On Monday, March 28th, 2022, the Mayor and City Council resolved to "suspend" Charlotte's sister city relationship with Voronezh, Russia. This supports our recommended action to avoid “severing” or “terminating” the 31-year relationship permanently.
The Charlotte Sister Cities Association stands firmly with Ukraine during this period of suffering, unprovoked invasion, and the death of innocent Ukrainian citizens. While we actively seek ways to express our solidarity with Ukraine, we strongly believe that Charlotte "severing" the sister city relationship with Voronezh, Russia would have been counter-productive to promoting peace in the region.
President Eisenhower established the concept of sister cities precisely for moments like this, when the influence of citizen diplomacy is the most viable avenue to promote peace and understanding. When heads of state find themselves at odds, it comes down to the ability of the people themselves to forge collective bonds that spurn conflict.
We look forward to resuming relations with Voronezh upon the restoration of peace in Ukraine. Now more than ever, we feel it is important to strengthen our sister city ties and to focus on the person to person relationships that ultimately lend themselves to a foundation for global peace and understanding.
Voronezh, Russia
Voronezh (Vah-ROH-nesh) is located 350 miles south of Moscow and dates back to 1585. Currently, the population of Voronezh is over 1 million. Many of the industries in Voronezh produce a large part of Russia’s farm machinery and construction materials.
On June 26, 1991, Mayor Sue Myrick signed an agreement with the mayor of Voronezh, making Voronezh and Charlotte Sister Cities. Voronezh and Charlotte have enjoyed being Sister City partners ever since.
March 24, 2021: Letter from Voronezh
June 26, 2021: Voronezh Day Proclamation by Mayor Vi Alexander Lyles
2021 Voronezh Forum
Charlotte's Sister Cities' fifth virtual forum was hosted on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, featuring Voronezh, Russia. Former Congresswoman and Charlotte Mayor Sue Myrick opened the event. A panel, moderated by Alexis Gordon (City of Charlotte Chief of Protocol and International Business Manager) included: Bea Coté (Founder and Executive Director of IMPACT Family Violence Services and Step Up); Dasha Tretiu (Chair of the Charlotte Sister Cities Voronezh Committee); and Tanya Miller (UNC-Charlotte International Studies major; Visit Voronezh, Russia for 10 days on a Youth4Health Scholarship). Professor Yuliya Balwin (Assistant Professor of Russian at the Defense Language Institute at Monterey, California; Former Adjunct Lecturer in Russian Studies at UNC-Charlotte) offered closing remarks.
About Voronezh
Voronezh is located 350 miles south of Moscow and dates back to 1585. Currently, the population of Voronezh is over 1 million. The people of Voronezh treasure its fierce history of fighting invasions from Napoleon in 1812 and from Hitler in 1943. Many of the industries in Voronezh produce a large part of Russia’s farm machinery and construction materials. The city also has a booming food industry producing meat, dairy products, grain and pasta. Voronezh is also the home to the Illytian Aircraft Factory. Voronezh takes pride in its educational tradition and the city is the home to the third largest university in Russia as well as many research facilities.
Our Sister City Relationship
Our relationship with Voronezh was established in 1991.
A Look Back: the VRTC Disability Delegation
In November 2000, 9 delegates from Charlotte traveled to Voronezh as part of a joint Sister Cities exchange between Charlotte and Voronezh. Charlotte delegates consisted of doctors, rehabilitation therapists and one disabled Charlotte resident who worked at Bank of America and was also a Charlotte Sister Cities volunteer and supporter along with two Charlotte Sister Cities staff members. They all traveled to the VRTC (Voronezh Rehabilitation Training Center) in Voronezh, Russia to share insights and provide discussions and demonstrations on how to easily adapt public facilities, private businesses and private homes by using normal everyday items in order to accommodate these spaces for individuals who are wheelchair bound, possess other physical disabilities, or are challenged with severe mobility limitations.
All Charlotte Sister Cities delegates stayed with home host families while in Voronezh and were treated to a day trip to Moscow, which included a special evening performance by the Moscow Circus. The trip also consisted of a welcome reception, and a media press conference and dinner to discuss the details about the program. Those present were local Voronezh officials and our main Sister Cities contact at the time Nicholai, who was the Foreign Affairs Officer in Voronezh. Peggy Wesp, former Charlotte Sister Cities Executive Director, worked with medical professionals and rehabilitation specialists in Charlotte prior to the trip to secure donations of wheelchairs and medical supplies that were transported over to Voronezh along with the delegation as a gift to the VRTC and their agency partners.
Doug Luther, disabled Charlotte resident and CSC volunteer and supporter, shared videos, and stories of how he overcame severe obstacles after being completely confined to his wheelchair when a tragic accident left him completely immobilized. He worked at Bank of America and participated in wheelchair basketball, cycling and even snow and water skiing and showed participants how he adapted these sports to accommodate his own physical limitations. He also showed them a video on how he adapted his personal van to accommodate his disability so that he could drive himself to and from work and be more independent overall.
While visiting the VRTC, we were also treated to Lena & Zhenya’s surprise wedding reception. These two young deaf individuals benefitted from VRTC and its services. They met there and fell in love and eventually got married. VRTC also showed us the amazing hand carved wooden panels that served as a backdrop for their wedding reception. They were created by all the talented woodworking students at VRTC. Lena & Zhenya also had the opportunity to visit Charlotte as part of the joint exchange. They stayed with local host families and participated in programs and discussions within the deaf community in Charlotte, sharing their experiences in Voronezh with everyone.