Sloviansk
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Sloviansk
Слов'янськ | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal | |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Oblast | Donetsk Oblast |
| Founded | 1645 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 58.9 km2 (22.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 129,600 |
| Website | http://www.slavrada.gov.ua/ |
Sloviansk ([Слов'янськ, transliterated Slov”yans’k[1]] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help); [Славянск, translit. Slavyansk[2]] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a city in eastern Ukraine, an administrative center of the Sloviansk Raion (district) within the Donetsk Oblast. It was founded in 1676, and has a population of 129,600. The city is one of the focal points of the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine.
History
The city of Sloviansk was founded by Russian tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich in 1645 as a border fortress against the Crimean attacks on the southern suburbs of the Russian State.[citation needed] In 1676 a fortress named Tor was built at the confluence of the Kazenyy Torets and Sukhyy Torets rivers where they form the Torets river, a tributary of Donets river.[citation needed] Shortly thereafter the town of Tor grew up next to the fortress.[citation needed]
As several salt lakes were located close by, the town became a producer of salt. During the sixteenth century, salt production was the principal local industry, but during the eighteenth century it became unprofitable and ceased on December 21, 1782.
In 1784 the city was renamed Sloviansk and it became a part of the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire in 1797. A resort was established on the shores of lake Ropne in 1832.
The city was occupied by the Germans on October 28, 1941. In December 1941 SS Einsatzkommando 4b executed more than a thousand Jews who lived in the city. Red Army expelled the Nazi occupiers on February 17, 1944.
2014 clashes
On April 12, 2014, during the ongoing crisis following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, masked men in army fatigues and bulletproof vests armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles captured the executive committee building, the police department and SBU office in Sloviansk.[3] Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov described the gunmen as "terrorists" and vowed to use the Ukrainian special forces to retake the building.[4][5]
On April 13, 2014 there were reports of fighting between the gunmen and Ukranian troops, with casualties on both sides.[6][7] The BBC's David Stern described the pro-Russian forces as carrying Russian weapons and resembling the soldiers that took over Crimean installations at the start of the 2014 Crimean crisis.[6]
On May 29, 2014 a helicopter carrying fourteen army soldiers including General Serhiy Kulchytskiy, the head of combat and special training for the country's National Guard, crashed after being shot down by militants near Sloviansk in East Ukraine. Ukraine's outgoing President Olexander Turchynov described the downing as a "terrorist attack," and blamed pro-Russian militants.[8]
The city was held by separatist forces until July 5, 2014, when pressed by the Ukrainian army they had to retreat from Sloviansk and pull back to Donetsk city.">"Ukraine President Poroshenko hails 'turning point'". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2014. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)</ref>
Climate
The climate in Sloviansk is a mild to warm summer subtype (Köppen: Dfb) of the humid continental climate.
| Climate data for Sloviansk | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.9 (21.4) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
9.4 (48.9) |
16.2 (61.2) |
20.0 (68.0) |
21.7 (71.1) |
20.8 (69.4) |
15.5 (59.9) |
8.4 (47.1) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
8.3 (46.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 45 (1.8) |
34 (1.3) |
27 (1.1) |
39 (1.5) |
42 (1.7) |
57 (2.2) |
51 (2.0) |
40 (1.6) |
39 (1.5) |
30 (1.2) |
42 (1.7) |
44 (1.7) |
490 (19.3) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[9] | |||||||||||||
Economy
The principal industry of the city concerns machine building:
- The Slavtyazhmash heavy-machinery production plant which produces chemical equipment for coke production and use for the businesses in Lipetsk, Kemerovo and Cherepovets. Companies in Mariupol, Kryvyi Rih, Donetsk, and Dniprodzerzhynsk use their products.
- The Betonmash machine-building factory which produces concrete mixing plants, spare parts for mining equipment and metal works, parts for coke ovens. The factory provides foundry services for companies across Donetsk Oblast, Kharkov Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
- The Sloviansk mechanical plant which employs approximately four hundred people. It produces chemical equipment for coke production as well as overhead cranes and other machinery.
- The Artem Armature-insulator factory.
- A factory producing high-voltage insulators for hydroelectric power stations and thermal power-stations.
Currently the city is an important health resort providing spa treatments and mud baths using mud from the bottom of salt lakes located nearby.
Transport
The city is a nexus of a number of railways and roads. There are three railway stations currently in use, one defunct. Three railway lines leave the city in directions of Lozovaya, Krasnyi Lyman and Kramatorsk. Ukrainian international highway 
M 03 goes by the edge of the city and the national highway N-20 leaves from the city toward Mariupol. Local population is served by trolleybus network consisting of two permanent routes and one summer route. Marshrutkas are widely used.
Religious organizations
Christian churches:
- Cathedral of Novomuchenikov of Confessors (Russian Orthodox)
- Svyatovoskresenskiy Church
- Church of the Apostle Andrey Pervozvanny;
- Church of Oleksandr Nevsky;
- Church of Seraphim Sarovsky;
- The "Kind New" Christian Center Church
- Church of Jesus Christ of the Protestant Church of Ukraine
References
- ^ "Slov"yans'k: Ukraine". Geographical Names. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ^ "Slavyansk: Ukraine". Geographical Names. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ^ Rachkevych, Mark (12 April 2014). "Armed pro-Russian extremists launch coordinated attacks in Donetsk Oblast, seize buildings and set up checkpoints". Kyiv Post.
- ^ "Armed men seize police department in east Ukraine: minister". Reuters. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
- ^ "Gunmen seize Ukraine police station in Sloviansk". BBC News. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
- ^ a b "Ukraine crisis: Casualties in Sloviansk gun battles". BBC News. 13 April 2014.
- ^ "Ukraine Army Launches 'Anti-Terror' Operation". Sky News via Yahoo! News. 13 April 2014.
- ^ "General, 13 soldiers killed as militants down military helicopter". Russia Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Climate: Sloviansk". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
External links
- Template:Ru icon/Template:Uk icon/Template:En icon Official website
- Template:Ru icon Unofficial website of Slavjansk Trolleybus system
- Marble sculpture of Nicolai Shmatko
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