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Kharkiv

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Template:City in Ukraine

Kharkiv (Template:Lang-uk; Template:Lang-ru, Russian translit. Kharkov) is the second largest city in Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kharkiv Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Kharkivskyi Raion (district) within the oblast. The city is located in the northeast of the country at around 49°54′60″N 36°18′60″E / 49.91667°N 36.31667°E / 49.91667; 36.31667 Coordinates: latitude seconds >= 60
Coordinates: longitude seconds >= 60
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid latitude. As of 2006, its population is 1,461,300. People living in Kharkiv are known as Kharkovities.

Kharkiv is one of the main industrial, cultural and educational centres of Ukraine. Its industry and research specialize on arms production and machinery. There are hundreds of industrial companies in the city. Among them are world famous giants Morozov Design Bureau and Malyshev Tank Factory (Zavod Malysheva, a leader in tank production since the 1930s), Hartron (aerospace and nuclear electronics) and Turboatom (turbines producer).

There is an underground rapid-transit system with 35 km of track and 28 stations. Another landmark of Kharkiv is its Freedom Square (Ploshcha Svobody) is the largest city center square in Europe, and the 4th largest square in the world.

Geography

Kharkiv rests at the confluence of the Kharkiv, Lopan, and Udy Rivers, where they flow into the Seversky Donets watershed.

History

Vintage view of Kharkiv in the 1890s.

Archeological evidence discovered in the area of present-day Kharkiv indicates that a local population has existed in that area since the 2nd millennium b.c.e. Cultural artifacts date back to the Bronze Age, as well as those of later Scythian and Sarmatian settlers. There is also evidence that the Chernyakhov culture flourished in the area from the 2nd to the 6th century.

Founded in the middle of 17th century, the city has had a university since 1805. During the early years of the Soviet Union, Kharkiv was the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (from 1917–1934). In the early 1930s, the Ukrainian famine (Holodomor) drove many people off the land into the cities, to Kharkiv in particular, in search of food. Some of them died and were secretly buried in one of the city's cemeteries. During April and May 1940 about 3800 Polish prisoners of Starobelsk camp were killed in the Kharkiv NKVD building, later buried in Pyatikhatky forest (part of the Katyn massacre)[1].

During World War II Kharkiv was the site of several military engagements. The city was captured by Nazi Germany and its military allies, recaptured by the Red Army, captured again twice by the Nazis and then finally liberated on August 23, 1943. Seventy percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of the inhabitants were killed. It is mentioned that Kharkiv was the most populated city in the Soviet Union occupied by Nazis, since in the years preceding World War II Kiev was the smaller of the two by population.

St. Demetrius Cathedral in Kharkiv.

Before the occupation, Kharkiv's tank industries were evacuated to the Urals with all their equipment, and became the heart of Red Army's tank programs (particularly, producing the legendary T-34 tank earlier designed in Kharkiv). These enterprises were returned after the war, and still continue to produce some of the world's best tanks.

Kharkiv's residents are primarily Russophone.

Government

Administrative subdivisions

Kharkiv is divided into nine administrative regions:

  • Dzerzhinsky
  • Kyivsky
  • Kominternovsky
  • Leninsky
  • Moskovsky
  • Oktyabrsky
  • Ordzhonikidzevsky
  • Frunzensky
  • Chervonozavodsky

Modern Kharkiv

Attractions

Of the many attractions of the Kharkiv city are the: Gosprom building, Memorial Complex, Freedom Square, Taras Shevchenko Monument, Mirror Stream, Uspensky Cathedral, Militia Museum, Pokriv Cathedral, T. Shevchenko Gardens, Kharkiv's funicular, Children's narrow-gauge railroad, Building on Sumskaya Street #6,and many more.

Transportation

The city of Kharkiv is one of the largest transportation centers in Ukraine, which is connected to numerous cities of the world by air, rail and road traffic. The city has many transportation methods, including: public transport, taxis, railways, and air traffic.

Local transportation

Being a transportation center in Ukraine, Kharkiv itself contains many different transportation methods. Kharkiv's Metro is the city's rapid transit system, which includes three different lines with 28 stations in total. The Kharkiv buses carry about 12 million passengers annually.

Various public transportation methods in the city are: Buses (12 million passengers annually), Kharkiv Metro, trolleybuses, tramways (which celebrated 100 years of service in 2006), and marshrutkas (private minibuses).

File:Kharkiv vokzal.jpg
Kharkiv's railway station building.

Railways

The first railway connection of Kharkiv was opened in 1869. The first train to arrive in Kharkiv came from the north on May 22nd, 1869, and on June 6th, 1869, traffic was opened on the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov line. Kharkiv's passenger railway station was reconstructed and expanded in 1901, to be later destroyed in the Second World War. A new railway station was built in 1952.

Various railway transportation methods available in the city are the: Railway trains, and elektrichkas (regional electric trains).

Air transport

Today Kharkiv is served by an international airport which used to have about 200 flights a day, almost all of them being passenger flights. The Kharkiv Osnova International Airport was only recently granted international status. The airport itself is not big and is situated near the south of the city. Flights to Kiev are available on a daily basis, flights to Vienna are available four times a week, flights to Istanbul are available only two times a week, and flights to other cities are available as well, but are not as common. The air carrier that operates and offers flights to seven countries of the world from the Kharkiv Airport is the Kharkiv Airlines.

The Kharkiv North Airport is a factory airfield and was a major production facility for Tupolev.


Notes and references

In-line:
  1. ^ Fischer, Benjamin B., "The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field", Studies in Intelligence, Winter 1999-2000, last accessed on 10 December, 2005

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