Kramatorsk

Kramatorsk Краматорськ Kramatorśk
City
Flag Coat of arms
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk on the map of Donetsk Oblast Kramatorsk Kramatorsk (Ukraine)
Coordinates: 48°43′N 37°32′E
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Donetsk Oblast
Raion	Kramatorsk Raion
Founded	1868
City status since	1932
Area
• Total	117.1 km2 (45.2 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	150,084
• Density	583/km2 (1,510/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	84300-84390
Area code	+380 626(4)
Website	www.krm.gov.ua

Kramatorsk (Template:Lang-ua [krɐmɐˈtɔrʲsʲk]) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significance. Since October 11, 2014 Kramatorsk has been the provisional seat of Donetsk Oblast, following the events surrounding the war in Donbas. Similar status, for Luhansk oblast, has Sievierodonetsk. Their previous cities are still de jure administrative centres. Population: 150,084 (2021 est.)

The city is located on the banks of the Kazennyi Torets River which is a right tributary of the Siversky Donets. Its population is approximately 157,627 (2017 est.). It is an important industrial and mechanical engineering centre in Ukraine. At various periods, Kramatorsk was a place of residence for a number of notable people including Leonid Bykov, Joseph Kobzon, and Ruslan Ponomariov, the youngest person to ever become FIDE World Chess Champion.

Etymology

The origins of the name are not fully understood. The name of the city comes from the name of the station Kramatorska. V. A. Nikonov assumed that this toponym arose from the name Kramatorsk plant, which, in turn, was derived from the French word crématoire “big oven”. According to E. S. Otin, this version is untenable, before the appearance of the plant, the settlement of Kramatorovka already existed. According to his version, the name of the city comes from a toponymic phrase that has not been preserved Krom Torov or Krom Torskaya “border along the river Tor”. The word kroma means "edge, frontier, border", and Tor is the old name of the Kazyonny Torets River.

Geography

Kramatorsk metro area is located between Sloviansk Raion and Kostiantynivka Raion making a central part of a major urban agglomeration with over 500.000 inhabitants.

Demographics

Kramatorsk has a population of over 164,700 inhabitants (2013) and has a metropolitan area of over 197,000 inhabitants (2013). As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:

According to the regional department of statistics, as of January 1, 2017, the population of Kramatorsk was 190,648 people.

Ethnicity

• Ukrainians: 70.2%
• Russians: 26.9%
• Belarusians: 0.7%
• Armenians: 0.6%
• Azerbaijanis: 0.2%
• Jews: 0.1%

Language

• Russian: 67.9%
• Ukrainian: 31.1%
• Armenian: 0.2%
• Belarusian: 0.1%
• Romani: 0.1%

History

Locomotive at the Kramatorsk railway station of the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov Railway

The city grew from a settlement by a small railway station in 1868 into a major urban settlement in the north of Donetsk Oblast with several heavy machine production facilities.

In April 1918 troops loyal to the Ukrainian People's Republic took control of Kramatorsk.

It was occupied by Nazi Germany between 27 October 1941 and 5 February 1943 and again between 27 February 1943 and 6 September 1943.

Between 1980 and 1989, several people were exposed to a radiological source in one of the apartment buildings, resulting in 6 deaths and at least 17 cases of radiation sickness.

2014 clashes

Main article: Battle of Kramatorsk

On April 12, the police station in Kramatorsk was seized by (armed military dressed) pro-Russian militants, and later the city council. This resulted in a tense standoff between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and pro-Russian militants. After months of fighting, the rebels withdrew and the city came under Ukrainian control on 5 July 2014. Kramatorsk became provisional centre of Donetsk Oblast in 13 October 2014.

Economy and Industry

Kramatorsk has not stayed away from the international outsourcing trend prompted by the emergence of the information society in Ukraine in the Post-Soviet years. An IT company QuartSoft Corp. was founded in Kramatorsk in 1999. Now it has offices in the United States and Austria.

Machinebuilding

Old Kramatorsk machine plant

• New Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Plant (NKMZ), 1934 - design and production of machines and equipment for mining, steel rolling, metallurgy, production and handling of cast iron, artillery weapon systems.
• Old Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Plant,

In the 2000s, a wind turbine production facility was constructed in Kramatorsk. This is a joint venture between German Fuhrländer AG and its Ukrainian partners. According to their site, Fuhrländer became the first company in the renewable energy sector to obtain a building permit from the Ukrainian government.

Transportation

File:Scheme-city-transport-of-Kramatorsk by Daniel Szejko.jpg

Scheme of Kramatorsk trolleybus routes

Between 1937 and August 1, 2017, Kramatorsk had a tram network. However, it is now closed and public transportation is provided by buses and trolley-buses.

Gallery

• 
  Kramatorsk landscape park
• 
  Street junction in Kramatorsk
• 
  Apartment blocks in Kramatorsk
• 
  Monument to Oleksandr Serebryakov and Roman Mendel, who died during the Siege of Sloviansk and the Battle of Kramatorsk

Notable people

• Natalia Veselnitskaya, (b. 1975) prominent Russian attorney during the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

External links

• Forbes.com: Outsourcing Fuels Ukraine's IT Boom
• Kramatorsk. A Global Intersection (2010). Documentary film trailer on YouTube