Alchevsk

History

Alchevsk was founded in 1895 with the establishment of an iron works and named after the Russian industrialist Oleksiy Alchevsky who founded the Donetsk–Yuryev Metallurgical Society.

A local newspaper is published in the city since 1930.

In 1931, Alchevsk was renamed Voroshylovsk, after Kliment Voroshilov, a Soviet military and party figure.

During World War II, in 1942–1943, the German occupiers operated a Gestapo prison in the city.

As Voroshilov's personality cult was diminishing, the town was renamed Kommunarsk in 1961. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the original name was restored in 1991.

Winter disaster of 2006

On 22 January 2006, the city's district heating system collapsed, in what Luhansk Governor Gennady Moskal described as "the worst man-made disaster in the history of independent Ukraine" ().

The system had already collapsed once before: in 1972, when the sole boiler failed. Contemporary Soviet authorities had authorized a second, back-up boiler, but did not further decentralize the system to preserve economies of scale.

In 2006, an underground pipe cracked in unusually cold weather (nearly ), isolating the main boiler from the system. The heat authority delayed draining the working fluid, and water throughout the system froze and burst additional pipes, some inside the walls of residential apartments. Consequently, many apartments could not be heated even after the boilers were restored to working order. Inhabitants turned to electric space heaters to fill the gap, but these overloaded the grid, leading to rolling blackouts. Without liquid tap water, the sewer system also froze and burst a few days later.

The crisis was particularly urgent for the Ukrainian government, because parliament would hold elections in March. The authorities temporarily evacuated schoolchildren from the area to Crimea and Western Ukraine, but struggled to organize an extensive repair effort. Workers imported to repair the apartments found themselves in substandard housing with inconsistent meals. Nevertheless, immediate repair actions were complete by mid-February.

Later that year, President Yushchenko announced a plan to further harden the system against stress with a set of nine distributed boilers.

War in Donbas (2014–present)

Starting mid-April 2014, pro-Russian separatists captured and occupied several towns in the Luhansk Oblast, including Alchevsk. In the following war in Donbas, the city became a part of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.

In June 2020, as part of the reform of administrative divisions in Ukraine, Alchevsk was made the administrative center of Alchevsk Raion. This new status is not recognized by the pro-Russian occupation authorities.

After the 2022 Russian annexations of Southern and Eastern Ukraine, the city is now claimed by Russia itself.

Economy

The main branches of Alchevsk industry – metallurgical and chemical. Electromechanical, light and food industry is also developed. Currently the city has 17 industrial enterprises.

Demographics

As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:

Education

The Donbas State Technical University, founded in 1957, is located in Alchevsk.

Sports

Alchevsk is home to the football team FC Stal Alchevsk which currently participates in the Ukrainian First League, the second tier of national football competitions.

Twin towns and sister cities

Alchevsk is twinned with:

• POL Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland
• HUN Dunaújváros, Hungary

Notable people

• Oleksandr Babych (born 1979), Ukrainian football player and manager
• Yevhen Koshovyi (born 1983), Ukrainian TV presenter and actor known for his role in Servant of the People
• Krystyna Sankova (born 1996), Ukrainian artistic gymnast
• Andriy Tsvik (born 1971), Ukrainian football player
• Anatoliy Volobuyev (born 1953), Ukrainian football player and coach

References

Sources

• Ye. M. Pospelov. "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.) Москва, "Русские словари", 1993.

References

1. "Steelmakers in occupied Donbas cease work due to trade blockade in Ukraine".
2. "Week's balance: Blockade causing losses, NBU's anti-crisis measures, and increased industrial output".
3. Pospelov, p. 27
4. № 2903. Огни коммунизма // Летопись периодических и продолжающихся изданий СССР 1986 – 1990. Часть 2. Газеты. М., «Книжная палата», 1994. стр.381
5. "Gestapogefängnis Alcevs'k".
6. link. DepoДонбас [Donbass Depot]. (30 Jan 2017)
7. link. [[BBC]] Ukraine. Kuryshko, Diana [Куришко, Діана]. (7 Nov 2022)
8. link. ZN.UA. (3 Feb 2006). Aseev, Yuri [Асєєв, Юрій]
9. link. Channel 24. (11 August 2021). Konko, Andrei [Андрій Конько]
10. (16 April 2014). "Vladimir Putin is Accidentally Bringing Eastern and Western Ukraine Together".
11. "Donbass defenders put WWII tank back into service".
12. (27 June 2014). "Pro-Russian rebels release four of eight OSCE monitors held hostage in eastern Ukraine – Jun. 27, 2014".
13. (28 May 2015). "Ukrainian Separatist Leader Laid to Rest".
14. link. [[Luhansk People's Republic]]
15. "Cities & Towns of Ukraine".
16. "Національний склад міст".
17. "Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України".