Kadiivka

Kadiivka (), or Stakhanov (; ), is a city in the Luhansk Oblast (region) of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia. The city is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. Its population is approximately . The city has been under the control of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic since early 2014.

Name

Before 1937 the city was known as Kadiivka. From 1937 to 1940 the city was named Sergo or Serho ( uk, Серго) in honor of Sergo Ordzhonikidze, and then from 1940 to 1978 the city was again known as Kadiivka.

On 15 February 1978 the city was named after the famous Soviet miner Alexey Stakhanov, who started his career there.

Since 2014 the city has been occupied by Russian-backed militia troops as a part of self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). Although Ukraine does not control the territory of LPR, it is internationally recognized as a part of Ukraine by most member states of the United Nations except Russia.

On May 12, 2016, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada within the process of decommunization changed its legal name back to Kadiivka.

History

A local newspaper has been published in the settlement since September 1930. Kadiivka has been a city since 1932.Стаханов // Советский энциклопедический словарь. редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. 4-е изд. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1986. стр.1271Стаханов // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 2. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.410

During the Second World War, the city was occupied by German troops from July 1942 until September 1943. A Soviet labor camp for German prisoners of war operated at Kadiivka during the Second World War.

In 1985, the city was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.

In January 1989, the population was 112,023 people, while the largest industrial enterprises were coal mines, a railway car building works, ferroalloy plant and a coke-chemical plant.

In 1991, the population was 112,700 people, by 2013 this had reduced to 77,593.

Pro-Russian separatist occupation (2014-present)

The city has been under the control of the Luhansk People's Republic since early 2014, and the War in Donbas. Starting mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast; they took over Kadiivka on 2 May 2014.

According to reports on September 16, 2014, the city, which had been occupied by Luhansk People's Republic-affiliated Don Cossacks, seceded from the LPR on 14 September. It was said Don Cossacks there proclaimed the Republic of Stakhanov, and that a "Cossack government" now ruled in Kadiivka. However the following day this was claimed to be a fabrication, and an unnamed Don Cossack leader stated the September 14 meeting had, in fact, resulted in 12,000 Cossacks volunteering to join the LPR forces.

In October 2015, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine opened a Forward Patrol Base in the city, meaning that a small number of international monitors are permanently based here.

After the 2022 annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine, Russia claimed it as part of Russia. On or shortly before June 10, 2022, the Ukrainian military destroyed a Wagner Group base located at the Kadiivka stadium. One Wagner mercenary survived while 22 or more were killed. Russia did not immediately confirm this report. On 11 December 2022, reports emerged of a further strike on Wagner Group mercenaries in Kadiivka, in a hotel.

Transport

The city formerly had electric city transport in the form of both trams and trolleybuses. Tram traffic opened on February 15, 1937, and trolleybus traffic opened on March 1, 1970. Tram traffic closed on November 11, 2007, and trolleybus traffic closed on August 31, 2011, while it is elsewhere reported that it was suspended on September 11, 2008, with its newer LAZ trolleybuses bought by Antratsyt. As the years went on, the number of trams dwindled from 38 in 1973 to 4 in 2007, of which only 2 would run.

Demographics

As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:

;Ethnicity
* Ukrainians: 46.1%
* Russians: 50.1%
* Belarusians: 1%
* Other: 2.9%

;Language
*Russian: 85.3%
*Ukrainian: 13.0%
*Belarusian: 0.1%
*Armenian: 0.1%

City municipality

The Municipality of Kadiivka also includes two other cities:
* Almazna
* Irmino

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Kadiivka include:
*Grisha Filipov (1919–1994), Bulgarian politician

References

{{Authority control

Cities in Luhansk Oblast
Cities of regional significance in Ukraine
Populated places established in the Russian Empire
City name changes in Ukraine
Soviet toponymy in Ukraine