Kryvyi RihКривий РігUkrainian transcription(s) • National • ALA-LC • BGN/PCGN • ScholarlyCountryProvinceDistrictHistoric GovernoratesFoundedTown charterCity statusAdministrative HQRaionsGovernment • Type • Mayor • Governing body • Head of military administrationArea • City • RankElevation[4]Population(2022) • City • Rank • Metro Demonym(s)Time zone • Summer (DST)Postal codeArea codeWebsite
Kryvyi Rih(Ukrainian:Криви́й Ріг[krɪˌwɪj ˈr⁽ʲ⁾iɦ],lit. 'Curved Cape' or 'Crooked Horn'[5]) is the largest city in central Ukraine and7thmost populous city in the country;[6]2nd biggest city in the country by area. It lies within a largeurban areawith approximately one million inhabitants and serves as the administrative center ofKryvyi Rih Raion.[7]The city’s population at the beginning of 2022 is estimated at 646,748. It hosts the administration ofKryvyi Rih urban community.[7]
Stalin-era industrialisation saw the development in the city from 1934 ofKryvorizhstal, the largest integrated metallurgical works in the Soviet Union. After a brutal German occupation inWorld War Two, Kryvyi Rih experienced industrial and urban growth through to the 1970s. The economic dislocation associated with the break-up of theSoviet Unioncontributed to high unemployment and a large-scale exodus from the city in the 1990s.
TheprivatizationofKryvorizhstalin 2005 was followed by increased foreign and private investment which helped finance urban regeneration. Beginning in 2017, there were major labor protests and strikes.
Kryvyi Rih, which in Ukrainian literally means "CrookedHorn" or "Curved Cape", was the name originally given in the 18th century to the general area of the present city byZaporozhian Cossacks. According to local legend, the first village in the area was founded by a "crooked" (Ukrainian slang for "one-eyed") Cossack named Rih ("Horn"), but the name likely derives from the shape of the landmass formed by theconfluenceof the riverSaksahanwith theInhulets.[8]
Early history
In 1734 the CossackZaporizhian Sich(or Host) incorporated the area within the Inhulets Palanka division of theirde-factorepublic. A list of villages and winter camps from that time mentions Kryvyi Rih. In 1770, Kryvyi Rih was again recorded as the camp ofZaporizhian Sich.[9][10]
On May 8, 1775, after the end of theRussian-Turkish War,Russian authoritiesestablished Kryvyi Rih as a staging post (attended by 5 Cossacks) on the roads to the Russian garrisons ofKremenchuk,Kinburn forelandandOchakov.[11]In August of that year, on the direct order ofCatherine the Great, the Sich was forcibly dissolved. The cossack lands were annexed to the Russian province ofNovorossiyaand distributed among the Russian and Ukrainian gentry.[12]
The early 19th century saw the construction of the first stone houses (1828), and three water mills.[13]In 1860 the village was designated atownship.[14]
Industrial growth
Alexander Pol(also known as Paul), a Russian Imperial geologist,[15]discovered and initiated iron ore investigation and production in this area. He is credited with discovering theKryvbas.[16][17]This stimulated formation of a mining district.[18]In 1884Alexander IIinitiated the, Catherine Railroad, first toDniproand then 505 km to the coal-mining region ofDonbas.[19][20]
In 1880, with 5 millionfrancsofcapital, Pol founded the "French Society of Kryvyi Rih Ores". In 1882 16.4 thousand tons of ore were extracted from surface mines on the outskirts of town by 150 workers. The first underground mine of the basin began operations in 1886.[21]In1892, whenHdantsivkaironworkswas started, ore began to be processed locally, spawning new metalurgical enterprises spurred by substantial western, and in particular Belgian,[22]investment.. At the same time Kryvyi Rih ore began to feed the German metalurgical industry inSilesia. In 1902, the Catherine Railroad linked Kryvyi Rih to the coal mines of the Donbas.[23]
Kryvyi Rih's synagogue, 19th century
Alexander Polstudied iron ore in detail and proved its commercial value
At the end of the 19th century the tallest building was the Central Synagogue, built by a thriving Jewish community of artisans, merchants and traders.[14]In 1905 the community was subject topogromsin which the authorities were complicit. Many Jewish people left the area, emigrating toGermany,Austria-Hungaryand theUnited States.[24]
The surrounding mines attracted prospectors looking to turn a quick profit.[25]Thesupplyof mined ore soon exceededdemand. Many mines had to cut employment or temporarily suspend operations. Workers, many drawn from the Russian-speaking north (fromGreat Russia),[26]labored in harsh conditions with no security. Work in the mines induced lung cancer,tuberculosisandasthma.[27]In protest, workers began to develop ideas about socialism and democracy. Labor unrest resulted in several terrorist attacks and in widespreadstrikes.[28]
Red-colored ground is common because of theiron oxides.
Located 415 kilometres (260 mi) south ofKyiv, the city extends for 126 km from north to south,[125][126]paralleling theoredeposits. The city centre is on the east bank of theInhulets River, near its confluences with the RiverSaksahan. Kryvyi Rih's geographic features were highly influential in its early development industrial city.
The city is set in the rolling steppe land surrounded by fields of sunflowers and grain. A short distance east of the city center, there is an area along a small lake where glacial boulders were deposited. As a result, this area was never cultivated and contains one of the few remaining patches of wildsteppevegetation in the area. The city'senvironmentalandconstructionsafetyis a growing problem due to abandonedminesandpollutedore-processingwaste. According to the Scientific Hygienic Centre of Ukraine, the city is one of the most unfavorable places to live because of these problems.[127]
Climate
Kryvyi Rih experiences a dry warmcontinental climate(Dfa) according to the Köppen climate classification system, like much of southern Ukraine. This tends to generate warm summers and cold winters with relatively low precipitation. Snowfalls are not common in the city, due to the urban warming effect. However,[128]districts that surround the city receive more snow and roads leading out of the city can be closed[129]due to snow.
Official unemployment throughout 2014 averaged 0.63%.Average wageis ₴4.022 ($266,[148]19.4% more than average Ukraine).[113][147]
Processing andmining industry- the two largest sectors of Kryvyi Rih. Rest fraction is about 50%. City has over 53[149]plants, mines and factories.ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, owned byArcelorMittalsince 2005 is the largest private company by revenue in Ukraine,[150]producing over 7 million tonnes of crude steel, and mined over 17 million tonnes of iron ore.As of 2011, the company employed about 37 000 people. 4 Iron Ore Enrichment Works ofMetinvestare a large contributors to the UA'sbalance of payments. Another giants of city areEvrazmining company andHeidelbergCement.[113][147]
