Voronezh

Voronezh is a city in Russia located 500km south of Moscow. It is divided by a huge river turned into a water storage reservoir, so be sure to visit at least one of the bridges. The two main regions of the city are called 'the Right shore' (правый берег), where the old city center is located, and the more or less newly build and industrial 'the Left shore' (левый берег). Mind that the Right shore is actually left (i.e. west) on the maps, and the Left shore is, respectively, on the right. M4 motorway, one of the biggest trading routes in Western Russia, flows into the city ringroad; hence hitching both north and south of Voronezh you can find a lot of trucks which are likely to bring you either to the Capital or to the Black Sea in one run.

Hitching Out

North towards Moscow

Find the Moscow lane (Moskovskyj Prospekt, Московский проспект) and take any bus or minibus which goes till the end of the city (ask people which buses go to Olympic (Олимпик, a park on the outskirts of the city) or watch for words like Воен.Городок, 9й километр, ВПИ. If you have problems with reading russian, just take any vehicle on the Moscow lane that goes north, soon it will bring you to a red glass pyramid (a war memorial) situated inside a roundabout; the bus will either turn left or move onward. If it turnes left go off and walk a little on north, just to the next bus stop. There, almost any transport will bring you to Olympic. After Olympic, all the buses turn back so you ll know when to get off for sure. Walk a little on and you will see the crossed sign 'Voronezh'. Its a nice hitching spot in day time, but its pitch dark there at night so be sure to have some light clothes and a torch, and get any car to bring you several kilometers forth, to the nearest bright spot.

South towards Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Novorossijsk and the Black Sea

There are two options to hitch out south. If you are on the left shore (located right, i.e. east on the maps!) and it is daytime, you can take a bus to Novaya Usman' (Новая Усмань). Look for a minibus with a 3xx number and ask around. Get off right after it turnes off the main road and walk a little on – you will find a decent hitching spot which is already past the ringroad and the suburbia. Option two is to go north (see above) and hitch 17 km till the ringroad junction. Leave the car at the junction and walk on to the ringroad. There, you have very high chances to get a lift for a long distance, because most of the cars which take the ringroad travel from Moscow to at least Rostov-on-Don. Also, that is the only option to easily hitch out at night, since there are buses traversing Moscow lane till almost 0:30am and city hitching is pretty easy on this street.