allegedUFOlanding in the city's park and purported encounters withextraterrestrial beings reported by a number of children. A Russian scientist that was cited in initial TASS reports later told theAssociated Press that he was misquoted, cautioning, "Don't believe all you hear from TASS," and "We never gave them part of what they published",[26] and a TASS correspondent admitted the possibility that some "make-believe" had been added to the TASS story, saying, "I think there is a certain portion of truth, but it is not excluded that there is also fantasizing".[27][28]
From 10 to 17 September 2011, Voronezh celebrated its 425th anniversary. The anniversary of the city was given the status of a federal scale celebration that helped attract large investments from thefederal and regional budgets for development.[29]
On December 17, 2012, Voronezh became the fifteenth city in Russia with a population of over one million people.[30]
Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of theCentral Black Earth Region. As part of the annual tradition in the Russian city of Voronezh, every winter the main city square is thematically drawn around a classic literature. In 2020, the city was decorated using the motifs fromPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky'sThe Nutcracker. In the year of 2021, the architects drew inspiration fromHans Christian Andersen's fairy taleThe Snow Queen as well as the animation classicThe Snow Queen from the Soviet Union. The fairy tale replica city will feature the houses of Kai and Gerda, the palace of the snow queen, an ice rink, and illumination.[31][32]
In June 2023, during theWagner Group rebellion, forces of the Wagner Group claimed to have taken control of military facilities in the city. Later they were confirmed to have taken the city itself.[33][34][35]
On the night of 27 October 2024, during theRusso-Ukrainian War,Ukraine launched a drone attack on two distilleries in Voronezh, distilleries that make rocket and aviation fuel and explosives.[36][37]
Mining Machinery Holding - RUDGORMASH[41] (production of drilling, mineral processing and mining equipment)
VNiiPM Research Institute of Semiconductor Engineering[42] (equipment for plasma-chemical processes, technical-chemical equipment for liquid operations, water treatment equipment)
On the territory of the city district government Maslovka Voronezh region with the support of the Investment Fund of Russia, is implementing a project to create an industrial park, "Maslowski", to accommodate more than 100 new businesses, including the transformer factory of Siemens. On September 7, 2011 in Voronezh there opened a Global network operation center of Nokia Siemens Networks, which was the fifth in the world and the first in Russia.[citation needed]
In clusters of tax incentives and different preferences, the full support of the authorities.A cluster of Oil and Gas Equipment, Radio-electronic cluster, Furniture cluster, IT cluster, Cluster aircraft, Cluster Electromechanics, Transport and logistics cluster, Cluster building materials and technologies.[46]
Information about the original urban layout of Voronezh is contained in the "Patrol Book" of 1615. At that time, the city fortress was logged and located on the banks of the Voronezh River. In plan, it was an irregular quadrangle with a perimeter of about 238 meter. inside it, due to lack of space, there was no housing or siege yards, and even the cathedral church was supposed to be taken out. However, at this small fortress there was a large garrison - 666 households of service people. These courtyards were reliably protected by the second line of fortifications by a standing prison on taras with 25 towers covered with earth; behind the prison was a moat, and beyond the moat there were stakes. Voronezh was a typical military settlement (ostrog).[47] In the city prison there were only settlements of military men: Streletskaya, Kazachya, Belomestnaya atamanskaya, Zatinnaya and Pushkarskaya.[48] The posad population received the territory between theostrog and the river, where the Monastyrskaya settlements (at the Assumption Monastery) was formed. Subsequently, the Yamnaya Sloboda was added to them, and on the other side of the fort, on the Chizhovka Mountain, the Chizhovskaya Sloboda of archers and Cossacks appeared. As a result, the Voronezh settlements surrounded the fortress in a ring. The location of the parish churches emphasized this ring-like and even distribution of settlements: the Ilyinsky Church of the Streletskaya Sloboda, the Pyatnitskaya Cossack and Pokrovskaya Belomestnaya were brought out to the passage towers of the prison. The Nikolskaya Church of the Streletskaya Sloboda was located near the marketplace (and, accordingly, the front facade of the fortress), and the paired ensemble of the Rozhdestvenskaya and Georgievskaya churches of the Cossack Sloboda marked the main street of the city, going from the Cossack Gate to the fortress tower.[49]
Voronezh experiences ahumid continental climate (Köppen:Dfb) with long, cold winters and warm to hot summers.[50] Winters are slightly milder than in areas further north and east, and snow season last shorter than in these areas.
Climate data for Voronezh (1991–2020, extremes 1918–present)
The city is served by theVoronezh International Airport, which is located north of the city and is home to Polet Airlines. Voronezh is also home to thePridacha Airport, a part of a major aircraft manufacturing facilityVASO (Voronezhskoye Aktsionernoye Samoletostroitelnoye Obshchestvo, Voronezh aircraft production association) where theTupolev Tu-144 (known in the West as the "Concordski"), was built and the only operational unit is still stored. Voronezh also hosts theVoronezh Malshevoair force base in the southwest of the city, which, according to aNatural Resources Defense Council report, housesnuclear bombers.[citation needed]
Since 1868, there is a railway connection between Voronezh and Moscow.[53] Rail services form a part of theSouth Eastern Railway of theRussian Railways. Destinations served direct from Voronezh include Moscow, Kyiv, Kursk, Novorossiysk, Sochi, and Tambov.The main train station is calledVoronezh-1 railway station and is located in the center of the city.
Voronezh State Medical UniversitySnow at night in a Voronezh parkAviastroiteley Park
The city has seven theaters, twelve museums, a number of movie theaters, a philharmonic hall, and a circus. It is also a major center of higher education in central Russia. The main educational facilities include:
In 1682, the Voronezh diocese was formed to fight the schismatics. Its first head was BishopMitrofan (1623-1703) at the age of 58. Under him, the construction began on the new Annunciation Cathedral to replace the old one. In 1832, Mitrofan wasglorified as a saint by theRussian Orthodox Church.
In the 1990s, many Orthodox churches were returned to the diocese. Their restoration was continued. In 2009, instead of the lost one, a new Annunciation Cathedral was built with a monument to St. Mitrofan erected next to it.
^abИсторическая хроника(DOC) (in Russian). Муниципальное учреждение культуры Централизованная библиотечная система города Воронежа Центральная городская библиотека имени А. Платонова. 2009.Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. RetrievedMarch 28, 2012.
^В. П. Загоровский. "Воронежская историческая энциклопедия". Воронеж, 1992. Стр. 53.
^А. З. Винников, А. Т. Синюк. "Дорогами тысячелетий: Археологи о древней истории Воронежского края". Издание 2-е. Воронеж, 2003. Стр. 185–187, 236–242.
^Н. А. Тропин. "Южные территории Чернигово-Рязанского порубежья в XII–XV вв." Автореферат диссертации на соискание ученой степени доктора исторических наук. Москва, 2007.
^abП. А. Попов. "Воронеж: древнее слово и древние города, а также древние леса и древние реки России". Воронеж, 2016.
^В. П. Загоровский. "О древнем Воронеже и слове «Воронеж»". Издание 2-е. Воронеж, 1977.
^Е. М. Поспелов. "Географические названия мира". Москва, 1998. Стр. 104.
^А. Лазарев. "Тайна имени Воронежъ" (The Mystery of the Name of Voronezh). Воронеж, 2009.
^П. А. Попов. "Комплексный подход в топонимических исследованиях в связи с историей русского градостроительства (на примере Центрального Черноземья)". Девятые всероссийские краеведческие чтения (Москва – Воронеж, 15–19 мая 2015 г.). Москва; Воронеж, 2016. Стр. 423–434.
^Russiæ, vulgo Moscovia, pars australisinTheatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive Atlas Novus in quo Tabulæ et Descriptiones Omnium Regionum, Editæ a Guiljel et Ioanne Blaeu, 1645.
Воронежская областная Дума. Закон №87-ОЗ от 27 октября 2006 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Воронежской области и порядке его изменения», в ред. Закона №41-ОЗ от 13 апреля 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Воронежской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Воронежской области и порядке его изменения"». Вступил в силу по истечении 10 дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Молодой коммунар", №123, 3 ноября 2006 г. (Voronezh Oblast Duma. Law #87-OZ of October 27, 2006On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Voronezh Oblast and on the Procedures of Changing It, as amended by the Law #41-OZ of April 13, 2015On Amending the Law of Voronezh Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Voronezh Oblast and on the Procedures of Changing It". Effective as of after 10 days from the day of the official publication.).
Воронежская областная Дума. Закон №66-ОЗ от 31 октября 2005 г. «О наделении муниципального образования город Воронеж статусом городского округа». Вступил в силу по истечении 10 дней со дня официального опубликования (18 ноября 2005 г.). Опубликован: "Коммуна", №171, 8 ноября 2005 г. (Voronezh Oblast Duma. Law #66-OZ of October 31, 2005On Granting Urban Okrug Status to the Municipal Formation of the City of Voronezh. Effective as of the day which is 10 days after the official publication date (November 18, 2005).).
Charlotte Hobson's book,Black Earth City, is an account of life in Voronezh at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union based on her experiences after spending a year in Voronezh as a foreign student in 1991–1992.
Nadezhda Mandelstam'sHope Against Hope, the first volume of her memoirs concerning her husband, the poetOsip Mandelstam, provides many details about life in Voronezh in the 1930s underStalinist rule.
Alan Sillitoe, the English writer, published a collection of poems entitledLove in the Environs of Voronezh and Other Poems in 1968.
In the songRed Army Blues bythe Waterboys, on the albumA Pagan Place, there is a line "Took the train to Voronezh, that was as far as it would go."