Shostka (, ) is a city in

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 ...

in the north-east 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 ...

. Shostka serves as the administrative center of

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

. It is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance and 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 ...

. The city lies on the Shostka River, a tributary of the Desna, from which it gets its name. Shostka is an important centre of industry: in chemicals (see

Svema Svema (russian: Свема, Светочувствительные Материалы - 'Light-sensitive Materials') is a registered trade mark and former name ("NPO "Svema") of the Shostka Chemical Plant, located in Shostka, Sumy Oblast, Ukrain ...

) and in dairy, the Shostka City Milk Plant was recently acquired by the Bel Group.

History

In 1739, a

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

factory was built there. Since that time Shostka was one of the most important gunpowder suppliers in 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. ...

. In 1893, a branch of a nearby railroad line was built. Shostka was granted

municipal rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1920. In 1931, a film factory was built in Shostka which was one of the main suppliers of cinema and photo film in the

USSR 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 nationa ...

. During the

2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Shostka was besieged by Russian troops on February 24. and may have been temporarily occupied. During the withdrawal from the

Chernihiv region Chernihiv Oblast ( uk, Черні́гівська о́бласть, translit=Chernihivska oblast; also referred to as Chernihiv Oblast#Nomenclature, Chernihivshchyna, uk, Черні́гівщина, translit=Chernihivshchyna) is an administra ...

and Sumy region, Russian troops left Shostka. ::

Demographics

Shostka's population: 1926 - 8,600 inhabitants, 1959 - 39,000 inhabitants, 1970 - 64,000 inhabitants, 1979 - 80,000 inhabitants, 1984 - 84,000 inhabitants

Sports

Shostka is home to the Ukrainian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team

Impuls Shostka Impuls Flugdrachen GmbH ( en, Impulse Kites Limited), usually just called Impuls, was a German aircraft manufacturer that specialized in beginner and flight training hang gliders. The company was headquartered in Munich Munich ( ; ge ...

. The city is the birthplace of Lightweight Boxer

Ivan Redkach Ivan Redkach (born 11 March 1986) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. Professional career On 7 January 2011 Redkach fought and beat Jaime Orrantia by third-round knockout in Fairfield, California. On 1 June 2019, he scored one of the biggest wi ...

In popular culture

Shostka is the hometown of the fictional Mousekewitz family in the 1986 animated film ''

An American Tail ''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American Animated film, animated musical film, musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film features t ...

'', the opening of which depicts 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 ...

(and cat) raid on the town.

Gallery

File:Володимирська церква (Шостка)(2).jpg, File:Краєзнавчий музей 3376483.jpeg, File:Школа № 2 м. Шостка.JPG, File:Шостка Садовий бульвар (11).jpg, File:М. Шостка, вул. Депутатська, 6.JPG, File:Shostka Park Svobody.jpg, File:Володимира св. церква.jpg,

References

External links

* Cities in Sumy Oblast Glukhovsky Uyezd Cities of regional significance in Ukraine {{Sumy-geo-stub