Tambov Oblast.

History

The earliest known inhabitants were the Moksha Mordvins. Russians arrived in the 17th century, when the fortresses of Kozlov (1635) and Tambov (1636) were built against Crimean Tatar raids; near Kozlov an earthen rampart some 25 km long blocked the steppe routes. Tambov received town status in 1719 and a regular street plan under Catherine II in 1781. The oblast within its present borders was created on 27 September 1937.

Culture & traditions

From 1890 to 1917 Sergei Rachmaninoff spent long summers at the Ivanovka estate, where he finished his First Piano Concerto and wrote the symphonic poem Prince Rostislav. The mathematician Andrey Kolmogorov was born in Tambov. The city's drama theatre is among the oldest in Russia, and the Tambov Picture Gallery holds Russian and Western European painting. The 107-metre bell tower of the Kazan Monastery, rebuilt in 2009–2014, rises over the city.

Nature

The whole oblast lies in the forest-steppe and covers about 34,000 km². In the east, in the valley of the Vorona, a tributary of the Khopyor, the Voroninsky Nature Reserve has protected the land since 1994. Nearly 80% of it is forest: floodplain groves of centuries-old oaks, slope woods of lime, maple and elm, plus alder stands, meadows and wetlands. Eight eco-trails are open to visitors with a permit.

Sport

Tambov has a football club, FC Tambov, as well as the basketball club BK Tambov and the ice hockey club HC Tambov. The tennis-playing sisters Anastasia and Arina Rodionova come from the city.

Food & drink

The Tambov region is farming country, raising cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Michurinsk is tied to Ivan Michurin, who devoted his life to fruit growing and plant breeding; the town was renamed in his honour in 1932. Orchards and agricultural science have defined the area ever since.

Practical information

Flights arrive at Tambov Donskoye Airport. Tambov has had a railway link to Moscow since 1871, and the South-Eastern Railway runs through Michurinsk from central Russia to the south. The region is on Moscow time. The climate is humid continental, averaging about −8 °C in February and +20 °C in July. Late spring to early autumn is the most pleasant time to visit.

What to see

• Ivanovka — the estate where Rachmaninoff composed for nearly three decades.
• Kazan Monastery in Tambov — a 107-metre neoclassical bell tower.
• Tambov Picture Gallery — Russian and European painting.
• Michurinsk — old Kozlov and the town of fruit breeder Ivan Michurin.
• Voroninsky Nature Reserve — centuries-old oak groves in the Vorona valley.

Cities on the map

• Tambov 254,940