Black soil steppes and forest-steppes prevail in the landscape of the region. The most picturesque natural reserves are Shipov, Tellerman, Hrenov woods and Usman pine forests. The chain of chalk mountains – Divnogorye, Belogorye, Kostomarovo-raising on the right bank of the Don River, caves cutting through them , with churches and monasteries both active and abandoned, make the site a unique combination of nature and architecture.

There are as many as 588 rivers on the territory of the Region, the largest are the Don and the Voronezh Rivers, as well as picturesque Bityug and Hopyor Rivers. Sources of natural mineral water, having therapeutic action, similar in its composition to mineral waters of Baden-Baden, are abundant.

200 years ago both St. Petersburg and Voronezh played an important role in 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 in Voronezh. 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. Svirldov; and artist I. Kramskoy.

Nowadays Voronezh is a large administrative, industrial, scientific, educational and cultural center of the Black Soil Region with a population of over 1 million. Many of it’s cultural centers are beginning to be restored and it is still known as a repository for folklore traditions. Voronezh is a student city.

Over 30 state and private educational establishments provide international standards of higher education to a student population of over 74,000. Museums , theaters and modern movie theatres, network of Russian, American & Chinese restaurants , port facilities, including complexes “Olympic” and “Kostyonky”, night clubs and different cultural and entertainment venues, available in the city, make it enjoyable and pleasant at any time of the year.

Voronezh is a comfortable and hospitable city for both its residents and guests. It welcomes energetic, friendly people of any nation cordially!