Kharkiv
Encyclopedia
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine
.
The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire
. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government
was formed. Kharkiv became and remained the capital of the Ukrainian SSR until 1934, when the administrative capital was moved to Kiev
. Currently, it is the administrative centre of the Kharkiv
oblast
(province
), as well as the administrative centre of the surrounding Kharkivskyi Raion
(district
) within the oblast. The city is located in the northeast of the country. As of 2006, its population was 1,461,300.
Kharkiv is a major cultural, scientific, educational, transport and industrial centre of Ukraine, with 60 scientific institutes, 30 establishments of higher education, 6 museums, 7 theatres and 80 libraries. Its industry specializes primarily in machinery. There are hundreds of industrial companies in the city. Among them are world renown giants like the Morozov Design Bureau and the Malyshev Tank Factory, leaders in tank
production since the 1930s; Khartron
(aerospace
and nuclear electronics
); and the Turboatom turbine
s producer.
There is an underground rapid-transit system
(metro) with about 38.1 km (24 mi) of track and 29 stations. A well-known landmark of Kharkiv is the Freedom Square
(Maidan Svobody formerly known as Dzerzhinsky Square), which is currently the sixth largest city square in Europe, and the 12th largest square in the world.
region (Slobozhanshchyna also known as Slobidshchyna), in which it is considered the main city. The city rests at the confluence of the Kharkiv
, Lopan
, and Udy
rivers, where they flow into the Seversky Donets
watershed.
(Köppen climate classification
Dfb), with 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 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.
, 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 by the eponymous, near-legendary character called Kharko (a diminutive
form of the name Chariton), the settlement became a city in 1654. Kharkiv became the centre of the Sloboda cossack legion. The city had a fortress with underground passageways.
Kharkiv university
was established in 1805.
The streets were first cobbled in the city centre in 1830. A system of running water was established in 1870. In 1912 the first sewer system was built. Gas lighting was installed in 1890 and electric lighting in 1898. In 1869 the first railway station was constructed, and the first tram lines in 1906.
From 1800–1917 the population increased by 30 times.
Kharkiv became a major industrial centre and with it a centre of Ukrainian culture. In 1812 the first Ukrainian newspaper was published there. One of the first Prosvita
s in Eastern Ukraine was also established in Kharkiv. A powerful nationally aware political movement was also established there and the concept of an Independent Ukraine was first declared there by the lawyer Mykola Mikhnovsky
in 1900.
, Bolshevik
s established Kharkiv as the capital of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic
(from 1919–1934) in opposition to the Ukrainian People's Republic
with its capital of Kiev
.
As the country's capital, it underwent intense expansion with the construction of buildings to house the newly established Ukrainian Soviet government and administration. Derzhprom was the second tallest building in Europe and the tallest in the Soviet Union at the time with a height of 63 m. In the 1920s, a 150 m wooden radio tower was built on top of the building. The radio tower was destroyed in World War II.
In 1928, the SVU (Union for the Freedom of Ukraine
) process was initiated and court sessions were staged in the Kharkiv Opera (now the Philharmonia) building. Hundreds of Ukrainian intellectuals were arrested and deported.
In the early 1930s, the Holodomor
famine drove many people off the land into the cities, and to Kharkiv in particular, in search of food. Many people died and were secretly buried in mass graves in the cemeteries surrounding the city.
In 1934 hundreds of Ukrainian writers, intellectuals and cultural workers were arrested and executed in the attempt to eradicate all vestiges of Ukrainian nationalism in Art. The purges continued into 1938. Blind Ukrainian street musicians were also gathered in Kharkiv and murdered by the NKVD.
In January 1935 the capital of the Ukrainian SSR was moved from Kharkiv to Kiev.
During April and May 1940 about 3,800 Polish prisoners of Starobelsk camp were executed in the Kharkiv NKVD
building, later secretly buried on the grounds of an NKVD pansionat in Pyatykhatky
forest (part of the Katyn massacre
) on the outskirts of Kharkiv. The site also contains the numerous bodies of Ukrainian cultural workers who were arrested and shot in the 1937–38 Stalinist purges.
During World War II
, Kharkiv was the site of several military engagements
. The city was captured and recaptured by Nazi Germany
on 24 October 1941; there was a disastrous Red Army
offensive that failed to capture the city in May 1942; the city was successfully retaken by the Soviets on 16 February 1943, captured for a second time by the Germans on 16 March 1943 and then finally liberated on 23 August 1943. Seventy percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of the inhabitants were killed.
Kharkiv, the third largest city in the Soviet Union, was the most populous city in the Soviet Union captured by Nazis, since in the years preceding World War II, Kiev
was by population the smaller of the two.
The significant Jewish population of Kharkiv (Kharkiv's Jewish community prided itself with the 2nd largest synagogue in Europe) suffered greatly during the war. Between December 1941 and January 1942, an estimated 30,000 people (slightly more than half Jewish) were killed and buried in a mass grave by the Germans in a ravine outside of town named Drobitsky Yar
.
During World War II
, four battles took place for control of the city:
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 returned to Kharkiv after the war, and continue to produce some of the world's best tanks.
).
.
(province
), the city affairs are managed by the Kharkiv Municipality. Kharkiv is a city of oblast subordinance
.
The territory of Kharkiv is divided into 9 administrative raion
s (districts):
, the population of the city was 1,593,970. In 1991, the population decreased to 1,510,200, including 1,494,200 permanent city residents. Kharkiv is currently the second-largest city in Ukraine after the capital, Kiev
.
The nationality structure of Kharkiv as of the 1989 census is: Ukrainians
50.38%, Russians
43.63%, Jews 3%, Belarusians
0.75%, and all others (more than 25 minorities) 2.24%. according to the Soviet census of 1959 there were Ukrainians (48.4%), Russians (40.4%), Jews (8.7%) and other nationalities (2.5%).
According to the census of 2001 done on the Kharkiv region 53.8% consider Ukrainian as their native tongue, (3.3 % more than in the 1989 census). The Russian language is considered native for 44.3% of the population (a decline of 3.8% since 1989).
. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the largely defence-systems-oriented industrial production of the city decreased significantly. In the early 2000s the industry started to recover and adapt to market economy needs. Now there are more than 380 industrial enterprises concentrated in the city, which have a total number of 150,000 employees. The enterprises form machine-building, electro-technologic, instrument-making, and energy conglomerates.
State-owned industrial giants, such as Turboatom and Elektrotyazhmash occupy 17% of the heavy power equipment construction (e.g., turbines) market worldwide. Multipurpose aircraft are produced by the Antonov
aircraft manufacturing plant. The Malyshev factory
produces not only armoured fighting vehicle
s, but also harvesters. Khartron
is the leading designer of space and commercial control systems in Ukraine and the former CIS
.
Kharkiv is also the headquarters of one of the largest Ukrainian banks, UkrSibbank
, which has been part of the BNP Paribas
group since December 2005.
The largest markets
Kharkiv markets:
.
The city has 13 national universities and numerous professional, technical and private higher education institutions, offering its students a wide range of disciplines. Kharkiv National University (12,000 students), National Technical University “KhPI”
(20,000 students), Kharkiv National Aerospace University "KhAI" are the leading universities in Ukraine. A total number of 150,000 students attend the universities and other institutions of higher education in Kharkiv. About 9,000 foreign students from 96 countries study in the city. More than 17,000 faculty and research staff are employed in the institutions of higher education in Kharkiv.
The city has a high concentration of research institutions, which are independent or loosely connected with the universities. Among them are three national science centres: Kharkіv Institute of Physics and Technology, Institute of Metrology, Institute for Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine and 20 national research institutions of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine
, such as the B Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering and Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine
. A total number of 26,000 scientists are working in research and development. A number of world renowned scientific schools appeared in Kharkiv, such as the theoretical physics school
and the mathematical school
.
In addition to the libraries affiliated with the various universities and research institutions, the Kharkiv State Scientific V. Korolenko-library is a major research library. Kharkiv has 212 (secondary education
) schools, including 10 lyceum
s and 20 gymnasiums
.
, Taras Shevchenko
Monument, Mirror Stream, Dormition Cathedral
, Histrical Museum, Annunciation Cathedral
, T. Shevchenko Gardens, Zoo, Children's narrow-gauge railroad, World War I Tank Mk V and many more.
. The city has several football clubs playing in the Ukrainian National competitions. The most successful is Metalist that also participated in international competitions on numerous occasions. Metalist Stadium
will host three group matches at UEFA Euro 2012.
There is also a female football club Zhytlobud-1, which represented Ukraine in the European competitions and constantly is the main contender for the national title.
Kharkiv also has a Ice Hockey
club, Kharkivski Akuly
, which play in the Professional Hockey League.
RC Olimp'
is the city's rugby union
club. They are recently the strongest in Ukraine and provide many players for the national team
.
Igor Rybak, an Olympic champion lightweight weightlifter, is from Kharkiv.
. It was the centre for the work of literary luminaries such as: Les Kurbas
, Mykola Kulish
, Mykola Khvylovy
, Mykola Zerov
, Valerian Pidmohylny
, Pavlo Filipovych, Marko Voronny, Oleksa Slisarenko. Over 100 of these writers were executed during the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. This tragic event in Ukrainian history is called the "Executed Renaissance" (Rozstrilene vidrodzhennia).
In the 1930s most of these literary figures were repressed. Today a literary museum located on Chervonoprapirna Street marks celebrates their work and achievements.
Kharkiv is the unofficial capital of Ukrainian Science fiction
and Fantasy
. It is the home to popular writers like H. L. Oldie
, Alexander Zorich
, Andrey Dashkov
, Yuri Nikitin and Andrey Valentinov. Annual science fiction convention
"Star Bridge" (Звёздный мост) is held in Kharkiv since 1999.
International Music Competition of Performers of Ukrainian Folk Instruments which takes place every 3 years. Since 1997 four tri-annual competitions have taken place. The 2010 competition was cancelled by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture 2 days before its opening.
with:
Belgorod
, Russia (2001) Bologna
, Italy (1966) Brno
, Czech Republic (2005) Cetinje
, Montenegro (2011) Cincinnati, United States (1989) Daugavpils
, Latvia (2006) Gaziantep
, Turkey (2011) Jinan
, PR China (2004) Kaunas
, Lithuania (2001) Kutaisi
, Georgia (2005) Lille
, France (1978) Moscow
, Russia (2001) Nizhny Novgorod
, Russia (2001) Nuremberg
, Germany (1990) Poznań
, Poland (1998) Rishon LeZion, Israel (2008) Saint Petersburg
, Russia (2003) Tianjin
, PR China (1993) Varna
, Bulgaria (1995) Warsaw
, Poland (2011)
is the city's rapid transit system, operating since 1975, it includes three different lines with 29 stations in total. The Kharkiv buses carry about 12 million passengers annually, trolleybuses, tramways (which celebrated 100 years of service in 2006), and marshrutka
s (private minibuses).
Kharkiv is connected with all main cities in Ukraine and abroad by regular railway trains. Regional trains known as elektrichka
s connect Kharkiv with nearby towns and villages.
and Moscow are scheduled daily. There are regular flights to Vienna
and Istanbul
, and several other destinations. Charter flights are also available. The former largest carrier of the Kharkiv Airport — Aeromost-Kharkiv — is not serving any regular destinations as of 2007. The Kharkiv North Airport is a factory airfield and was a major production facility for Antonov aircraft company
.
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...
.
The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government
People's Secretariat
The People's Secretariat of Ukraine was the executive body of the Provisional Central Executive Committee of Soviets in Ukraine. It was formed in Kharkiv on December 30, 1917 by the Russian and other local Bolsheviks as the Ukrainian Soviet government and the opposition to the Central Rada and the...
was formed. Kharkiv became and remained the capital of the Ukrainian SSR until 1934, when the administrative capital was moved to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Currently, it is the administrative centre of the Kharkiv
Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast is an oblast in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the north-west...
oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
(province
Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Ukraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts , one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".- Overview :...
), as well as the administrative centre of the surrounding Kharkivskyi Raion
Kharkivskyi Raion
Kharkivskyi Raion may refer to one of the following:*A neighborhood in Kiev, Ukraine, formerly an administrative raion of the city, sometimes still referred to as Kharkivskyi Raion, see Kharkivskyi neighborhood, Kiev;...
(district
Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Ukraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts , one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".- Overview :...
) within the oblast. The city is located in the northeast of the country. As of 2006, its population was 1,461,300.
Kharkiv is a major cultural, scientific, educational, transport and industrial centre of Ukraine, with 60 scientific institutes, 30 establishments of higher education, 6 museums, 7 theatres and 80 libraries. Its industry specializes primarily in machinery. There are hundreds of industrial companies in the city. Among them are world renown giants like the Morozov Design Bureau and the Malyshev Tank Factory, leaders in tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
production since the 1930s; Khartron
Khartron
JSC "Khartron" is a one of the leading design engineering bureaus of CIS , which develops and produces spacecraft control systems.- History and achievements :Khartron Corp...
(aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
and nuclear electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
); and the Turboatom turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
s producer.
There is an underground rapid-transit system
Kharkiv Metro
The Kharkiv Metro is the metro system that serves the city of Kharkiv , the second largest city in Ukraine. The metro was the second in Ukraine and the sixth in the USSR when it opened in 1975.-Lines and Stations:...
(metro) with about 38.1 km (24 mi) of track and 29 stations. A well-known landmark of Kharkiv is the Freedom Square
Freedom Square, Kharkiv
Freedom Square in Kharkiv is the 6-th largest city-centre square in Europe.Originally named Dzerzhinsky Square after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Bolshevik secret police , it was renamed after Ukraine became independent in 1991.A monumental statue of Lenin was erected in 1964 and...
(Maidan Svobody formerly known as Dzerzhinsky Square), which is currently the sixth largest city square in Europe, and the 12th largest square in the world.
Geography
Kharkiv is located in the northeastern region of Ukraine at around 49°55′0"N 36°19′0"E. Historically, Kharkiv lies in the Sloboda UkraineSloboda Ukraine
Sloboda Ukraine was a historical region which developed and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries on the southwestern frontier of the Tsardom of Russia....
region (Slobozhanshchyna also known as Slobidshchyna), in which it is considered the main city. The city rests at the confluence of the Kharkiv
Kharkiv River
Kharkiv or Kharkov is a river in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, a left tributary of the Lopan River. It originates from town of Oktyabrsky in Belgorod Oblast, Russia.-See also:...
, Lopan
Lopan River
The Loppan' River is a river that rises in Belgorod Oblast of Russia and flows across the Russian-Ukrainian border into Kharkiv Oblast where it joins the Udy River in Kharkiv. The river is 93 km long. The Kharkiv River is one of its tributaries....
, and Udy
Udy River
The Uda or Udy River is a river that rises in Belgorod Oblast of Russia and runs through Kharkiv Oblast of Ukraine before entering the Seversky Donets near Chuguyev. Its length is 164 km. The drainage basin occupies 3890 km2. The second largest city of Ukraine, Kharkiv, stands at the confluence of...
rivers, where they flow into the Seversky Donets
Seversky Donets
Seversky Donets is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine and then again through Russia to join the Don River, about from the Sea of Azov...
watershed.
Climate
Kharkiv's climate is humid continentalHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb), with 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 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.
History
Archeological evidence discovered in the area of present-day Kharkiv indicates that a local population has existed in that area since the 2nd millennium BC. Cultural artifacts date back to the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, as well as those of later Scythian and Sarmatian
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
settlers. There is also evidence that the Chernyakhov culture
Chernyakhov culture
The Sântana de Mureș–Chernyakhiv culture is the name given to an archaeological culture which flourished between the 2nd and 5th centuries in a wide area of Eastern Europe, specifically in what today constitutes Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and parts of Belarus...
flourished in the area from the 2nd to the 6th century.
Founded in the middle of 17th century by the eponymous, near-legendary character called Kharko (a diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
form of the name Chariton), the settlement became a city in 1654. Kharkiv became the centre of the Sloboda cossack legion. The city had a fortress with underground passageways.
Within the Russian Empire
Kharkiv University
The University of Kharkiv or officially the Vasyl Karazin Kharkiv National University is one of the major universities in Ukraine, and earlier in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union...
was established in 1805.
The streets were first cobbled in the city centre in 1830. A system of running water was established in 1870. In 1912 the first sewer system was built. Gas lighting was installed in 1890 and electric lighting in 1898. In 1869 the first railway station was constructed, and the first tram lines in 1906.
From 1800–1917 the population increased by 30 times.
Kharkiv became a major industrial centre and with it a centre of Ukrainian culture. In 1812 the first Ukrainian newspaper was published there. One of the first Prosvita
Prosvita
Prosvita is a society created in the nineteenth century in Ukrainian Galicia for preserving and developing Ukrainian culture and education among population....
s in Eastern Ukraine was also established in Kharkiv. A powerful nationally aware political movement was also established there and the concept of an Independent Ukraine was first declared there by the lawyer Mykola Mikhnovsky
Mykola Mikhnovsky
Mykola Ivanovich Mikhnovsky - Ukrainian political and social activist, lawyer, journalist, founder, ideologue and leader of an Ukrainian independence movement in the late nineteenth - early twentieth century...
in 1900.
Soviet period
Prior to the formation of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, 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....
s established Kharkiv as the capital of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
(from 1919–1934) in opposition to the Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...
with its capital of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
.
In 1928, the SVU (Union for the Freedom of Ukraine
Union for the Freedom of Ukraine process
The process of the Union for Liberation of Ukraine was a court trial that is classified in the history as one of the show trials of the Soviet Union....
) process was initiated and court sessions were staged in the Kharkiv Opera (now the Philharmonia) building. Hundreds of Ukrainian intellectuals were arrested and deported.
In the early 1930s, the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
famine drove many people off the land into the cities, and to Kharkiv in particular, in search of food. Many people died and were secretly buried in mass graves in the cemeteries surrounding the city.
In January 1935 the capital of the Ukrainian SSR was moved from Kharkiv to Kiev.
During April and May 1940 about 3,800 Polish prisoners of Starobelsk camp were executed in the Kharkiv NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
building, later secretly buried on the grounds of an NKVD pansionat in Pyatykhatky
Piatykhatky, Kharkiv
Piatykhatky is a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine.On the territory of a pansionat for workers of the NKVD, children discovered hundreds of buttons of Polish officer uniforms that had risen to the surface. After investigation, a mass burial site was uncovered containing the remains of...
forest (part of the Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
) on the outskirts of Kharkiv. The site also contains the numerous bodies of Ukrainian cultural workers who were arrested and shot in the 1937–38 Stalinist purges.
Nazi occupation
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kharkiv was the site of several military engagements
Battle of Kharkov
Battle of Kharkov may refer to:* First Battle of Kharkov, a 1941 battle in which German troops captured the city* Second Battle of Kharkov, a 1942 battle in which Soviet forces attempted to retake the city...
. The city was captured and recaptured by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
on 24 October 1941; there was a disastrous Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
offensive that failed to capture the city in May 1942; the city was successfully retaken by the Soviets on 16 February 1943, captured for a second time by the Germans on 16 March 1943 and then finally liberated on 23 August 1943. Seventy percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of the inhabitants were killed.
Kharkiv, the third largest city in the Soviet Union, was the most populous city in the Soviet Union captured by Nazis, since in the years preceding World War II, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
was by population the smaller of the two.
The significant Jewish population of Kharkiv (Kharkiv's Jewish community prided itself with the 2nd largest synagogue in Europe) suffered greatly during the war. Between December 1941 and January 1942, an estimated 30,000 people (slightly more than half Jewish) were killed and buried in a mass grave by the Germans in a ravine outside of town named Drobitsky Yar
Drobitsky Yar
Drobytsky Yar is a ravine 8–12 km south east from Kharkiv, Ukraine. In December 1941, Nazi troops invading the Soviet Union began killing local inhabitants over the following year. At the end of this period, some 16,000 people, mainly Jews were killed. Notably on December 15, 1941, when the...
.
During World War II
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, four battles took place for control of the city:
- First Battle of KharkovFirst Battle of KharkovThe 1st Battle of Kharkov so named by Wilhelm Keitel was the 1941 tactical Wehrmacht battle for the city of Kharkiv during the final phase of Operation Barbarossa by the German 6th Army of the Army Group South on 20 October 1941...
- Second Battle of KharkovSecond Battle of KharkovThe Second Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was an Axis counter-offensive against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted from 12 May to 28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objective was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets, or the...
- Third Battle of KharkovThird Battle of KharkovThe Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
- Fourth Battle of Kharkov (See also Operation Polkovodets RumyantsevOperation Polkovodets RumyantsevOperation Polkovodets Rumyantsev was a code name for the Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation conducted by the Red Army between 3 August 1943 and 23 August 1943 against the Wehrmacht's 4th Panzer Army and Army Group Kempf during World War II. The operation was conducted by the Voronezh...
)
Before the occupation, Kharkiv's tank industries
Malyshev Factory
- External links :* *...
were evacuated to the Urals with all their equipment, and became the heart of Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
's tank programs (particularly, producing the legendary T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tank earlier designed in Kharkiv). These enterprises returned to Kharkiv after the war, and continue to produce some of the world's best tanks.
Post War
In the post-war period many of the destroyed homes and factories were rebuilt. Gas lines were installed for heating in government and later private homes. An airport was built in 1954. Following the war Kharkiv was the third largest scientific-industrial centre in the former USSR (after Moscow and LeningradLeningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
).
In independent Ukraine
In 2007, the Vietnamese minority in Kharkiv built the largest Buddhist temple in Europe on a 1 hectare plot with a monument to Ho Chi MinhHo Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
.
Government and administrative divisions
While Kharkiv is the administrative centre of the Kharkiv OblastKharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast is an oblast in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the north-west...
(province
Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Ukraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts , one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".- Overview :...
), the city affairs are managed by the Kharkiv Municipality. Kharkiv is a city of oblast subordinance
Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Ukraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts , one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".- Overview :...
.
The territory of Kharkiv is divided into 9 administrative raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
s (districts):
- Leninsky
- Dzerzhynsky
- Kyivsky
- Moskovsky
- Frunzensky
- Ordzhonikidzevsky
- Kominternіvsky
- Chervonozavodsky
- Zhovtnevy
Demographics
According to the 1989 Soviet Union CensusSoviet Census (1989)
The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
, the population of the city was 1,593,970. In 1991, the population decreased to 1,510,200, including 1,494,200 permanent city residents. Kharkiv is currently the second-largest city in Ukraine after the capital, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
.
The nationality structure of Kharkiv as of the 1989 census is: Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
50.38%, Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
43.63%, Jews 3%, Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
0.75%, and all others (more than 25 minorities) 2.24%. according to the Soviet census of 1959 there were Ukrainians (48.4%), Russians (40.4%), Jews (8.7%) and other nationalities (2.5%).
According to the census of 2001 done on the Kharkiv region 53.8% consider Ukrainian as their native tongue, (3.3 % more than in the 1989 census). The Russian language is considered native for 44.3% of the population (a decline of 3.8% since 1989).
Economy
During the Soviet era Kharkiv was the capital of industrial production in Ukraine and the third largest centre of industry and commerce in the USSRSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the largely defence-systems-oriented industrial production of the city decreased significantly. In the early 2000s the industry started to recover and adapt to market economy needs. Now there are more than 380 industrial enterprises concentrated in the city, which have a total number of 150,000 employees. The enterprises form machine-building, electro-technologic, instrument-making, and energy conglomerates.
State-owned industrial giants, such as Turboatom and Elektrotyazhmash occupy 17% of the heavy power equipment construction (e.g., turbines) market worldwide. Multipurpose aircraft are produced by the Antonov
Antonov
Antonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical Complex , formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company...
aircraft manufacturing plant. The Malyshev factory
Malyshev Factory
- External links :* *...
produces not only armoured fighting vehicle
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....
s, but also harvesters. Khartron
Khartron
JSC "Khartron" is a one of the leading design engineering bureaus of CIS , which develops and produces spacecraft control systems.- History and achievements :Khartron Corp...
is the leading designer of space and commercial control systems in Ukraine and the former CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
.
Kharkiv is also the headquarters of one of the largest Ukrainian banks, UkrSibbank
UkrSibbank
«UkrSibbank» - full name Public joint-stock company “UkrSibbank”. It was registered on June 18, 1990. As of today, JSC «UkrSibbank» is the third largest bank of Ukraine, the second among foreign-owned banks, and acts as a financial supermarket....
, which has been part of the BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
group since December 2005.
The largest markets
Kharkiv markets:
- Barabashovo (commonly Barabashka, Baraban), the largest in Ukraine (in second place Odessa seventh kilometer) and one of the largest in Eastern Europe [81].
- Blagoveshinskiy (commonly Blagbaz).
- Konniy (Horse Market).
- Raiskiy (commonly Book beam).
Science and Education
Kharkiv is one of the most prolific centres of higher education and research of Eastern EuropeEastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
The city has 13 national universities and numerous professional, technical and private higher education institutions, offering its students a wide range of disciplines. Kharkiv National University (12,000 students), National Technical University “KhPI”
Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute
The Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute National Technical University , in the city of Kharkiv, is the largest and oldest technical university in eastern Ukraine...
(20,000 students), Kharkiv National Aerospace University "KhAI" are the leading universities in Ukraine. A total number of 150,000 students attend the universities and other institutions of higher education in Kharkiv. About 9,000 foreign students from 96 countries study in the city. More than 17,000 faculty and research staff are employed in the institutions of higher education in Kharkiv.
The city has a high concentration of research institutions, which are independent or loosely connected with the universities. Among them are three national science centres: Kharkіv Institute of Physics and Technology, Institute of Metrology, Institute for Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine and 20 national research institutions of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine
National Academy of Science of Ukraine
The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is the highest government research body in Ukraine and one of the six state academies. Its presidium is located at 57 Volodymyr Street, across the street from the Building of Pedagogical Museum where used to preside the Central Rada during the...
, such as the B Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering and Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine
Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine
The Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine in Kharkiv is one of the institutes of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine, and is the largest institute devoted to cryobiology research in the world. Established in 1972, the focus of the research is on cryoinjury, cryosurgery,...
. A total number of 26,000 scientists are working in research and development. A number of world renowned scientific schools appeared in Kharkiv, such as the theoretical physics school
Kharkiv Theoretical Physics School
The Kharkiv Theoretical Physics School was foundered by Lev Landau in Kharkov, Soviet Union . It is sometimes referred to as the Landau school...
and the mathematical school
Kharkiv Mathematical School
- Scientists associated with the Kharkiv mathematical school :* Aleksandr Lyapunov * Vladimir Steklov* Mikhail Ostrogradsky* Sergei Bernstein * Dmitrii Sintsov* Naum Akhiezer...
.
In addition to the libraries affiliated with the various universities and research institutions, the Kharkiv State Scientific V. Korolenko-library is a major research library. Kharkiv has 212 (secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
) schools, including 10 lyceum
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
s and 20 gymnasiums
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
.
Modern Kharkiv
Of the many attractions of the Kharkiv city are the: Derzhprom building, Memorial Complex, Freedom SquareFreedom Square, Kharkiv
Freedom Square in Kharkiv is the 6-th largest city-centre square in Europe.Originally named Dzerzhinsky Square after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Bolshevik secret police , it was renamed after Ukraine became independent in 1991.A monumental statue of Lenin was erected in 1964 and...
, Taras Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven...
Monument, Mirror Stream, Dormition Cathedral
Assumption Cathedral, Kharkiv
The Assumption or Dormition Cathedral was the main Orthodox church of Kharkiv, Ukraine until the construction of the Annunciation Cathedral in 1901. The cathedral stands on the University Hill by the bank of the Lopan River and dominates the entire downtown...
, Histrical Museum, Annunciation Cathedral
Annunciation Cathedral, Kharkiv
The Annunciation Cathedral is the main Orthodox church of Kharkiv, Ukraine. The pentacupolar Neo-Byzantine structure with a distinctive 80-meter-tall bell tower was erected between 1889 and 1901, from designs by a local architect, Mikhail Lovtsov....
, T. Shevchenko Gardens, Zoo, Children's narrow-gauge railroad, World War I Tank Mk V and many more.
Sport
Kharkiv is Ukraine's second-largest city, and as in the whole country sports are taken seriously. The most popular sport is footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. The city has several football clubs playing in the Ukrainian National competitions. The most successful is Metalist that also participated in international competitions on numerous occasions. Metalist Stadium
Metalist Stadium
Oblast Sports Complex "Metalist" , commonly known as Metalist Stadium , is a multi-use stadium in Kharkov, Ukraine. It is currently used chiefly for football matches and is the home of FC Metalist Kharkiv...
will host three group matches at UEFA Euro 2012.
- Metalist KharkivFC Metalist KharkivFC Metalist Kharkiv is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kharkiv. It competes in the Ukrainian Premier League, the highest football level in the country. Founded in 1925, the team worked its way up the rungs of the Soviet football system, eventually being promoted to the Soviet Top...
, which plays at the Metalist StadiumMetalist StadiumOblast Sports Complex "Metalist" , commonly known as Metalist Stadium , is a multi-use stadium in Kharkov, Ukraine. It is currently used chiefly for football matches and is the home of FC Metalist Kharkiv... - FC KharkivFC KharkivFC Kharkiv was a professional football club based in Kharkiv, Ukraine.After 2009–10 Ukrainian First League season the club was relegated to the Ukrainian Second League...
, which plays at the Dynamo StadiumDynamo Stadium (Kharkiv)Dynamo Stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine was most recently the home of FC Kharkiv, an association football club.-History:The stadium was built in 1931 and was used by teams from Kharkiv in the Soviet Championship, including FC Dynamo Kharkiv and FC Lokomotyv Kharkiv.The stadium was damaged during... - FC Helios, which plays at the Helios Arena
- FC Arsenal KharkivFC Arsenal KharkivFC Arsenal Kharkiv is a football club based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Arsenal Kharkiv currently plays in the regional competitions of Kharkiv Oblast...
, which plays at the Arsenal-Spartak Stadium (currently participates in regional competitions)
There is also a female football club Zhytlobud-1, which represented Ukraine in the European competitions and constantly is the main contender for the national title.
Kharkiv also has a Ice Hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
club, Kharkivski Akuly
Kharkivski Akuly
Kharkivski Akuly is a Ukrainian Professional Hockey League club based in Kharkiv. They are a founding member of the Professional Hockey League of Ukraine....
, which play in the Professional Hockey League.
RC Olimp'
RC Olymp
RC Olymp is a Ukrainian rugby club in Kharkiv. The team currently plays in the Ukraine Rugby Superliga. For the past few years the club has produced the majority of the Ukraine national team.-Current squad:-Staff:...
is the city's rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club. They are recently the strongest in Ukraine and provide many players for the national team
Ukraine national rugby union team
The Ukraine national rugby union team represents Ukraine at the sport of rugby union. Ukraine have been playing international rugby union since the early 1990s. So far they have not qualified for a Rugby World Cup. They participate in the European Nations Cup....
.
Igor Rybak, an Olympic champion lightweight weightlifter, is from Kharkiv.
Culture
Kharkiv is one of the main cultural centres in Ukraine. It is home of 20 museums, over 10 theaters and a number of picture galleries. Large music and cinema festivals are hosted in Kharkiv almost every year.Literature
In the 1930s Kharkiv was referred to as a Literary KlondikeKlondike
-Canada:* Klondike, Yukon, a region in the Yukon** Klondike River, in the Yukon** Klondike Gold Rush, in the Yukon-United States:* Klondike, Maryland* Klondike, Texas* Klondike, Louisville, Kentucky* Klondike, Kenosha County, Wisconsin...
. It was the centre for the work of literary luminaries such as: Les Kurbas
Les Kurbas
Oleksandr-Zenon Stepanovych Kurbas , a Ukrainian movie and theater director, is considered by many to be the most important Ukrainian theater director of the 20th century...
, Mykola Kulish
Mykola Kulish
Mykola Kulish was a Ukrainian prosaic, drama writer, pedagogue, veteran of the World War I, Red Army veteran.-Brief biography:Kulish was born in a village of...
, Mykola Khvylovy
Mykola Khvylovy
Mykola Khvylovy was a Ukrainian writer and poet of the early Communist era Ukrainian Renaissance .Born as Mykola Fitilyov in Trostyanets, Kharkov Governorate to a Russian laborer father and Ukrainian schoolteacher mother, Khvylovy joined the Communist Party in 1919. In the same year he became the...
, Mykola Zerov
Mykola Zerov
Mykola Zerov was perhaps the most talented of the Neoclassicist movement of poets in 1920's Ukraine. Despite the populist and propagandistic impulses of Communism, the neoclassical movement stressed the production of 'high art' to an educated and highly literate audience...
, Valerian Pidmohylny
Valerian Pidmohylny
Valerian Pidmohylny was an important Ukrainian novelist, most famous for the realist novel Misto...
, Pavlo Filipovych, Marko Voronny, Oleksa Slisarenko. Over 100 of these writers were executed during the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. This tragic event in Ukrainian history is called the "Executed Renaissance" (Rozstrilene vidrodzhennia).
In the 1930s most of these literary figures were repressed. Today a literary museum located on Chervonoprapirna Street marks celebrates their work and achievements.
Kharkiv is the unofficial capital of Ukrainian Science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and Fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
. It is the home to popular writers like H. L. Oldie
H. L. Oldie
Henry Lion Oldie, or H. L. Oldie is the pen name of Ukrainian science/fantasy fiction writers Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky. Both authors reside in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and write in Russian. On Eurocon 2006 in Kiev, the European Science Fiction Society named them the Europe's best writers of...
, Alexander Zorich
Alexander Zorich
Alexander Zorich is the collective pen name of two Russian writers; Yana Botsman and Dmitry Gordevsky. The two write in Russian, in genres such as science fiction, fantasy and alternate history, as well as PC game scenarios.- Yana Botsman :...
, Andrey Dashkov
Andrey Dashkov
Andrey Dashkov is a contemporary horror fiction writer which resides in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and writes in Russian. Genre of Dashkov's first novels may be defined as dark fantasy...
, Yuri Nikitin and Andrey Valentinov. Annual science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
"Star Bridge" (Звёздный мост) is held in Kharkiv since 1999.
Music
Kharkiv sponsors the prestigious Hnat KhotkevychHnat Khotkevych
Hnat Martynovych Khotkevych December 31, 1877 in Kharkiv, Russian Empire – October 8, 1938 in Kharkiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union) was a Ukrainian writer, ethnographer, playwright, composer, musicologist, and bandurist....
International Music Competition of Performers of Ukrainian Folk Instruments which takes place every 3 years. Since 1997 four tri-annual competitions have taken place. The 2010 competition was cancelled by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture 2 days before its opening.
Twin towns – Sister cities
Kharkiv is currently twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
, Russia (2001) Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Italy (1966) Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Czech Republic (2005) Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
, Montenegro (2011) Cincinnati, United States (1989) Daugavpils
Daugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
, Latvia (2006) Gaziantep
Gaziantep
Gaziantep , Ottoman Turkish: Ayintab) previously and still informally called Antep; ʻayn tāb is a city in southeast Turkey and amongst the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The city is located 185 kilometres northeast of Adana and 127 kilometres by road north of Aleppo, Syria...
, Turkey (2011) Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, PR China (2004) Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, Lithuania (2001) Kutaisi
Kutaisi
Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
, Georgia (2005) Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, France (1978) Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia (2001) Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, Russia (2001) Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, Germany (1990) Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Poland (1998) Rishon LeZion, Israel (2008) Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia (2003) Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, PR China (1993) Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
, Bulgaria (1995) Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland (2011)
Nobel and Fields prize winners
- Vladimir Drinfel'dVladimir Drinfel'dVladimir Gershonovich Drinfel'd is a Ukrainian and Soviet mathematician at the University of Chicago.The work of Drinfeld related algebraic geometry over finite fields with number theory, especially the theory of automorphic forms, through the notions of elliptic module and the theory of the...
(mathematics) - Simon KuznetsSimon KuznetsSimon Smith Kuznets was a Russian American economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who won the 1971 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his empirically founded interpretation of economic growth which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and...
(economics) - Lev LandauLev LandauLev Davidovich Landau was a prominent Soviet physicist who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics...
(physics) - Ilya MechnikovIlya Ilyich MechnikovIlya Ilyich Mechnikov was a Russian biologist, zoologist and protozoologist, best remembered for his pioneering research into the immune system. Mechnikov received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1908, shared with Paul Ehrlich, for his work on phagocytosis...
(biology)
Notable people
- Nikolai P. BarabashovNikolai P. BarabashovNikolay Pavlovich Barabashov was a Soviet Russian astronomer.Barabashov graduated from Kharkov University, Ukraine, 1919; served as Director, Kharkov Observatory, 1930; Professor, Kharkov University, 1934; Rector, Kharkov University, 1943-1946...
– Astronomer, co-author of the first pictures of the far side of the Moon - Vladimir Bobri — Illustrator, author, composer, educator and guitar historian
- Sergei BortkiewiczSergei BortkiewiczSergei Bortkiewicz was a Ukrainian-born Russian Romantic composer and pianist.-Early life:Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine on 28 February 1877 in Polish noble family and spent most of his childhood on the family estate of Artëmovka, near Kharkiv...
— Russian RomanticRomantic musicRomantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:... - Maria BurmakaMaria BurmakaMaria Burmaka is a Ukrainian singer, musician and songwriter in genres of rock, pop, folk, world music.-Biography:Burmaka began singing Ukrainian songs while studying in a guitar class in a musical school. In 1987 she entered the faculty of philology of Kharkiv University of Karazin. A year later...
– Ukrainian singer, musician and songwriter - Leonid Bykov – Soviet actor, film director, and script writer
- Adolphe Mouron CassandreAdolphe Mouron CassandreAdolphe Mouron Cassandre was a Ukrainian-French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer.-Early Life and Career:...
— Ukrainian-French painterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, commercial posterPosterA poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
artist, and typefaceTypefaceIn typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
designer - Valentina ChepigaValentina ChepigaValentyna Chepiha is a professional female bodybuilder from Kharkiv, Ukraine.-Background:Valentina graduated from the College of Engineering and Building with a degree in Gas Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning. Between 1979 and 1992 she worked first as a technician, and then was promoted to...
– Female BodybuilderFemale bodybuildingFemale bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.-Beginnings:...
and 2000 Ms. OlympiaMs. OlympiaMs. Olympia is the title given to the winner of the women's bodybuilding portion of Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilders . It was first held in 1980, and since 2000 it has been held at the same...
Champion - Juliya ChernetskyJuliya ChernetskyJuliya Chernetsky , is a television personality best known for her popularity on the music-themed network Fuse, formerly known as MuchMusicUSA. She is best known by her stage name Mistress Juliya. She hosted the heavy metal-themed program Uranium and a call-in and e-mail advice program called Slave...
(Mistress Juliya) – television host, actress, model, and music promoter in the United States - Andrey Denisov – former Russian diplomat
- Vladimir Drinfel'dVladimir Drinfel'dVladimir Gershonovich Drinfel'd is a Ukrainian and Soviet mathematician at the University of Chicago.The work of Drinfeld related algebraic geometry over finite fields with number theory, especially the theory of automorphic forms, through the notions of elliptic module and the theory of the...
— Mathematician, was awarded Fields Medal in 1990 - Isaak DunayevskyIsaak DunayevskyIsaak Osipovich Dunayevsky was the biggest Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who achieved huge success in music for operetta and film comedies, frequently working with the film director Grigori Aleksandrov...
— Soviet composer and conductor - Konstanty GorskiKonstanty GorskiKonstanty Antoni Gorski was a Polish composer, violinist, organist and music teacher.-Life:...
— Polish composer, violist, organist, and music teacher - Valentina GrizodubovaValentina GrizodubovaValentina Stepanovna Grizodubova , 1993 in Moscow) was a one of the first female pilots in the Soviet Union and was awarded titles Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labour.-Early life and pre-war career:...
— One of the first female pilots in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... - Lyudmila GurchenkoLyudmila GurchenkoLyudmila Markovna Gurchenko was a popular Soviet and Russian actress, singer and entertainer.-Biography:Lyudmila was born in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR in 1935 to Mark Gavrilovich Gurchenko and Yelena Aleksandrovna Simonova-Gurchenko . Before the World War II they lived in a single room apartment on...
(Hurchenko) – Soviet and Russian actress, singer and entertainer - Mikhail GurevichMikhail GurevichMikhail Iosifovich Gurevich was a Soviet aircraft designer, a partner of the famous MiG military aviation bureau. He was of Ukrainian Jewish Heritage....
– Soviet aircraft designer, a partner (with Artem Mikoyan) of the famous MiGMig-Industry:*MiG, now Mikoyan, a Russian aircraft corporation, formerly the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau*Metal inert gas welding or MIG welding, a type of welding using an electric arc and a shielding gas-Business and finance:...
military aviation bureau - Mikhail GurevichMikhail Gurevich (chess player)Mikhail Naumovich Gurevich is a Soviet chess player. He lived in Belgium from 1991 to 2005 and since then resides in Turkey....
— UkrainianUkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player - Leonid HaydamakaLeonid HaydamakaLeonid Hryhorovych HaydamakaLeonid Haydamaka has left his impression on the development of bandura art in the 20th century....
– bandurist, conductor, founder of first orchestra of Ukrainian folk instruments. - Maksym KalynychenkoMaksym KalynychenkoMaksym Serhiyovych Kalynychenko is a professional Ukrainian football midfielder for Tavriya Simferopol, sometimes playing in central midfield or as a winger. Observers have noted his pace, creativity, and accuracy in free kicks / penalties...
– Ukrainian footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player - Vasily Karazin – the founder of Kharkiv University, which now bears his name.
- Hnat KhotkevychHnat KhotkevychHnat Martynovych Khotkevych December 31, 1877 in Kharkiv, Russian Empire – October 8, 1938 in Kharkiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union) was a Ukrainian writer, ethnographer, playwright, composer, musicologist, and bandurist....
– Ukrainian writer, ethnographer, composer, bandurist - Mikhail KoshkinMikhail KoshkinMikhail Ilyich Koshkin was a Soviet tank designer, chief designer of the famous T-34 medium tank. The T-34 was the most effective and most produced tank of World War II. He started out in life as a candy maker, but then studied engineering...
– chief designer of Soviet tank T-34T-34The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II... - Olga KraskoOlga KraskoOlga Yuriyevna Krasko is a Russian actress, born 30 November 1981, Kharkiv, Soviet Union . She has starred in Russian theater productions, and is noted that as the heroine in The Turkish Gambit , she is the only female in a lead role in that film.-Filmography:* 2001 – Četnické humoresky * 2002 –...
– Russian actress - Mykola KulishMykola KulishMykola Kulish was a Ukrainian prosaic, drama writer, pedagogue, veteran of the World War I, Red Army veteran.-Brief biography:Kulish was born in a village of...
– Ukrainian playwright - Les KurbasLes KurbasOleksandr-Zenon Stepanovych Kurbas , a Ukrainian movie and theater director, is considered by many to be the most important Ukrainian theater director of the 20th century...
– Ukrainian dramtist - Simon KuznetsSimon KuznetsSimon Smith Kuznets was a Russian American economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who won the 1971 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his empirically founded interpretation of economic growth which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and...
– was a Russian AmericanRussian AmericanRussian Americans are primarily Americans who traces their ancestry to Russia. The definition can be applied to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to settlers of 19th century Russian settlements in northwestern America which includes today's California, Alaska and...
economistEconomistAn economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
- Lev LandauLev LandauLev Davidovich Landau was a prominent Soviet physicist who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics...
– prominent Soviet physicist, Nobel Prize winner - Evgeny LifshitzEvgeny LifshitzEvgeny Mikhailovich Lifshitz was a leading Soviet physicist of Jewish origin and the brother of physicist Ilya Mikhailovich Lifshitz. Lifshitz is well known in general relativity for coauthoring the BKL conjecture concerning the nature of a generic curvature...
— Leading Soviet physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole... - Eduard LimonovEduard LimonovEduard Limonov is Russian writer and political dissident, and is the founder and leader of radical National Bolshevik Party. An opponent of Vladimir Putin, Limonov is one of leaders of Other Russia political bloc.-Early life:...
– Writer, poet and controversial politician - Gleb Lozino-LozinskiyGleb Lozino-LozinskiyGleb Evgeniyevich Lozino-Lozinskiy , December 25, 1909 – November 28, 2001) was a Russian and Ukrainian engineer, General Director and General Designer of the JSC NPO Molniya, lead developer of the Russian Spiral and Shuttle Buran programme, Doctor of Science, Hero of Socialist Labour, laureate of...
– lead developer of the Soviet Shuttle Buran programme - Aleksandr LyapunovAleksandr LyapunovAleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov was a Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicist. His surname is sometimes romanized as Ljapunov, Liapunov or Ljapunow....
– Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicist. Inventor of motion stability theory - Boris MikhailovBoris Mikhailov (photographer)Boris Andreyevich Mikhailov is a fine art photographer who has been described as one of the most important artists to have emerged from the former USSR...
— photographer / artist - Mykola MikhnovskyMykola MikhnovskyMykola Ivanovich Mikhnovsky - Ukrainian political and social activist, lawyer, journalist, founder, ideologue and leader of an Ukrainian independence movement in the late nineteenth - early twentieth century...
- Ukrainian political leader and activist - Justine PasekJustine PasekYostin "Justine" Lissette Pasek Patiño is a Panamanian model, FAO Goodwill Ambassador, and Miss Universe 2002.-Early life:Pasek was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, the daughter of a Panamanian homemaker and Polish engineer...
- Miss Universe 2003Miss Universe 2003Miss Universe 2003, the 52nd Miss Universe pageant, was held at Figali Convention Center, Panama City, Panama on June 3, 2003. 71 delegates from around the universe competed for the crown... - Valerian PidmohylnyValerian PidmohylnyValerian Pidmohylny was an important Ukrainian novelist, most famous for the realist novel Misto...
– Ukrainian poet - Irina PressIrina PressIrina Natanovna Press was a Ukrainian athlete.-Career:Press was Jewish. She won two Olympic gold medals for the USSR team, in 80 m hurdles and pentathlon...
— Ukrainian athlete who won two Olympic gold medalGold medalA gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s - Tamara PressTamara PressTamara Natanovna Press is a former Soviet shot putter and discus thrower in the 1960s.-Career:Press is Jewish. She competed for VSS Trud...
— Soviet shot putShot putThe shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
ter and discus throwDiscus throwThe discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
er - Alexander ShchetynskyAlexander ShchetynskyAlexander Shchetynsky is a Ukrainian composer. Born on 22 June 1960 in Kharkiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. His work list includes compositions in various forms ranging from solo instrumental to orchestral, choral pieces and operas....
— ComposerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Eugen SchaumanEugen SchaumanEugen Schauman was a Finnish nationalist and nobleman who assassinated the Governor-General Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov.- Schauman's life :...
– Finnish nationalist who killed Russian general Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov in 1904 - George ShevelovGeorge ShevelovGeorge Yurii Shevelov . , - Slavic linguist, philologist, essayist, literary historian, and literary critic...
– Ukrainian and Slavic linguist, philologist, essayist, literary historian, and literary critic - Klavdiya ShulzhenkoKlavdiya ShulzhenkoKlavdiya Ivanovna Shulzhenko was a popular female singer of the Soviet Union.- Professional biography :Shulzhenko started singing with jazz and pop bands in the late 1920s. She rose to fame in the late 1930s with her version of Sebastian Yradier's La Paloma...
— the most popular female singer of the Soviet Union - Alexander SilotiAlexander SilotiAlexander Ilyich Siloti was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Alexander Ilyich Siloti (also Ziloti, , Aleksandr Iljič Ziloti) (9 October 1863, near Kharkiv - 8 December 1945, New York) was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Alexander Ilyich Siloti (also Ziloti, , Aleksandr Iljič...
— Russian pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Hryhorii Skovoroda – Ukrainian poet, philosopher and composer
- Karina SmirnoffKarina SmirnoffKarina Smirnoff is a Ukrainian professional ballroom dancer. She is best known for her appearances on Dancing with the Stars, where she held a runner-up title, a semi-final title, and several quarter-final titles...
– Ukrainian professional world champion dancer, starring on Dancing with the StarsDancing with the StarsDancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries... - Jura SoyferJura SoyferJura Soyfer was an important Austrian political journalist and cabaret writer.-Life:...
— Austrian political journalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and cabaretCabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
writer - Otto StruveOtto StruveOtto Struve was a Russian astronomer. In Russian, his name is sometimes given as Otto Lyudvigovich Struve ; however, he spent most of his life and his entire scientific career in the United States...
— Russian-American astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using... - Sergei SviatchenkoSergei SviatchenkoSergei Sviatchenko is a Ukrainian artist who lives in Denmark since 1990. Sviatchenko graduated from The Academy of Arts and Architecture in Kharkiv in 1975, and in 1986 he obtained a Ph. D. degree from the School of Architecture in Kiev....
– Ukrainian artist - Mark TaimanovMark TaimanovMark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
— Leading UkrainianUkraineUkraine 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...
chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player and concertConcertA concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:... - Nikolai TikhonovNikolai TikhonovNikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was a Soviet Russian-Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1980 to 1985, and as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice Premier, from 1976 to 1980...
— Premier of the Soviet UnionPremier of the Soviet UnionThe office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier... - Yevgeniy TimoshenkoYevgeniy TimoshenkoYevgeniy Timoshenko is an American poker player. Born in 1988 in Kharkiv, Ukraine Timoshenko moved to Mukilteo, Washington when he was 8 years old...
— professional poker player. - Galina ValeGalina ValeGalina Vale born Galina Ivanovna Vernigora in Kharkov, Ukraine, is a classically trained virtuoso classical guitarist. Her individualistic solo performances combine a charismatic stage presence and dynamic powerful playing style with an unusually wide ranging and technically demanding repertoire;...
— Leading British concertConcertA concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
of Ukrainian origin - Vladimir VasyutinVladimir VasyutinVladimir Vladimirovich Vasyutin was a Soviet cosmonaut.He was selected as a cosmonaut on December 1, 1978...
— Soviet cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent - Igor VovchanchynIgor VovchanchynIgor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....
– Mixed martial artist - Miriam Yalan-ShteklisMiriam Yalan-ShteklisMiriam Yalan-Shteklis was an Israeli writer and poet famous for her children's books. Her surname, Yalan, was an acronym based on her father’s name, Yehuda Leib Nissan.-Biography:...
, Israeli poet and writer - Vasyl Yermylov – PainterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and DesignDesignDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
er - Serhiy ZhadanSerhiy ZhadanSerhiy Viktorovych Zhadan is a Ukrainian poet, novelist, essayist, and translator. Born in Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast, he graduated from Kharkiv University in 1996, then spent three years as a graduate student of philology. He taught Ukrainian and world literature from 2000 to 2004, and...
– Ukrainian poet, novelist, and translator. - Irina ZhurinaIrina Zhurina-Biography:Zhurina was born in Kharkiv . After studying singing at the Kharkov Art Institute, she joined the Kharkov Opera in 1971, where she sang the leading roles in La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, etc....
– opera singer, People's Artist of RussiaPeople's Artist of RussiaPeople's Artist of Russia, also sometimes translated as National Artist of Russia, is an honorary title granted to citizens of Russia.It succeeded both the all-Soviet union award People's Artist of the USSR , and more directly the local republic award, People's Artist of the RSFSR , after the...
Transport
The city of Kharkiv is one of the largest transportation centres 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 transport
Being an important transportation centre of Ukraine, Kharkiv itself contains many different transportation methods. Kharkiv's MetroKharkiv Metro
The Kharkiv Metro is the metro system that serves the city of Kharkiv , the second largest city in Ukraine. The metro was the second in Ukraine and the sixth in the USSR when it opened in 1975.-Lines and Stations:...
is the city's rapid transit system, operating since 1975, it includes three different lines with 29 stations in total. The Kharkiv buses carry about 12 million passengers annually, trolleybuses, tramways (which celebrated 100 years of service in 2006), and marshrutka
Marshrutka
Marshrutka , from marshrutnoye taksi is a share taxi in the CIS countries, the Baltic states, and Bulgaria. Marshrutnoye taksi literally means routed taxicab...
s (private minibuses).
Railways
The first railway connection of Kharkiv was opened in 1869. The first train to arrive in Kharkiv came from the north on 22 May 1869, and on 6 June 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.Kharkiv is connected with all main cities in Ukraine and abroad by regular railway trains. Regional trains known as elektrichka
Elektrichka
Elektrichka is an informal word for elektropoyezd , a Soviet or post-Soviet regional electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union....
s connect Kharkiv with nearby towns and villages.
Air travel
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 International Airport was only recently granted international status. The airport itself is not large and is situated within the city boundaries, south from the city centre. Flights to KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Moscow are scheduled daily. There are regular flights to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, and several other destinations. Charter flights are also available. The former largest carrier of the Kharkiv Airport — Aeromost-Kharkiv — is not serving any regular destinations as of 2007. The Kharkiv North Airport is a factory airfield and was a major production facility for Antonov aircraft company
Antonov
Antonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical Complex , formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company...
.