Toretsk ( uk, Торе́цьк, Toretsk, ; russian: Торецк, Toretsk), formerly Dzerzhynsk ( uk, link=no, Дзержинськ, Dzerzhynsk; russian: link=no, Дзержинск, Dzerzhinsk), is a city of oblast significance in

Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...

(

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

) 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 inva ...

. As of January 2022 its population was approximately

History

The settlement Shcherbynovka was founded in 1806Дзержинск // Советский энциклопедический словарь. редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. 4-е изд. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1986. стр.387 in

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 ...

. A local newspaper is published here since September 1936. In October 1938 the

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

Shcherbynovka became a city Dzerzhynsk, in honor of the founder of the Soviet secret police Felix Dzerzhynsky. In 1989, the population was 50,538 people.Дзержинск // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 1. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.386 In 2013, the population was 35 296 people. Starting mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast; including former Dzerzhynsk. On 11 July 2014 Ukrainian forces launched strikes against the separatists. On 21 July 2014, Ukrainian forces secured the city from the pro-Russian separatists. Toretsk is only a few kilometers away from the separatists-controlled

Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...

. Following the 2015 law on decommunization, the city council has decided on 16 October 2015 to rename the city to Toretsk. The name was approved by the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(the Ukrainian parliament) on 4 February 2016.Decommunisation continues: Rada renames several towns and villages

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

(4 February 2016)
Because of the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

the city has had its water supply cut multiple times.

Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov ( uk, Микола Іванович Рижков; russian: Николай Иванович Рыжков; born 28 September 1929) is a Soviet, and later Russian, politician. He served as the last Chairman of the Counc ...

, a former

Premier of the Soviet Union The Premier of the Soviet Union (russian: Глава Правительства СССР) was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The office had four different names throughout its existence: Chairman of th ...

, was born in the city in 1929.

Demographics

As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001, the majority of residents identified as ethnic Ukrainians and spoke Russian as their first language:

Ethnicity

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 ...

: 61.4% *

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

: 36.1% *

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

: 1% *

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...

: 0.3% *

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...

: 0.3%

First language

* Russian: 87.1% *

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 ...

: 12.2% *

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

: 0.2% * Belarusian: 0.1% * Armenian: 0.1%

Gallery

File:Panoramio - V&A Dudush - Dzerzhynsk.jpg, Town entrance in 2008 when it was called Dzerzhynsk File:Dzerzhynsk Avanhard Stadium 1.jpg, Toretsk Avanhard Stadium File:Ukraine Donetsk Oblast Dzerzhynsk IMG 5371 1280.jpg, An apartment block in Toretsk File:ДК Україна Дзержинськ.JPG, Ukraine Palace of Culture File:Зимовий сад палацу Україна.JPG, Ukraine Palace of Culture interior File:ЗАГС Дзержинск.JPG, Buildings in downtown File:Клуб Дзержинського фенольного заводу.JPG, Toretsk phenol factory club File:Дзержинський фенольний завод.JPG, Phenol factory building File:Станция Фенольная.JPG, Toretsk railway station File:Dz SkorbotnaMati.jpg, Crying mother monument

References

{{Authority control Cities in Donetsk Oblast Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Populated places established in the Russian Empire City name changes in Ukraine Former Soviet toponymy in Ukraine Populated places established in 1806 Bakhmut Raion