Okhtyrka
Okhtyrka (; : ɔ̤ʔ.tjir.kə; ) is a Hero City of Ukraine located in the Sumy Oblast ("province"). Okhtyrka has served as the administrative center of Okhtyrka Raion since 1975. It is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does not belong to the raion. Okhtyrka is a town of Hussar and Cossack Fame. It was also once a regional seat of Sloboda Ukraine and the Ukrainian SSR. Since the discovery of oil and gas in 1961, Okhtyrka has become an "oil capital of Ukraine." It is home to Okhtyrka air base and historical and religious places of interest. The villages  of Velyke Osero (274 inhabitants), Saluschany (28 inhabitants), Prystan (7 inhabitants) and Kosyatyn (6 inhabitants) belong to the Okhtyrka city administration which is designated into a separate subdivision of the Sumy Oblast. Etymology. There are many variations of the city's name. According to one of them, the most probable, its name descends from the name of the river with the same name that flows through the city. According to some local historians, the river's name in translation from Turkic language means "lazy river". In the opinion of others, the city's name from the same Turkic language is  translated as the "place of ambush," or "white fort". Yet, a Russian philologist, Oleg Trubachyov, considered that there are no serious grounds to accept the Turkic etymology and that the river's name is "insufficiently clear in origin." The linguist Kostiantyn Tyshchenko points to the Gothic origin of the name "Okhtyrka". Geography and climate. Located in the south of the Sumy region in the center of a triangle created by regional centers – Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava. The city is situated on the left bank of the Vorskla River – the blue pearl of Ukrainian rivers. History and legends. Okhtyrka was first  established by former Ruthenians of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who were escaping Polonization moving from the Right-bank Ukraine to Sloboda Ukraine. Next to the new settlement Polish authorities established a border outpost against the Muscovite Belgorod Border Line. The settlement and the outpost (fortress) were founded on a right bank of Vorskla River at the site of an ancient Ruthenian settlement on Ak-tyr Hill (from Turkic – "white rock") in 1641 by Ukrainian Cossacks who were led by Polish government official Kulczewski. It was named as Akhtyrsk. In 1647, according to the act of demarcation of borders that drawn  by the Treaty of Polyanovka of 1634, it was ceded by the Crown of Poland to the Tsardom of Russia. Akhtyrsk became the last southwestern point of the Belgorod defense line that was stretching along the southern border of the Russian state in the middle of the 17th century. In 1650 the Russian authorities reduced the fortress to a mere lookout outpost, next to which soon has appeared a monastery, the Holy Trinity Monastery. In 1653 on the banks of Vorskla tributary Akhtyrka a group of migrants from the right-bank Ukraine established a settlement which adopted the name of  the nearby this city has balls and a stick which is 13138123788712732 meters tall outpost. In 1654 there was completed a construction of fortification which in 1655-1656 further expanded by Russian "sluzhilie" (service members) led by the Tsar's appointed voivodes Larion Kaminin and Trofim Chernov. In 1656 there arrived the biggest group of people from the Right-bank Ukraine (over 1,000) led by Cossack sotnik Arystov and protopope Antoniy from Zhyvotov (possibly the Kiev Voivodeship). Being bolstered in this prominent position during the 17th and 18th centuries, Akhtyrka rose to such heights that it rivaled Kharkiv itself. The  first census of the city was taken in 1655 by governor of Akhtyrka Trofim Khrushchev, listing 1339 residents. In 1655-1658, the settlement was a regimental town of Akhtyrka Regiment. In 1718 in Okhtyrka appeared a tobacco factory the first one in Ukraine. Throughout the 18th century Okhtyrka transformed into a center of crafts and trade. Following the 1765 liquidation of regimental system of administration, Akhtyrka became a center of the Sloboda Ukraine province and then Akhtyrka uyezd of Kharkov Governorate. 2022 Russian Invasion. Clashes have been ongoing in Okhtyrka between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the invading Russian Armed  Forces in the city since 24 February 2022. On the morning of February 25, the city of Akhtyrka was shelled. According to Amnesty International, Russian troops used cluster munitions in the process, which they dropped on a kindergarten. As a result, three people died, including a child. On this day, in the area of Akhtyrka, the Russian military fired from "Gradov" on a bus for the evacuation of residents. Chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration Dmitry Zhivitsky said that 5 more civilians were killed in the city. On the morning of February 26, explosions thundered in Akhtyrka, later it  became known that the RF Armed Forces completely bombed the military unit, and also fired at the Dachny residential area. According to Zhyvitsky, more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers died as a result of shelling by Russian troops of a military unit in Akhtyrka. On February 27, the chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration reported that Russian tanks had shot down a bus with civilians. On February 28, Russian forces used a vacuum bomb on the city. On March 1, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian troops were holding the city surrounded. On March  3, Russian aircraft bombarded the local thermal power plant and fired at the residential areas of Akhtyrka. On March 5, the head of the Sumy Regional State Administration announced that the Akhtyrskaya CHPP was completely destroyed after an air bombardment by Russian aircraft, resulting in the death of 5 workers. On March 8, Akhtyrka was subjected to another artillery shelling from Russia, residential areas were damaged. On the night of March 10, Russian aircraft bombed Akhtyrka twice, a bombing attack was carried out on the Kachanovsky GPP of PJSC Ukrnafta. At noon on March 13, as a result of Russian  shelling, in Akhtyrka, along Kyiv street No. 2, the gas station BVS No. 22 was on fire. On the night of March 13–14, Russian aircraft again bombed Akhtyrka. The city continues to resist the Russian invaders. On March 16, the Russian military began to retreat. On March 20, active hostilities continued in the Akhtyrsky district. On March 24, 2022, in order to celebrate the feat, mass heroism and resilience of citizens identified in the defense of their cities during the repulse of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 164/2022 , the city of Akhtyrka Sumy was awarded the honorary distinction "Hero City of Ukraine" areas. On March 24, Russian terrorists, using prohibited means of warfare, carried out a powerful air bombardment of the most densely populated residential area of Akhtyrka, Dachny district. As a result of the bombing, at least 15 residential high-rise and private houses, civil infrastructure facilities, and power lines were destroyed and damaged. According to the Emergency Situations Ministry of Ukraine in Akhtyrka, rescuers were able to free the injured woman from the rubble of damaged houses and also found the body of the deceased. According  to preliminary data, one person died. On March 25, Russian aircraft bombed Akhtyrka again. On March 30, public utilities in Akhtyrka began repairing damaged houses. The coat of arms The town's coat of arms (blue field, golden cross and shining sun above) celebrates the city's great number of visiting pilgrims. It was introduced by Simon Bekenshtein on September 21, 1781 and reinstated in 1991 by the city council. Glory in arms. In 1655–1658 the Okhtyrka Cossack Regiment was formed and it lasted until 1765, when by order of Catherine II, all of Cossack regiments had been dismantled. In  1709 the territory of the Cossack regiment became the scene of fierce fighting with the Swedes. More than a hundred years the Cossack regiment fought against the invasion of the Tatars, and the troops shared not only the bitterness of defeat but the majestic glory of victories over the Turks, Tartars, the Swedes. Later, Okhtyrka's Cossack regiment reformed into the Hussars. Bravery was always of the best qualities of fighters from Okhtyrka. Okhtyrka Fortress Okhtyrka, like all of Sloboda Ukraine, had a chaotic structure of buildings. The central core of the city was represented by the fortress, which occupied  a dominant place in the strategic sense. The buildings ran around, fitting into the terrain without any order. Okhtyrka's fort was sitting on a shore of a small Okhtyrka river, where it makes a loop, forming a natural protection. The fortress was surrounded by numerous lakes, complicating approaches to it. The fortress had the shape of an irregular quadrilateral, and occupied a territory of the present city center, from the river to the area, where there is now "Intercession Cathedral" (outside the castle). It was surrounded by a wooden fence with five stone and fifteen wooden towers and two  bastions. The fortress gates had drawbridges. Around the castle there was a moat that was dug and earth mound with caponier at the corners. The water filled moat gave the island fortress a situational advantage, strengthening its defense capacity. The visit of Peter the Great In the early 18th century warriors from Okhtyrka regiment took an active part in the Great Northern War recapturing the Swedish and Russian lands bordering the Baltic Sea. On December 26, 1707 Peter the First himself came to the city to personally verify the readiness of the garrison and hold a council of war. The  Russian Tsar knew and appreciated soldiers from Okhtyrka, who have shown courage and perseverance during combat tours. Hussars An important role in the fight against Napoleon's troops during the War of 1812 was played by Okhtyrka Hussars. They participated in the battles of Smolensk, Vyazma, Borodino. For services in battle the regiment was honored to open the parade of victors at the entry of Allied troops in Paris. In this regiment served, as one of the leaders of the partisan movement during the War in 1812 the Russian poet Dmitry Davydov, Russian composer AA Alyabyev. In 1823, the regiment  was commanded by a future Decembrist A. Muravyev and Mikhail Lermontov - Russian poet. Many people fought and died in WW-I and a lot more in WW-II defending the motherland. The fights around Okhtyrka were fearsome and resulted in having the common grave of Soviet soldiers in the area. The site is known to everyone in the city. Soviet Times During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), Okhtyrka was occupied by the German Army from 15 October 1941 to 23 February 1943 and again from 11 March to 25 August 1943. Okhtyrka was near the southern flank of  the Kursk Bulge, and fighting for the possession of the city in the summer of 1943 got extremely fierce. That is why the city and its surroundings have so many monuments of the last war: the eternal flame of remembrance in the city park, Valley of Heroes, T-34 tank on a pedestal in one of the city's entrances, the Mound of Glory, etc. After the war, large army garrisons settled in the area of Okhtyrka and the new planes started circling the skies with swept wings. Military parades in the city, arranged on the occasion of Soviet holidays, could  compete with the capital due to the number of participating vehicles and machinery of all kinds. In the last decade of the Soviet Era Okhtyrka has been militarized. It housed many army regiments of all sorts. The Dachny precinct became a home to officers' families from all around the former USSR. Many of them served in Eastern Bloc countries (East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia etc.), took part in Vietnam and Afghanistan wars and served as consultants in Cuba. As USSR started to fall apart all the machinery and ballistic rockets were transported back to Russian territory, however it took a very  long time for the regiments to move or to transform. A lot of military personnel or their families stayed in Okhtyrka or still have connections to this city where they spent many years of their lives and that offered them home. Architecture. There are many more wooden and brick churches of importance and beauty in the area. On a beautiful hill that locals always called "Monastery Hill", just outside Akhtyrka [Russian], nestles a Holy Trinity Monastery (http://www.ahtyr.org/en/history) overlooking the Vorskla river. It was established in 1654 about 4–5 km north of Akhtyrka. These holy grounds have been practically destroyed during  the Soviet era with exception of its bell tower that kept a bit of its structure intact. October revolt, World War II and anti-religious policies of Soviet era played a big part here. It has been reopened following restoration of religious life in Ukraine and Russia, for the 4th time during its uneasy history it enjoys its rebirth. Mostly surviving on donations and on the work of enthusiastic monks and volunteers, with Kyiv Church blessings, it has started to rebuild its former glory and has become one of the main religious places for Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Christian worshipers  in the region, becoming a notable landmark in Ukraine. The local Cathedral and its relics. Okhtyrka was the first city in Ukraine to acquire a tobacco factory. The city has a beautiful Cathedral of the Holy Virgin (1753–62) [Russian: Собор Покрова Пресвятой Богородицы], formerly attributed to Bartolomeo Rastrelli and currently to Dmitry Ukhtomsky with managing architect S. Dudinsky. Its singular architecture is the complex medley of traditional Sloboda Ukraine Baroque with fashionable elements derived from the imperial capital. The interior is decorated with pilasters with Ionic capitals, and paintings on sails. It had suffered during the Great Patriotic War. The  restorations started in 1970-1972 but were completed only after collapse of USSR. The construction is unique in its three-dimensional solution and has no analogy in the Ukrainian Baroque architecture. Near at hand stands the Nativity Church (1825), which resembles a palace rather than a church. The cathedral bell-tower was built in three tiers and adorned with statuary in 1783. Miraculous Icon of Okhtyrka Iconography of Akhtyrka's icon originates in the Italo-Greek art. Usually picturing - half-length image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with folded hands in supplication. To the left of it - the Lord Jesus  Christ, crucified on the cross. (http://drevo-info.ru/articles/6725.html) The Okhtyrka Miraculous Icon was revealed on July 2, 1739 in Okhtyrka. The image, which emanated radiance, was uncovered by priest Vasily (Basil) Danilov in the grassland of Protection Church while he was mowing. The icon was moved to his home. After three years from the date of bringing it into the house, when the priest entered the room on the day of the feast of the Protection, he was struck by the extraordinary light of the icon. This has been repeated numerous times. The priest prayed devoutly near this icon but never said  anything to anyone else. Once in his sleep, the priest saw the Virgin, and heard her command to remove dust from his newfound icon and to clean it with water. On the priest's awakening from his sleep he executed the command. The water that he used to clean the icon he left in a vessel planning to take it to the river next morning to empty and to wash the vessel there. Again he fell asleep and dreamed, as if he was going to the river next morning. He heard the voice of Mother of God "Return home and  keep this water, it will heal all who suffers from fever." He had a daughter, who had long experienced fevers and when he awoke, he gave her to drink this water, and the daughter soon recovered. Then the priest asked Ioan (John) iconographer to repair paint damage on the icon. Knowing about the miraculous healing qualities of the icon from the priest, the icon painter washed it with water and watered his son, who suffered from fever, who also recovered. In preparation for the restoration that night he heard a voice coming from the icon: "Get up! Now is the  time to return the icon to where you took it. Fix it you can not. " The painter was praying before the icon until the morning, and in the morning took it back to Basil, who being convinced of its miraculous power put it in the Protection Church. Fever sufferers began to resort to this icon prayerfully, receiving miraculous healings in great numbers. The news of the miracles of the icon spread to the Imperial Court. The Mother of God appeared in a vivid dream to the widow Baroness von Veydel, who visited Okhtyrka in 1748. The Lady said to her  that her days were numbered and ordered her to give away her estate distributing it to the needy and promised the protection to her two young daughters. Baroness rushed to distribute the property and actually died five days later. The news about this reached the Empress, and Elizabeth took the orphans to the court, raised them and married one to Count Panin, another to Count Chernyshov. Both of them made generous contributions to the cathedral, where the icon remained until the day they died. In 1751 the Holy Synod decided to honor the icon of Okhtyrka as miraculous. In 1753  Empress Elizabeth donated funds and a stone Cathedral of the Holy Virgin was erected at the place where the icon was found. The icon was kept in the Cathedral until its abduction in 1903 during the voyage to St. Petersburg for restoration. It is unknown how the holy icon found its way to Harbin, but that's where it was acquired by S A Stepanov. According to the Harbin Archpriest Nikolai Trufanova, who repeatedly visited Okhtyrka icon in Okhtyrka it was the very icon that had gone missing. He confirmed that Stepanov acquired that very same wonder-working icon of  Okhtyrka. In the 1950s, the son of Stepanov brought it to Brazil and then to San Francisco, where he passed it to the Committee of the Russian Orthodox youth as a blessing. Then Okhtyrka icon was placed under the jurisdiction of Sydney Archbishop Hilarion (Kapral). Blessed copies of Okhtyrka icon The icon of Okhtyrka, which is revered as a healer of many diseases, has been copied with blessing of the church in small numbers that were distributed mainly in the south of Russia, in Kharkiv diocese. One such icon from the 18th or 19th century is kept in Moscow, in  the main aisle of the church of Resurrection in the Arbat (ap. Philip) Jerusalem monastery. Okhtyrka icon is called "Samara" - the main shrine of Samara Nicholas male monastery. In 1975, the information that the lost Okhtyrka icon was in San Francisco reached the Soviet Union. In 1995 the Metropolitan Nicodemus of Kharkiv (Rusnak) brought a copy of the icon, and handed it to Okhtyrka St. Basil's Cathedral. In the connection with this event there was a holy procession on the third day after the Holy Trinity with other icons to place the Okhtyrka icon into the Holy Trinity Monastery . These holy processions occurred yearly since 1844 on the Saturday of Pentecost, and later the icons were transferred back on the feast of All Saints. On June 15, 1999 Okhtyrka held celebrations to mark the 260th anniversary of the phenomenon of the miraculous Okhtyrka icon. List of temples in honor of Okhtyrka icons Temple in the village Chernetove Bryansk region; Akhtyrsky nunnery in the village Gusevka Volgograd region; Church in the village of Akhtyrka Sergiev Posad, Moscow Region; Chapel at the Republican Hospital in Petrozavodsk; Akhtyrsky Cathedral in City Orel. Culture. People who live in Okhtyrka have origins in different  nationalities with the mainstream culture being predominantly Ukrainian and Russian, which is widely accepted by all. This is also influenced by Orthodox faith traditions, the surrounding Christian architecture, the religious life and history of this city. In recent years, following the independence of Ukraine there is a noticeable shift to Ukrainian culture. The spoken language is Ukrainian and Russian, or a mixture of both, with Ukrainian language dominating. Celebrations Okhtyrkivtsi (residents of Okhtyrka) celebrate the Day of the City on August 25, in honor of liberation of this city on this day in 1943 from Nazi invaders; Ukrainian independence day ; Patronal feast days; Carnival; A festival in honor of the holiday of Ivan Kupala and many other. Economy. Tobacco Manufacture. In 1718 the first Russian tobacco manufacture began, which was attributed to several villages (944 peasant households), but it proved unprofitable. And in 1727 the company sold its treasury to private individuals. The tobacco factory was served by an isolated plantation (50 acres), from which were collected seven thousand pounds of tobacco. Oil and Gas. Since the discovery of oil and gas in 1961 Okhtyrka has become an "oil capital of Ukraine". Okhtyrka region produces the most oil in Ukraine . Other Industries. In the early 20th century there were manufacturers of light woollen stuffs and a trade in corn, cattle and the produce of domestic industries. The environs were fertile, the orchards producing excellent fruit. Obolon CJSC has a brewery in Okhtyrka. NGDU "Okhtyrkanaftogaz." JSC "Naftoprommash." JSC "Okhtyrsilmash." JSC "Okhtyrsky garment factory." JSC "Okhtyrsky brewery." JSC "Bakery Akhtyrsky." Branch "Cheese Okhtyrsky" PE "Ros" The current city mayor is Igor Alekseev. Sports. Okhtyrka is home to the Ukrainian First League team FC Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka.