Ostrogozhsk

a city under oblast jurisdiction, center of Ostrogozhsk Raion, Voronezh Oblast, RSFSR. It is situated on the Tikhaia Sosna River (tributary of the Don) and is 3 km from the Ostrogozhsk railroad station on the Georgiu-Dezh-Valuiki line and 142 km south of Voronezh. Population, 32,000 (1974).

Ostrogozhsk was founded in 1652 as a fortress in the Belgorod line. Until 1765 it was the administrative center of the Ostrogozhsk Polk. From 1779 to 1928 it was a district city. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, Ostrogozhsk was occupied by fascist German troops from July 1942 through January 1943. It was liberated as a result of the Ostrozhsk-Rossosh’ operation of 1943.

Ostrogozhsk has a food-processing industry, which includes a cannery, a distillery, a butter and cheese factory, and a poultry farm. It also has light industry, represented by shoe, clothing, and leather factories. A motor-vehicle repair shop, a brickyard, and a chalk and lime combine are also located in the city. Ostrogozhsk has a sovkhoz technicum and a medical school. There is a museum of local lore, which contains the I. N. Kramskoi Picture Gallery (Kramskoi was born in Ostrogozhsk).