Kremenchuk

Kremenchuk
Кременчук
City of regional significance

Top left:Soborna Street, Top right:Dnieper River and Kryukov Bridge, Center:Victory Square, Bottom left:Memorial of Vichno Zhyuyn, Bottom right:Saint Nicolas Church

Flag
Coat of arms

Map of Ukraine with Kremenchuk highlighted within Poltava Oblast.
Coordinates: 49°04′00″N 33°25′00″E / 49.06667°N 33.41667°E / 49.06667; 33.41667Coordinates: 49°04′00″N 33°25′00″E / 49.06667°N 33.41667°E / 49.06667; 33.41667
Country  Ukraine
Oblast Poltava Oblast
Raion Kremenchutskyi Raion
Founded 1571
Government
 • Mayor Vitalij Maleckiy
Area
 • Total 96 km2 (37 sq mi)
Elevation 80 m (260 ft)
Population (2015)
 • Total 223,805
 • Density 2,448/km2 (6,340/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postcode district(s) 39600-39689[1]
Area code(s) 5366[2]
Vehicle registration BI[3]
Sister cities Providence, Barysaw, Bydgoszcz, Bila Tserkva
Website www.kremen.gov.ua
The Dnieper River in Kremenchuk, Ukraine.
An avenue in Kremenchuk
Soviet apartment blocks in Kremenchuk
Downtown Kremenchuk

Kremenchuk (Ukrainian: Кременчу́к, Kremenčuk, Ukrainian pronunciation: [krɛmenˈt͡ʃuk]; Russian: Кременчу́г, translit. Kremenchug), an important industrial city in central Ukraine, stands on the banks of the Dnieper River. Kremenchuk is the administrative center of the Kremenchuk Raion (district) in Poltava Oblast (province). Kremenchuk is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does not belong to the raion. Population: 223,805 (2015 est.)[4] Along with Svitlovodsk and Horishni Plavni, it creates an important urban agglomeration and transportation hub.

Although smaller than some oblast centers and cities of regional significance, Kremenchuk carries importance of a large industrial center in Ukraine and Eastern Europe as the base of the KrAZ truck plant, Kremenchuk Oil Refinery of Ukrtatnafta, the Kryukov Railway Car Building Works, and nearly located (Svitlovodsk) Kremenchuk HES. The Kryukov Railway Car Building Works is one of the oldest railway repair and rail-car building factories in Eastern Europe, dates back to 1869.[5]

History

Kremenchuk was supposedly founded in 1571.[6] The name Kremenchuk is explained as deriving from the word "kremen" - flint (a mineral) because the city is located on a giant chert plate. An alternative explanation says that "Kremenchuk" is the Turkish for "small fortress".

In 1625, at Lake Kurukove in Kremenchuk, the Treaty of Kurukove was signed between the Cossacks and the Poles. Since the establishment of Cossack Hetmanate, the city was part of the Chyhyryn Polk (regiment). Following the 1654-1667 Polish-Muscovite war and Treaty of Andrusovo, the city was secured by Tsardom of Muscovy and became part of the Myrhorod Polk (regiment) within the left-bank Cossack Hetmanate. The city played a key role of the Muscovite colonization policy of Ukraine and their strive for the shores of Black Seas as regional administrative center of the early Novorossiya Governorate and Yekaterinoslav Vice-regency (Namestnichestvo).[7] With creation of Novorossiya Governorate, in Kremenchuk was created Dnieper Pikers Regiment and coincidentally few years later (1768–69) in the neighboring regions of Poland started out so called Koliyivshchyna (literally the Piker's unrest).

During World War II (1939-1945), Kremenchuk suffered heavily under Nazi occupation. It was occupied from September 15, 1941 to September 29, 1943. More than 90% of the city's buildings were leveled over the course of the war. 29 September, the day when the city was liberated from the Nazis in 1943, is celebrated in Kremenchuk as the City Day. Despite a remarkable post-war recovery and a healthier economy, Kremenchuk lacks much of the architectural charm and distinctly Ukrainian (rather than Russian) character of its sister city, the oblast capital of Poltava.

During the Cold War, Kremenchuk became the headquarters for the 43rd Rocket Division of the 43rd Army of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces.[8] The division was equipped with R-12 Dvina intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Oleh Babayev, the mayor of Kremenchuk was assassinated on July 26, 2014. Oleh Babayev opposed separatism and promoted national unity, prior to becoming mayor he was a member of the Batkivshchyna political party which opposed Victor Yanukovich. His political views and Kremenchuk's large industrial base may have been the motivation for the attack.[9]

During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine security at the Kremenchuk Reservoir was heightened as it was seen as a possible target for saboteurs.[10]

Kremenchuk's Ukrtatnafta oil refinery is the largest in Ukraine and the only one operating since the beginning of the conflict with Russia that left refineries in the Donbass inactive.

Economy

Department store
Kryukiv railway station
Kryukiv train factory
KrAZ automobile plant

Kremenchuk is the economic center of the Poltava Oblast and one of the leading industrial centers of Ukraine. It contributes about 7% (2005) of the national economy and accounts for more than 50% of the industrial output in the Poltava Oblast. The city is home to KrAZ, a truck-manufacturing company (one of the largest in Eastern Europe) as well as a major European oil refinery operated by Ukrtatnafta, the road-making machine works, Kremenchuk Automobile Assembly Plant, the railcar plant, the wheel plant, the carbon black plant, the steel works and others.

The light industries of the city include tobacco (JTI), confectionery (Roshen), a knitting factory as well as milk and meat processing plants.

Kremenchuk is one of the most important railway junctions in Central Ukraine (thanks to its geographical position and a bridge over the River Dnieper) and a major river port on the main river of Ukraine.

Sport

Kremin stadium in Kremenchuk

Kremenchuk is home to HK Kremenchuk ice hockey team who compete in the Ukrainian Championship and the FC "Kremin" football club.[11][12]

Notable residents

Twin towns – sister cities

Kremenchuk is twinned with 12 cities:[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ukrainian Zip Codes". angelfire.com.
  2. ↑ "Phone Codes for Russia, Ukraine & CIS". russia-ukraine-travel.com.
  3. ↑ (in Russian) How new plates are decoded
  4. ↑ "Чисельність наявного населення України (Actual population of Ukraine)" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Kryukov Railway Car Building Works". Kryukov Rail Car Building Works Home Page. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  6. ↑ "Early history of Kremenchug".
  7. ↑ Kremenchuk. Encyclopedia of Ukraine
  8. ↑ Mike Holm, Strategic Rocket Forces, see SRF page
  9. ↑ "Attacks kill Ukraine mayor Oleg Babayev, bomb Andrii Sadovyi’s house". NewsComAu.
  10. ↑ Подробности-ТВ. "Самооборона взялась за охрану Кременчугского водохранилища от браконьеров". podrobnosti.
  11. ↑ "HK Kremenchuk". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  12. ↑ "МФК "КРЕМіНЬ"". www.fckremen.com. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  13. ↑ "Dimitri Tiomkin biography". dimitritiomkin.com. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  14. ↑ "Sister cities of Kremenchuk" (in Russian). telegraf.in.ua. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
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