Novomoskovsk (Ukrainian: Новомоскóвськ) is a city and municipality in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Novomoskovsk Raion within the oblast. Novomoskovsk is located predominantly on the right bank of the Samara River, a left tributary of the Dnieper River. The city is located 27 kilometres (17 mi) from the administrative center of the oblast, Dnipro. As of January 2022, Novomoskovsk's population was approximately 69,855.[1]
History
The city has existed from the end of the 17th century.[2] It was then known as Samara.[2][3] In 18th century documents the city is also named Samarchyk, Novoselitsa or Palanka.[2] The town was the administrative center of the Samara Palanka [uk] (province) of the Zaporozhian Cossacks.[2] The Cossacks abandoned the town in 1688 when Russia built the Bogoroditsky Fortress in the city.[2]
In 1777 a town named Yekaterinoslav (the glory of Catherine (Russian empress Catherine II)),[4] was built on the location. The site was badly chosen – spring waters transformed the city into a bog.[5][6] The surviving settlement was in 1794 renamed Novomoskovsk.[2][7][8] The city name Yekaterinoslav was given to current Dnipro.[6]
The city is famous for the Holy Trinity Cathedral, built in 1778 by Yakym Pohrybniak from wood without any nails. A novel dedicated to the cathedral by Ukrainian writer Oles Honchar became a classic of 20th-century Ukrainian literature.
As part of the derussification campaign following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Novomoskovsk is also set to change its name in the near future.[2][11] On 3 November 2023 voting online and in person started for the new name of the city.[12] The local residents options were: Novosamarsk, Novoselytsia and Samar.[12] On 23 January 2024, the city council voted for the name Nova Samar (Ukrainian: Нова Самарь).[13]
Notable people
Stepan Koval (born 1965), film director and animator
Ukraine
