Makiivka is a leading metallurgical and coal-mining centre of the Donets Basin, with heavy industry and coking plants supporting the local steel and coal industries. The city was captured by pro-Russian separatists in 2014 at the start of the war in Donbas and is currently occupied by Russia.
The rough area of the city has been inhabited for millennia.[8]Kurgans from the Bronze Age, Scythian civilization, and the 800s-1200s AD have been excavated in the surrounding area.[9]
Founding
The original village of Makiivka first appears in historical documents in 1777.[9] In 1875–1877, several minor mines were opened nearby.[9] In 1899, a metallurgical settlement was founded nearby called Dmitriyevsk (Dmytriyivsk), named after Dmitry Ilovaisky, son of count Ilovaysky - the landlord of the region.[citation needed] Makiivka was only a small village when it was combined with nearby Dmytriivsk. Dmytriivsk subsequently developed as one of the largest coal-mining and industrial centres of the Donets Basin coalfield. In 1931, Dmytriivsk was renamed Makiivka.[10]
Industrialization and the Soviet era
The city became increasingly industrialized throughout the 1930s, with its population rising from 79,000 in 1926 to 242,000 in 1939.[9] In 1939, the Jewish population of Makiivka was 8,000.[citation needed]
During World War II, the town was under German occupation from 22 October 1941 until 6 September 1943.[11] In the Operational Situation Report (USSR No. 177) of Nazi German Chief of the Security Police dated from March 6, 1942, it is stated that as a result of the measures carried out by Einsatzkommando 6, both the Horlivka and Makiivka districts had been made "free of Jews". Nazis and Ukrainian collaborators executed a total of 493 people here, among them 80 political agitators, 44 saboteurs and looters, and 369 Jews.
After the end of the war, Makiivka was rebuilt. By 1959, its population had reached 381,000.[9]
Ukrainian independence
In September 2006, the first synagogue was consecrated in Makiivka after almost 70 years. The house at 51 Lva Tolstogo street serves not only a synagogue, but also a community center for a Jewish community of Makiivka containing 2,000 members. The chief rabbi of Makiivka is Eliyahu Kremer. Makiivka Jewish community chairman is Alexander-Mikhoel Katz.[citation needed]
Early on 20 January 2011, two explosions took place in Makiivka, one near the coal plant, and the other near a shopping mall. There were no injuries or deaths, but a note was found near one of the blast sites, demanding €4,200,000 (equivalent to €5,407,275 in 2023) from well-known local people.[12]Security Service of Ukraine chief Valeriy Khoroshkovsky opened a criminal case on the blasts the same day, under the article on terrorism. Two suspects - Anton Voloshyn and Dmytro Onufrak - were detained on 15 February 2011. Voloshyn and Onufrak were later found guilty and sentenced to eight and fifteen years in prison, respectively.[12]
Russo-Ukrainian War
During the Russo-Ukrainian War the city town hall was taken over by pro-Russian separatists on 13 April 2014.[13] Since then, Makiivka has been controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.[14]
On 1 January 2023, the Makiivka military quarters shelling occurred. It was reported by both Russian and Ukrainian sources that a Ukrainian strike on Russian military forces based at a vocational school in Makiivka resulted in significant casualties, particularly among conscripts.[15] First Deputy Minister of Information of the Donetsk People's Republic Daniil Bezsonov stated that the strike took place at exactly 00:01 Moscow Time and made use of the M142 HIMARS rocket system.[16] Russian officials claimed that at least 25 HIMARS rockets were fired at the school, resulting in at least 15 casualties.[17] Officials of the Donetsk People's Republic stated that the reason for the strike was the use of mobile phones by Russian serviceman at the school, which revealed their location to the Ukrainian military.[18][19] The Armed Forces of Ukraine announced on the same day that 400 Russian forces had been killed in the strike, with a further 300 wounded, resulting in 700 total casualties.[20]Igor Girkin, the former commander of separatist forces in the Donbas, said about the attack, "the number of dead and wounded runs into many hundreds".[17] This number was, however, also challenged by others; Russian presenter Vladimir Solovyov claimed that while casualties were high, they were not close to 400.[21][19] An unnamed source in Donetsk told Reuters that fewer than 100 people had died in the attack.[17]
Yasynivka coke plant near MakiivkaKirov Foundry, Makeevka on a 1947 stamp
There are many coal mines in and around the city. Makiivka's modern industries include one of the largest integrated iron and steel works in Ukraine. There are also other metalworking and coke-chemical plants and factories for pneumatic machinery, shoemaking, and food processing. The city is rather dispersed, with numerous residential communities surrounding individual industrial plants over an extensive area. It is gradually extending to form a single metropolitan area with the nearby city of Donetsk, which lies just a few miles to the southwest. Makiivka is home to the Donbas National Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture.
The largest enterprises in Makiivka are: State enterprise "Makeyevugol" - open joint-stock company "Makeyevsky Metallurgical Works" - open joint-stock company, "Yasinovsky Coke-chemical Plant", and the limited company "Makeyevcoke".
There are also many machine-building enterprises within the city, with the most significant being: open joint-stock company "Granit", open joint-stock company "Stroymash", and the closed joint-stock company "Makeyevsky Mine's Automatic Machinery plant".
Makiivka metallurgical plant
The Makiivka metallurgical plant produced 1.029 million tons of steel and 825,000 tons of pig iron in 2005. It increased production of rolled steel 1.56-fold to over 700,000 tons in the January–July period of 2006, compared with the corresponding period of last year. It aims to increase its sales revenues to ₴1.265 billion in 2006. The Nucor company (United States) intends to sign a contract with the Makiivka metallurgical plant on delivery of pig iron to the company's enterprises in the United States.
Transport
Makiivka is crossed by several railway lines: one is the Yasynuvata-Krynichna line (Russian: Ясиноватая-Криничная), and the other is the Mospyno-Makiivka freight line (Russian: Моспино — Макеевка грузовая). The city also contained a tram line (since 1925, but there are no tram routes now since 2006) and a trolleybus system (from 1969).
Trolley buses have 4 routes:
2
City center - Main railway station Makeyevka-Passazhirskaja (Makeyevka Passenger)
3
City center - Bazhanova settlement
4
City center - Daki
5
City center - Gornostayevskaya street.
There are plans to connect trolleybus networks of Donetsk and Makeyevka with direct intercity line to March 2013.
The city has a main passenger station Makiyivka-Pasazhirska, a railway junction Khanzhonkovo (situated in the settlement where Aleksandr Khanzhonkov was born), and minor railway stations: Krynichna, Monakhovo, Makeevka-Gruzovaya as well as a number of railway bays.
Makiivka has 5 stadiums, 4 swimming pools, 90 sport gyms, 15 football fields, 5 children's sport schools, and 36 fitness rooms. There is also a sport school for physically disabled people.
Within the city, 35 different forms of sport are played, and there are a total of 35 sport organisations. There are also many campuses of the oblast's sport schools in Makiivka, including schools for: kickboxing, volleyball, heavy athletics, boxing, some other forms of wrestling, and judo.
Gallery
Flowers on the main street of Makiivka
Makiivka Institute of economy and humanitarian sciences
![Palace of Culture of Makiivka Iron and Steel Works[1]](/en/File:DK_Kirova.jpg)
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