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Alchevsk

Coordinates: 48°28′40″N 38°47′52″E / 48.47778°N 38.79778°E / 48.47778; 38.79778
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Alchevsk
Алчевськ (Ukrainian)
City
Flag of Alchevsk
Flag
Coat of arms of Alchevsk
Coat of arms
Alchevsk is located in Luhansk Oblast
Alchevsk
Alchevsk
Location of Alchevsk
Alchevsk is located in Ukraine
Alchevsk
Alchevsk
Alchevsk (Ukraine)
Coordinates: 48°28′40″N 38°47′52″E / 48.47778°N 38.79778°E / 48.47778; 38.79778
Country Ukraine
OblastLuhansk Oblast
RaionAlchevsk Raion
HromadaAlchevsk urban hromada
Founded1895
City Status1932
Area
 • Total
55 km2 (21 sq mi)
Elevation
240 m (790 ft)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
106,062 (2022 estimate)[1]
Postal code
94200-94299
Area code( 380) 6442
Vehicle registrationBB / 13
ClimateDfb
Websitehttp://alchevsk.su/
Map

Alchevsk (Ukrainian: Алчевськ; Russian: Алчевск) is a city and the nominal administrative center of Alchevsk Raion in Luhansk Oblast, in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It is located 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the administrative center of the oblast, Luhansk. Population: 106,062 (2022 estimate).[1]

Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works

Alchevsk is one of the largest industrial centers in the Donbas, and comprises a quarter of the entire oblast's production. Its economy depends on the companies of OJSC "Alchevsk Iron & Steel Works" (a trade blockade by Ukrainian activists during the war in Donbas has all but halted production of this plant in February 2017)[2][3] and "Alchevsk Coke-Chemical Plant".

The city was known as Voroshylovsk (Ukrainian: Ворошиловськ) from 1931 to 1961, and then Kommunarsk (Ukrainian: Комунарськ) until 1991. Alchevsk came under control of pro-Russian separatists in early 2014, and was incorporated into the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR / LNR). After declaring its annexation of the region in 2022, Russia has claimed the city.

History

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St. Nicholas Cathedral
Director house
Factory clinic

Alchevsk was founded in 1895 with the establishment of an iron works and named after the Russian industrialist Oleksiy Alchevsky who founded the Donetsk–Yuryev Metallurgical Society.[4]

A local newspaper is published in the city since 1930.[5]

In 1931, Alchevsk was renamed Voroshylovsk, after Kliment Voroshilov, a Soviet military and party figure.[4]

During World War II, in 1942–1943, the German occupiers operated a Gestapo prison in the city.[6]

As Voroshilov's personality cult was diminishing, the town was renamed Kommunarsk in 1961.[4] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the original name was restored in 1991.[4]

Winter disaster of 2006

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On 22 January 2006, the city's district heating system collapsed, in what Luhansk Governor Gennady Moskal described as "the worst man-made disaster in the history of independent Ukraine" (Ukrainian: найгіршою антропогенною катастрофою в історії незалежної України).[7][8] It has subsequently become a metonym in Ukrainian political discourse for cities without utility services,[7][9] particularly during Russian infrastructural attacks in the 2020s invasion.[9]

The system had already collapsed once before: in 1972, when the sole boiler failed. Contemporary Soviet authorities had authorized a second, back-up boiler, but did not further decentralize the system to preserve economies of scale.[10]

In 2006, an underground pipe cracked in unusually cold weather (nearly −30 °C), isolating the main boiler from the system. The heat authority delayed draining the working fluid, and water throughout the system froze and burst additional pipes, some inside the walls of residential apartments. Consequently, many apartments could not be heated even after the boilers were restored to working order. Inhabitants turned to electric space heaters to fill the gap, but these overloaded the grid, leading to rolling blackouts.[9][10] Some attempted to reuse gas ovens as space heaters,[9] accentuating the effects of a Russian gas boycott.[8] Without liquid tap water, the sewer system also froze and burst a few days later.[7]

The crisis was particularly urgent for the Ukrainian government, because parliament would hold elections in March.[9] The authorities temporarily evacuated schoolchildren from the area to Crimea and Western Ukraine, but struggled to organize an extensive repair effort.[9][10] Workers imported to repair the apartments found themselves in substandard housing with inconsistent meals.[10] Nevertheless, immediate repair actions were complete by mid-February.[9]

Later that year, President Yushchenko announced a plan to further harden the system against stress with a set of nine distributed boilers.[10]

War in Donbas (2014–present)

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Starting mid-April 2014, pro-Russian separatists captured and occupied several towns in the Luhansk Oblast,[11][12] including Alchevsk.[13] In the following war in Donbas, the city became a part of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.[14][15]

In June 2020, as part of the reform of administrative divisions in Ukraine, Alchevsk was made the administrative center of Alchevsk Raion. This new status is not recognized by the pro-Russian occupation authorities.

After the 2022 Russian annexations of Southern and Eastern Ukraine, the city is now claimed by Russia itself.

Economy

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The main branches of Alchevsk industry – metallurgical and chemical. Electromechanical, light and food industry is also developed. Currently the city has 17 industrial enterprises.

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
192616,018—    
193954,531 240.4%
195997,561 78.9%
1970122,818 25.9%
1979119,756−2.5%
1989125,502 4.8%
2001119,193−5.0%
2011113,002−5.2%
2022106,062−6.1%
Source: [16]

As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:[17][18]

Ethnic groups in Alchevsk
percent
Ukrainians
 
 51.57%
Russians
 
 44.69%
Belarusians
 
 1.10%
Native languages in Alchevsk
percent
Russian
 
 83.6%
Ukrainian
 
 15.3%
Armenian
 
 0.1%
Belarusian
 
 0.1%
Romani
 
 0.1%

Education

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The Donbas State Technical University, founded in 1957, is located in Alchevsk.

Sports

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Stal Stadium

Alchevsk is home to the football team FC Stal Alchevsk which currently participates in the Ukrainian First League, the second tier of national football competitions.

Twin towns and sister cities

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Ukraine

Alchevsk is twinned with:

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ a b Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Steelmakers in occupied Donbas cease work due to trade blockade in Ukraine".
  3. ^ "Week's balance: Blockade causing losses, NBU's anti-crisis measures, and increased industrial output".
  4. ^ a b c d Pospelov, p. 27
  5. ^ № 2903. Огни коммунизма // Летопись периодических и продолжающихся изданий СССР 1986 – 1990. Часть 2. Газеты. М., «Книжная палата», 1994. стр.381
  6. ^ "Gestapogefängnis Alcevs'k". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Другий Алчевськ: Через "ДНР" Авдіївка з 25 тисячами жителів на межі катастрофи [A Second Alchevsk: the "DPR" has brought Avdiyivka, with 25 000 inhabitants, to the brink of disaster]. DepoДонбас [Donbass Depot] (in Ukrainian). Donbass. 30 Jan 2017.
  8. ^ a b Konko, Andrei [Андрій Конько] (11 August 2021). Газова війна Росії, прем'єрство Януковича й курйози Черновецького: чим запам'ятався 2006 рік [Russia's War by Gas, Yanukovych's Premiership, and Chernovetskiy's Experiments: 2006's top hits]. Ukraine at 30 (in Ukrainian). Channel 24. Item 4.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Kuryshko, Diana [Куришко, Діана] (7 Nov 2022). Замерзле місто України. Як це було в Алчевську в 2006-му і може бути цієї зими [Ukraine's Frozen City: This winter may be like Alchevsk in 2006 again] (in Ukrainian). BBC Ukraine.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c d e Aseev, Yuri [Асєєв, Юрій] (3 Feb 2006). Алчевськ. Льодовиковий період [Alchevsk: An ice age]. ZN.UA (in Ukrainian).{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Ragozin, Leonid (16 April 2014). "Vladimir Putin is Accidentally Bringing Eastern and Western Ukraine Together". The New Republic.
  12. ^ "Donbass defenders put WWII tank back into service".
  13. ^ "Pro-Russian rebels release four of eight OSCE monitors held hostage in eastern Ukraine – Jun. 27, 2014". 27 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Ukrainian Separatist Leader Laid to Rest". 28 May 2015.
  15. ^ Численность населения по состоянию на 1 октября 2015 года по Луганской Народной Республ ике (PDF) (in Russian). Luhansk People's Republic. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  16. ^ "Cities & Towns of Ukraine".
  17. ^ "Національний склад міст".
  18. ^ "Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України".

Sources

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  • Ye. M. Pospelov. "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.) Москва, "Русские словари", 1993.
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