Shakhty
Encyclopedia
Shakhty is a city in Rostov Oblast
, Russia
, located on the southeastern spur of Donetsk mountain ridge, 75 kilometres (46.6 mi) northeast of Rostov-on-Don
. Its population was 240,152 per the preliminary results of the 2010 Census; up from 222,592 recorded in the 2002 Census
.
By 1914, the population had reached 54,000. The main source of income was coal mining
, which had been carried out in that region since the 18th century. The population was poor, but the town had rail, telegraph and telephone networks, electricity and plumbing as well as libraries, hospitals and a post office. Most of the merchants and industrialists lived in Rostov and Novocherkassk
.
1917 saw the city change hands three times, until it was taken on April 28, 1919, by the Don Army
, under General Fitzkhelaurov. For twenty months it was independent of the Bolsheviks, but was ravaged by typhoid.
On January 13, 1921 it was finally given its present name. The name "Shakhty" ("mine shafts" in English) was chosen, because of the city's association with coal mining. During the 1920s, many of the churches and the archives were destroyed. As with the rest of the Soviet Union
, the same street names were changed.
In July 1942, during the Great Patriotic War, the town was occupied by the Germans
; many coal pits and buildings were blown up by the Germans during their retreat in February, 1943. Twenty-nine of the townsmen were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union
.
In 1948, production levels in the mines reached what they had been before the war. During the Leonid Brezhnev
years, the city was at the height of its development, with a population of over 250,000, and about ten million tons of coal being mined each year.
Perestroika
proved devastating for the city, as mines were privatized and shut down, causing massive unemployment, which led to a severe rise in crime and drug abuse.
Today Shakhty is the main industrial center of the Eastern Donbass.
The city is also one of the main producers and exporters of tile in Eastern Europe, Shakhtinskaya Plitka.
with: Gelsenkirchen
, Germany
Nikopol, Bulgaria
of 1928, a precursor of the show trial
s of the 1930s, and for being the scene of many of Andrei Chikatilo
's murders.
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Southern Federal District. Rostov Oblast has an area of and a population of making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, located on the southeastern spur of Donetsk mountain ridge, 75 kilometres (46.6 mi) northeast of Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
. Its population was 240,152 per the preliminary results of the 2010 Census; up from 222,592 recorded in the 2002 Census
Russian Census (2002)
Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
.
History
Many hundreds ago in 1805 a sergeant-major Popov founded a small settlement near the river Grushevka. Later it was named Popovka. In 1809 Popov built the first mine. Twelve cossacks and fourteen serf-peasants lived in Popovka at that time. Those serf-peasants were the first miners. In October 3, 1867 as Gornoye Grushevskoye settlement. From 1881 to 1921, it was called Alexandrovsk-Grushevsky .By 1914, the population had reached 54,000. The main source of income was coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, which had been carried out in that region since the 18th century. The population was poor, but the town had rail, telegraph and telephone networks, electricity and plumbing as well as libraries, hospitals and a post office. Most of the merchants and industrialists lived in Rostov and Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Tuzlov River and on the Aksay River. Population: 169,039 ; 170,822 ; 178,000 ; 123,000 ; 81,000 ; 52,000 ....
.
1917 saw the city change hands three times, until it was taken on April 28, 1919, by the Don Army
Don Army
The Don Army was part of the White movement of the Russian Civil War, operating from 1917 to 1919, in the Don region and centered in the town of Novocherkassk.- History :...
, under General Fitzkhelaurov. For twenty months it was independent of the Bolsheviks, but was ravaged by typhoid.
On January 13, 1921 it was finally given its present name. The name "Shakhty" ("mine shafts" in English) was chosen, because of the city's association with coal mining. During the 1920s, many of the churches and the archives were destroyed. As with the rest of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the same street names were changed.
In July 1942, during the Great Patriotic War, the town was occupied by the Germans
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...
; many coal pits and buildings were blown up by the Germans during their retreat in February, 1943. Twenty-nine of the townsmen were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
.
In 1948, production levels in the mines reached what they had been before the war. During the 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...
years, the city was at the height of its development, with a population of over 250,000, and about ten million tons of coal being mined each year.
Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
proved devastating for the city, as mines were privatized and shut down, causing massive unemployment, which led to a severe rise in crime and drug abuse.
Today Shakhty is the main industrial center of the Eastern Donbass.
The city is also one of the main producers and exporters of tile in Eastern Europe, Shakhtinskaya Plitka.
Twin towns/sister cities
Shakhty is 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: Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Nikopol, Bulgaria
Nikopol, Bulgaria
Nikopol is a town in northern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Nikopol municipality, part of Pleven Province, on the right bank of the Danube river, 4 km downstream from the mouth of the Osam river. It spreads at the foot of steep chalk cliffs along the Danube and up a narrow valley...
Historical concepts
Outside Russia at least, the town is mainly known because of the Shakhty TrialShakhty Trial
The Shakhty Trial of 1928 was the first important show trial in the Soviet Union since the trial of the Social Revolutionaries in 1922.It is often alleged that the charges against the defendants were false, confessions fabricated, and torture or the threat of torture employed...
of 1928, a precursor of the show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
s of the 1930s, and for being the scene of many of Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Chikatilo
Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer, nicknamed the Butcher of Rostov, The Red Ripper or The Rostov Ripper who murdered a minimum of 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990...
's murders.
External links
- Shakhty портал г. Шахты
- Official site of the city
- Site of partnership Schachty - Gelsenkirchen
- Иванов И.И., Кавинская Ю.П. "My native town Shakhty", Шахты 2005