View source for Shakhty

{{Short description|City in Rostov Oblast, Russia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox Russian inhabited locality
| en_name                 = Shakhty
| ru_name                 = Шахты
| loc_name1               = 
| loc_lang1               = 
| loc_name2               = 
| loc_lang2               = 
| other_name              = 
| other_lang              = 
| image_skyline           = Улица Шевченко (Шахты).jpg
| image_caption           = Shevchenko Street
| image_map               = 
| map_caption             = 
| coordinates             = {{coord|47|42|N|40|14|E|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map             = Russia Rostov Oblast#European Russia#Europe
| image_flag              = Flag_of_Shakhty_(Rostov_oblast).png
| flag_caption            = 
| image_coa               = Coat of arms of Shakhty.png
| coa_caption             = 
| anthem                  = 
| anthem_ref              = 
| holiday                 = Third Sunday of September
| holiday_ref             = 
<!-- administrative status -->
| federal_subject         = [[Rostov Oblast]]
| federal_subject_ref     = <ref name="Ref133" />
| adm_district_jur        = 
| adm_district_jur_ref    = 
| adm_inhabloc_jur        = Shakhty [[City of federal subject significance|Urban Okrug]]
| adm_inhabloc_jur_ref    = <ref name="Ref133" />
| adm_citydistrict_jur    = 
| adm_citydistrict_type   = 
| adm_citydistrict_jur_ref = 
| adm_selsoviet_jur       = 
| adm_selsoviet_type      = 
| adm_selsoviet_jur_ref   = 
| capital_of              = 
| capital_of_ref          = 
| adm_ctr_of1             = Shakhty Urban Okrug 
| adm_ctr_of1_ref         = <ref name="Ref133" /> 
| adm_ctr_of2             = 
| adm_ctr_of2_ref         = 
| adm_ctr_of3             = 
| adm_ctr_of3_ref         = 
| inhabloc_cat            = City
| inhabloc_cat_ref        = <ref name="Ref133" />
| inhabloc_type           = 
| inhabloc_type_ref       = 
<!-- municipal status -->
| mun_district_jur        = 
| mun_district_jur_ref    = 
| urban_okrug_jur         = Shakhty Urban Okrug
| urban_okrug_jur_ref     = <ref name="Ref872" />
| urban_settlement_jur    = 
| urban_settlement_jur_ref = 
| rural_settlement_jur    = 
| rural_settlement_jur_ref = 
| inter_settlement_territory = 
| inter_settlement_territory_ref = 
| mun_admctr_of1          = Shakhty Urban Okrug 
| mun_admctr_of1_ref      = <ref name="Ref872" /> 
| mun_admctr_of2          = 
| mun_admctr_of2_ref      = 
| leader_title            = Mayor
| leader_title_ref        = 
| leader_name             = Denis Stanislavov
| leader_name_ref         = <ref>Official website of Shakhty Administration. [http://shakhty-gorod.ru/officials/4702/ Denis Ivanovich Stanislavov] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311194905/http://shakhty-gorod.ru/officials/4702/ |date=March 11, 2014 }} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>
| representative_body     = 
| representative_body_ref = 
<!-- statistics -->
| elevation_m             = 
| area_km2                = 
| area_km2_ref            = 
| pop_2010census          = 263377
| pop_2010census_rank     = 79th
| pop_2010census_ref      = <ref name="2010Census" />
| pop_latest              = 
| pop_latest_date         = 
| pop_latest_ref          = 
| population_demonym      = 
| time_zone_ref           = 
<!-- history -->
| established_date        = beginning of the<br />19th century
| established_title       = 
| established_date_ref    = <ref name="Pospelov" />
| current_cat_date        = 
| current_cat_date_ref    = 
| abolished_date          = 
| abolished_date_ref      = 
<!-- misc -->
| postal_codes            = 346500
| postal_codes_ref        = 
| dialing_codes           = 8636
| dialing_codes_ref       = 
| website                 = http://www.shakhty-gorod.ru
|date=July 2020}}
'''Shakhty''' ({{lang-rus|Шахты|p=ˈʂaxtɨ}}) is a [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|city]] in [[Rostov Oblast]], [[Russia]], located on the southeastern spur of the Donetsk mountain ridge, {{convert|75|km|sp=us}} northeast of [[Rostov-on-Don]]. As of the [https://www.donland.ru/activity/48/ 2023 Census], its population was&nbsp;222,500.<ref>{{Cite web |title=population 2023 |url=https://www.donland.ru/activity/48/}}</ref>

It was previously known as ''Alexandro-Grushevskaya'' (until 1867),<ref name="Pospelov" /> ''Gornoye Grushevskoye Poseleniye'' (until 1881),<ref name="Pospelov" /> ''Alexandrovsk-Grushevsky'' (until 1920).<ref name="Pospelov" /> It was renamed to its current name when it was part of the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]].

==History==
[[File:Советская-Победы Революции.jpg|thumb|left|Early-20th-century view]]
In the beginning of the 19th century<ref name="Pospelov">Pospelov, p.&nbsp;26</ref> sergeant-major Popov founded{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} on the [[Grushevka River]] a [[Cossacks|Cossack]] ''[[stanitsa]]'' of '''Alexandro-Grushevskaya''' ({{lang|ru|Александро-Грушевская}}).<ref name="Pospelov" /> While the exact reasoning behind this name is unclear, it is possible that the name was given in honor of Emperor [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander&nbsp;I]].<ref name="Pospelov" /> Twelve [[Cossacks]] and fourteen peasant serfs lived in the ''stanitsa'' at that time.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} By the mid-19th century, fifty-seven coal mines operated in this area.<ref name="Pospelov" /> In 1867, it was granted town status and renamed '''Gornoye Grushevskoye Poseleniye''' ({{lang|ru|Горное Грушевское Поселение}}).<ref name="Pospelov" /> The name was changed to '''Alexandrovsk-Grushevsky''' ({{lang|ru|Александровск-Грушевский}}) in 1881.<ref name="Pospelov" />

By 1914, the population had reached 54,000. The main source of income was [[coal mining]], which had been carried out in that region since the end of the 18th century. The population was poor, but the town had rail, telegraph and telephone networks, electricity and plumbing as well as libraries, hospitals and a post office. 1917 saw the city change hands three times, until it was taken on April&nbsp;28, 1919, by the [[Don Army]], under General {{ill|Aleksandr Fitskhelaurov|ru|Фицхелауров, Александр Петрович}}. For twenty months it was independent of the [[Bolsheviks]], but was ravaged by [[typhoid]].

In 1920, the city was given its present name.<ref name="Pospelov" /> The name, which literally means ''mines'' in Russian, was chosen due to the strong association with coal mining.<ref name="Pospelov" /> In 1920–24 Shakhty was part of [[Donetsk Governorate]] of the [[Ukrainian SSR]]. During the 1920s, many of the churches and the archives were destroyed. In 1928, the city was the location of the [[Shakhty Trial]], a precursor of the [[show trial]]s of the 1930s.

In 1941, an independent Cossack republic had been declared in Shakhty although this was suppressed by the [[NKVD]] before the German invasion.<ref>p.88, Stalingrad, Antony Beevor</ref> In July 22,  1942, during the [[Second World War]], the city was occupied by the [[Nazi Germany|Germans]]; many coal pits and buildings were blown up by the Germans during their retreat in February 12, 1943. Twenty-nine of the townsmen were awarded the title of the [[Hero of the Soviet Union]].

In 1948, production levels in the mines reached what they had been before the war. During the [[Leonid Brezhnev]] years, the city was at the height of its development, with a population of over 250,000, and about ten million tons of coal being mined each year.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the city was the scene of many of [[Andrei Chikatilo]]'s murders.

[[Perestroika]] proved devastating for the city, as mines were privatized and shut down, causing massive unemployment, which led to a severe rise in crime and drug abuse. Today's Shakhty is the main industrial center of the Eastern [[Donbas]]. The city is also one of the main producers and exporters of tile in Eastern Europe.

==Administrative and municipal status==
Within the [[subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions|framework of administrative divisions]], it is incorporated as '''Shakhty [[City of federal subject significance|Urban Okrug]]'''—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the [[administrative divisions of Rostov Oblast|districts]].<ref name="Ref133">Law #340-ZS</ref> As a [[subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|municipal division]], this administrative unit also has urban okrug status.<ref name="Ref872">Law #191-ZS</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations|align=left|cols=2|1897|16000|1926|49000|1939|135000|1959|196190|1970|205307|1979|209495|1989|225797|2002|222592|2010|239987|2021|226452|type=|footnote=Source: Census data<ref name="1989Census">{{ru-pop-ref|1989Census}}</ref><ref name="2002Census">{{ru-pop-ref|2002Census}}</ref><ref name="2010Census">{{ru-pop-ref|2010Census}}</ref>}}
{{clear|left}}

==Attractions==
{{multiple image |align=right |caption_align=center |perrow=2 |total_width=370
|image1 = Драматический театр (Шахты).jpg
|image2 = Вид на собор в церковном дворике.jpg
|image3 = Аютинский (Шахты) - Церковь Николая Чудотворца(3).jpg
|image4 = Епархиальная школа (Шахты).jpg
|caption1 = Drama theatre
|caption2 = Cathedral of the Intercession
|caption3 = Saint Nicholas church
|caption4 = Institute of Service and Entrepreneurship
}}
There are several monuments and historical sites in Shakhty.
* The [[Monument to Alexander II (Shakhty)|'''Monument to Alexander II''']] was opened on April 29, 2015, located in front of the main building of the Institute of Service and Entrepreneurship of Don State Technological Institute (DSTU) in the city centre of Shakhty. The monument was funded and built on donations. A representative of the [[house of Romanov]], Pavel Eduardovich Kulikovsky-Romanov (great-grandson of Emperor [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]]), was given the honor of unveiling the monument.

The monument was built by Yuri Alekseevich Levochkin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=В Шахтах начали устанавливать памятник Александру II |url=http://kvu.su/news/culture/v_shakhtakh_nachali_ustanavlivat_pamyatnik_aleksandru_ii/ |access-date=2017-10-07 |website=kvu.su |language=ru}}</ref> Its pedestal is made of [[Granite|dark granite]], and the statue itself is cast from [[bronze]]. The lower half stand 5.7 meters high, and the figure of Alexander II is another 2.4 meters. On the front side, there is an engraving in gold letters that reads, "Alexander II. Tsar the Liberator". Viewed from the back, there is a brief biographical note on the ruler—"Emperor Alexander II [[Emancipation reform of 1861|abolished serfdom in Russia]] in 1861 and freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery, conducted military and judicial reforms, introduced the system of local self-government, city dumas and local administrations, brought to an end the long-lasting [[Caucasian War]], and [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|liberated the Slavic peoples]] from the Ottoman yoke. He was killed on March 1, 1881 and was a victim of a terrorist."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ippo.ru/old/news/2015/05/aleksandr-ii.html|title=Члены ИППО приняли участие в открытии памятника императору Александру II в Шахтах|website=ippo.ru|access-date=2017-10-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shakhty-gorod.ru/about/info/news/12024/|title=В городе Шахты открылся памятник Александру II - Администрация города Шахты|website=shakhty-gorod.ru|access-date=2017-10-07}}</ref> The monument was erected on an initiative of the Historical Council of the City of Shakhty.
* Monument to [[Vasily Alekseyev|Vasily Alexeyev]] (2014), a Soviet [[weightlifter]].<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/weightlifting-alekseyev-idUSLDE7AO01U20111125|title=Weightlifting-World record holder Alekseyev dies at 69|last=Fyodorov|first=Gennady |date=25 November 2011|publisher=[[Reuters]]|access-date=25 November 2011}}</ref><ref name="greatath">{{cite book |last1=Croft |first1=Lee B |editor1-first=Dawn P |editor1-last=Dawson |title=Great Athletes |edition=Revised |volume=1 |year=2002 |orig-year=1992 |publisher=Salem Press |isbn=1-58765-008-8 |pages=35–37 |url=https://archive.org/details/greatathletes0000unse |url-access=registration }}</ref> He set 80 world records and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting, and won gold medals at the [[1972 Summer Olympics|1972]] and [[1976 Summer Olympics]].<ref name=sr>[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/al/vasily-alekseyev-1.html Vasily Alekseyev] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622034940/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/al/vasily-alekseyev-1.html |date=22 June 2016 }}. sports-reference.com</ref> Alexeyev was born in Shakhty.
* Monument to Soldier-liberator (1985)
* [[Memorial to the Victims of Fascism (Shakhty)|Memorial to the Victims of Fascism]] (1975)
* Monument to the fighters for Soviet power (1955)
* Monument to soldiers-internazionalista (2010)
* [[Monument to Taras Shevchenko (Shakhty)|Monument to Taras Shevchenko]] (1972)
* Monuments to Lenin (1945).  [[Vladimir Lenin|Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov]] was a Russian [[Communism|communist]] revolutionary, politician and political theorist.
* A memorial to the heroes of the first world war (2014). On the monument depicts a double-headed eagle. In his paws cadet standard, with the monogram of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II. On the plates under the wings of the eagle is engraved the names of all of the Don Cossack units that participated in the First World War.
* [[St. Alexander Nevsky Church (Shakhty)|Saint Alexander Nevsky Church]]

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}

Shakhty is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Города-побратимы|url=http://shakhty-gorod.ru/city/twin-cities/|website=shakhty-gorod.ru|publisher=Shakhty|language=ru|access-date=2020-02-04}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|ARM}} [[Armavir, Armenia|Armavir]], Armenia
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Gelsenkirchen]], Germany
*{{flagicon|BUL}} [[Nikopol Municipality|Nikopol]], Bulgaria
*{{flagicon|UKR}} [[Sievierodonetsk]], Ukraine

==Notable people==
[[File:Василий Алексеев..jpg|150px|thumb|Monument to [[Vasily Alexeyev]]]]
*[[Vasily Alexeyev]] (1942-2011), weightlifter
*[[Lyudmila Kondratyeva]] (born 1958), sprinter
*[[Alina Ermolova]] (born 2001), rhythmic gymnast
*[[Marina Logvinenko]] (born 1961), sport shooter
*[[Alexander Nevolin-Svetov]] (born 1988), Paralympic swimmer

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|ros|adm|law}}
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|ros|mun|list|shakhty}}
*Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (''City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary.'') Москва, "Русские словари", 1993.

==External links==
*[http://www.shahty-gorod.ru/ Official website of Shakhty] {{in lang|ru}}
*[http://www.shahty.ru/ Unofficial website of Shakhty] {{in lang|ru}}

{{Rostov Oblast}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Rostov Oblast]]
[[Category:Don Host Oblast]]
[[Category:Administrative divisions of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]]