Kharkov
Major city in eastern Ukraine, capital of the Kharkov oblast, 400 km/250 mi east of Kiev and 40km/25 mi south of the border with the Russian Federation; population (2003 est) 1,435,200; urban agglomeration 1,657,400. An important railway junction and industrial city, Kharkov is situated at the confluence of the Kharkov, Lopan, and Udy rivers, and lies close to the Donets Basin coalfield and Krivoy Rog iron mines. Its industrial enterprises include engineering and railway rolling-stock works, agricultural and mining machinery factories, chemical plants, food and tobacco processing, and printing.
History
Kharkov was founded in 1654 by Cossacks as a frontier town and fortress against Tatar invasion. It became the cultural and administrative centre of Russian Ukraine in the mid-18th century. Kharkov also became an important centre of the 19th-century Ukrainian nationalist and literary movements. From 1919 until 1934 it was the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, until it was supplanted by Kiev. The city was the scene of heavy fighting in both World War I and the Russian Civil War. During World War II, it was occupied by German forces (1941–43) and suffered heavy damage.
Features The city has several historic buildings dating from the 17th–19th centuries, including the cathedral of the protectress (1686) and the cathedral of the Assumption (1771). The university dates from 1805, and there are numerous scientific research institutes. |
