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 activity is predominantly coal mining and the
chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. T ...
. The
Horlivka State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages has a two building campus in the city centre.
The city was severely damaged during the
War in Donbas
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 regula ...
and has since been mainly under control of pro-Russian forces.
As of 2016, suburbs of Horlivka remained under
Ukrainian army control.
History
In 1779, the city was founded as Gosudarev
Posad and in 1869 it was renamed after
Pyotr Gorlov as Gorlovka (locally Horlivka). The workers' town provided basic services to and organization of a series of mining camps. During the
Russian Revolution of 1905
The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
, it was the scene of an armed uprising.
In April 1918, troops loyal to the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...
took control of Horlivka. Subsequently, under
Soviet
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 ...
control, by the 1930s it had expanded considerably and become a major center for mining operations in the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
.
The city was occupied by German troops from 1941 to 1943. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
retreating Nazis burned buildings and perpetrated mass shootings. Nonetheless, the city's population had risen to over 400,000 by the end of the war. In recent years many mines have closed. The population fell by more than ten percent during the 1990s.
War in Donbas
In the middle of April 2014, and shortly thereafter,
pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast. A group of separatists seized the police station in Horlivka on April 14; the city hall was seized on April 30. The mayor of the city, Yevhen Klep, was detained by the separatists on June 11, and not released until July 18. Local chief of police Andriy Kryschenko was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents. A Horlivka city council deputy,
Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped by the pro-Russian militants on April 17. His body was later found in a river on April 22. The city administration building was seized on April 30, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka. Self-proclaimed mayor of Horlivka Volodymyr Kolosniuk was arrested by the
SBU on suspicion of participation in "terrorist activities" on July 2.
On July 21 and 22, 2014, the city saw heavy fighting. The
Ukrainian army reportedly retook parts of Horlivka on July 21. After the Ukrainian army had retaken
Lysychansk on July 25, 2014, the recapture of Horlivka became a priority, for the city was seen as "a direct path to the regional center –
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...
". As of July 28, the city was reported to be fully surrounded by Ukrainian troops, with rebels holding their positions inside. However, Horlivka continued to be controlled by separatist forces.
[ As of June 2015 it was situated ten kilometers from the war front.][ Suburbs of Horlivka stayed under Ukrainian army control.][Five Ukrainian soldiers were injured in hostilities in the anti-terrorist operation](_blank)
Interfax-Ukraine
The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...
(April 20, 2016) In November 2017 they regained control of the villages of Travneve and Hladosove north of Horlivka.
As reported by the city administration, from the beginning of the conflict until late January 2015, 274 local civilians were wounded and 92 killed, including nine children. Because of the conflict the city's population shrank to 180,000.[
In late March 2019, according to Ukrainian media reports, Ukrainian army mine clearance specialist Andriy Shor, who participated in both battles for the Donetsk Airport and the Battle of ]Pisky Pisky ( uk, Піски, , sands, link=no) may refer to several places in Ukraine:
*Pisky, Chernihiv Oblast, village in Nizhyn Raion
*Pisky, Donetsk Oblast, a village near Donetsk International Airport
*, a village in Bashtanka Raion
*Pisky, Lviv R ...
, announced on Facebook that the Ukrainian army had recently taken control of Horlivka city. 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 ...
reported that Ukrainian forces had secured the outskirts of the city and are slowly advancing further towards the center of Horlivka, citing Ukrainian volunteer Yuriy Mysiahin. In May the separatists tried to push the Ukrainian forces back, but failed.
As of 2020, the majority of the town remains under separatist control. In June 2020, the former head of DPR propaganda in Horlivka handed himself to SBU.
2022 Horlivka offensive
In 2022, Ukrainian reports claimed there was a military offensive in the city.
On 14 November 2022, the Russian Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...
claimed to have forced the remaining units of the Ukrainian Army out of the northern Mayors'k district. The claim was repudiated by the spokesperson of Ukraine's Operational Command East
Operational Command East (OC East) is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in eastern Ukraine. Its headquarters is currently located in Dnipro.
History
When Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1992, there were three Sovie ...
Serhii Cherevatyi, who claimed that the area remains contested.
Demographics
Ethnic composition as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:
First language as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:
*Russian 85.1%
* Ukrainian 13.9%
*Belarusian
Belarusian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Belarus
* Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent
* A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus
* Belarusian language
* Belarusian culture
* Belarusian cuisine
* Byelor ...
0.1%
* Armenian 0.1%
Culture
The Museum of the City History, the Art Museum (the largest collection of paintings by N. Roerich in Ukraine), the Miniature Book Museum by V.A. Razumov
VA, Va and variants may refer to:
Places
* Vä, Sweden, a village
* Vatican City (ISO 3166-1 country code VA)
* Virginia, United States postal abbreviation
Businesses and organizations Businesses
* VA Software (also known as "VA Research" and "V ...
(the only state in the world). 62 out of 84 comprehensive schools (29,700 students, 7,000 teachers), 55 kindergartens (5,700 children), 19 out of 25 houses of culture and clubs, 7 parks, 29 libraries, 7 cinemas.
Infrastructure and environment
Despite the fall of communism a statue of Lenin still stands in a central square bearing his name. Horlivka is well served by CNG-buses (see Natural gas vehicle
A natural gas vehicle (NGV) is an alternative fuel vehicle that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Natural gas vehicles should not be confused with autogas vehicles powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), mai ...
), but much of the city's Soviet-era infrastructure shows signs of deterioration. By contrast, a number of modern shops and a new cathedral (completed 2014) in the town center indicate some rejuvenation.
On the eastern side of Horlivka there is an abandoned chemical plant which used to produce toxic explosives and has been reported to be in a dangerous condition. Mining activity has resulted in large spoil tip
A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quan ...
s being visible around the city, but a tree planting project and ongoing forestry maintenance has revitalised an area to the north.
The city was severely damaged during the War in Donbas
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 regula ...
.[
]
Administrative division
The city is divided into three city districts: Mykytivka, Kalinin, and City Center.
The city municipality also includes several towns and villages. Most of populated places belongs to the City Center district, while Hladosove, Holmivsky and Zaitseve is part of Mykytivka district.
* urban-type settlements: Holmivsky, Zaitseve, Panteleymonivka
* villages: Mykhailivka, Ryasne
* hamlets: Hladosove, Ozeryanivka, Piatykhatky, Stavky, Fedorivka, Shyroka Balka
Notable people from Horlivka
* Sergei Baranov, Russian volleyball player
* Yuriy Boyko, Ukrainian politician
* Valeriy Horbunov, Ukrainian and Soviet football player
* Jinjer, Ukrainian metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...
band
* Nikolai Kapustin, Russian composer and pianist
* Alevtin Osipov, former Kazakh professional football player
* Ihor Petrov, Ukrainian professional football coach and a former player
* Aleksandr Ponomarev, Soviet Ukrainian football player and manager
* Ruslan Ponomariov, Ukrainian chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
player
* Serhii Rebrov, Ukrainian footballer
* Oleksandr Savanchuk
Oleksandr Savanchuk ( uk, Олександр Володимирович Саванчук, born 9 October 1982 in Horlivka, in the Donetsk Oblast in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union) is a Ukrainians, Ukrainian Association football, football ...
, Ukrainian football striker
* Arkady Shevchenko, Soviet defector
* Mykyta Shevchenko
Mykyta Ruslanovych Shevchenko ( uk, Микита Русланович Шевченко, born 26 January 1993) is a Ukrainian football goalkeeper who plays for Zorya Luhansk in the Ukrainian Premier League.
Career
Shevchenko has been a memb ...
, Ukrainian football goalkeeper
* Evgeny Ukhanov, Ukrainian-Australian pianist
* Alexander Volkov, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
International relations
Horlivka is twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
* Barnsley, United Kingdom, since 1987
*Pensacola
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
, United States
* Buffalo, United States, since 2007
Notes
References
External links
Gorlovka Portal
Gorlovka Vedi
Video of Gorlovka
Yellow Pages of Horlivka
{{Authority control
Cities in Donetsk Oblast
Populated places established in 1867
Yekaterinoslav Governorate
Cities of regional significance in Ukraine
Populated places established in the Russian Empire
Holocaust locations in Ukraine
1779 establishments in the Russian Empire
Horlivka Raion