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).

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1897	51,000	—
1926	86,000	+68.6%
1939	188,781	+119.5%
1959	202,062	+7.0%
1970	254,154	+25.8%
1979	276,444	+8.8%
1989	291,622	+5.5%
2002	281,947	−3.3%
2010	257,681	−8.6%
2021	245,120	−4.9%
Source: Census data

The history of the city goes back to the late Bronze Age–early Iron Age. Later, it became the earliest Greek settlement in the northwestern 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. The first Russian Navy base, it hosted the Azov Flotilla of Catherine the Great (1770–1783), which subsequently became the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Taganrog was granted city status in 1775.

By the end of the 18th century, Taganrog had lost its importance as a military base after Crimea and the entire Sea of Azov were absorbed into the Russian Empire. In 1802, Tsar Alexander I granted the city special status, which lasted until 1887. In 1825, the Alexander I Palace in Taganrog was used as his summer residence, and he died there in November 1825. Also in Taganrog is the House of Teacher, a mansion where numerous artists have performed.

Although it had been bombarded and damaged by an Anglo-French fleet in 1855, Taganrog became important as a commercial port, used for the import of grain by the end of the 19th century until the early 20th century. Industrialization increased in the city when Belgian and German investors founded a boiler factory, an iron and steel foundry, a leather factory, and an oil press factory. By 1911, fifteen foreign consulates had opened in the city.

During World War I, Taganrog served as the temporary capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in March-April 1918. Afterwards it was occupied by the troops of the German Army from May to August 1918. In 1919, General Anton Denikin established his headquarters at the Avgerino mansion in the city while commanding White Russian troops fighting in South Russia during the Russian Civil War. When the White Russians were defeated and Bolshevik power was established in the city on 25 December 1919, Denikin's remaining troops and the British Consulate were evacuated by HMS Montrose. Full power was granted to the executive committee of The City Soviet Workers' council on 17 December 1920, and Taganrog joined the Ukrainian SSR as the administrative center of Taganrog Okrug. It was transferred to the Russian SFSR along with Shakhty Okrug on 1 October 1924.

During World War II, Taganrog was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1943 during Operation Barbarossa, when two SS divisions entered the city on 17 October 1941, followed by the Wehrmacht. The city suffered extensive damage. Under German occupation the local government system was replaced by a German-style Bürgermeisteramt (Mayor's Office), which governed the city until it was liberated by the Red Army on 30 August 1943.

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Taganrog Urban Okrug—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.

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Taganrog is the leading industrial center of Rostov Oblast. Local industry is represented by aerospace, machine-building, automobile, military, iron and steel industry, engineering, metal traders and processors, timber, woodwork, pulp and paper, food, light, chemical and construction materials. The city is one of the major ports of the Sea of Azov.

The biggest company currently operating in Taganrog is Taganrog Iron & Steel Factory, (publicly traded company Tagmet), which manufactures steel, steel pipe, for oil and gas industry and consumer goods. The other major employer is Taganrog Auto Factory (TagAZ Ltd.), which originated from Taganrog Combine Harvester Factory. The plant manufactures automobiles licensed by Hyundai. The production line includes Hyundai Accent compact sedan, mid-size Hyundai Sonata, sport utility vehicle Santa Fe, and Hyundai Porter pickup truck. Taganrog is also home to the aircraft design bureau Beriev.

The area around Taganrog has a large industrial potential, a diversified agricultural industry, production plants, and a modern infrastructure. The location of Taganrog on the intersection of traffic routes and the seaport facilitate access to the emerging CIS markets.

Taganrog's main trading partners are the CIS countries, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Greece, and Egypt.

The Taganrog air base is six kilometres (3 nmi) northwest of the city and hosts the Taganrog Aviation Museum. The city also hosts the Taganrog military museum.

• Taganrog College of Technologies
• Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute
• Taganrog College of Management and Economy

The climate of Taganrog is temperate (Köppen climate classification Cfa/Dfa). Taganrog experiences moderately cold (mild by Russian standards) winters and hot summers.

Bishop's House, also known as Kirsanov's house, Shtalberg House, Telegraph House and the House of Subsovich are located in Taganrog.

Anton Chekhov featured the city and its people in many of his works, including Ionych, The House with an Attic, The Man in a Shell, Van'ka, Three Years, Mask, and My Life. It is believed that Taganrog may have been the Lukomorye (fairy tale land) in which Alexander Pushkin's Ruslan and Lyudmila (1820) was set. The city also appeared in the novels of Ivan Vasilenko and Konstantin Paustovsky and in the poems of Nikolay Sherbina and Valentin Parnakh.

The legend of "Elder Fyodor Kuzmich" is cited in the book Roza Mira by Russian mystic Daniil Andreyev. According to this legend, the Russian tsar Alexander I did not die in Taganrog, but instead left his crown and the status of monarch to continue his life as a traveling hermit.

In foreign literature, the city was mentioned in the titles of Der Tote von Taganrog by Eberhard von Cranach-Sichart [de] and Taganrog by Reinhold Schneider.

In 2004 Sabine Wichert published a collection of poems entitled Taganrog.

In Maria Kuncewiczowa's 1945 novel The Stranger (New York, LB Fischer publisher), the city of Taganrog plays an essential role as a place of nostalgic happiness for the uprooted Polish musician and matriarch, Rose.

Numerous Russian and international aristocrats, politicians, artists, and scientists were born and/or have lived in Taganrog. Taganrog is the native city of

• Anton Chekhov
• Faina Ranevskaya
• Sophia Parnok
• Alexandre Koyré
• Isaac Yakovlevich Pavlovsky
• Witold Rowicki
• Georgy Sedov
• Dmitri Sinodi-Popov

It is also associated with:

• Peter I of Russia
• Alexander I of Russia
• Cornelius Cruys
• Giuseppe Garibaldi
• Pyotr Tchaikovsky
• Adolph Brodsky
• Konstantin Paustovsky
• Nestor Kukolnik
• Achilles Alferaki
• Ioannis Varvakis
• Vasily Zolotarev
• Sergei Bondarchuk
• William Frederick Yeames

• 
  Alexander I Statue in Taganrog
• 
  Garibaldi Monument in Taganrog
• 
  Chekhov Monument in Taganrog
• 
  Monument "Artyomka"

Taganrog is twinned with:

• Apostolopulo House
• House of Laskin
• House of Sinodi-Popov
• Bust of Lenin (Taganrog)
• Freken Bock (Cafe)
• Mariupol Cemetery
• Taganrog Palace of Youth
• Monument of Cathopoul
• House of Zolotaryov
• Memorable sign Barrier
• House of Skizerl
• House of the merchant Kudrin
• House of Rabinovich
• House of Perestiani
• House of Lakiyerov
• House of Lakiyer
• Korolev and Gagarin Monument

• Городская Дума Таганрога. Решение №537 от 25 октября 2007 г. «Об официальных символах муниципального образования "Город Таганрог"», в ред. Решения №73 от 31 марта 2015 г «О внесении изменений в некоторые Решения Городской Думы города Таганрога». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Официальный Таганрог", №35, 10 ноября 2007 г. (City Duma of Taganrog. Decision #537 of October 25, 2007 On the Official Symbols of the Municipal Formation of the "City of Taganrog", as amended by the Decision #73 of March 31, 2015 On Amending Various Decisions of the City Duma of the City of Taganrog. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
• Городская Дума города Таганрога. Решение №318 от 3 июня 2011 г. «О принятии Устава муниципального образования "Город Таганрог"», в ред. Решения №243 от 29 сентября 2016 г «О внесении изменений и дополнений в Устав муниципального образования "Город Таганрог"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования, произведённого после регистрации. Опубликован: "Официальный вестник Таганрога", №16, 25 июля 2011 г. (City Duma of the City of Taganrog. Decision #318 of June 3, 2011 On Adopting the Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "City of Taganrog", as amended by the Decision #243 of September 29, 2016 On Amending and Supplementing the Charter of the Municipal Formation of the "City of Taganrog". Effective as of the day of the official publication after the registration.).
• Законодательное Собрание Ростовской области. Закон №340-ЗС от 25 июля 2005 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Ростовской области», в ред. Закона №270-ЗС от 27 ноября 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в областной Закон "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Ростовской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Наше время", №187–190, 28 июля 2005 г. (Legislative Assembly of Rostov Oblast. Law #340-ZS of July 28, 2005 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Rostov Oblast, as amended by the Law #270-ZS of November 27, 2014 On Amending the Oblast Law "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Rostov Oblast". Effective as of the official publication date.).
• Законодательное Собрание Ростовской области. Закон №190-ЗС от 19 ноября 2004 г. «Об установлении границы и наделении статусом городского округа муниципального образования "Город Таганрог"», в ред. Закона №980-ЗС от 25 октября 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в областные Законы "Об установлении границы и наделении статусом городского округа муниципального образования "Город Таганрог" и "Об установлении границ и наделении соответствующим статусом муниципального образования "Неклиновский район" и муниципальных образований в его составе"». Вступил в силу 1 января 2005 г. Опубликован: "Наше время", №293–295 (без приложений), 30 ноября 2004 г. (Legislative Assembly of Rostov Oblast. Law #190-ZS of November 19, 2004 On Establishing the Border and Granting Urban Okrug Status to the Municipal Formation of the "City of Taganrog", as amended by the Law #980-ZS of October 25, 2012 On Amending the Oblast Laws "On Establishing the Border and Granting Urban Okrug Status to the Municipal Formation of the "City of Taganrog" and "On Establishing the Borders and Granting an Appropriate Status to the Municipal Formation of "Neklinovsky District" and to the Municipal Formations It Comprises". Effective as of January 1, 2005.).

• Taganrogcity.com: official City of Taganrog website—(in English)
• Tagancity.ru: official website of Taganrog city—(in Russian)
• Taganrog.su: unofficial website of Taganrog—(in Russian)
• Taganrog State − Anton Chekhov Pedagogical Institute—(in Russian)
• Soviet topographic map 1:100,000
• Russ-yug.ru: Weather forecasts for Taganrog Archived August 5, 2020, at the Wayback Machine