Rostov-on-Don is the administrative centre of the Rostov Region and the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation. The city is located on the bank of the Don River, 46 km away from its estuary in the Sea of Azov. As a major transport hub, it has access to three seas – the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea, as well as the European part of the CIS, South Caucasus, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The city is 1,076 km away from Moscow.
Rostov-on-Don was founded in 1749, when Empress Elizabeth signed a decree to found a state customs office at the mouth of the Temernik River.
Rostov's advantageous geographical position contributed to the city's economic growth. By its 100th anniversary, the city had grown to 15,000 people, and by the beginning of the 20th century 110,000 people lived there. The city's economy was based on trade, that is why Rostov-on-Don was called a merchant city. Still, by the beginning of the 20th century, there were over 100 enterprises in Rostov-on-Don, a third of which were owned by foreigners. Until 1917, Rostov-on-Don was the third city in Russia in terms of export goods turnover, and by the end of the 1930s it was in the top ten of cities in the Soviet Union in terms of the population size and the level of economic development.
Rostov-on-Don is also famous for being the first major city that the Red Army freed in November 1941 during the Great Patriotic War (the Eastern Front of World War II). In 1970, Rostov-on-Don was awarded The Order of Lenin by the USSR Supreme Soviet's decree, and in 1982 it was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st Class by the decree of the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium.