Dnipropetrovsk (Ukrainian: Дніпропетровськ, Dnipropetrovs’k; Russian: Днепропетро́вск, Dnepropetrovsk, formerly Екатериносла́в, Yekaterinoslav) is Ukraine's third largest city with 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-central section of the country, south of Kiev on the Dnieper river. Geographical location 48°27′ N 35°02′ E. Dnipropetrovsk is the administrative centre of the Dnipropetrovs'ka oblast'. City lights from space. ... Length 2,290 km Elevation of the source - m Average discharge 1670 m³/s Area watershed 516,300 km² Origin Russia Mouth Black Sea Basin countries Russia, Belarus, Ukraine The Dnieper River (Russian: Днепр/Dnepr; Belarusian: Дняпро/Dnyapro; Ukrainian: Дніпро/Dnipro) is a river (2,290 km length) which flows from Russia through... Dnipropetrovsk region (Дніпропетровська область, Dnipropetrovs’ka oblast’ in Ukrainian) is a region of northern Ukraine. ...

A vital industrial centre of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk was one of the key centres of the nuclear, arms, and space industries of the former Soviet Union. In particular, it is home to Yuzhmash, a major space and ballistic missile designer and manufacturer. Because of its military industry, the city was a closed city (no foreigners were allowed there) until the mid-nineties. Attempting to understand the nature of space has always been a prime occupation for philosophers and scientists. ... The A.M. Makarov Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant, or PA Yuzhmash ( Ukrainian: ; Russian: ; literally Production Association Southern Machine-Building Plant named after A.M. Makarov) is a Ukrainian manufacturer of agricultural equipment, buses, trolley buses and trams, wind turbines, space rockets, and satellites. ... Ballistics (gr. ... A missile (British English: miss-isle; U.S. English: missl) is, in general, a projectile—that is, something thrown or otherwise propelled. ... A closed city is a city with travel and residency restrictions in the former Soviet Union, or in a CIS country. ...

Dnipropetrovsk has a highly-developed transportation system, including one metro line with 6 stations. This page refers to urban rail mass transit systems. ...

Points of interest

The central streets of the city were renamed during the Soviet time in honor of the outstanding revolutionaries. (And it is interesting, the largest of them is in honor of German figures.) So the central street of the city has the name of Karl Marx. It is a very beautiful, wide and long parkway, which stretches east to west through the central part of the city. It was founded in the XVIII century and parts of its buildings are the actual decoration of the city. In the nucleus of the city is Zhovtneva square, on which is the majestic Cathedral that was founded by order of Katherine II (Russian empress) in 1787.

On the square, there are some remarkable buildings: the Museum of History, Diorama "Battle for the Dnieper River (Second World War)", and also the beautiful park in which you can rest in the hot summer. Walking down the hill to the Dnieper River, you will arrive in the large Taras Shevchenko Park (which is on the right bank of the river) and on Monastyrskiy Island. This island is one of the most interesting places in the city. In the IX century, the Byzantian monks based a monastery here. It was destroyed by Mongol-Tatars in the XIII century.

The compact "old town" does not exist in Dnipropetrovsk anymore. Many historic buildings and churches were destroyed in the Second World War and in Stalin's communist times in the 1930s. (You can see pictures of the old city of the 19th century Yekaterinoslav here).

However all of Central Avenue, some street-blocks on the main hill (the Nagornaya part) between Pushkina Prospekt and Embankment, and sections near Globy and Shevchenka parks have been untouched for 150 years. An evening walk through those parts of the city is very pleasurable...

The Dnieper River is a wonderful creation of nature that keeps the climate mild and the air fresh. You can see it from many points in Dnepropetrovsk. From any hill (there are 7 in the city) you will find a beautiful view of the river, islands, parks, outskirts, river banks and hills. There was no need to build huge skyscrapers in the city in Soviet times. Powerful industries preferred to construct offices close to their main factories away from the centre of town. In the last ten years of independence the price of land in Ukraine has grown considerably. All the new office buildings are being built in the same architectural style as the old buildings....

Climate

Very warm in summer (average day temperature in July is 24 to 27 °C, (76 to 80 °F), cold in winter (average day temperature in January is −3 to +4 °C (24 to 39 °F).

Best time for visiting is in late spring - second part of April and May (nice nature and fresh air), and early in autumn: September, October (beauty of yellow town's parks). Long periods of rain are normal in autumn. Other times are mainly dry with a few showers.

Climate is temperate, continental and sometimes in winter it is very cold and snowy (down to −20 to −25 °C), and in summer is hot (up to 37 to 38 °C).

History

The first people appeared in our area somewhere about 150,000 years ago. According to modern historians, they had a brain of insignificant volume, a low forehead, massive jaws and large teeth..." The settlements of the primitive people were found in the outskirts of the city and on Monastyrskiy Island. This unique island appears throughout the history of Prydniprovye, constantly being in the center of events. As a matter of fact, it is also the ancient nucleus of the city. After the last Ice Age - 10 thousand years ago - the settling of the Prydniprovye area began more intensely. In ~3500-2700 BC the first farmers lived here (the so-called Tripolskaya culture people). Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

The mighty, broad Dnieper River (Greeks called it the Borisphen) with its picturesque islands and peaceful backwaters, lush flood-meadows and shadowy oak woods stretches along river valleys and ravines. Abundant game and fish in local forests and waters are a result of good climate and vast fertile land... All this attracted hunters, fishers, cattle-breeders and land-tillers to these parts. 3000 years ago the cattle-breeders came from the East - Cimmerians, written about by Homer and glorified by Hollywood ("Conan the Barbarian"). They gradually overcame the Scythians (~ 700 BC), who were known for their graceful creations from bronze and named as a frontier area of ancient civilization (Crimea). The invasions from the East proceeded and in 200 BC the Sarmatians came here. They won and assimilated the rests of Scythians. The Cimmerians were an ancient people of unknown affinity, possibly of Anatolian, Thracian or Iranian origin, who lived in the south of modern-day Ukraine (Crimea and northern Black sea coast) and Russia (Black Sea coast and Caucasus), at least in the 8th and 7th century BC. In the early... Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... Scythia was an area in Eurasia inhabited in ancient times by an Indo-Aryans known as the Scythians. ... Sarmatian Cataphract from Tanais: compare Pausanias description of armor (text below) Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ...

Most inhabitants of the city and visitors know and like the distinctive features of the small square near the Museum of History - the place where the Stony Women stay (which actually are not females...). The visitors are amazed with the centuries-old natives - their oval forms. They were ancient creations of the steppe nomadic people and are a modular collection from neighboring barrows. In the past they served as the index points for the steppe inhabitants.

The first century of the new era was marked by fast inhabitation of the Dnieper River banks by Slavic tribes. The rocks of Monastyrskiy Island remember well the first time Slavs floated down the Dnieper River to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

On this island in the IX century the Monastery was founded by Byzantin monks (from it the island received its name). It existed until 1240 when it was destroyed by Tatars. The Dnieper River has for many centuries served as a border between East and West and its banks have served as arena of struggle between the Slavs and the Asian nomads. This situation continued for many centuries until the XV century when there appeared a new force - the free people - Cossacks - Zaporiz'ki Kazaky (Zaporizhya - the lands south of Prydniprovye, translate as "The Land After the Weirs [Rapids]")... Tatars or Tartars (Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар) is a collective name applied to the Turkic-speaking people of Europe and Asia. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

17th and 18th century until 1775: Cossacks, Kodak fortress, rivarly of Poland, Turkey and Russia in the region

The locale's history dates back to Cossack times. 1775 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Kodak fortress (Polish - Kudak), a fort built in 1635 by the Polish forces in the Kodaki township near the town Stari Kodaki (near modern city of Dnipropetrivsk, Ukraine). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

In the Russian Empire: 1775 - 1917

The city was founded in the 18th century as a result of southern expansion of the Russian Empire. One former name, Yekaterinoslav, translates in English to "The glory of Yekaterina" (Catherine the Great). Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... 1775 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ...

1917-1919: times of revolutions, German occupation and civil war

1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

1919-1991: in the Soviet Union

In the 20th to 21st centuries, the economic potential of the city has defined its political importance. Dnipropetrovsk and the surrounding oblast are the birthplace of the so-called "Dnipropetrovsk Clan", an influential informal political group inside the CPSU, members of whom were the industrial and party elite. Leonid Brezhnev, a native of the nearby city of Dniprodzerzhyns'k and later Soviet Union Communist Party General Secretary, founded and pushed the Clan to the highest levels of the Soviet power structure. Its members are believed by many political scientists to have ruled not only the Ukrainian SSR but also the entire Soviet Union up to the ascendancy of Mikhail Gorbachev. 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. ... An oblast (Slavonian verbalism or term, Czech: oblast, Slovak: oblasÅ¥, Russian, Ukrainian: о́бласть, Bulgarian: о́бласт) English equivalent area, province or zone. ... The Communist Party of the Soviet Union ( Russian: Коммунисти́ческая Па́ртия Сове́тского Сою́за = КПСС) was the name used by the successors of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party from 1952 to 1991, but the wording Communist Party was present in the partys name since 1918 when... Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev   listen? (Russian: Леони́д Ильи́ч Бре́жнев) (December 19, 1906 – November 10, 1982) was effective ruler of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, though at first in partnership with others. ... Dniprodzerzhynsk ( Ukrainian: Дніпродзержинськ, Dniprodzerzhynsk; Russian: Dneprodzerzhinsk, formerly Kamenskoye) is a city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast of Ukraine, a port on the Dnieper river. ... The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (sometimes called First Secretary) was the title synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union after Lenins death in 1924. ... Soviet redirects here. ... State motto: Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся! Official language None. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov (Gorbachev)   listen? (Russian: ; pronunciation: ) (born March 2, 1931), was leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. ...

After 1991: Since Ukrainian independence

In 2005, the most powerful representative of that clan is Leonid Kuchma, the former President of Ukraine, previously senior manager of Yuzhmash. 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (Леонід Кучма) (born August 9, 1938) was the second President of Ukraine from July 19, 1994 to January 23, 2005. ... The President of Ukraine (in Ukrainian, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrayiny) is the head of state and acts in its name. ... Management (from Old French ménagement the art of conducting, directing, from Latin manu agere to lead by the hand) characterises the process of leading and directing all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). ...

Transportation

The city is served by an international airport (IATA code DNK) and is connected to other Russian and European cities with daily flights.

By train The city is a large railway junction. Daily trains run to and from many parts of East Europe. Two rapid trains at day time from Kyiv and few expresses at night. Trains from Moscow, Lviv, Sankt-Petersburg etc.

By bus The largest bus station in Eastern Ukraine is in Dnipropetrovsk. It is near the Central railway station. Bus routes to all over the country, including some routes to Russia, Poland, Germany, Moldova and Turkey are available.

By car Some highways cross through city. The most popular routes are from Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya. Transit through the city is available.

By boat There are some routes available by hydrofoils in the summer time. Tourist ships, on their way down the Dnieper River, (Kiev - Kherson - Odessa) always make a stop in the city.

Urban Transport

Dnipropetrovsk city has comprehensive transportation network. There are 20 trolleybus, 16 tram, more than 150 bus routes, 6 station of the underground (metro), more 30 stations of Suburbs Railway network.

Famous people from Dnipropretovsk

• Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, a founder of Theosophy
• Ilya Kabakov, contemporary art
• Oksana Baiul, Figure Skating Gold Medalist 1994

Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London, England), better known as Helena Blavatsky or Madame Blavatsky was the founder of Theosophy. ... Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ... Ilya Kabakov (b. ... Contemporary artists must deal on a regular basis on the intention and message behind their art, and increasingly, issues such as site-specificity and choice of materials are becoming more and more relevant in the broadcasting of both their message and the physical aesthetic of their artwork. ... Oksana Baiul (Оксана Баюл, born November 16, 1977 in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) is a professional figure skater and a former Olympic gold medalist. ...

External links

• Dnipropetrovsk city Internet portal.