Taganrog
port city in Rostov Oblast in southern Russia
Taganrog (Russian: Таганрог, IPA: [təɡɐnˈrok]) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: 245,120 (2021 census); 257,681 (2010 census); 281,947 (2002 census); 291,622 (1989 Soviet census).
Located at the site of an ancient Greek and medieval Italian colony, modern Taganrog was founded in 1698. Contested by various factions during World War I and the Russian Civil War, the city served as the temporary Soviet Ukrainian capital in 1918.
Demographics
History
The history of the city goes back to the late Bronze Age–early Iron Age. Later, it became the earliest Greek settlement in the northeastern Black Sea region and was probably mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus as emporion Kremnoi (Κρήμνοι, meaning cliffs). It had contacts as well to the other Greek colonies around the Black Sea as well as to the indigenous communities of the hinterland.
In the 13th century, Pisan merchants founded a colony, Portus Pisanus, which was however short-lived.
Taganrog was founded by Peter the Great on 12 September 1698.
“Taganrog” enters the record as port city in Rostov Oblast in southern Russia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Taganrog, port and city can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Taganrog” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Taganrog, port and city provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q170513. VIAF identifies the subject as 127877964. The Library of Congress control number is n83052784. Authority coordinates are 47.233, 38.900. 4 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2021, 2010, 2002 and 1989.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Taganrog”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Taganrog primary sources, Taganrog archive and Taganrog research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Taganrog”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Taganrog” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.