Pervomaiskyi

Pervomaiskyi Первомайський
City of regional significance
Railway station
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Likhachova
Pervomaiskyi
Coordinates: 49°23′13″N 36°12′51″E / 49.38694°N 36.21417°E / 49.38694; 36.21417
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Kharkiv Oblast
Government
• Mayor	Mykola Baksheev[1] (Fatherland[2])
Area
• Total	14.5 km2 (5.6 sq mi)
Population (2004)
• Total	49,500
Time zone	CET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	64102-6
Area code(s)	+380-5748
Website	Unofficial website

Pervomaiskyi (Ukrainian: Первомайський) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine, formerly known as Likhachova. Its population is 32,523 (2001) which makes it the fourth largest city in Kharkiv Oblast.

The city is known for Khimprom, one of the biggest chemical factories in the former USSR. The city has lush green plots and parks, a cultural center named "DK Khimik" and a stadium also named "Khimik".

History of Pervomaiskyi

In 1869 a railway was opened, Курск-Харьков-Sevastopol. In August of the same year a whistle stop was built 80 kilometres from Kharkiv. Trains stopped for water and firewood and the station was named Likhachevo, in honour of a squire Likhachova, whose estate was near a village Sivash in a few kilometres from the railway. Water was supplied from lake Sivash and a water-tower was built.

After the Russian Civil War the (joint) Alekseevskogo, Berekskogo, Upper Bishkinskogo rural Soviets decided to relocate the peasants of these villages to the farm Likhachevo. So in 1924 a settlement was built in Likhachevo which originally was under the jurisdiction of the Upper Bishkinskomu village council. The founders of the village were migrants from the villages of Alexeevka, Berek, Maslivka, and Upper-Bishkin. They built streets, such as the 1st of May Street. Agriculture and crafts schools were built, along with a primary school, which both children and adults attended.

In 1927 the village had 13 lots and 56 residents. In 1928, it was 85 lots. The population increased as workers came to work at the brick and mechanical plant, as well as the mill. In September 1929, on the initiative of activists Tolokneeva and Fedoseenko, a gang was organized in the village. At the suggestion of porters, it was called "May 1" in honor of the international proletarian holiday. In early December 1929 Lihachevsky machine-tractor station was organized (one of the first in the Kharkiv district). Lihachevsky MTS first served 30 collective Alexeevski district.

According to the Soviet census of 1939, 640 people lived in Likhachevo.

On October 20, 1941 the Nazis occupied Likhachevo. 38 boys and girls were sent to work as slave laborers in Germany. 15 people from the village joined the partisans in Alexeevski district, whose leaders were Secretary of the Communist Party VS Ulyanov and executive committee chairman AG Buznyka.

Likhachevo repeatedly became the site of fierce fighting. During the war, it changed hands four times. On September 16, 1943 troops of the Steppe Front finally returned Likhachevo to Soviet control.

In 1946 a midwifery unit began to operate in the town. In 1948 a hospital was built, employing two doctors and three nurses.

In 1947 a kindergarten was built.

On December 25, 1948 Likhachevo became the center of the Council of Agriculture, who controlled the farm Pervomajskij, Our Way.

In 1950 a high school was built; its enrollment was 824 students and it employed 28 teachers.

On June 24, 1952 the settlement Likhachevo was renamed Pervomajskij.

Transport

Pervomaiskyi is situated on the Pivdina Zalisnitsa railway line. The railway station here is called "Lehacheovoe," or, in Russian, "Lekhachova". Pervomaiskyi is also a main road hub which links many other cities like Lozova, Merefa, Balakliia and Izium together with the Kharkiv Oblast.

Economy

Pervomaiskyi was planned as a colony for the workers and clerical staff of the Khimprom chemical factory. Until the fall of the USSR in 1992, the city's inhabitants had good earnings, but afterwards, the city's economy collapsed. Many became jobless. However in the late 1990s some private companies moved into Pervomaiskyi.

Education

Pervomaiskyi originally had just two schools till 1977. Now it has 7 secondary schools; one is Russian-medium, and the rest are Ukrainian-medium. Pervomaiskyi has 14 day-care centres (detski sad), which are all Ukrainian-medium. There is one college offering technical education after 9th Class in many fields like cooking, tractor building, driving, heavy wheel driving, and field fertilizing.

Geography and climate

As Pervomaiskyi lies just around 95 km south of Kharkiv, its weather is similar. Pervomaiskyi's climate is moderate continental: cold and snowy winters, and hot summers. The seasonal average temperatures are not too cold in winter, not too hot in summer: −6.9 °C (19.6 °F) in January, and 20.3 °C (68.5 °F) in July. The average rainfall totals 513 mm (20 in) per year, with the most in June and July.

Media

Pervomaiskyi has two newspapers working within the region and city, and two private TV channels:

• Pervomaiskyi-Info, a free newspaper publishing advertisements and announcements since 2006
• Znamiya Truda, a prepaid newspaper owned by the regional administration since 1920
• Gorizont (Horizon) TV channel, established in 1990
• Nadiya (Nadia) TV, established in 1993

See also

• Khim Prom
• List of cities in Ukraine by subdivision

Coordinates: 49°23′N 36°13′E / 49.383°N 36.217°E / 49.383; 36.217

References