Pokrovsk, Ukraine

Pokrovsk, Ukraine
Pokrovsk, formerly known as Krasnoarmiysk (until 2016) and Grishino (until 1934), is a city and the administrative center of Pokrovsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Prior to 2020, it was incorporated as a city of oblast significance. Its population is approximately
Names
2016–present: Pokrovsk
1964–2016: Krasnoarmiysk or Krasnoarmeysk
1938–1964: Krasnoarmeyskoye or Krasnoarmiyske
1934–1938: Postyshevo or Postysheve
1884–1934: Grishino or Hryshyne
History
Pokrovsk was founded as Grishino in 1875 by a decision of the Ministry of Railways of the Russian Empire for a railway station. The village had two thousand inhabitants.
In 1881, a locomotive depot which became one of the main locomotive repair companies Ekaterinoslavskaya railway was built in the town. Two years later, in 1883, increased the station building, the central portion of which survives to this day. In May 1884, trains finally began to go through the rail station in Grishino.
With the development of the railway station and Grishino grew, there were new businesses, and in particular began to develop deposits of underground minerals, starting with coal. By 1913, the population Grishino station has more than doubled and amounted to about 4.5 thousand people.
After the Russian Civil War ravaged Russia as a whole, Grishino station continued to build momentum and by 1925 had a locomotive depot, a brick factory, and six mines. The name of the station was changed to Postyshevo in 1934 to honor Pavel Postyshev, and in 1938, the name of the city became Krasnoarmeyskoe commemorating the Soviet Red Army, after Postyshev was repressed during the Great Purge.
World War II placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the population of the city. The first axis forces to arrive were Italians, followed by the Germans. The city was occupied by the Germans on October 19, 1941. The Soviet commanders had retreated prior to the arrival of these forces, having executed many young men in order to "avoid handing them over to the enemy" . The German forces proceeded to extract and transfer many civilians by train to forced labor camps in Austria. Many residents defended their hometown. 8295 Soviet soldiers perished on the battlefield, and 4788 residents of the town were killed in World War II. The city’s Jews were murdered in midwinter 1942. In February 1943 the Massacre of Grischino took place. On September 7, 1943, the town was liberated for good by Red Army troops.
In the 1950s, in the post-war period, the city saw a large industrial and residential construction.
In the Russo-Ukrainian War (that started in the spring of 2014) the city is near the frontline with the separatist Donetsk People's Republic.
In May 2016, the city was renamed following decommunization laws to Pokrovsk, honoring the Intercession of the Theotokos known as Pokrova in Ukrainian.
On 7 August 2023 during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russian missiles struck the city twice. Nine people were reported dead from the strike, and 82 wounded.
Demographics
The population of Pokrovsk as of August 1, 2017 was 75,205 people.
According to 2001 census data, the breakdown by ethnicity is:
Native language per Ukrainian Census of 2001:
Russian 59.8%
Ukrainian 39.4%
Armenian 0.2%
Belarusian 0.1%
Gallery
Notes
References
External links
Cities in Donetsk Oblast
Pokrovsk urban hromada
Populated places established in the Russian Empire
Bakhmutsky Uyezd
Former Soviet toponymy in Ukraine