Kharkov, Ukraine - By Simon J. Gale
The city of Kharkov was founded over 350 years ago at the crossroads of major transportation routes. It has now become one of Ukraine's largest centres for science, industry and culture.
Due to its industrial and economic potential, Kharkov has been recognized by the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development as the most promising Ukrainian city for business cooperation.
Traditions and Development
Among the cities of the now independent Ukraine, Kharkov occupies a place of its own - that of a most active and efficient centre for craftsmanship, science and technology.
Initially a fort, founded by Cossacks, the town gradually turned into a centre for handicrafts and market trade. Being advantageously positioned at the crossroads of trade routes connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg with Kyiv (Kiev in Russian), the Crimea and the Caucasus, naturally provided for direct trade ties with the countries of Western Europe, the Near East and the Balkan Peninsula. Multilingual seasonal fairs could boast a trading turnover greater than that of all other trade fairs in Ukraine combined.
In the second half of the 19th century, Kharkov developed into a large industrial centre. It grew rapidly and expanded beyond the limits of its historical old town.
At the beginning of the 20th century there were over 150 plants and factories, innumerable commercial enterprises, joint stock companies, credit institutions, and other enterprises. One of the best known municipal banks of the pre-Revolution period was the City Public Merchants' Bank of Kharkov. The first university in Eastern and Central Ukraine was the University of Kharkov, and Kharkov (Kharkiv) was the capital of Soviet Ukraine from 1918 to 1934. In addition, the first nuclear fission reaction in Europe was carried out in Kharkov.
Location, Territories, Communications
Kharkov is situated in north-eastern Ukraine at the confluence of the Rivers Kharkov and Logan. Its population is approximately 1.6 million, in an area of 297.4 sq. kilometres (114.8 sq. miles).
Its excellent location, close to the largest industrial centres in Ukraine and Russia, and a developed network of transportation and communications facilities make Kharkov of great interest to manufacturers and investors from countries throughout the world.
Kharkov is one of the largest transportation centres in Ukraine, connected to numerous cities of the world by air, rail and road. Kharkovites are proud of their city Metro, whose third line was opened in May, 1995 on the eve of the 50thanniversary of Victory Day.
The City has adequate consignment storage facilities and customs offices, as well as available land and buildings for offices and factory expansions.
Major steps have been taken to make good use of modern communication technology in Kharkov such as electronic mail, cellular and satellite communication systems, and global computer networks.
Industry
Kharkov is the largest Ukrainian industrial centre. Among cities of the CIS, it is second only to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
There are roughly 250 large industrial enterprises in the city, the most important of which are in mechanical engineering and metal working, electrical power engineering and construction materials industries. The chemical, printing and woodworking industries are also well developed, and the city has a highly developed civil engineering industry.
The products of Kharkov companies are well known in Ukraine and abroad. They include tractors and turbines, jet aircraft, automated machine tools, electrical motors and engines for agricultural machinery, TV sets and electrical devices, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
Specialists from Kharkov have contributed greatly to rocket engineering and the exploration of space. Control systems for carrier rockets and space vehicles, as well as several generations of rocket systems, have been developed by research and engineering specialists from Kharkov. These systems constitute the core of the CIS Space Program.
At the beginning of 1995, there were nearly 6,700 small and medium sized businesses making a considerable contribution to the Kharkov infrastructure. These include a number of light industry enterprises such as textiles, knitted fabrics and tailoring.
Science and Education
The research and development potential of the city is represented by its research and design institutes and design offices. Kharkov is the largest regional centre for the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, and over 150 institutions in Kharkov deal with science and research work.
Fundamental research schools and universities in Kharkov are leaders in the country. Investigations by Kharkov scientists in the fields of solid-state physics, cryobiology and cryomedicine, radio electronics, crystal synthesis, low temperature physics, genetics and selection are known worldwide.
Specialists in various fields of expertise are trained in Kharkov state institutions including 6 Academies, 10 Universities and 8 Institutes. Institutions such as Kharkov State University, State Law Academy, Engineering and Pedagogic Academy, and Pharmaceutical Academy are well known and respected. There are also a growing number of private educational institutions.
The high education level of the population is a major factor in the continuing progress of the City.
The city has 193 elementary, Middle and High schools, 8 college Preparatory High Schools, 37 Vocational schools and 4 Junior Colleges. The students of these provide an excellent, highly qualified, labour pool for business enterprises and institutions.
Public Health
Kharkov hospitals have a capacity for 22 thousand patients. There is a reliable network of drug stores at the disposal of the citizens. Medical Institutes and Clinics successfully combine their practical medical practices with research. There are excellent specialists in all types of medicine.
Language
Russian is the major language of Kharkov, as is most of Eastern Ukraine, whereas Ukrainian is mainly used in the West of the country. English is widely learnt at School as a second language and there are many Language Schools for both International and local students.
Culture, Recreation, Sport
Kharkov has a long-standing theatrical tradition. There are six major theatres in the city. The musical life of Kharkov is closely connected to the Lysenko State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. Famous Ukrainian and foreign singers and dancers have performed in this theatre, which seats 2,000.
Kharkov has a large number of museums, the most popular of which are the Museum of History, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Natural History.
Among the numerous libraries in the city, the principle one - the Korolenko State Scientific Library - is a real treasurer-house of knowledge. Its shelves house over 6.5 million volumes.
There are numerous kindergartens, nursery schools and other preschool facilities which provide interesting and diverse leisure activities for children. An international fund for supporting talented young people has recently been instituted.
Favourite places for Kharkovites to spend their leisure hours include the Shevshenko Town Gardens, Gorky City Park with its numerous entertainment facilities, Forest Park and the Zoo and the Dolphinarium, Aqua Parks, Ski Resorts, Planetarium and Circus.
Numerous sports facilities are provided in the city. There are 19 stadiums, 850 sports grounds, 363 gymnasiums, over 40 tennis courts and 19 swimming pools.
Trade and Services
Kharkov has 1180 shopping facilities and 13 markets including the famous Blagoveshchensk and Kinny markets.
Highly professional services are provided by the Trade & Industry Chamber of Commerce, nine exchange facilities, 23 commercial banks and branch offices of the National Bank of Ukraine, and 607 broker companies.
Numerous Kharkov hotels open their doors to visitors, with excellent restaurants, bars, clubs and cafes.
Cultural Relations and Economic Integration
Products from Kharkov are well known in 50+ countries. About 60 major Kharkov firms and institutions work with business partners from neighbouring and other foreign countries. In addition, there are some 600 foreign business relationships.
Representative offices of Renault, Minolta, Siemens, Panasonic and other large international companies successfully work in Kharkov.
Kharkov has established Twin Town, Sister City relationships with;
Nόrnberg, Germany
Poznań, Poland
Cincinnati, United States
Tianjin, China
Bangalore, India
Varna, Bulgaria
Rize, Turkey
Moscow, Russia
St.Petersburg, Russia
Brno, Czech Republic
Donetsk, Ukraine
Bologna, Italy
Lille, France
Cincinnati (USA), Nuremberg (Germany), Lille (France), Bologna (Italy), Tientsin (China) and Varna (Bulgaria) being the most long standing.
To compliment the political and economic changes that are underway in Ukraine today, Kharkov is interested in attracting investments, advanced technologies, material resources as well as business partnerships on mutually profitable terms.
Kharkov Through the Years
1656 Cossacks from Zaporozhia (Beyond-the-Dnieper Ukraine) build a wooden fort and name it "Kharkov" after the name of the river flowing through the town.
1665 The future town is first mentioned in a written document.
1689 The Pokrovska (Protection) Monastery is built.
1726 The church School (later the Collegiums of Kharkov) opens.
1765 By an edict of Catherine the Second, Queen of Russia, Kharkov becomes the centre of the Slobidska Ukraine Province.
1780-1796 Kharkov becomes the seat of the Governor-General of the Province.
It was at that time that the city received its official emblem, the symbol of abundant natural resources and expanding trade.
1791 The first theatre in the city is opened.
1805 Kharkov University - the first in Livoberezhna (on the left bank of the Dnieper) Ukraine and the third in the Russian empire - is founded.
1812 The first newspaper "Kharkovsky Yezhenedelnik" ("Kharkov Weekly") is published. It "announced the starting point of Ukrainian press".
1835 The Slobidska Ukraine Province is reorganized into the Kharkiv Province.
1864 The "zemstvo" system (the system of provincial self-governing) is introduced.
1869 The first railway main line connecting Kursk, Kharkov and Azovsk is opened.
1870 An ironworks is built
1881 The first line of the municipal water supply system is constructed.
1882 The new type of municipal transport - "konka" (horse drawn tram) is introduced.
1885 The technological Institute (now the Kharkov Polytechnic University) is built.
1886 The first public library in the Russian empire is built in Kharkov.
1895 The steam locomotive works starts production.
1917 The Kharkov Conservatoire opens..
1918-1934 Kharkov serves as the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR).
1928 The construction of the Derzhprom (House of State Industry) - the most remarkable building in the Soviet period in Kharkov - is completed.
1930 Kharkov airport - one of the first in Ukraine - opens.
1931 The Kharkov tractor plant starts industrial production.
1932 The scientists of the Ukrainian Technical Institute of Physics construct a proton accelerator and effect the first artificial nuclear fission reaction in Europe.
1934 The Kharkov Turbo-generator Works starts production.
1935 The monument to the outstanding Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevshenko is erected.
1941-1943 Occupation of the city by the Nazis during World War II.
1943 August 23, The Red Army liberates Kharkov.
1962 The one millionth inhabitant of Kharkov is born.
1967 The general plan for the development of the city is approved.
1975 The first line of the city underground begins operation.
1985 Researchers and engineers of the Kharkov institute of radio-astronomy construct one of the world's largest radio-telescopes.
1989 Construction of the new building of the Kharkov Opera and Ballet Theatre is completed.
1995 Kharkov airport obtains international status
2009 New Football Stadium built for Euro 2012
2010 Expansion of Kharkov International Airport
Nobel and Fields prize winners from Kharkov;
Vladimir Drinfeld (mathematics)
Simon Kuznets (economics)
Lev Landau (physics)
Ilya Mechnikov (biology)
Famous people from Kharkov;
Nikolay Pavlovich Barabashov - Astronomer, co-author of the first pictures of the far side of the Moon
Vladimir Bobri Illustrator, author, composer, educator and guitar historian
Sergei Bortkiewicz Russian Romantic composer and pianist
Leonid Bykov - a Soviet actor, film director, and script writer
Adolphe Mouron Cassandre Ukrainian-French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer
Valentina Chepiga - Female Bodybuilder and 2000 Ms. Olympia Champion
Vladimir Gershonovich Drinfel'd Mathematician, was awarded Fields Medal in 1990
Konstanty Gorski Polish composer, violist, organist, and music teacher
Isaak Dunayevsky a Soviet composer and conductor
Valentina Grizodubova One of the first female pilots in the Soviet Union
Klavdiya Shulzhenko was the most popular female singer of the Soviet Union.
Lyudmila Gurchenko (Hurchenko) - Soviet and Russian actress, singer and entertainer
Mikhail Gurevich (Mykhilo Hurevych) - Soviet aircraft designer, a partner (with Artem Mikoyan) of the famous MiG military aviation bureau
Mikhail Gurevich (Mykhilo Hurevych) Ukrainian chess player
Leonid Haydamaka - bandurist, conductor, founder of first orchestra of Ukrainian folk instruments.
Maksym Kalynychenko - Ukrainian football player
Hnat Khotkevych - Ukrainian writer, ethnographer, composer, bandurist
Mikhail Koshkin - chief designer of Soviet tank T-34
Olga Krasko - Russian actress
Yakov Landa - Russian writer, 19482005
Eduard Limonov - Writer, poet and controversial politician.
Simon Kuznets - was a Russian American economist
Aleksandr Lyapunov - Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicist. Inventor of motion stability theory
Lev Landau - prominent Soviet physicist, Nobel Prize winner
Evgeny Lifshitz Leading Soviet physicist
Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy - lead developer of the Soviet Shuttle Buran programme
Boris Mikhailov photographer / artist
Irina Press Ukrainian athlete who won two Olympic gold medals
Tamara Press Soviet shot putter and discus thrower
Alexander Shchetynsky Composer
Eugen Schauman - Finnish nationalist who killed Russian general Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov in 1904
Alexander Siloti Russian pianist, conductor and composer
Alexander Vynograd classical guitarist / 8-string classical guitar and composer
Karina Smirnoff - Ukrainian professional world champion dancer, starring on Dancing with the Stars
Jura Soyfer Austrian political journalist and cabaret writer
Otto Struve Russian-American astronomer
Sergei Sviatchenko - Ukrainian artist
Mark Taimanov Leading Ukrainian chess player and concert pianist
Nikolai Tikhonov Premier of the Soviet Union
Vladimir Vasyutin Soviet cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent
Alexander Winkler Composer and pianist, 18651935
Serhiy Zhadan - Ukrainian poet, novelist, and translator.
Leonid Haydamaka - Bandurist, conductor, composer.
Hryhorii Skovoroda - was a Ukrainian poet, philosopher and composer.
Vasyl Karazin - the founder of Kharkiv University, which now bears his name.
Juliya Chernetsky (Mistress Juliya) - television host, actress, model, and music promoter in the United States
Irina Zhurina opera singer, People's Artist of Russia
(Information from Various sources Google, Wikipedia, Local Residents)