Kalach-na-Donu (russian: Кала́ч-на-Дону́), or Kalach-on-the-Don, is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares ...
and the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of
Kalachyovsky District in
Volgograd Oblast
Volgograd Oblast (russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть, ''Volgogradskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region of Southern Russia. Its administrative center is Volgograd. The popula ...
,
Russia, located on the
Don River
The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire.
Its ...
, west of
Volgograd
Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...
, the administrative center of the
oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom ...
. Population:
History
It was founded in 1708 as a
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
''
sloboda'' and was originally called Kalach ().
["My Town" Encyclopedia]
Entry on Kalach-na-Donu
In World War II, the town lent its name to an
armored clash between the
German 6th Army and the Soviet
64th and
1st Tank Armies from July 25 to August 11, 1942.
[Stalingrad.net website. The term "Battle of Kalach" is used in English- and German-language histories; this may not be the case in Russian-language sources]
"The German Sixth Army on the Way to Catastrophe."
About three months later, during
Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axi ...
, several Soviet tank corps encircled the besieging German 6th Army in
Stalingrad
Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...
by capturing Kalach, thus cutting off German supply routes.
It was granted town status on April 18, 1951.
[Official website of Kalachyovskoye Urban Settlement]
History of Kalach-na-Donu
At the same time, its name was changed to Kalach-na-Donu, to distinguish it from an
eponymous town in
Voronezh Oblast.
By Construction of
Volga–Don Canal
Lenin Volga–Don Shipping Canal ( Russian:Волго-Донской судоходный канал имени, ''В. И. Ленина, Volga-Donskoy soudokhodniy kanal imeni V. I. Lenina'', abbreviated ВДСК, ''VDSK'') is a ship canal in R ...
in 1952, The city become the end point of the canal.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, Kalach-na-Donu serves as the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of
Kalachyovsky District.
As an administrative division, it is, together with the
settlement of
Dom otdykha, incorporated within Kalachyovsky District as the
town of district significance
Town of district significance is an administrative division of a district in a federal subject of Russia. It is equal in status to a selsoviet or an urban-type settlement of district significance, but is organized around a town (as opposed to a ...
of Kalach-na-Donu.
As a
municipal division, the town of district significance of Kalach-na-Donu is incorporated within Kalachyovsky Municipal District as Kalachevskoye Urban Settlement.
[Law #994-OD]
References
Notes
Sources
*
External links
Official website of Kalach-na-DonuKalach-na-Donu Business Directory
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Volgograd Oblast
Populated places established in 1708
1708 establishments in Russia
Don Host Oblast