Toretsk ( uk, Торе́цьк, Toretsk, ; russian: Торецк, Toretsk), formerly Dzerzhynsk ( uk, link=no, Дзержинськ, Dzerzhynsk; russian: link=no, Дзержинск, Dzerzhinsk), is a
city of oblast significance in
Donetsk Oblast
The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
(
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
) of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. As of January 2022 its population was approximately
History
The settlement Shcherbynovka was founded in 1806
[Дзержинск // Советский энциклопедический словарь. редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. 4-е изд. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1986. стр.387] in
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
.
A local newspaper is published here since September 1936.
In October 1938 the
urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
Shcherbynovka became a city Dzerzhynsk, in honor of the founder of the
Soviet secret police
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
Felix Dzerzhynsky
Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky ( pl, Feliks Dzierżyński ; russian: Фе́ликс Эдму́ндович Дзержи́нский; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed "Iron Felix", was a Bolshevik revolutionary and official, born into Polish nobility ...
.
In 1989, the population was 50,538 people.
[Дзержинск // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 1. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.386]
In 2013, the population was 35 296 people.
Starting mid-April 2014
pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast; including former Dzerzhynsk. On 11 July 2014 Ukrainian forces launched strikes against the separatists. On 21 July 2014, Ukrainian forces secured the city from the pro-Russian separatists.
Toretsk is only a few kilometers away from the separatists-controlled
Horlivka
Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.
In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activit ...
.
[
Following the 2015 law on decommunization, the city council has decided on 16 October 2015 to rename the city to Toretsk. The name was approved by the ]Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
(the Ukrainian parliament) on 4 February 2016.[Decommunisation continues: Rada renames several towns and villages]
UNIAN
The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...
(4 February 2016)
Because of the War in Donbass
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
the city has had its water supply cut multiple times.
Nikolai Ryzhkov
Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov ( uk, Микола Іванович Рижков; russian: Николай Иванович Рыжков; born 28 September 1929) is a Soviet, and later Russian, politician. He served as the last Chairman of the Counci ...
, a former Premier of the Soviet Union
The Premier of the Soviet Union (russian: Глава Правительства СССР) was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The office had four different names throughout its existence: Chairman of the ...
, was born in the city in 1929.
Demographics
As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001, the majority of residents identified as ethnic Ukrainians and spoke Russian as their first language:
Ethnicity
*Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
: 61.4%
*Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
: 36.1%
*Belarusians
, native_name_lang = be
, pop = 9.5–10 million
, image =
, caption =
, popplace = 7.99 million
, region1 =
, pop1 = 600,000–768,000
, region2 =
, pop2 ...
: 1%
*Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different : 0.3%
*Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
: 0.3%
First language
*Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: 87.1%
*Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
: 12.2%
*Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
: 0.2%
* Belarusian: 0.1%
*Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
: 0.1%
Gallery
File:Panoramio - V&A Dudush - Dzerzhynsk.jpg, Town entrance in 2008 when it was called Dzerzhynsk
File:Dzerzhynsk Avanhard Stadium 1.jpg, Toretsk Avanhard Stadium
File:Ukraine Donetsk Oblast Dzerzhynsk IMG 5371 1280.jpg, An apartment block in Toretsk
File:ДК Україна Дзержинськ.JPG, Ukraine Palace of Culture
File:Зимовий сад палацу Україна.JPG, Ukraine Palace of Culture interior
File:ЗАГС Дзержинск.JPG, Buildings in downtown
File:Клуб Дзержинського фенольного заводу.JPG, Toretsk phenol factory club
File:Дзержинський фенольний завод.JPG, Phenol factory building
File:Станция Фенольная.JPG, Toretsk railway station
File:Dz SkorbotnaMati.jpg, Crying mother monument
References
{{Authority control
Cities in Donetsk Oblast
Cities of regional significance in Ukraine
Populated places established in the Russian Empire
City name changes in Ukraine
Former Soviet toponymy in Ukraine
Populated places established in 1806
Bakhmut Raion