Horlivka

"Gorlovka" redirects here. For other uses, see Gorlovka (disambiguation).

Horlivka Горлівка (Ukrainian) Горловка (Russian)
City
Horlivka Palace of Culture
Flag Coat of arms
Horlivka Location of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast Show map of Donetsk Oblast Horlivka Horlivka (Ukraine) Show map of Ukraine
Coordinates: 48°18′N 38°3′E
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Donetsk Oblast
Raion	Horlivka Raion
Hromada	Horlivka urban hromada
Government
• Mayor	Ivan Prikhodko[1]
Area
• Total	422 km^2 (163 sq mi)
Population  (2022)
• Total	239,828
• Density	574/km^2 (1,490/sq mi)
Climate	Dfb

Horlivka (UK: /ˈhɔːrl.juːkə/ HORL-yoo-kə,^[2] US: /ˈhɔːrlɪfkə/ HOR-lif-kə;^[3] Ukrainian: Горлівка, IPA: [ˈɦorlʲiu̯kɐ] ^ⓘ), also known as Gorlovka (Russian: Горловка, IPA: [ˈɡorləfkə]),^[4] is a city in Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. Its population is 239,828 (2022 estimate).^[5]

Economic activity is predominantly coal mining and the chemical industry. The Horlivka Institute for Foreign Languages has a two-building campus in the city centre.

The city was severely damaged during the Battle of Horlivka in 2014 as part of the war in Donbas. Since 2014, it has been mainly under Russian occupation.^[6]

History

See also: Posad

Railway station in 1912

In April 1918, troops loyal to the Ukrainian People's Republic took control of Horlivka.^[7] Subsequently, under Soviet control, by the 1930s it had expanded considerably and become a major center for mining operations in the Ukrainian SSR.^{[citation needed]}

The city was occupied by German troops from 1941 to 1943.^[8] During World War II retreating Nazis burned buildings and perpetrated mass shootings. Nonetheless, the city's population had risen to over 400,000 by the end of the war. In recent years many mines have closed.

War in Donbas

See also: War in Donbas (2014–2022) § Horlivka

In the middle of April 2014, and shortly thereafter, pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast.^[9][10] A group of separatists seized the police station in Horlivka on 14 April;^[11] the city hall was seized on 30 April.^[12] The mayor of the city, Yevhen Klep, was detained by the separatists on 11 June and not released until 18 July.^[13] Local chief of police Andriy Kryschenko was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents.^{[14][nb 1]} A Horlivka city council deputy, Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped by the pro-Russian militants on 17 April. His body was later found in a river on 22 April.^[17] The city administration building was seized on 30 April, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka.^[18] Self-proclaimed mayor of Horlivka Volodymyr Kolosniuk was arrested by the SBU on suspicion of participation in "terrorist activities" on 2 July.^[19]

Damaged bridge after shelling of June 2014

On 21 and 22 July 2014, the city saw heavy fighting.^[20][21] The Ukrainian army reportedly retook parts of Horlivka on 21 July.^[22] After the Ukrainian army had retaken Lysychansk on 25 July 2014,^[23] the recapture of Horlivka became a priority, for the city was seen as "a direct path to the regional center – Donetsk".^[24] As of 28 July, the city was reported to be fully surrounded by Ukrainian troops, with rebels holding their positions inside.^[25] However, Horlivka continued to be controlled by separatist forces.^[6][26] As of June 2015, it was situated ten kilometers from the war front.^[6] Suburbs of Horlivka stayed under Ukrainian army control.^[27] In November 2017 they regained control of the villages of Travneve and Hladosove north of Horlivka.^[28]

As reported by the city administration, from the beginning of the conflict until late January 2015, 274 local civilians were wounded and 92 killed, including nine children.^[29] Because of the conflict the city's population shrank to 180,000.^[6]

In late March 2019, according to Ukrainian media reports, Ukrainian army mine clearance specialist Andriy Shor, who participated in both battles for the Donetsk Airport and the Battle of Pisky, announced on Facebook that the Ukrainian army had recently entered Horlivka city.^[30] Unian reported that Ukrainian forces had secured the outskirts of the city and were slowly advancing further towards the center of Horlivka, citing Ukrainian volunteer Yuriy Mysiahin.^[31] In May the separatists tried to push the Ukrainian forces back, but failed.^[32]

As of 2020, the city remained under separatist control.^[33] In June 2020, the former head of DPR propaganda in Horlivka handed himself to SBU.^[34]

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

Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 15 September 2022, the Intelligence Directorate under the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence reported that the occupying Russian forces were tasked with conscripting an additional 6,000 local residents. This, combined with previous conscription campaigns, and residents fleeing the city, left Horlivka near devoid of a male population of military age.^[35]

Demographics

Horlivka Cathedral

Ethnic composition as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:^[36]

Ethnicity	Number	%
Ukrainians	160,397	51.4
Russians	139,980	44.8
Belarusians	4,079	1.3
Tatars	876	0.3
Armenians	784	0.3
Moldovans	720	0.2
Azeris	647	0.2

First language as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:^[36]

• Russian 85.1%
• Ukrainian 13.9%
• Belarusian 0.1%
• Armenian 0.1%

Culture

The Museum of the City History, the Art Museum (the largest collection of paintings by N. Roerich in Ukraine), the Miniature Book Museum by V.A. Razumov (the only state in the world). 62 out of 84 comprehensive schools (29,700 students, 7,000 teachers), 55 kindergartens (5,700 children), 19 out of 25 houses of culture and clubs, 7 parks, 29 libraries, 7 cinemas.

Infrastructure and environment

Despite the fall of communism a statue of Lenin still stands in a central square bearing his name. Horlivka is well served by CNG-buses (see Natural gas vehicle), but much of the city's Soviet-era infrastructure shows signs of deterioration. By contrast, a number of modern shops and a new cathedral (completed 2014) in the town center indicate some rejuvenation.

On the eastern side of Horlivka there is an abandoned chemical plant which used to produce toxic explosives and has been reported to be in a dangerous condition.^[37][38] Mining activity has resulted in large spoil tips being visible around the city, but a tree planting project and ongoing forestry maintenance has revitalised an area to the north.

The city was severely damaged during the war in Donbas.^[6]

Administrative divisions

Administrative system of Horlivka:

Districts of Horlivka:   Kalininskyi District   Mykytivskyi District   Tsentralno-Miskyi District

Populated places: 1 — Hladosove 2 — Holmivskyi 3 — Zaitseve 4 — Mykhailivka 5 — Ozerianivka 6 — Panteleimonivka 7 — Piatykhatky 8 — Riasne 9 — Stavky 10 — Fedorivka 11 — Shyroka Balka

The city is divided into three urban districts: Mykytivskyi, Kalininskyi, and Tsentralno-Miskyi.

The city municipality also includes several towns and villages. Most of the populated places belong to the Tsentralno-Miskyi District, while Hladosove, Holmivskyi and Zaitseve are part of Mykytivskyi District.

• rural settlements: Holmivskyi, Zaitseve, Panteleimonivka
• villages: Mykhailivka, Riasne, Hladosove, Ozerianivka, Piatykhatky, Stavky, Fedorivka, Shyroka Balka

Notable people

• Sergei Baranov, Russian volleyball player
• Yuriy Boyko, Ukrainian politician
• Valeriy Horbunov, Ukrainian and Soviet football player
• Jinjer, Ukrainian metal band
• Nikolai Kapustin, Russian composer and pianist
• Alevtin Osipov, former Kazakh professional football player
• Ihor Petrov, Ukrainian professional football coach and a former player
• Aleksandr Ponomarev, Soviet Ukrainian football player and manager
• Ruslan Ponomariov, Ukrainian chess player
• Serhii Rebrov, Ukrainian football manager and former footballer
• Volodymyr Ivanovych Rybak, Ukrainian police officer and deputy, killed by Russian-backed militants
• Oleksandr Savanchuk, Ukrainian football striker
• Arkady Shevchenko, Soviet defector
• Mykyta Shevchenko, Ukrainian football goalkeeper
• Evgeny Ukhanov, Ukrainian-Australian pianist
• Alexander Volkov, Soviet-Ukrainian-Russian cosmonaut

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Ukraine

Horlivka is twinned with:

• Barnsley,^[39] United Kingdom, since 1987
• Pensacola, United States
• Buffalo, United States, since 2007

Gallery

• 
  Stirol chemical plant in Horlivka
• 
  Mykytivka railway station
• 
  Seat of Artemvuhillia coal mining company
• 
  Donbasenergo office
• 
  Zheleznaya Balka (Iron Valley) near Horlivka

Notes

1. On 6 April 2015, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov appointed Andriy Kryschenko police chief of Kharkiv.^[15] On 15 December 2015, he was appointed Chief of the National Police of Ukraine in Kyiv.^[16]

References

1. https://admin-gorlovka.ru/glava-administracii/ ^{[bare URL]}
2. "Horlivka". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
3. "Horlivka". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
4. "Gorlovka: Ukraine". Geographical Names. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
5. Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
6. Huijboom, Stefan (22 June 2015). "Resident of Russian-held Horlivka: 'We have nothing'". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
7. (in Ukrainian) 100 years ago Bakhmut and the rest of Donbas liberated, Ukrayinska Pravda (April 18, 2018)
8. "Yahad-In Unum Interactive Map". Execution Sites of Jewish Victims Investigated by Yahad-In Unum. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
9. Leonid Ragozin (16 April 2014). "Putin Is Accidentally Helping Unite Eastern and Western Ukraine – The New Republic". The New Republic.
10. "Injuries reported in pro-Russia attack at Horlivka in east Ukraine". euronews. Archived from the original on 2014-08-04. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
11. "Ukraine: Protesters Seize Police HQ in Horlivka". VOA. 14 April 2014.
12. "In rundown Horlivka, pro-Russian separatists' gains come as no surprise to many". Washington Post.
13. "Media: Separatists free Horlivka mayor". KyivPost. 18 July 2014.
14. Ukrainska Pravda, Аваков: Керівник міліції Горлівки – справжній офіцер – побитий, але живий [Avakov says that the head of police in Horlivka, a true officer, is battered but alive], 14 April 2014.
15. (in Ukrainian) Police Kharkiv now headed by officer who survived after beating separatists, Ukrayinska Pravda (6 April 2015)
16. (in Ukrainian) Chief of police of Kharkiv transferred to Kiev, SQ (15 December 2015)
17. "Ukraine alert as politician killed". BBC. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
18. "Pro-Russian separatists seize buildings in east Ukraine's Horlivka". The Globe and Mail. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
19. "SBU Detains Self-Styled Major of Horlivka, Donetsk Region Kolosniuk". Ukrainian News Agency. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
20. "Horlivka sees gunfire, bridge damage, electric public transport halt". Interfax-Ukraine.
21. "Two inmates die, two more injured when colony in Horlivka comes under fire". Interfax-Ukraine.
22. "Government forces enter Horlivka suburb < News < Home". nrcu.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 22 July 2014.
23. Felicia Schwartz and Carol E. Lee (26 July 2014). "White House Says Putin 'Culpable' in Flight 17 Crash". WSJ.
24. "ATO major forces to focus on Horlivka". ukrinform.ua.
25. Dmitry Lovetsky. "Fighting intensifies near crash site". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
26. "Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 18:00 (Kyiv time)". OSCE. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
27. Five Ukrainian soldiers were injured in hostilities in the anti-terrorist operation, Interfax-Ukraine (20 April 2016)
28. Ukrainian troops liberate two villages along Svitlodarska Duha bulge, UNIAN (25 November 2017)
    OSCE monitors report Travneve in Donbas cut off power grids since Nov 16, UNIAN (27 November 2017)
    Photos: Ukrainian army distributing aid in Hladosove and Travneve villages north to Horlivka, liveuamap.com (25 November 2017)
29. "Горловка после дня обстрелов: трое погибших, 17 раненых, повреждены 14 школ, приостановлена работа детских садов". Gorlovka.ua. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
30. "Ukraine's Armed Forces reportedly cross Russia-occupied Horlivka's border – Donbas veteran". www.unian.info. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
31. "Securing new ground: Ukraine Army in Horlivka". www.unian.info. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
32. "Сепаратисты под Горловкой пытались потеснить ВСУ". korrespondent.net (in Russian). Retrieved 23 September 2019.
33. "Spot Report 22/2020: Armed members of the armed formations stopped an SMM patrol in Horlivka and prevented its departure for almost three hours – Ukraine". ReliefWeb. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
34. "Donbas 'republic' journalists trained in propaganda skills in Russia". Human Rights in Ukraine. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
35. "Male Population almost Extinct in Horlivka due to 'Mobilization' to Occupying Army". gur.gov.ua. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
36. "Ukrcensus.gov.ua".
37. Journal of Health & Pollution, doi:10.5696/2156-9614.1.2.2
38. "2012-01-03 Chernobyl of Gorlivka". Archived from the original on 1 January 2014.
39. "Town twinning Information about town twinning". Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2013.

External links

Media related to Horlivka at Wikimedia Commons

• Gorlovka Portal
• Gorlovka Vedi
• Video of Gorlovka
• Things to do in Horlivka Archived 23 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine