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In XVII century Voronezh became a considerable commercial and handicraft town. In 1648 in Voronezh an antifeudal insurrection took place. In 1695-96 Tsar Peter the Great built a dockyard in Voronezh, where because of Azov campaign 1695-96 Azov fleet was under construction. During his reign Voronezh became the largest city of the Russian empire in the South and administrative centre of the large southern region. Since 1711 Voronezh had been a centre of Azov province, since 1725 - Voronezh province, since 1779 - Voronezh namestnichestvo, since 1824 - Voronezh province. In XVIII - XIX centuries Voronezh was a centre of Chernozem agricultural region. Manufacturing industry (mills, tallow-melting, butter-making, soap, leather and other works) as well as bread, cattle, suet, hair trade were developing in the town. In XIX century a railway connected Voronezh with Rostov-on-Don (1868) and Moscow (1871).
Now Voronezh is the economical, industrial, cultural and scientific center of the so called Black Earth Region. In the city there are 7 theaters, 12 cinemas, 19 high schools; it is also home to Voronezh State University. The city's large student population includes many foreigners as foreign students in Russia usually take one year of Russian language in Voronezh before moving on to universities elsewhere. This has led in the past to tension between foreign students and the indigenous population.
As an industrial centre, Voronezh was integral to the Soviet aircraft construction industry, including the so-called Concordski Tupolev Tu-144.
In 1991-2000, the city high in unemployment became a part of the Communist-voting region known as Russia's Red Belt.
Many famous people were born in Voronezh and not far from it. Among them poets and writers Platonov, Bunin, Koltsov, Nikitin, Marshak, Troepolskii; painters Kramskoi, Ge, Kuprin, the physicist Cherenkov; gymnasts Davydova, Tkachyov; the anarchist Voline, etc.
The famous Russian punk band Sektor Gaza was founded in Voronezh.
Around Voronezh there are a lot of kurgans and other interesting archaeological objects.
Nearby Novovoronezh ("New Voronezh") serves nuclear power plants.
On October 9 1989, an official news agency in the Soviet Union reported the landing of a UFO in Voronezh.