Okhtyrka ( uk, Охти́рка, ) is a city located in the

Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast ( uk, Сумська́ о́бласть, translit=Sumska oblast; also referred to as Sumshchyna – uk, Су́мщина) is an oblast (province) in the northeastern part of Ukraine. Population: The oblast was created in its most r ...

(

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 ...

. It is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance. The city has also served as the administrative center of the smaller

Okhtyrka Raion Okhtyrka Raion ( uk, Охтирський район) is a raion in Sumy Oblast in Central Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion is the town of Okhtyrka. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, th ...

since 1975, although it does not belong to the

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...

itself. Okhtyrka was once home to

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

s and

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 ...

s. It was also once a regional seat of the

Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine (literally: Borderland of free frontier guards; uk, Слобідська Україна, Slobidska Ukraina), or Slobozhanshchyna ( uk, Слобожанщина, Slobozhanshchyna, ), is a historical region, now located in Northeas ...

imperial region and of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. Since the discovery of oil and gas in 1961, Okhtyrka has become the "oil capital of Ukraine." It is home to Okhtyrka air base and historical and religious places of interest. The villages of Velyke Ozero (274 inhabitants), Zaluzhany (28 inhabitants), Prystan (7 inhabitants), and Koziatyn (6 inhabitants) belong to the Okhtyrka city administration which is designated into a separate subdivision of the

Population

* 1867: 17,411 * 1900: 25,965 * 2001: 50,400 * 2021: 47,216

Name

According to the most probable etymology, Okhtyrka is named for the river by the same name on whose banks it is located. According to some local historians, the river's name in translation from the

Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...

means "lazy river". In the opinion of others, the city's name from the same Turkic language is translated as the "place of ambush," or "white fort". Russian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Oleg Trubachyov Oleg Nikolayevich Trubachyov (also transliterated as Trubachev or Trubačev, russian: Оле́г Никола́евич Трубачёв; 23 October 1930, in Stalingrad – 9 March 2002, in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian linguist. A res ...

considered that there are no serious grounds to accept the Turkic etymology and that the river's name is "insufficiently clear in origin." Linguist Kostiantyn Tyshchenko points to the Gothic origin of the name "Okhtyrka".

Geography and climate

Located south of the Sumy region, Okhtyrka lies in the center of a triangle created by regional centers – Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava. The city is on the left bank of the

Vorskla River The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. It has a length of , and a basin area of .Ruthenians Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...

of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

escaping Polonization, moving from the

Right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...

. Next to the new settlement Polish authorities established a border outpost against the Muscovite Belgorod Border Line. The settlement and the outpost (fortress) were founded on the right bank of the

Vorskla River The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. It has a length of , and a basin area of .Cossacks 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 ...

led by Polish government official Kulczewski.Bazhan, O., Vortman, D.
Okhtyrka (ОХТИРКА)
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine It was named Akhtyrsk. In 1647, according to the act of demarcation of borders that drawn by the

Treaty of Polyanovka The Treaty of Polyanovka ( pl, Polanów, also known as the ''Peace of Polyanovka / Polanów'') was a peace treaty signed on 14 June 1634 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia in the village of Semlevo located near ...

of 1634, it was ceded by the

Crown of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...

to the Tsardom of Russia. Akhtyrsk became the last southwestern point of the Belgorod defense line that was stretching along the southern border of the Russian state in the middle of the 17th century. In 1650 the Russian authorities reduced the fortress to a mere lookout outpost, next to which soon has appeared the Holy Trinity Monastery. In 1653 on the banks of the

Vorskla The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. It has a length of , and a basin area of .right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...

established a settlement which adopted the name of the outpost. In 1654 a fortification was completed, and in 1655-1656 further expanded by Russian ''sluzhilie'' (service members) led by the Tsar's appointed

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

s Larion Kaminin and Trofim Chernov. In 1656 the biggest group of over 1,000 people from right-bank Ukrainearrived, led by Cossack

sotnik Sotnik or sotnyk (, uk, сотник, bg, стотник) was a military rank among the Cossack ''starshyna'' (military officers), Strelets Troops (17th century) in Muscovy and Imperial Cossack cavalry (since 1826), the Ukrainian Insurgent Arm ...

Arystov and

protopope A protopope, or protopresbyter, is a priest of higher rank in the Eastern Orthodox and the Byzantine Catholic Churches, generally corresponding to Western Christianity's archpriest or the Latin Church's dean. History The rights and duties of these ...

Antoniy from Zhyvotov (possibly the

Kiev Voivodeship The Kiev Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kijowskie, la, Palatinatus Kioviensis, uk, Київське воєводство, ''Kyjivśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

). Being bolstered in this prominent position during the 17th and 18th centuries, Okhtyrka rose to rival

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Okhtyrka uyezd of the

Kharkov Governorate The Kharkov Governorate ( pre-reform Russian: , tr. ''Khárkovskaya gubérniya'', IPA: �xarʲkəfskəjə ɡʊˈbʲernʲɪjə ) was a governorate of the Russian Empire founded in 1835. It embraced the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine. From ...

2022 Russian Invasion

Okhtyrka City Council after Russian invasion, 14 April 2022

Clashes have been ongoing in Okhtyrka between the

Ukrainian Armed Forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

and the invading

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 ...

in the city since 24 February 2022. On the morning of February 25, the city of Оkhtyrka was shelled. According to Amnesty International, Russian troops used cluster munitions, and dropped them on a kindergarten. As a result, three people died, including a child. On this day, in the area of Оkhtyrka, a Russian Grad multiple rocket launcher fired on a bus for the evacuation of residents. Chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration

Dmytro Zhyvytskyi Dmytro Oleksiyovych Zhyvytskyi ( uk, Дмитро Олексійович Живицький; born on 17 September 1982), is a Ukrainian politician, entrepreneur, public figure, and civil servant who has been the Governor of Sumy Oblast since ...

said that five more civilians were killed in the city. On the morning of February 26, explosions were heard in Оkhtyrka, later it became known that Russian Armed Forces completely bombed a military unit, and also fired at the Dachny residential area. According to Zhyvytskyi, more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers died as a result of shelling by Russian troops of a military unit in Оkhtyrka. On February 27, the chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration reported that Russian tanks had shot a bus with civilians. On February 28, Russian forces used a vacuum bomb on the city. On March 1, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian troops were holding the city surrounded. On March 3, Russian aircraft bombarded the local thermal power plant and fired at residential areas of Оkhtyrka. On March 5, the head of the Sumy Regional State Administration announced that the Оkhtyrka Combined Heat and Power Plant was completely destroyed after an air bombardment by Russian aircraft, resulting in the death of 5 workers. On March 8, Оkhtyrka was subjected to another artillery shelling from Russia, residential areas were damaged. On the night of March 10, Russian aircraft bombed Оkhtyrka twice, a bombing attack was carried out on the Kachanovsky GPP of PJSC Ukrnafta. At noon on March 13, as a result of Russian shelling, in Оkhtyrka, along Kyiv street No. 2, the gas station BVS No. 22 was on fire. On the night of March 13–14, Russian aircraft again bombed Оkhtyrka. The city continues to resist the Russian invaders. On March 16, the Russian military began to retreat. On March 20, active hostilities continued in the Оkhtyrka raion. On March 24, 2022, in order to celebrate the feat, mass heroism and resilience of citizens identified in the defense of their city during the repulse of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 164/2022, the city of Оkhtyrka was awarded the honorary distinction "

Hero City of Ukraine Hero City of Ukraine () is a Ukrainian honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was awarded to ten cities in March 2022, in addition to four already-named Hero Cities of the Soviet Union. Th ...

". Russians, using prohibited means of warfare, carried out a powerful air bombardment of the most densely populated residential area of Оkhtyrka, Dachny district. As a result of the bombing, at least 15 residential high-rise and private houses, civil infrastructure facilities, and power lines were destroyed and damaged. According to the Emergency Situations Ministry of Ukraine in Оkhtyrka, rescuers were able to free an injured woman from the rubble of damaged houses and also found the body of one deceased. According to preliminary data, one person died. On March 25, Russian aircraft bombed Оkhtyrka again. On March 30, public utilities in Оkhtyrka began repairing damaged houses.

The coat of arms

The town's coat of arms (blue field, golden cross and shining sun above) celebrates the city's great number of visiting pilgrims. It was introduced by Simon Bekenshtein on September 21, 1781, and reinstated in 1991 by the city council. File:Ахтырка-Михайловская-церковь.jpg, St. Michael Church in Okhtyrka File:Okhtyrka Budynok Svyashennyka Mykolayivs'koyi Tserkvy 02 Zhovtneva 13 (YDS 5554).JPG, Historical priest's residence File:Початкова школа Охтирської гімназії.jpg, Okhtyrka primary school File:Охтирська електростанція.jpg, Historical power plant building File:59-102-0036 Незалежності, 9.jpg, Palace of Culture (former

People's House People's Houses (russian: Народный дом) were originally leisure and cultural centres built with the intention of making art and cultural appreciation available to the working classes. The first establishment of this type appeared in T ...

) File:Георгіївська церква в Охтирці P1490657.jpg, St. George Church File:59-102-9001 Ансамбль Мироносицької церкви.jpg, Holy Myrrhbearers Church File:Okhtyrka Budynok Kuptsya F.Kuryla 01 Kharkivs'kiy prov. 8 (YDS 5557).JPG, Historical merchant's building File:Чоловіча гімназія, Охтирка, Фрунзе,4.JPG, Former men's gymnasium File:Okhtyrka Kompleks Pokrov. Soboru Tserkva Rizdva Hrystovogo 01 Soborna (Zhovtneva) ploscha (YDS 5812).JPG, Nativity Church File:Охтирка, Краєзнавчий музей P1490884.jpg, City museum File:Okhtyrka, 18 and 16 Zhovtneva Street (YDS 5653).jpg, An old shopping street in Okhtyrka File:Okhtyrka Osobnyak Soborna (Zhovneva ploscha) 4 (YDS 5855).JPG, Old mansion File:Okhtyrka Torgivel'niy Budynok Kuptsya F.Kuryla 02 Kharkivs'kiy prov. 6 (YDS 5779).JPG, Trading house in Okhtyrka File:59-102-0024 Будинок, в якому жив Іван Багряний.jpg, House of

Ivan Bahrianyi Ivan Bahrianyi ( uk, Іван Багряний) (2 October 1906 – 25 August 1963) was a Ukrainian writer, essayist, novelist and politician, Shevchenko prize awardee (1992, postmortem). The writer's real name was Ivan Pavlovych Lozoviaha (Lozo ...

Military history

In 1655–1658 the Okhtyrka Cossack Regiment was formed and lasted until 1765, when by order of

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

, all Cossack regiments were dismantled. In 1709 the territory of the Cossack regiment became the scene of fierce fighting with the Swedes. More than a hundred years the Cossack regiment had fought against the invasion of the Tatars, and the troops had both defeats and victories over the Turks, Tatars, and the Swedes. Later, Okhtyrka's Cossack regiment reformed into hussars.

Okhtyrka Fortress

Okhtyrka, like all of Sloboda Ukraine, had a chaotic structure of buildings. The central core of the city was represented by the fortress, which occupied a dominant place in the strategic sense. The buildings ran around, fitting into the terrain without any order. Okhtyrka's fort sat on the shore of the small Okhtyrka river where it makes a loop, forming a natural protection. The fortress was surrounded by numerous lakes, complicating approaches to it. The fortress had the shape of an irregular quadrilateral, and occupied the area of the present city center, from the river to the location of today's "Intercession Cathedral" outside the castle. It was surrounded by a wooden fence with five stone and fifteen wooden towers and two

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s. The fortress gates had drawbridges. Around the castle a moat was dug and earth mound built with caponier at the corners. The water filled moat gave the island fortress a situational advantage, strengthening its defense capacity.

The visit of Peter the Great

In the early 18th century Cossacks of the Okhtyrka regiment took an active part in the Great Northern War, recapturing the Swedish and Russian lands bordering the Baltic Sea. On December 26, 1707, Peter the First himself came to the city to personally verify the readiness of the garrison and hold a council of war.

Hussars

Okhtyrka Hussars played an important role in the fight against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. They participated in the battles of Smolensk, Vyazma, and Borodino. For services in battle the regiment was honored to open the parade of victors at the entry of Allied troops in Paris. In this regiment served, as one of the leaders of the partisan movement during the War in 1812, the Russian poet Dmitry Davydov, and the Russian composer

Alexander Alyabyev Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Аля́бьев; ), also rendered as Alabiev or Alabieff, was a Russian composer known as one of the fathers of the Russian art song. He wrote seven ...

. In 1823, the regiment was commanded by a future Decembrist, A. Muravyev, and

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

, a Russian poet. Many people fought and died in WWI and a lot more in WWII. The fighting around Okhtyrka was fearsome and resulted in a prominent common grave of Soviet soldiers in the area.

Soviet times

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Okhtyrka was occupied by the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

from 15 October 1941 to 23 February 1943 and again from 11 March to 25 August 1943. Okhtyrka was near the southern flank of the Kursk Bulge, and fighting in the city in the summer of 1943 got extremely fierce. Which is why the city and its surroundings have so many monuments of the last war: the eternal flame of remembrance in the city park, Valley of Heroes, T-34 tank on a pedestal in one of the city's entrances, the Mound of Glory, etc. After the war, a large army garrison was established in the area of Okhtyrka. Military parades in the city, arranged on the occasion of Soviet holidays, could compete with the capital due to the number of participating vehicles and machinery of all kinds. In the last decade of the Soviet period Okhtyrka was militarized, housing several army regiments. The Dachny precinct became a home to officers' families from all around the former USSR. Many of them served in

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

countries (East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia etc.), took part in Vietnam and Afghanistan wars and served as consultants in Cuba. As the USSR started to fall apart, all the machinery and ballistic rockets were transported to Russian territory, however it took a very long time for the regiments to move or to transform. A lot of military personnel or their families stayed in Okhtyrka or still have connections to this city.

Architecture

There are many significant wooden and brick churches in the area. On "Monastery Hill" overlooking the Vorskla river 4–5 km north of Оkhtyrka stands the Holy Trinity Monastery, established 1654. These holy grounds have been practically destroyed during the Soviet era with exception of its bell tower that kept a bit of its structure intact. October revolt, World War II and anti-religious policies of Soviet era played a big part here. It has been reopened following restoration of religious life in Ukraine and Russia, for the 4th time during its uneasy history it enjoys its rebirth. Mostly surviving on donations and on the work of enthusiastic monks and volunteers, with Kyiv Church blessings, it has started to rebuild its former glory and has become one of the main religious places for Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Christian worshipers in the region, becoming a notable landmark in Ukraine.

Cathedral and its relics

Okhtyrka was the first city in Ukraine with a tobacco factory. The city has a beautiful Cathedral of the Holy Virgin (1753–62) ussian: Собор Покрова Пресвятой Богородицы formerly attributed to

Bartolomeo Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (russian: Франче́ско Бартоломе́о (Варфоломе́й Варфоломе́евич) Растре́лли; 1700 in Paris, Kingdom of France – 29 April 1771 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Emp ...

and currently to

Dmitry Ukhtomsky Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky (russian: Дмитрий Васильевич Ухтомский; 1719–1774) was the chief architect of Moscow, Russian Empire during the reign of Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Biography Ukhtomsky was b ...

with managing architect S. Dudinsky. Its singular architecture is a complex medley of traditional

Sloboda A sloboda ( rus, слобода́, p=sləbɐˈda) was a kind of settlement in the history of the Old Russian regions Povolzhye, Central Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and may be loosely ...

Ukrainian Baroque Ukrainian Baroque, or Cossack Baroque or Mazepa Baroque ( uk, Українське бароко або Козацьке бароко), is an architectural style that was widespread in the Ukrainian lands in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was th ...

with fashionable elements derived from the imperial capital. The interior is decorated with

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

with Ionic capitals, and paintings on sails. It suffered during the Great Patriotic War. The restorations began in 1970-1972 but were completed only after collapse of USSR. The construction is unique in its three-dimensional solution and has no analogy in the Ukrainian Baroque architecture. Nearbt stands the Nativity Church (1825), which resembles a palace rather than a church. The cathedral bell-tower was built in three tiers and adorned with statuary in 1783.

Miraculous icon of Okhtyrka

Iconography of Оkhtyrka icon originates in Italo-Greek art. Usually pictured is a half-length image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with folded hands in supplication, with to her left the Lord Jesus Christ, crucified on the cross. The Okhtyrka miraculous icon was revealed on July 2, 1739. The image, which emanated radiance, was uncovered by priest Vasily (Basil) Danilov in the grassland of Protection Church while he was mowing and took it home. After three years later, the priest entered the room on the day of the feast of the Protection, and was struck by the extraordinary light of the icon. He prayed devoutly near the icon but never said anything to anyone else. Once, the priest saw the Virgin in a dream, and heard her command him to remove dust from it and to clean it with water. On his awakening he executed the command. He left the water that he used to clean the icon in a vessel, planning to take it to the river the next morning to empty and to wash the vessel. Again he fell asleep and dreamed he was going to the river the next morning. He heard the voice of Mother of God tell him to return home and keep the water, and that it would heal any who suffered from fever. He had a daughter who had long experienced fevers so when he awoke, he gave her the water to drink, and his daughter soon recovered. Then the priest asked Ioan (John) the iconographer to repair damaged paint on the icon. Knowing of its miraculous healing qualities, Ioan washed it with water and gave the water to his son, who suffered from fever, who also recovered. While preparing for the restoration that night he heard the icon say: "Get up! Now is the time to return the icon to where you took it. Fix it you can not." The painter prayed before the icon until morning, and took it back to Basil, who, convinced of its miraculous power, put it in the protection of the Church. Fever sufferers began to pray to the icon, and were miraculously healed in great numbers. The news of the miracles of the icon spread to the Imperial Court. The Mother of God appeared in a vivid dream to the widow Baroness von Veydel, who visited Okhtyrka in 1748. The Lady told her that her days were numbered and ordered her to give away her estate, distributing it to the needy, and promised protection to her two young daughters. The baroness rushed to distribute the property and actually died five days later. The news about this reached the Empress, and Elizabeth took the orphans to the court, raised them and married one to Count Panin, and the other to Count Chernyshov. Both of them made generous contributions to the cathedral, where the icon remained until the day they died. In 1751 the Holy Synod decided to honor the icon of Okhtyrka as miraculous. In 1753 Empress

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

donated funds and a stone Cathedral of the Holy Virgin was erected where the icon was found. The icon was kept in the Cathedral until its abduction in 1903 during its voyage to St. Petersburg for restoration. It is unknown how the holy icon found its way to Harbin, but that's where it was acquired by S A Stepanov. According to the Harbin Archpriest Nikolai Trufanova, who repeatedly visited Okhtyrka icon in Okhtyrka it was the very icon that had gone missing. He confirmed that Stepanov acquired that very same wonder-working icon of Okhtyrka. In the 1950s, the son of Stepanov brought it to Brazil and then to San Francisco, where he gave it to the Committee of the Russian Orthodox youth as a blessing. Then Okhtyrka icon was placed under the jurisdiction of Sydney Archbishop Hilarion (Kapral). Blessed copies of Okhtyrka icon The icon of Okhtyrka, which is revered as a healer of many diseases, has been copied with blessing of the church in small numbers that were distributed mainly in the south of Russia, in Kharkiv diocese. One such icon from the 18th or 19th century is kept in Moscow, in the main aisle of the church of Resurrection in the Arbat (ap. Philip) Jerusalem monastery. Okhtyrka icon is called "Samara" - the main shrine of Samara Nicholas male monastery. In 1975, the information that the lost Okhtyrka icon was in San Francisco reached the Soviet Union. In 1995 the Metropolitan Nicodemus of Kharkiv (Rusnak) brought a copy of the icon, and handed it to Okhtyrka St. Basil's Cathedral. In connection with this event a holy procession on the third day after the Holy Trinity with other icons placed the Okhtyrka icon into the Holy Trinity Monastery. These holy processions occurred yearly from 1844 on the Saturday of Pentecost, and later the icons were transferred back on the feast of All Saints. On June 15, 1999 Okhtyrka held celebrations to mark the 260th anniversary of the phenomenon of the miraculous Okhtyrka icon. List of temples in honor of Okhtyrka icons Temples in the village Chernetove Bryansk region, Russia; Akhtyrsky nunnery in the village Gusevka Volgograd region, Russia; Church in the village of Akhtyrka Sergiev Posad, Moscow Region, Russia; Chapel at the Republican Hospital in Petrozavodsk; Akhtyrsky Cathedral in City Orel, Russia.

Culture

People who live in Okhtyrka have origins in different nationalities with the mainstream culture being predominantly Ukrainian and Russian, which is widely accepted by all. This is also influenced by Orthodox faith traditions, the surrounding Christian architecture, the religious life and history of this city. In recent years, following the independence of Ukraine there is a noticeable shift to Ukrainian culture. The spoken language is Ukrainian and Russian, or a mixture of both, with Ukrainian language dominating. Celebrations Okhtyrkivtsi (residents of Okhtyrka) celebrate the Day of the City on August 25, in honor of liberation of this city on this day in 1943 from Nazi invaders; Ukrainian independence day; Patronal feast days; Carnival; A festival in honor of the holiday of Ivan Kupala and many other.

Economy

Tobacco

In 1718 the first Russian tobacco manufacture began, which was attributed to several villages (944 peasant households), but proved unprofitable. In 1727 the company sold its treasury to private individuals. The tobacco factory was served by an isolated plantation (50 acres), from which were collected seven thousand pounds of tobacco.

Oil and gas

Since the discovery of oil and gas in 1961 Okhtyrka has become an "oil capital of Ukraine". Okhtyrka region produces the most oil in Ukraine.

Other industries

In the early 20th century there were manufacturers of light

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

len stuffs and a trade in

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and the produce of domestic industries. The area was fertile, and the orchards producing excellent fruit.

Obolon CJSC Obolon Joint Stock Company ( ua, ПАТ "Оболонь") is a major Ukrainian producer of beverages: beer, low alcohol drinks (cocktails), soda drinks and locally extracted natural mineral water, as well as a major malt producer. Based in Kyiv, ...

has a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

in Okhtyrka. NGDU "Okhtyrkanaftogaz." JSC "Naftoprommash." JSC "Okhtyrsilmash." JSC "Okhtyrsky garment factory." JSC "Okhtyrsky brewery." JSC "Bakery Akhtyrsky." Branch "Cheese Okhtyrsky" PE "Ros" The current city

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

is Igor Alekseev.

Sports

Okhtyrka is home to the

Ukrainian First League The Persha Liha ( uk, Перша ліга) or Ukrainian First League is a professional football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions pyramid. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup. It is th ...

team

FC Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka Football Club Naftovyk Okhtyrka is a Ukrainian amateur football club based in Okhtyrka, Sumy Oblast, where it was founded in 1980. The name of the club means "oiler" in Ukrainian. Ukrnafta company owned the club between 2004 and 2018. The club ...

Notable people or residents born in Okhtyrka

*Crimson, John P. - writer. *Batiuk, Nicholas Filippovich - Soviet military commander, one of the heroes of the defense of Stalingrad. *Borodaevsky, Sergey - economist. * Mikhail Gurevich. - Soviet aircraft designer, studied at the gymnasium Okhtyrka. *Ledenyov, Peter - Hero of the Soviet Union. *Rudinsky, Mikhail Yakovlevich - archaeologist. *Yaroslavsky, Peter Antonovich - architect. *

Andrei Chikatilo Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo (russian: Андре́й Рома́нович Чикати́ло, translit=Andréy Románovich Chikatílo; uk, Андрій Романович Чикатило, translit=Andriy Romanovych Chykatylo; 16 October 1936 ...

- one of the most famous Soviet serial killer, he studied at the Technical College of Communications Okhtyrka. *

Mykola Zerov Mykola Kostiantynovych Zerov (Ukrainian: Микола Костянтинович Зеров; 26 April 1890, in Zinkiv, Poltava Governorate – 3 November 1937, in Sandarmokh, KareliaMykola Khvyliovyi - Soviet Ukrainian writer. *

Svetlana Svetlichnaya Svetlana Afanasyevna Svetlichnaya (russian: link=no, Светлана Афанасьевна Светличная; born 15 May 1940) is a Soviet and Russian actress most famous for her role in ''The Diamond Arm'' (1968). Biography She was born i ...

- Soviet and Russian theater and film actress, Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1974). * Oleksiy Berest - a Soviet officer, a veteran of World War II. *Paul Grabowski - Ukrainian poet, translator, member of the revolutionary movement. * Ostap Vyshnia - Soviet Ukrainian writer, humorist and satirist. * Borys Antonenko-Davydovych - Soviet and Ukrainian writer. * Leonid Pavlovych Maidan - Ukrainian/Russian/Canadian poet. Editor of Ukrainian-language journal in Toronto (Canada) circa 1950. Also wrote under the pseudonym 'Dan-May' and 'Leonid May'. Books of poetry published in Canada include 'V Pokhid' (Ukrainian), and 'Stikhi-Lirika' Academia Press, 1949, (Russian). He is formally recognized as a Russian emigre poet by the Russian Federation. * Tatiana Sheyko - Ukrainian Artist and Published Author. Has several works of art displayed at the Teddy Bear Art Museum in Billund, Denmark, along with her artwork toured in Collections across Europe and North America.

References

External links

*
City portal
*
Map of Okhtyrka

Okhtyrka at the Association of Cities of Ukraine
{{Authority control Cities in Sumy Oblast Akhtyrsky Uyezd Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Cities and towns built in the Sloboda Ukraine