Dniprodzerzhynsk
Encyclopedia
Dniprodzerzhynsk is an industrial city in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
of Ukraine
, and a port on the Dnieper River
.
of the Zaporizhian
cossacks. The city was known as Kamianske until 1936 when it was renamed in honor of Felix Dzerzhynsky, the founder of the Bolshevik
secret police
, the Cheka
. According to the latest data, its population is 273,700.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev
was born and raised in Dniprodzerzhynsk.
On 2 July 1996 a notorious traffic accident
happened in Dniprodzerzhynsk. An overcrowded tram
that was moving along a steep hill on Chapaeva Street began to slide rapidly downhill (because of a brake failure), eventually derailing and running into a school. A total of some 30 people died and more than a 100 were injured as a result of that accident. Following a government inquiry into the causes of the accident the then mayor, Sergiy Shershnev, and his deputy
, Ihor Laktionov, resigned.
, with ferrous metallurgy
being the backbone of the local economy. Around 57% of the total industrial production
is metallurgy and metal working. The chemical industry
comes second with ca. 17% share of the total industrial output. While the exceedingly industrialized nature of the local economy ensures a rather high employment rate (as of 01.11.2007, official unemployment stood at 1,40%), it also contributes to excessive pollution and radiation levels in the city.
churches, the largest being the Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas
, which dates from 1894, serve the faithful of the city. By 2008, there were 14 parishes of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
in Dniprodzerzhynsk.
The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Nicholas
built by the city's Polish community at the end of the nineteenth century, has become one of the centers of Roman Catholicism in Eastern Ukraine. The Catholic Parish of Saint Nicholas also includes a monastery run by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
.
The town has an active Jewish community with a new synagogue and community center.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. Its administrative center is Dnipropetrovsk....
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and a port on the Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
.
History
The first written evidence of settlement in the territory of Dniprodzerzhynsk appeared in 1750. At that time the villages of Romankovo and Kamianske, which make the modern city, were a part of the Nova (New) SichSich
A sich is the administrative and military centre for Cossacks and especially the Zaporizhian Cossacks. It is derived from the Ukrainian word siktý, "to chop", meaning to clear a forest for an encampment, or to build a fortification with the trees that have been chopped down.The Zaporizhian Sich...
of the Zaporizhian
Zaporizhian Sich
Zaporizhian Sich was socio-political, grassroot, military organization of Ukrainian cossacks placed beyond Dnieper rapids. Sich existed between the 16th and 18th centuries in the region around the today's Kakhovka Reservoir...
cossacks. The city was known as Kamianske until 1936 when it was renamed in honor of Felix Dzerzhynsky, the founder of the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
, the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
. According to the latest data, its population is 273,700.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
was born and raised in Dniprodzerzhynsk.
On 2 July 1996 a notorious traffic accident
Accident
An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its...
happened in Dniprodzerzhynsk. An overcrowded tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
that was moving along a steep hill on Chapaeva Street began to slide rapidly downhill (because of a brake failure), eventually derailing and running into a school. A total of some 30 people died and more than a 100 were injured as a result of that accident. Following a government inquiry into the causes of the accident the then mayor, Sergiy Shershnev, and his deputy
Deputy Mayor
Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...
, Ihor Laktionov, resigned.
Economy
The economic base of Dniprodzerzhynsk is almost exclusively centered on heavy industryHeavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
, with ferrous metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
being the backbone of the local economy. Around 57% of the total industrial production
Industrial production
Industrial production is a measure of output of the industrial sector of the economy. The industrial sector includes manufacturing, mining, and utilities. Although these sectors contribute only a small portion of GDP , they are highly sensitive to interest rates and consumer demand...
is metallurgy and metal working. The chemical industry
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
comes second with ca. 17% share of the total industrial output. While the exceedingly industrialized nature of the local economy ensures a rather high employment rate (as of 01.11.2007, official unemployment stood at 1,40%), it also contributes to excessive pollution and radiation levels in the city.
Culture
Several Eastern OrthodoxOrthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
churches, the largest being the Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, which dates from 1894, serve the faithful of the city. By 2008, there were 14 parishes of Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is an autonomous Church of Eastern Orthodoxy in Ukraine, under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate...
in Dniprodzerzhynsk.
The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
built by the city's Polish community at the end of the nineteenth century, has become one of the centers of Roman Catholicism in Eastern Ukraine. The Catholic Parish of Saint Nicholas also includes a monastery run by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
.
The town has an active Jewish community with a new synagogue and community center.