Darnytskyi District
Darnytskyi District (, ), is an urban district of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. It is the southeastern district of Kyiv located on the left bank of Dnipro river. It borders the Holosiivskyi District of the city to its west, across the river, Dniprovskyi District of city to its north, and the Brovary Raion of the Kyiv Oblast to its east and Boryspil Raion of Kyiv Oblast to its east and south. The population of the city raion is estimated around 348,000 inhabitants. Historical background. Although an exact date of establishment of the area is not known, there is evidence that  during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, a Neolithic settlement existed near lake "Svyatyshche" (). During the 9th century, Darnytsia was an important center of the Kyivan Rus', where ambassadors and delegations from other powers were housed while waiting to meet the "kniaz" and offer gifts. This gave the area its name "Darnytsia" (derived from Slavic/Ukrainian "dar", meaning gift). While throughout the 19th century the area was progressively becoming more densely populated, the dwellers were technically residing outside of Kyiv in village-like (but non-village by status) settlements called Slobidkas (Sloboda, "Slobodka" in Russian). Certain parts on Darnytsia still  bear the names of the Slobidka they displaced (notably "Mykilska Sloboda" St. Nicholas Settlement). Until the late 19th century, the name Darnytsia was commonly applied to the plain on the left bank of Dnipro river across from the Kyiv city center. Up to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the area was legally part of the Chernigov Governorate (Chernihiv), despite being adjacent to Kyiv, also a center of its Guberniya, with the Dnipro river being the official division line. The village of Nova-Darnytsia and the rest of the area of the today's raion were incorporated into the city of  Kyiv in 1927. In 1935 Darnytsia became a separate raion of the city. The urbanized area started industrializing between World War I and World War II, after becoming a part of Kyiv. Following World War II, the area underwent a major reconstruction and modernization and became heavily industrialized, with the installation of chemical, textile, pharmaceutical and food processing industries. Major infrastructure projects, including heat-and-power co-generation units, railroad stations, highways and Metro lines were accomplished. Several research institutes found their new home here, including three major chemical institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Overview. Today , the term "Darnytsia" is sometimes broadly (but incorrectly) applied to the entire Left Bank area of Kyiv, except the distant areas of Vyhurivschyna-Troieshchyna to the North and Pozniaky to the South. Formally, the district underwent many border changes, and today encompasses approximately one-third of the Left Bank. A planned district change could make Darnytsia district either expand to encompass half of the Left Bank area or cease to exist being redistributed between Desnianskyi District and Dniprovskyi District. The Darnytsia neighborhood borders are generally understood to be: