Rostov
Rostov-on-the-Don is a city in Russia on the elevated right bank of the river Don, at the mouth of the Temernik rivulet. It dates from 1761 when the Empress Elizabeth caused a fortress to be built there, near the fort of St. Anne which had been raised by Peter the Great, in order to keep the Cossacks in proper awe and submission; and also as a base for operations against the Turks. The towns of Rostov and Nakhichevan subsequently grew up in the vicinity of these fortifications. The former (dismantled) fortress of St. Dmitri, also established in the reign of the Empress, was between the two towns.[1]
Rostov developed into a chief centre of inland trade in the South-eastern provinces of Russia, and its exports, shipped in barges to the Taganrog roadstead were once equal to the whole exports of the latter port. Large fairs were held twice a year in Tsarist times when great numbers of horned cattle and horses were brought for sale.[2]
The city was much fought over during World War II.
