Belgorod Oblast.

History

In the days of Kievan Rus the land belonged to the Principality of Chernigov, in the 14th and 15th centuries to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and from 1500 to Muscovy. Belgorod was founded in 1596 under Tsar Feodor Ioannovich as a frontier fortress. In the 17th century the Belgorod Line grew up here, a chain of fortifications almost 800 km long guarding the southern borders against raids. In the summer of 1943 a major tank battle of the Kursk campaign was fought near Prokhorovka. The oblast was formed in January 1954 from districts of Kursk and Voronezh oblasts.

Culture & traditions

The region has long been known for its wood carving, and embroidered rushnyk towels played an important part in local wedding customs. Belgorod has the Shchepkin Academic Drama Theatre and a philharmonic hall, the Battle of Kursk diorama museum and a history museum. Its main churches include the Transfiguration and Smolensk cathedrals. Gymnast Svetlana Khorkina and basketball player Alexey Shved are from Belgorod.

Nature

The region has more than 480 rivers and streams, the largest being the Seversky Donets, Vorskla, Psyol and Oskol; woodland covers less than 10% of the land. The Belogorye Nature Reserve brings together five sections, including Les na Vorskle, an intact riverside oak forest with some trees over 300 years old, and the chalk slopes and steppes of Lysye Gory, Yamskaya Steppe and Stenki Izgorya. Stenki Izgorya alone has about 710 recorded species of vascular plants. The frost-free season lasts 155–160 days a year.

Sport

The region's best-known club is the volleyball side Belogorie. Belgorod is the hometown of gymnasts Svetlana Khorkina and Natalia Zuyeva and basketball player Alexey Shved.

Food & drink

Belgorod Oblast is one of Russia's leading farming regions, with large grain harvests and a long record in pork and poultry production. In 2014 the region harvested 3.7 million tonnes of grain, beating its earlier record.

Practical information

Belgorod is about 700 km south of Moscow. The railway arrived in 1869, the Moscow–Kharkiv line and the M2 highway cross the region, and the city has Belgorod International Airport. The region runs on Moscow time. The climate is temperate continental, with mild winters and long warm summers. Late spring and summer are the best seasons for the steppe and chalk hills.

What to see

• Les na Vorskle — a Belogorye Reserve section with oaks more than three centuries old
• Stenki Izgorya — chalk slopes with rich steppe flora
• Prokhorovka Field — a memorial to the 1943 tank battle
• Belgorod Diorama Museum — the story of the Battle of Kursk in a single panorama
• Transfiguration Cathedral — one of Belgorod's principal churches

Cities on the map

• Belgorod 379,135