The territory on which today the cities and villages of the Rostov region are located in ancient times bore various names. The Greeks called it Scythia, the Romans Scytia, and the Dnieper Russes - Khazaria. In chronicles dated XIV-XV century, it is referred to as the Wild Field. And only in the time of Ivan the Terrible in everyday life does the historical name that has come down to us appear, denoting the possession of the Cossacks ─ Don.
The earliest inhabitants of the Don shores
Touching upon such a vast issue as the history of the Rostov Region, it is necessary to begin with Stone Age settlements, traces of which were found in great numbers throughout the entire Don. The age of the earliest finds, scientists are 2 million years. It was during this period, in their opinion, that the first sites of ancient people appeared on the banks of the river.
Findings of artifacts dating to a later time ─ the period of the so-called Acheulean culture, which became widespread about 100-150 thousand years ago, indicate that the inhabitants of this region obtained their livelihood exclusively by hunting, fishing and gathering.
Paleolithic hunters
The history of the Rostov Region during the Middle Paleolithic (40-50 thousand years BC), although it is characterized by a significant improvement in tools, nevertheless, it also indicates that hunting remained the main source of livelihood for the inhabitants of that era. Excavations show that bison, giant deer, horses, bears, and even lions, which were then found on the banks of the Don, became the prey of primitive people.
In those ancient times, residents of the Don region led a sedentary lifestyle and settled in clan groups, which greatly simplified the hunting process. They became nomads much later, only 16-18 thousand years ago, due to changes in climatic conditions, which became the reason for the departure of most large animals to the north. The earliest of the found magical figurines of animals and people belong to this period, testifying to the origin of the early primitive forms of religion.
The beginning of a new era
It is interesting to note that at the beginning of our era two cities were built on the territory of the present Rostov Region ─ Tanais and Kremny, which were Greek colonies. In addition, at the same time, significant lands along the banks of the Don belonged to the ancient Bosporus kingdom, whose inhabitants as early as the 1st century AD had an idea of Christianity thanks to their communion with followers of the gospel doctrine sent to them from Rome. They arrived as state criminals, but this did not prevent them from conducting preaching and missionary activities among the local population.
In later periods, the territories adjacent to the Don were inhabited by Scythians, Cimmerians, Alans, Savromats, and a number of other peoples. All of them left traces of their stay, sometimes testifying to a very high level of development of culture and crafts. However, under the onslaught of numerous nomadic peoples moving from the East to the West at the beginning of our era, the ancient cities fell, and the once blooming land turned into a desert for several centuries.
From the arrival of Avar tribes to the Turkish invasion
The history of the Rostov region of the Middle Ages begins in the 4th century, after the land that had been empty for several centuries was inhabited first by the Avars and then by the Khazars, who forced them out and built the Sarkel fortress. And further, throughout the Middle Ages, the banks of the Don became the scene of constant battles between nomadic tribes, disputing this fertile land among themselves. The Khazars were supplanted by Russian squads, who also could not keep the conquered territories, and ceded them to the Pechenegs, and those, in turn, were expelled by the Polovtsy.
This continued until the XIII century, until the Don land fell under the rule of the Golden Horde, which, in turn, could not resist the more powerful and merciless invader Tamerlan, who defeated its southwestern part. A century later, as a result of the extreme weakening of the Golden Horde, the Ottoman Empire captured a significant part of the coast of the Sea of Azov, the Rostov Region, as well as the Northern Black Sea Coast. The city of Azak, built by the Tatars, they renamed into Azov and turned into an impregnable fortress, the struggle for which stretched for several centuries.
Education of the Don Cossacks
In the XV century, to prevent further advance of the Turks deep into the Russian state, on the Wild Field, sentry fortresses and border barriers were built. Then the first settlements of free people who fled from the arbitrariness of the authorities appear there. It is with them that the history of the Don Cossacks begins. An important role was played by the Orthodox tycoon of Polish origin Dmitry Ivanovich Vishnevitsky, who built a number of fortresses for his money, one of which ─ Cherkassk - became the capital of the Don Cossacks.
A century later, three small cities appeared on the Don, built by the Cossacks and received the status of administrative centers ─ Manych, Mityakin and Discord. Since the power of the Moscow princes did not extend to these lands, from the disparate Cossack groups, which at first was a spontaneously emerged freemen, a military-political organization, called the Don Army, was soon formed.
It was built on the principles of genuine democracy and strict discipline. All posts were elective, and the order of the chieftain became law for all. The highest authority was the Circle ─ the All-Arms Council, which met regularly in Cherkassk ─ the capital of the Cossack state.
Conflicts of the Cossacks with the Russian government
Having passed under the scepter of Moscow tsars, the Cossacks, being a closed military service class, enjoyed significantly greater freedom than other Russians. They were exempted from paying taxes, freed from all sorts of duties and, contrary to the decrees of Peter I, were given the right to wear clothing of the same cut.
After once in the XVII-XVIII century, once free lands began to lose autonomy and become part of the Russian Empire, the Don Cossack army lost most of its privileges, and often came into conflict with the government. The most striking episodes of this struggle were the participation of Cossacks in a number of peasant uprisings and wars that broke out under the leadership of Stepan Razin, Emelyan Pugachev and Kondraty Bulavin.
The emergence of two main centers of the Don Cossacks
No matter how the Cossacks resisted this, but over time they were included in the armed forces of the Russian Empire as irregular troops and took part in all subsequent wars. In 1749, by order of Empress Catherine II, on the right bank of the Don, near the confluence of the Temernik River, a customs outpost was built, and a little later - a fortress named in honor of St. Demetrius of Rostov. It gave rise to a city formed from the surrounding suburbs and called Rostov-on-Don.
At the beginning of the next century, the capital of the Don Cossack army moved to a new city founded at the initiative of Ataman Matvey Platov ─ Novocherkassk. The statistics of those years are very indicative, indicating an unusually rapid population growth in the region. According to available data, at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries the number of Cossacks did not exceed 225 thousand people, while after half a century it increased more than three times and reached 775 thousand.
Life of the Don Region in the 19th Century
In the XIX century, Novocherkassk became the main military and administrative center of the Don Cossacks, while the second largest city of Rostov-on-Don acquired the features of a large commercial and industrial center. By decree of Nicholas I of 1835, the entire territory of the region was divided into 7 districts: 1st Donskoy, 2nd Donskoy, Cherkassky, Miussky, Donetsk, Khopersky and Ust-Medvedetsky. In January 1870, a decree of the Government Senate was published , on the basis of which the new name of the region came into use - the Don Don Region, which survived until 1918.
Since the mid-19th century, as a result of the sharp population growth described above, settlements of a new type began to appear ─ farmsteads, consisting of one, less often several courtyards with a separate economy. By the end of the century, their number reached 1820 units. The main agricultural crop grown by farmers, as well as residents of the Cossack villages ─ settlements, which included a significant number of yards, was wheat, which was supplied both to the domestic and foreign markets.
Civil war and subsequent years
The history of the Don Cossacks in the 20th century is full of truly dramatic pages. Shortly after the October coup, the Bolsheviks seized power on the banks of the Don and proclaimed the creation of the Don Soviet Republic. However, it lasted less than a year and after its fall in September 1918 gave way to a new independent state ─ the Great Don Army, formed on the basis of the decree of the Army Circle.
The civil war in the Don was especially difficult and bloody, since this region became one of the centers of the White movement, and it was here, in many respects, that the fate of future Russia was decided. After the defeat of the White Guards, and the establishment of Soviet power, the Great Don Army ceased to exist, and the region was renamed the Don region, the center of which was the city of Rostov-on-Don.
During this period, many adversities fell upon the Cossacks. Most of them became victims of repression by the new authorities. Those of them who had survived the campaigns of dispossession and dispossession were forever torn out of their usual way of life and doomed to beggarly existence.
The battle for the "gate of the Caucasus"
A lot of interesting facts contain the history of the Rostov region during the Great Patriotic War. It is known that, in drawing up his notorious Barbarossa plan, Hitler paid special attention to military operations in the southern regions of the Soviet Union.
A significant role was given to it and the capture of Rostov-on-Don, since it was a kind of gateway to the Caucasus. The head of the Third Reich was so sure of the success of the planned operation that even before the start of hostilities he ordered the medal “For the capture of Rostov” to be minted from bronze. To fulfill the order of the Führer, 13 divisions were thrown, among which was the Italian expeditionary force.
In the period from October 1941 to August 1943, the Rostov Region, Rostov-on-Don, as well as the entire surrounding area became the scene of fierce battles. For the courage and dedication shown during the military operations of those years, 11 Soviet military units and formations received the title of “Don”. These included infantry, artillery, tank and air forces.
Attempts to revive the Cossacks
In the years following the collapse of the USSR, the process of the revival of the Don Cossacks was marked, in connection with which a number of public organizations appeared, declaring the goal of their activity to solve this problem. However, there is no doubt that some of them used Cossack symbols in isolation from the real continuity, the reasons for which are still to be understood by historians.
The current structure of the Rostov region and its leaders
Currently, according to the law on the administrative-territorial division of the Rostov region, it consists of: 12 urban districts and 43 district municipalities. In addition, on its territory there are 18 urban settlements and 380 rural. The city of Rostov-on-Don itself includes 8 districts: Soviet, Pervomaisk, Leninsky, Zheleznodorozhny, Proletarsky, Oktyabrsky, Kirovsky and Voroshilovsky.
After the introduction of governor rule in the Russian Federation in 1991, Vladimir Fedorovich, a prominent political figure in the Soviet and post-Soviet period, became the first governor of the Rostov Region. He was at his post until June 2010. At the end of his term of office, this post was taken by Golubev Vasily Yuryevich, who is the governor of the Rostov region to date.