On the map of European Russia, Moscow is the exact center.  To the northwest is St. Petersburg; to the south-east, nearly at a mirror's image, lies Voronezh, marking the center of the famous Black Earth Region.  200 years ago both St. Petersburg and Voronezh played an important role in the Peter the Great's innovative activity, and in strengthening economic and cultural ties between Russia and Europe.  Officially founded over 400 years ago, and at least 300 years older than that, Voronezh is the cradle of the Russian Navy: here, on the Voronezh River, Peter the Great built Russia's first fleet.

The number of thinkers and innovators connected with this city is extensive.  Voronezh gave birth to G. Shelekhov, a merchant and navigator who founded the first settlements in Russian America.  Many Russian writers, such as Leo Tolstoi, Anton Chekhov and Ivan Bunin lived or visited Voronezh. The city's region produced many other eminent figures: A. Fet,  F. Tyutchev, A. Koltsov,  I. Nikitin,  N. Leskov, S. Marshak, and Platonov. The estate and home of I. Turgenev, "Spasskoye-Lutovinovo" is not far from Orel.  Under Stalin, the great poet Osip Mandelshtam lived in Voronezh in exile.  Other notables include: Semyonov-Tyanshansky, the explorer of Central Asia and President of the Russian Geographic Society; Nobel prize-winner academician N. Basov, one of the founders of quantum physics; composer G. Sviridov; and artist I. Kramskoy.

Today, Voronezh and the entire Black Earth Region, just like 300 years ago under Peter the Great, is about to develop again, reestablishing itself as an industrial, scientific and educational center.  Its many cultural centers are beginning to be restored and it is still known as a repository for folklore traditions.  It is of interest to students, specialists in forestry and horse-breeding, nature lovers, hunters and fishermen, as well as to all those fond of Russian language, literature and traditions.

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