Geography
Azov is located in the south-west of the Rostov region, at the mouth of the Don River on the left bank, 42 km from Rostov-on-Don.
Occupied area of 67.5 sq km
History
The first fortified settlements were formed on the Azov land more than two thousand years ago. Officially, the city dates back to 1067, when the Don River Delta was captured by the Polovtsy and gave the settlement the name Azak. The Azov fortress was on the way from Europe to Asia, it gave access to the sea, so there was a constant struggle for it and the fortress changed hands more than once, it was often subjected to devastating defeats.
The history of the city has many bright pages. One of them is the famous Azov siege, when in 1641 a fortified Cossack fortress with five thousand Cossacks 93 days and nights withstood the onslaught of 250,000 Turkish troops. Not only did I endure it. The Turks had to lift the siege and get away. The campaigns of Peter I under the Azov, undertaken in 1695-96 and crowned with the capture of the Turkish fortress, opened the "gate" to the southern seas of the Russian state.
The city of Azov was the center of the Azov province (1775-1782). In the XIX century, Azov was the posad of the Ekaterinoslav province. Only in 1926 Azov again became a city.
During the Great Patriotic War, the city was occupied by fascists for more than six months. About 600 people were shot. More than 5,000 Azov citizens were taken to Germany. The city suffered significant damage.
Azov received its modern main development in the 60-80s of the XX century due to the intensive development of industry.
Administrative and territorial division
The city of Azov is a city of regional subordination, an independent municipal formation.
The city is also the center of the Azov district.
Population and labour resources
The population is more than 82,000 people. More than 20 nationalities live in the city. The most numerous are: Russians - 94%, Ukrainians - 3.1%, Belarusians - 0.5%. About 55% of the population is of working age. The number of people employed in the economy is total: 34.0 thousand people. Of these, in material production - 23.8 thousand people, in the non-production sphere - 10.2.
Industry
The basis of the city's economy is mechanical engineering (7 enterprises) and food industry (6 enterprises). The development of the food industry is due to local natural resources that are favorable for the production of agricultural products requiring processing: the production of bakery and confectionery products, elevator, meat and dairy production, the production of canned fish. The products of the Azov garment factory find steady demand.
On the territory of Azov there are 27 large and medium-sized industrial enterprises. More than half of enterprises, including the largest industrial units, have a mixed form of ownership, mainly open joint-stock companies (OJSC). There are 9 privately owned businesses. The state form of ownership was retained by one of the largest industrial enterprises of the city - the production association "Azov Optical and Mechanical Plant" (FSUE "AOMZ"). Another enterprise - the educational and production enterprise "Lighting" of the All-Russian Society of the Blind, is owned by public associations.
Small and medium-sized businesses
As of the beginning of the third millennium, more than 400 small businesses and about 4,000 entrepreneurs were registered in Azov.
Transportation
Due to its advantageous geographical location, today Azov is a developing international seaport with all the necessary infrastructure, processing about 1 million tons of various cargoes per year, arriving both by sea and by inland routes on ships with a carrying capacity of 3000 tons - 5000 tons of the "river-sea" type with a draft of up to 4 meters. In addition to the already existing 7 berths in 2002, construction of several grain terminals, a port elevator, terminals for transshipment of timber and technical alcohols, a terminal for bunkering ships began.
The Azov railway station is located from the Bataisk junction station at a distance of 30 km. By train or bus from the regional center to Azov can be reached in one hour, by taxi - in 40 minutes, by boat - in 30 minutes.
Culture and art
The network of cultural institutions includes a palace of culture, a city park, a youth and cultural center, 7 libraries.
The ensemble of songs and dances of the Don Cossacks, the ensemble “Walking, Russians”, the ballroom dance ensemble “Hope” perform concerts both in the cities of our country and far beyond its borders. Young Azov students study at the children's art school and children's music school.
Education
The city has the Azov Technological Institute of Don State Technical University, the Azov Institute of Management, Business and Law of the Rostov State Economic Academy, a branch of Rostov State University, branches of universities from other cities of Russia, a music and pedagogical college, a humanitarian and technical college, three vocational schools, as well as secondary, special and preschool educational institutions.
Monuments and museums
Azov is included in Russian and international tourist routes. Historic monuments are of international importance.
The ramparts of the Turkish fortress with the Alekseevsky Gate of the XVIII century, the powder cellar, the ruins of the Genoese wall on the site of the medieval factoria of Tana. There is a museum and museum of the first director of the Arctic Institute native of Azov R.L. Samoilovich. To the thirtieth anniversary of the Russian fleet in 1996, a monument to Peter I was erected.
In the Azov Museum of Local Lore there are unique paleontological, archaeological and historical exhibits:
- the skeleton of the Trogonterian elephant (600 thousand years),
- products of gold, silver, copper and ceramics of the period of settlement of the Azov region,
- antique coins, collections of clothing and women's needlework of the XIX - first half of the XX centuries.
Hotels.
Guests of the city of Azov can stay in the hotels "Azov" and "Solnechnaya", located a few dozen meters from the staircase to the suspension bridge over the Azovka River.
