Krasnyi Luch
Khrustalnyi (Ukrainian: Хрустальний) or Krasnyi Luch (Ukrainian: Красний Луч; Russian: Красный Луч) is a city in Rovenky Raion of Luhansk Oblast (province) of south-eastern Ukraine, currently controlled by the Luhansk People's Republic. It is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. Its population is approximately 79,764 (2021 est.)[1].
Khrustalnyi Ukrainian: Хрустальний | |
|---|---|
City | |
Executive Committee building in Khrustalny | |
Coat of arms | |
Khrustalnyi Location in Luhansk Oblast Khrustalnyi Location in Ukraine | |
| Coordinates: Coordinates: 48°08′N 38°56′E / 48.133°N 38.933°E | |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Oblast | Luhansk Oblast |
| Raion | Rovenky Raion |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Area | 15,356 km2 (5,929 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 269 m (883 ft) |
| Population (2021) | 79,764 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Climate | Dfb |
History
The settlement was founded as Kryndachivka (Ukrainian: Криндачівка) or Krindachevka (Russian: Криндачёвка)[2] in the last years of the 19th century.[3][4]
It became one of the most important coal mining centres of the Donets Basin.[2][3]
A local newspaper has been published here since September 1920.[5] In December 1920 the locality was renamed as Krasnyi Luch (lit. "red beam") and designated as a city in 1926.[3][4]
The city was under German occupation from June 1942 to September 1943.[3] The local Jewish population was killed along with other categories of victims, such as Communists, and were thrown into the shaft of the Bogdan coal mine. The total number of victims was about 2,000.[6]
In January 1965 the city had a population of 101,000 people.[7]
In January 1989 the city population was 113,278 people.[8] It remained an important coal-mining centre.[4] There were several coal-enriching plants, a machine-tool factory, light industries and a railway station.[2]
In January 2013 the city population was 82,765 people.[9]
Since spring 2014, the city has been controlled by Russian-led separatist forces of the Luhansk People's Republic.[10]
On 12 May 2016, the Ukrainian parliament renamed the city from Krasnyi Luch to Khrustalnyi under Ukrainian decommunization laws.[11][12]
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city was subject to a Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missile strike on 16 June that caused a large Russian ammunition depot belonging to the 2nd Army Corps to detonate.[13] Footage of the attack was uploaded to social media where a group of Luhansk People's Republic militiamen are seen to be sheltering and fleeing from the ensuing ammunition fire. [14]
Demographics
As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:[15]
- Ethnicity
- Ukrainians: 49.2%
- Russians: 46.1%
- Belarusians: 1.1%
- Language
- Russian: 87.8%
- Ukrainian: 10.4%
- Armenian: 0.2%
- Belarusian: 0.1%
People associated with Khrustalnyi
On the right is a picture of the Wall of Honor. Such walls were installed in every oblast seat throughout the Soviet Union. With the dissolution of the Soviet state those landmarks were mostly removed, but in some instances were retained as relics of the past.
Light heavyweight fighter Nikita Krylov originates from Krasnyi Luch.[16]
On August 1, 1943, the well-known WWII fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak took off from a base at Krasnyy Luch, to the last mission from which she never came back.
References
- ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2021 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2021] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
- ^ a b c Krasny Luch, also spelled Krasnyi Luch // The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th edition. Micropaedia. Vol.7. Chicago, 1994. page 1
- ^ a b c d Красный Луч // Большая Российская Энциклопедия / редколл., гл. ред. Ю. С. Осипов. том 15. М., научное издательство "Большая Российская Энциклопедия", 2010. стр.647
- ^ a b c Красный Луч // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 1. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.648
- ^ № 2904. Знамя коммунизма // Летопись периодических и продолжающихся изданий СССР 1986 - 1990. Часть 2. Газеты. М., «Книжная палата», 1994. стр.381
- ^ "YAHAD - IN UNUM". yahadmap.org. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ В. П. Коленский. Красный Луч: путеводитель. Донецк, "Донбасс", 1966. стр.4
- ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу
- ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
- ^ (PDF) (in Russian). Luhansk People's Republic. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
- ^ Goodbye, Lenin: Ukraine moves to ban communist symbols, BBC News (14 April 2015)
- ^ "Rada renames some population areas in occupied Donbas as part of decommunization campaign".
- ^ Dmitri (2022-06-19). "New details emerged of the Kransyi Luch ammo stockpile attack. • WarTranslated - Dmitri Masinski". WarTranslated - Dmitri Masinski. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- ^ Красный Луч 16.06.22, retrieved 2022-07-05
- ^ "Офіційна сторінка Всеукраїнського перепису населення". www.ukrcensus.gov.ua. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "I am Russian but competitor for Ukraine". m.sovsport.ru/. Retrieved 23 August 2015.