Taganrog (, ) is a

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. It is in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

region. Population: Located at the site of an ancient Greek and medieval Italian colony, modern Taganrog was founded in 1698. Contested by various factions during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, the city served as the temporary Soviet Ukrainian capital in 1918.

Demographics

History

The history of the city goes back to the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

–early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Later, it became the earliest Greek settlement in the northwestern

region and was probably mentioned by the Greek historian

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

as emporion Kremnoi (Κρήμνοι, meaning cliffs). It had contacts as well to the other Greek colonies around the Black Sea as well as to the indigenous communities of the hinterland. In the 13th century,

Pisan Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning To ...

merchants founded a colony, Portus Pisanus, which was however short-lived. Taganrog was founded by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

on 12 September 1698. In 1712, it passed to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and the fort was destroyed. In 1769, it was recaptured by Russia. The first

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

base, it hosted the Azov Flotilla of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

(1770–1783), which subsequently became the Russian

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. Taganrog was granted city status in 1775. From 1775 it was administratively located in the Azov Governorate, and then from 1784 in the

Yekaterinoslav Governorate Yekaterinoslav Governorate} was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. Covering an area of , and being composed of a inhabitant of 2,113,674 by the census of 1897, it bordere ...

By the end of the 18th century, Taganrog had lost its importance as a military base after

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and the entire

were absorbed into the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In 1802, Tsar Alexander I granted the city

special status Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

, which lasted until 1887. In 1825, the Alexander I Palace in Taganrog was used as his summer residence, and he died there in November 1825. Also in Taganrog is the House of Teacher, a mansion where numerous artists have performed. Although it had been bombarded and damaged by an Anglo-French fleet in 1855 during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, Taganrog became important as a commercial port, used for the import of

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

by the end of the 19th century until the early 20th century.

Industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

increased in the city when Belgian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

investors founded a boiler factory, an iron and steel

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, a

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

factory, and an oil press factory. By 1911, fifteen foreign

consulates A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a h ...

had opened in the city. Bristol Taganrog - KPU plaque

During

, Taganrog served as the temporary capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in March-April 1918. Afterwards it was occupied by the troops of the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

from May to August 1918. In 1919, General

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...

established his headquarters at the Avgerino mansion in the city while commanding White Russian troops fighting in South Russia during the

. When the White Russians were defeated and

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

power was established in the city on 25 December 1919, Denikin's remaining troops and the British Consulate were evacuated by HMS ''Montrose''. Full power was granted to the executive committee of The City Soviet Workers' council on 17 December 1920, and Taganrog joined the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

as the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of Taganrog Okrug. It was transferred to the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

along with

Shakhty Shakhty ( rus, Шахты, p=ˈʂaxtɨ) is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the southeastern spur of the Donetsk mountain ridge, northeast of Rostov-on-Don. As of th2023 Census its population was 222,500. It was previously known ...

Okrug on 1 October 1924. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Taganrog was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

from 1941 to 1943 during

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, when two SS divisions entered the city on 17 October 1941, followed by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. The city suffered extensive damage. Under German occupation the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

system was replaced by a German-style ''Bürgermeisteramt'' (Mayor's Office), which governed the city until it was liberated by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on 30 August 1943.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Taganrog Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Law #340-ZS As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.Law #190-ZS

Economy

Taganrog is the leading industrial center of Rostov Oblast. Local industry is represented by aerospace, machine-building, automobile, military, iron and steel industry, engineering, metal traders and processors, timber, woodwork, pulp and paper, food, light, chemical and construction materials. The city is one of the major ports of the

. The biggest company currently operating in Taganrog is Taganrog Iron & Steel Factory, (publicly traded company Tagmet), which manufactures steel, steel pipe, for oil and gas industry and consumer goods. The other major employer is Taganrog Auto Factory ( TagAZ Ltd.), which originated from Taganrog Combine Harvester Factory. The plant manufactures automobiles licensed by Hyundai. The production line includes Hyundai Accent compact sedan, mid-size Hyundai Sonata, sport utility vehicle Santa Fe, and Hyundai Porter pickup truck. Taganrog is also home to the aircraft design bureau

Beriev The PJSC Beriev Aircraft Company (), formerly Beriev Design Bureau, is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (design office prefix Be), specializing in amphibious aircraft. The company was founded in Taganrog in 1934 as OKB-49 by Georgy Mikhailovich B ...

. The area around Taganrog has a large industrial potential, a diversified agricultural industry, production plants, and a modern infrastructure. The location of Taganrog on the intersection of traffic routes and the seaport facilitate access to the emerging CIS markets. Taganrog's main trading partners are the CIS countries,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Military

The Taganrog air base is northwest of the city and hosts the Taganrog Aviation Museum. The city also hosts the Taganrog military museum.

Higher education

* Taganrog College of Technologies *Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute *Taganrog College of Management and Economy

Climate

The climate of Taganrog is

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa/Dfa''). Taganrog experiences moderately cold (mild by Russian standards) winters and hot summers.

Culture

Architecture

Bishop's House, also known as Kirsanov's house, Shtalberg House, Telegraph House and the House of Subsovich, House of Deminoj-Cachoni, House of Voroshilkin, Stepan Akimov House, House of Sirotinykh, House of Lukin, House of Lobanov, House of Averino, Mansion of Handrin, House of Rabinovich are located in Taganrog.

Taganrog in literature

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

featured the city and its people in many of his works, including '' Ionych'', ''The House with an Attic'', '' The Man in a Shell'', '' Van'ka'', '' Three Years'', ''Mask'', and ''My Life''. It is believed that Taganrog may have been the '' Lukomorye'' (fairy tale land) in which

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

's '' Ruslan and Lyudmila'' (1820) was set. The city also appeared in the novels of Ivan Vasilenko and Konstantin Paustovsky and in the poems of Nikolay Sherbina and Valentin Parnakh. The legend of "Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" is cited in the book '' Roza Mira'' by Russian mystic Daniil Andreyev. According to this legend, the Russian tsar Alexander I did not die in Taganrog, but instead left his crown and the status of monarch to continue his life as a traveling hermit. In foreign literature, the city was mentioned in the titles of ''Der Tote von Taganrog'' by and ''Taganrog'' by Reinhold Schneider. In 2004 Sabine Wichert published a collection of poems entitled ''Taganrog''. In Maria Kuncewiczowa's 1945 novel '' The Stranger'' (New York, LB Fischer publisher), the city of Taganrog plays an essential role as a place of nostalgic happiness for the uprooted Polish musician and matriarch, Rose.

Notable people

Numerous Russian and international aristocrats, politicians, artists, and scientists were born and/or have lived in Taganrog. Taganrog is the native city of *

* Faina Ranevskaya * Sophia Parnok *

Alexandre Koyré Alexandre Koyré (; ; born Alexandr Vladimirovich (or Volfovich) Koyra; 29 August 1892 – 28 April 1964), also anglicized as Alexander Koyre, was a French philosopher of Russian origin who wrote on the history and philosophy of science. ...

* Isaac Yakovlevich Pavlovsky *

Witold Rowicki Witold Rowicki (born ''Witold Kałka'', 26 February 1914 – 1 October 1989) was a Polish conductor. He held principal conducting positions with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Witold Lutoslawski's Conc ...

* Georgy Sedov * Dmitri Sinodi-Popov It is also associated with: *

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

* Cornelius Cruys *

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

Pyotr Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

* Adolph Brodsky * Konstantin Paustovsky * Nestor Kukolnik * Achilles Alferaki * Ioannis Varvakis * Vasily Zolotarev *

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor and filmmaker of Ukrainian origin who was one of the leading figures of Soviet cinema in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He is known for his sweeping p ...

* William Frederick Yeames File:Taganrog_alexanderImonument.jpg, Alexander I Statue in Taganrog File:Garibaldi_Taganrog.jpg, Garibaldi Monument in Taganrog File:Chekhov-Statue-Taganrog2006.jpg, Chekhov Monument in Taganrog File:Near Vasilenko house-museum.jpg, Monument "Artyomka"

Twin towns – sister cities

Taganrog is twinned with: * Antratsyt, Ukraine (2012) * Badenweiler, Germany (2002) * Cherven Bryag, Bulgaria (1963) *

Jining Jining () is a former capital of Shandong. Is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the no ...

, China (2009) * Khartsyzk, Ukraine (2009) * Lüdenscheid, Germany (1991) *

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, Ukraine

References

Notes

Sources

* * * *

External links

Taganrogcity.com: official City of Taganrog website
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Tagancity.ru: official website of Taganrog city
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Taganrog.su: unofficial website of Taganrog
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Taganrog State − Anton Chekhov Pedagogical Institute
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Soviet topographic map 1:100,000Russ-yug.ru: Weather forecasts for Taganrog
{{Use mdy dates, date=May 2011 Cities and towns in Rostov Oblast Port cities and towns of the Azov Sea Port cities and towns in Russia Populated coastal places in Russia Populated places established in 1698 1698 establishments in Russia 1698 establishments in Europe Don Host Oblast Former capitals of Ukraine Greek colonies on the Black Sea coast Administrative divisions of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic