Dzhankoi or Jankoy is a city of regional significance in the northern part of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, internationally recognized as part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, but since 2014 occupied by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It also serves as administrative centre of Dzhankoi Raion although it is not a part of the raion (district). Population: The city has various industries, which produce automobiles,

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

, fabric, meat, and other products. Dzhankoi also has professional

technical school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocationa ...

Etymology

The name ''Dzhankoi'' ( Ukrainian and ; ; ; ) means 'new village': ''canköy'' < ''cañı köy'' (''cañı'' is 'new' in the northern dialect of Crimean Tatar), but it is often explained as meaning 'spirit-village' (< ''can'' 'spirit' + ''köy'' 'village').

Geography

Dzhankoi serves as the administrative centre of the Dzhankoi Raion. It is located about from the Crimean capital,

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

. Two railroad lines, Solionoye ozero-

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

and Armiansk-

Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...

, cross Dzhankoi.

Climate

Dzhankoi's climate is mostly hot in the summer, and mild in the winter. The average temperature ranges from in January, to in July. The average precipitation is per year.

History

Dzhankoi was mentioned for the first time in 1855, and it received

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

in 1926. About 1,400 Jews lived in Dzhankoi on the eve of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1941, during the war, Dzhankoi was occupied by German troops. During the occupation, 720 Jewish members of the local collective farm were shot in the city. Other accounts mention 7,000, which could include Jews brought from elsewhere. From late 1941 to September 1942, the Germans operated the Dulag 123 transit

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in the town. Dzhankoi was recaptured by Soviet troops on April 13, 1944. In 1954, as part of the Crimean region, it became part of the Ukrainian SSR. Since 1991, it has been a part of independent Ukraine. In February 2014, it was annexed by Russia. On the night of March 20, 2023, explosions caused by drone attacks were reported in the area.

Transport

Dzhankoi is a

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between mode of transport, transport modes. Public transport hubs include train station, railway stations, metro station, rapid transit stations, bus ...

. Through the city pass two major railways of the peninsula as well as two major European highways. It has two railroad terminals - the central one, where only passenger and fast trains stop and the suburban one - where only suburban trains, known as ''

elektrichka An ''elektrichka'' ( ; , ) is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Eastern Bloc, Eastern bloc commuter (regional) mostly suburban electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former W ...

''s, are allowed. Dzhankoi air base of the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

is nearby.

Population

Demographics

As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, 59.75% of the population identified as

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

, 25.91% as ethnic

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

, while

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

made up 8.09% of the population. The town is also home to smaller Belarusian, Polish, Moldovan and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

communities. In the 2014 census conducted by Russian occupation authorities, the town had a population of 38,622, of which 25,787 () were Russian, 6,401 () were Ukrainian, 2,807 () were Crimean Tatar and 829 () were Tatar.

In popular culture

Dzhankoi is the subject of a popular Yiddish song "Hey! Zhankoye" (Yiddish: "Dzhankoye" "דזשאַנקויע"), as popularized by The Limeliters,

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, the Klezmatics, and Theodore Bikel, a Soviet-era song praising the life of Jews on collective farms in Crimea.

Notable people

* Oleksandr Mitrofanov (born 1977), Ukrainian football player * Denys Vasyliuk (1993–2024), Ukrainian

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

References

External links

The murder of the Jews of Dzhankoi
during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

website. {{Authority control Cities in Crimea Populated places established in 1926 Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Populated places established in the Russian Empire Holocaust locations in Ukraine 1926 establishments in the Soviet Union