Soroca is a district in north-east

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, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

. Its administrative center is the town of

Soroca Soroca (russian: link=no, Сороки, Soroki, uk, Сороки, Soroky, pl, Soroki, yi, סאָראָקע ''Soroke'') is a city and municipality in Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about north of Chișinău. It is the administrative ...

. In 2018, the population of the region was 100,078.

History

Ancient beginnings

Archeological evidence of prehistoric occupation dating to 35000 to 50000 years ago has been found in the Soroco region near the village of

Rudi Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spirit ...

. In about 400 to 300 BC, ancient defensive walls were constructed. From the 9th century to the 12th century AD, two towns developed. They were called "Farfuria Turceasca" and "Germanariul". In the 12th and 13th centuries, a Genoese fortress was expanded at Alchiona. In the period 1439–1457, villages are mentioned: Visoca, Vasilcău,

and Pirlita.

The new town of Soroca

In the second half of the 16th century,

Stephan the Great Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 i ...

built a wooden fortress on the former Alchiona mount. The fortress was transformed into its present form between 1543 and 1546 during the reign of Peter IV Rareş. The creation of the town allowed for trade along the Nistru while providing protection from foreign invasion. For many years Soroca was a centre for arts and agricultural markets for the Principality of Moldova. At various points in time, Soroca was affected by wars with

Tartars Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bound ...

, Cossacks,

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

and

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

. Between 1684 and 1699, under control of the Poles, changes in Soroca were made. A deep moat was dug; a well was dug in the courtyard. 14 stone

casemates A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mea ...

inside . Gradually over time, with more stable rule, the town and its region lost military importance.

Soroca in the 19th and 20th centuries

In 1812, Soroca was occupied by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The population became more varied as

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

moved to the region. From 1849 to 1917 Soroca was governed as part of the Bessarabia region of the Russian Empire. In 1918, at the conclusion of World War I, Bessarabia was made part of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. Until 1944, Soroca remained the administrative centre for this Romanian region. In 1944, as World War II reached its end, Soroca became part of the MSSR. Moldova became an independent state in 1991. Since then Soroca has regained the status of an administrative region of Moldova.

Natural history

Geography

The main geographical feature of Soroca is the Nistru Plateau. The terrain is hilly with deep valleys, dales and ravines. Other features include a gently rolling plain to the north west and the Raut and Nistru rivers. The highest points in Soroca are Vadeni Hill at 347m and the Visoca Hill at 330m.

Soil

The soil is grey or brown to the height of the Nistru prominence. In other areas, the soils are humic-calcareous,

chernozem Chernozem (from rus, чернозём, p=tɕɪrnɐˈzʲɵm, r=chernozyom; "black ground"), also called black soil, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compou ...

, alluvial soils or swampy. There are active processes of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

, karst, torrents of mud and sometimes,

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

in the Soroca district.

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

in Soroca is

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

. Winter is usually mild and short with an average temperature of −5 to 6 degrees Celsius. Summer is long and warm with an average temperature of 20 to 21 degrees Celsius. The average annual

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

is 485 mm. Soroca has a suitable climate for farming

cereals A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

, sugar beet, tobacco and also for horticulture.

Fauna

Fauna in the district is typical of steppe areas. In the Nistru basin there are 68 species of fish. Most of Moldova's 270 bird species are present. There is both natural and introduced wildlife. The introduced species include 19 types of mammal, 37 bird species and 7 types of reptile. Native creatures include foxes,

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

stone marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

raccoon dog The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common ...

and

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

Flora

7 percent of the district is forested. Common trees include

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

, linden, ash and

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

. Beneath the trees are hawthorn, hazel, cocksfoot, honey bear and others.

Natural resources

Granite can be found in Cosauti and building stone at Ocland, Vărăncău and Visoca.

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

limestones Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when t ...

and iron ores were discovered near the village of Vărăncău. Limestone, for instance in Visoca, is mined for

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

and chalk

dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ho ...

(which is used to make paint). Banks of chalk are also found throughout the Nistru, including in Cremenciug, Soroca, Vasilcău, Vărăncău and Cerlina. The

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

is extracted in Visoca.

Protected areas

* Baxani forest * Cosauti landscape reserve *Hill "Casca" from Cremenciug * Nistru threshold from Cosauti *

Reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

mounds near Visoca *

- Arionesti landscape reserve

Rivers

The Nistru river creates 93 km of the eastern boundary of Soroca. The barrier of the Nistru plateau means the

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

are short (15 to 25 km). Water from the Nistru river is used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

, public supply and industry. Reservoirs have been constructed to meet public demand. There are also 64 natural reservoirs.

Administrative subdivisions

Soroca has sixty-eight subdivisional areas and thirty-three villages containing thirty-four commons. The administrative centre is the town of Soroca.

Demographics

On 1 January 2012, the district population was 100100. 37.5 percent live in urban areas and 63.5 percent in rural areas. *

Births Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the ...

(2010): 1051 (10.5 per 1000) *

Deaths Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

(2010): 1427 (14.2 per 1000) *Growth Rate (2010): -376 (−3.7 per 1000)

Ethnic groups

''Footnote'': * There is an ongoing controversy regarding the ethnic identification of Moldovans and Romanians.

Religion

Christians make up 98.4% of Soroca's population. The great majority (97.8%) are of the orthodox faith. Those of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

denominations make up 0.6% of the population while those of other religions or no religion constitute 1.6%. * Orthodox Christians – 97.8% *

– 0.6% **

Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and i ...

– 0.2% ** Evangelicals – 0.2% **

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

– 0.1% ** Baptists – 0.1% *Other – 1.1% *No Religion 0.5%

Economy

Soroca hosts 24645 registered businesses. 62795 hectares (60.2 percent) of the total land area is used for agriculture. Arable land occupies 55 801 ha (53.5 percent) of the total agricultural land area: *

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

– 6348 (6.0%) ha, *

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

– 134 ha, others – 512 ha. *

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

– 11794 ha (11.3%) *other – 512 ha.

Education

Soroca has about 58 educational institutions catering for preschool to tertiary students. The total number of students is approximately 12023. Among others, there is a boarding school in Visoca; a special school in Soloneţ; as well as a temporary placement centre for at risk children. In Azimut there is "The Icarus day center for disabled children". In Dacia there is "The house of hope" for youth. Specialised areas of education include sports, teachers' training, agricultural training and a school for the arts. A vocational school has about 308 students.

Politics

Soroca lies in the North Red electoral region. In elections of the first decade of the 21st century, the PCRM achieved 50% of the vote in Soroca. See the table below for the results of the 2010 election. District is one of the founding members of Euroregion Dniester. , - ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:center;" colspan="2", Parties and coalitions ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", Votes ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", % ! style="background:#e9e9e9; text-align:right;", +/− , - , , align=left,

Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Партидул Комуништилор дин Република Молдова, italic=no, Partidul Comuniștilor din Republica Moldova; russian: Партия коммунистов Р ...

, align="right", 20,595 , align="right", 46.29 , align="right", −2.36 , - , , align=left,

Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova The Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova ( ro, Partidul Liberal Democrat din Moldova, PLDM) is a conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Moldova, political party in Moldova. The party is led by Tudor Deliu. Until 2016, PLDM was led ...

, align="right", 9,816 , align="right", 22.06 , align="right", +8.68 , - , , align=left,

Democratic Party of Moldova The European Social Democratic Party ( ro, Partidul Social Democrat European, PSDE) is a centre-left, populist social-democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997, the party holds pro-European views, and is an associate member of th ...

, align="right", 6,322 , align="right", 14,21 , align="right", -1.88 , - , , align=left,

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, align="right", 2,565 , align="right", 5.76 , align="right", −2.20 , - , , align=left, Party Alliance Our Moldova , align="right", 2,097 , align="right", 4.71 , align="right", −5.86 , - , style="background:#03c;", , align=left,

European Action Movement Save Bessarabia Union ( ro, Uniunea Salvați Basarabia, USB), previously known as European Action Movement is a political party from Moldova. The party supportes the unification of Romania and Moldova. On 21 July 2019, the party changed its name f ...

, align="right", 937 , align="right", 2.11 , align="right", +2.11 , - , style="background:gray;", , align=left, Other Party , align="right", 2,180 , align="right", 4.86 , align="right", +1.51 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#e9e9e9;" colspan="2", Total (turnout 60.25%) , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;", 44,867 , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;", 100.00 , style="text-align:right; width:30px; background:#e9e9e9;",

Culture

The Soroca region hosts a number of cultural centres and libraries. There are also museums, art galleries and monuments. The region preserves objects of national importance and local importance. There are two monasteries: The Monastery of the Assumption in Cosuti and the Monastery of Rudi.

Health

Soroca has a general hospital with about 375 beds. It is complemented by general practitioners, health centres and specialists.

Personalities

* Emanuil Gavrilita – Lawyer, journalist and activist * Eugen Coca – Composer and violinist *

Kira Muratova , honorific_suffix = People's Artist of Ukraine , birth_date = , birth_place = Soroca, Kingdom of Romania(now Moldova) , death_date = , death_place = Odessa, Ukraine , birth_name = Kira Gueórguiev ...

– director, screenwriter * Leonte Tismăneanu – Communist militant * Luda Kroitor – Australian dancer, five-time world champion

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

, winner of the Australian show " Dancing with the Stars" (2008) * Robert Steinberg – Canadian and American mathematician, known for his work on

representation theory Representation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebraic structures by ''representing'' their elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies modules over these abstract algebraic structures. In essen ...

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, ...

– Canadian businessman, billionaire, philanthropist and founder of the distillery company "

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the ...

" * Margareta Timofti – First Lady of Moldova (2012-2016)

References

{{Authority control Districts of Moldova