The city is situated 1226 km from Moscow. The area of the city is 354 km3. Its population is more than one million people.

The capital of Don territory and of South federal district was founded in 1749 according to decree of Empress Elizaveta. The heiress of Peter the Great decided to place a custom house in the entry of the river Temernik; The custom house was guarded by Dimitriy Rostovskiy military fortress founded in 1761.

Later the fortress was called Rostov (according to decree of Alexander I of August 17, 1806), and later, in order not to confuse it with the city of Rostov-Velikiy near Yaroslavl, the name of the city was changed into Rostov-on-Don. During that time another independent city was developing near Rostov-on-Don. It was Nakhichevan-on-Don founded in 1779 £. by Armenians who moved there from the Crimea. Both cities were united in December 1928.

The life of many famous people was closely connected with Rostov-on-Don: F.F. Ushakov, I.P. Pavlov, G.Ya. Sedov, M.F. Gnesin, S.M. Budionny, V.F. Panova, V.A. Zakrutkin, M.A. Sholokhov, Ye.V. Vuchetich, A.I. Solzhenitsyn, Yu.A. Zhdanov and many others.

There are a lot of excursion routes, festivals and exhibitions in the city. In the city of Rostov-on-Don horse and Cossack programs, wine-testing, river cruises and many other interesting entertainments can be organized.

The embankment of the river Don is a real decoration of the city. There are always a lot of people over there. It is wonderful to go for a walk along the embankment on a hot day, to sit in a cafe watching small towboats and cutters dashing about the river. In the morning and in the evening it is possible to watch lifting of a wonderful bridge over the river Don. One can go on an interesting trip to Taganrog by passenger-carrying hydrofoil boat. Also one can go boating and fishing.

Nowadays Rostov-on-Don is one of the biggest and most wonderful cities in the south of Russia.