Founded 1806 Elevation 179 m (587 ft) Area code(s) +380-6247 Population 34,750 (2014) | City rights 1936 Postal code 85200—85279 Area 22.6 km² Local time Monday 10:15 AM | |
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CountryOblastRaion UkraineDonetsk OblastToretsk Municipality Weather 12°C, Wind SW at 14 km/h, 52% Humidity | ||
Toretsk (Ukrainian: Торецьк; Russian: Торецк), formerly Dzerzhynsk (Ukrainian: Дзержинськ; Russian: Дзержинск), is a city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. Population: 35,296 (2013 est.).
Contents
Map of Toretsk, Donetska, Ukraine
History
Toretsk was founded in the 19th century as Shcherbynivka, named after Zaporizhian Cossack Anton Shcherbina, who had settled there. In 1938 the city was renamed Dzerzhynsk, in honor of communist Felix Dzerzhynsky, the founder of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka. In 2001, the population was 43,371 people.
Starting mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast; including former Dzerzhynsk. On 11 July 2014 Ukrainian forces launched strikes against the separatists. On 21 July 2014, Ukrainian forces secured the city from the pro-Russian separatists. Toretsk is only a few kilometers away from the separatists-controlled Horlivka.
Following the 2015 law on decommunization, the city council has decided on 16 October 2015 to rename the city to Toretsk. The name was approved by the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) on 4 February 2016.
Because of the War in Donbass the city has had its water supply cut multiple times.
Nikolai Ryzhkov, a former Premier of the Soviet Union, was born in the city in 1929.
Demographics
As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001, the majority of residents identified as ethnic Ukrainians and spoke Russian as their first language: