Kremenchuk

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Kremenchug/Kremenchuk is also an alternative spelling for the village of Cremenciug in Transnistria

Kremenchuk
(Кременчук)

Seal

Coordinates: 49°04′N, 33°25′E

Country

Ukraine

Oblast

Poltava

Area

- Town

96 km² (37.1 sq mi)

Elevation

80 m (262.5 ft)

Population (January 1, 2005)

- Town

231,202

Website: http://www.kremenchuk.com.ua/

Kremenchuk (Ukrainian: Кременчук, Russian: Кременчу́г, translit. Kremenchug) is an important industrial city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kremenchutsky Raion (district), the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located on the banks of Dnieper River.

1 History
2 Economy
3 Sister cities
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

Lenin in the city-center

Kremenchuk was supposedly founded in 1571. From its situation at the southern terminus of the navigable course of the Dnieper river, and equally advantageous positioning on the crossway from Muscovy to Black Sea, it acquired a great commercial importance early on, and by 1655, it was a wealthy Cossack town.

During World War II (1939-1945), Kremenchuk suffered heavily under Nazi occupation. More than 90% of the city's buildings were leveled over the course of the war, and most of Kremenchuk's once substantial Jewish population was wiped out. September 29, the day when the city was liberated from the Nazis in 1943, is celebrated in Kremenchuk as the City Day. Despite a remarkable post-war recovery and a healthier economy, Kremenchuk lacks much of the architectural charm and distinctly Ukrainian (rather than Russian) character of its sister city, the oblast capital of Poltava. Some people, however, consider a benefit the nearly complete lack of old (pre-World War II) buildings, claiming that it gives Kremenchuk its own special appeal.

[edit] Economy

The Dnieper river in Krementschuk

Kremenchuk is a large industrial city of Poltava region and one of the leading industrial centers of Ukraine. It contributes about 7% (2005) of the national economy and accounts for more than 50% of the industrial output of Poltava region. Situated in the city are businesses such as Autokraz, Ukrtatnafta, the road-making machineworks, an automobile manufacturing plant, the wagon plant, the wheel plant, the carbon black plant, the steel worksand others. Kremenchuk is home to the KrAZ truck-manufacturing company (one of the largest in Eastern Europe) as well as a major European oil refinery operated by Ukrtatnafta.

The light industries of the city include tobacco (JTI), confectionery (Roshen), knitting and candlemakingfactories as well as the milk and meat processing plants.

Kremenchuk is one of the most important railway junctions of Central Ukraine (thanks to its geographical position and a bridge over the Dnipro river), and a major river port on the main river of Ukraine.