Otaci (formerly Ataki,

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 ...

Атаки) is a town (population 8,400) on the southwestern bank of the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

River, which at that point forms the northeastern border of

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

. On the opposite side of the Dniester lies the

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 ...

city of

Mohyliv-Podilskyi Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, , , ) is a city in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion of the Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Administratively, Mohyliv-Podilskyi is incorporated as a town of regional significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv- ...

, and the two municipalities are connected by a bridge over the river. Otaci is located in

Ocnița District Ocnița () is a district () in the north of Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north ...

History

The town was first attested in the 15th century. As part of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

, it was given by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to the

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. ...

following the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812, although the region belonged to

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, a vassal state of the Ottomans. By the 1890s, it had become a poor, heavily Jewish village. In April 1918, during the last stages of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, Otaci was the seat of Plasa Otaci, in Soroca County, Romania. In 1940, as a consequence of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

entered Bessarabia and incorporated it into the

Soviet Union 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 ...

. In 1991

became independent, and in 1994 Otaci achieved the status of ''oraș'' (town). On 19 June 2019, Otaci was the site of an apartment building collapse. One of the 2 tower blocks in the town collapsed shortly after it was evacuated, leaving no one injured. It is believed that the building, when constructed in the 1970s, was built on muddy soil, and the foundations were damaged over the years.

Notable people

Samuel Bronfman Samuel Bronfman, (February 27, 1889 – July 10, 1971) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He founded Distillers Corporation Limited, and is a member of the Canadian Bronfman family. Biography Samuel Bronfman was born in Otaci, So ...

, Canadian businessman and philanthropist *

Aaron Goodelman Aaron Goodelman (1890 – 1978) was an American sculptor. He graduated from art school in Odessa, fleeing Eastern Europe for the United States in 1904 because of antisemitic violence.. He attended a number of major art schools in New York and Pari ...

, American sculptor *

Boris Holban Boris Holban (20 April 1908 – 27 June 2004) was a Russian-born Franco-Romanian communist known for his role in the French Resistance as the leader of FTP-MOI group in Paris and for ''l’Affaire Manouchian'' controversy of the 1980s. Communist a ...

, Franco-Romanian communist activist * Samuil Lehtțir, Soviet Moldovan poet and literary critic

References

External links

*
'Jewish Encyclopedia' article
(1900)
'Otaci/ Jewish Cemetery' Former building of Synagogue'
Cities and towns in Moldova Moldova–Ukraine border crossings Populated places on the Dniester Soroksky Uyezd Soroca County (Romania) Ocnița District {{Ocniţa-geo-stub

History

Notable people

References

Further reading

External links