Rostov Oblast is a region in Southern Russia, which borders Krasnodar Krai in the southwest, Ukraine in the northwest, Voronezh Oblast in the north, Volgograd Oblast in the northeast, Kalmykia in the east, and Stavropol Krai in the south.

Cities

• 1 Rostov-on-Don — one of Russia's largest cities and the capital of both Rostov Oblast and all of Southern Russia
• 2 Azov — great destination on the Sea of Azov for history buffs as it was a center of the centuries long Russo-Turkish conflict and also for archaeological research at nearby Tanais, an ancient Bosporan Greek city
• 3 Aksay — an important Cossack town with a fun fortress and several military museums
• 4 Novocherkassk — the world capital of Cossack culture, this relatively large city is full of Cossack-related sites for the visitor
• 5 Shakhty — a large industrial coal-mining city
• 6 Starocherkasskaya — near Novocherkassk is the old capital of the Don Cossacks; this is perhaps Rostov Oblast's most precious site, full of Cossack cultural monuments
• 7 Taganrog — Anton Chekhov's hometown is a well preserved monument to his childhood and youth containing several museums and palaces; Rostov Oblast's second largest city
• 8 Vyoshenskaya Stanitsa — this small riverside Cossack stanitsa is the hometown of Nobel Prize winning novelist Mikhail Sholokhov

Other destinations

• 1 Rostovsky Nature Reserve — preserving one of the world's last virgin, never-plowed steppes, this reserve is home to wild Don horses on Vodny Island, as well as the endangered polecat and several rare bird species

Understand

Rostov Oblast is one of Russia's most populous regions and is the economic and cultural center of Southern Russia. The region is especially notable for being the center of the Don Cossack culture and contains the world's most important Cossack cultural monuments and museums, primarily in Novocherkassk and Starocherkassk. The region was also a major center of anti-Soviet resistance during the Russian Civil War (1918–21).

Talk

You will most likely only encounter Russian.In Rostov-on-Don and surrounding villages there is a numerous Armenian population, so you may hear Armenian speech too. All of Rostov Armenians speak Russian, however.

Get in

There are domestic flights from virtually any large airport in Russia to Rostov-on-Don (ROV ^IATA). Rostov also serves as the principal transit junction for the region, trains coming here will come through Voronezh from Moscow.

Eat

• Cossack cuisine

Drink

The Don River region is a principal wine region for Russia — not that Russian wine is the world's most renowned, but a Russian winery makes for an interesting visit. The town of Tsimlyansk is famous for its Tsimlanskaya champaigne.

Go next

Rostov-on-Don is the principal rail hub for trains heading south to Krasnodar Krai and all destinations in the North Caucasus. Trains also head west into Ukraine, going as far as Kiev.