Novousmansky District: Museums, Nature and Memorial Sites

Local remembrance, village history and nature around the Usman Forest come together in Novousmansky District. The local history museum in Novaya Usman, the “Pamyat ognennykh let” route and the “Venevitinovo” Biological Teaching and Research Center each focus on different topics. You can tailor your choices to whether you are more interested in historical sites, memorial culture or the natural environment of the Usman Forest.

Museums and Memorial Sites

The Novousmansky District Local History Museum is located in the center of the village of Novaya Usman, in a building dating from 1917. In the museum courtyard, a KhTZ tractor stands on a pedestal; it is described as the district’s first tractor. These two details give the visit a tangible connection to local and regional history.

In Novaya Usman, the “Krylya Pobedy” memorial commemorates Alexander Avdeev, a Hero of the Soviet Union, and the airmen who died for their homeland during the Great Patriotic War. The “Pamyat ognennykh let” route covers a broader range of remembrance: it visits district memorials connected with the history of the Great Patriotic War, as well as memorial sites dedicated to participants and veterans of local conflicts. Designed for school groups, the excursion includes, among other stops, the Military Glory Square on Podlesnaya Street in Shuberskoye.

The district also has sites reflecting its architectural history. The new Epiphany Church in Orlovo was built in 1885 to a design by Voronezh architect V. V. Stainovsky. The Veretennikov-Kiselyov family estate “Otradnoye” is located in the village of Khrenovoye. Both places add further historical points of interest alongside the memorial sites, while offering a different focus.

The Usman Forest and Nature

The “Venevitinovo” Biological Teaching and Research Center provides students and the general public with information about the natural complexes of the Usman Forest. Its educational program includes a natural history museum and an ecological trail. The trail passes several lakes and bogs, including the “Klyukvennoye-1” raised bog, characterized by sphagnum moss. If you plan to visit the center, check the current visitor arrangements in advance.

A 2024 university report describes an exhibition on invertebrates of the Usman Forest at the “Priroda Usmanskogo bora” museum. These include aquatic invertebrates from the Usman River and its floodplain lakes. The report also mentions exhibits featuring ungulates: a roe deer head, a wild boar head, and the antlers of a moose and a red deer. A multimedia exhibition lets visitors hear birdsong and other natural sounds of the forest. The displays offer different ways to engage: viewing exhibits, exploring nature topics and listening to the sounds of the forest.

More destinations in Voronezh Oblast

For a broader look beyond Novousmansky District, Voronezh Oblast offers other distinct nature and cultural experiences. In Voronezh Oblast, the territory of the Khopyor Nature Reserve extends across the Novokhopersky, Povorinsky and Gribanovsky districts. There, the five-kilometer “Legendy Khopra” walking excursion lasts three hours and is closed during the spring floods. The “Tour de Khoper” cycling route covers 26 kilometers and takes four hours. The two tours differ considerably in length, duration and mode of travel.

The “Divnogorye” Museum-Reserve in Voronezh Oblast offers a different landscape: chalk cliffs on steep slopes and ridge-like chalk ravines characterize the area. Divnogorskiy Canyon is about one kilometer long and up to 200 meters wide. The reserve also includes ritual caves and cave complexes carved into the chalk massif on the right bank of the Tikhaya Sosna and Don rivers, extending for about 8.5 kilometers. This regional context offers further nature and history themes without conflating them with places in Novousmansky District.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Nizhnedevitskiy rayon, Kantemirovskiy rayon, Pavlovskiy rayon, Anninskiy rayon, Voronezh, Verkhnekhavskiy rayon, Ramonskiy rayon, Bogucharskiy rayon.

For the main travel overview: Voronezh Oblast.