Varash Вараш
City
Flag Coat of arms
Varash Show map of Rivne Oblast Varash Show map of Ukraine
Coordinates: 51°20′40″N 25°51′03″E / 51.34444°N 25.85083°E / 51.34444; 25.85083
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Rivne Oblast
Raion	Varash Raion
Founded	1973
Government
• Mayor	Oleksandr Menzul
Area
• Total	11.3 km2 (4.4 sq mi)
Population  (2022)
• Total	41,711
• Density	3,700/km2 (9,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code	+380 3636

Varash (Ukrainian: Вараш), previously known as Kuznetsovsk (Кузнецо́вськ) from 1977 to 2016, is a city in Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Varash urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine and Varash Raion, one of the raions of Ukraine. Population: 41,711 (2022 estimate).^[1]

The mayor of Varash is Oleksandr Menzul.

History

The first written mention of Varash is dated back to 1577 as "ZIEMIE RUSKIE. WOLYN i PODOLE". A modern urban-type settlement was started in 1973 as a company town of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. The new town was named in honor of the Soviet intelligence agent, partisan Nikolai Kuznetsov. The plan of the city reflects the ideals of late socialist realism. Part of the city occupies the site of the former village of Varash, founded in 1776. Now it is one of the districts in the city.

On 19 May 2016, Verkhovna Rada adopted a decision to rename Kuznetsovsk to Varash and conform to the law prohibiting names of Communist origin.^[2]

Geography

Varash is located in the Volhynian Polesie in the north of Rivne Oblast. It is located over the Styr River which is a tributary of Pripyat River between Volodymyrets Raion (Rivne Oblast) and Manevychi Raion (Volyn Oblast).

Education

There are 12 kindergartens, 6 secondary schools, a high school, a music school, college, and a branch of the Kyiv Institute of Management in the city.^{[citation needed]}

Press

Three newspapers are published in Varash. In addition, a television station and a radio company are operated here.^{[citation needed]}

Architecture

As Varash is a relatively young city, it has a typical building style from the Soviet period. Today, the city continues to grow and expand.

Religion

There are a few churches and a cathedral. The architectural symbol of the city is the Svyato-Preobrazhenskiy Cathedral.

Interesting Facts

• The city population grew steadily despite the country reduction tendency.
• Varash is one of the world's cities which coat of arms contains nuclear plant factory.