Balta, Ukraine
Balta (; ; ) is a city in Podilsk Raion, Odessa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. Population: The city's population was 19,772 as of the 2001 Ukrainian Census. History. Balta is located near the Dniester River border with Moldova. First mentions of Balta go all the way to 1526. Until 1792 Balta was part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1797 two nearby towns; Yuzefhrad (Юзефград, , until 1793 part of Poland) and Yelensk (Еленськ), were added to the city. It is located in the historic Podolia region of Ukraine. According to the Russian census of 1897, with a population of 23,363  it was the fourth largest city of Podolia after Kamianets-Podilskyi, Uman and Vinnytsia. In 1900, the city's Jewish population numbered 13,235. Pogroms occurred in Balta in 1882 and 1905. From 1924–1929, the city was the capital of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. With the annexation of Bessarabia in 1940, Balta became a part of the Odessa Oblast of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. It was occupied by German and Romanian troops on 5 August 1941 and became part of Transnistria Governorate in Kingdom of Romania until its liberation on 29 March 1944 by Red Army. Until 2016 , Balta was part of Balta Raion. On 4 February 2016, it was designated the city of oblast significance but remained the administrative center of the raion.