New York or Niu-York is a

rural settlement The definition of a rural settlement depends on the country, in some countries, a rural settlement is any settlement in the areas defined as rural by a governmental office, e.g., by the national census bureau. This may include even rural towns. ...

Toretsk urban hromada Toretsk urban hromada () is a hromada of Ukraine, located in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast. Its administrative center is the city Toretsk. It has an area of and a population of 66,369, as of 2020. The hromada contains 19 settlements: 2 cities ( ...

Bakhmut Raion Bakhmut Raion (), known as Artemivsk Raion () between 1924 and 2016, is a raion (district) within the northeastern part of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Bakhmut. Its area is , and its population is approximately ...

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

, eastern

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 ...

. It is located on the left-bank of the Kryvyi Torets River, about south of

Toretsk Toretsk (; ) is an industrial city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of Toretsk urban hromada. As of January 2022, its population was approximately It has its origins as the hamlet Shcher ...

, and north-northeast of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

. From 1951 to 2021, the settlement was named Novhorodske.Parliament renames Novhorodske village in Donetsk region to New York

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine (), or Ukrinform (), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of Ukraine. It was founded in 1918 during the Ukrainian War of Independence People's deputies returned New York to Ukraine

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(1 July 2021) The settlement has been under Russian occupation since the end of September 2024. New York is administratively designated to

, one of the

hromadas In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Government of Ukraine on 12 June 2020. A municipality is designated ''urban hromada' ...

of Ukraine with its center in the city of Toretsk, that is located about north of New York. Population:

History

Pre-founding

At the end of the 18th century,

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

completed the Russian conquest of the region. She built new towns and founded the

Novorossiya Governorate Novorossiya Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1764–1783 and again in 1796–1802. It was created and governed according to the "Plan for the Colonization of New Russia ...

. Catherine and her successors invited German settlers, especially Mennonites, to develop the conquered lands. After the destruction of the Sich in 1775,

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

and mercenaries from the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

also settled in the region in order to secure the steps of the empire. In the 1830s,

Tsar Nicholas I Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

donated a vast territory to the count . The way the region developed is not known.

Founding and name origin

The origin of the name of the town remains a mystery that is the subject of many local legends. It could have come from an entrepreneur or local dignitary, who would have settled from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

or who would have had as a partner an American citizen from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Another explanation refers to the city of

Jork Jork () is a municipality in the district of Stade, in Lower Saxony, in northern Germany, situated on the left bank of the Elbe, near Hamburg. The town is the capital of the Altes Land, one of the biggest fruit growing areas in Europe, and is ...

, in northern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

settlers have come from. The local historian Viktor Kovalov thus believes that the name of the locality may have corresponded to "Neu Jork" (new Jork) and evolved over time. It may also be the result of a transliteration error from the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...

to the

Cyrillic alphabet The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Easte ...

. The establishment of the Mennonites officially dates back to 1889, however, whereas the name Niu-York predates it. Another suggested etymology recalls that names with a famous evocation were frequent in the region in the 19th century. Historical maps show a "Swiss farm" near

Druzhkivka Druzhkivka (, ; ) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It was previously a city of regional significance before the status was abolished. Population: As of April 2024, the city's population was over 31,000. Druzhkivka is located near the co ...

or a hamlet called "Carthage" around

Soledar Soledar (, ; , ; ) is a destroyed city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Situated in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the city was formerly highly important for its salt mining industry, from which its name Soledar is derived. The ...

. Also, historian Viktor Kovalov does not rule out the possibility of a joke. New York first appeared on maps in 1846. The first official mention of the name of New York () dates back to 1859 as one of the results of the census of the

Yekaterinoslav Governorate Yekaterinoslav Governorate} was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. Covering an area of , and being composed of a inhabitant of 2,113,674 by the census of 1897, it bordere ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The 1859 census confirmed that the locality then had 13 households, 45 men, 40 women, and a factory.

Development in the 19th and 20th century

In 1889, Mennonites from the colony of

Chortitza Chortitza Colony was a ''volost'', a subdivision of Yekaterinoslav uezd within Yekaterinoslav Governorate in the Russian Empire, now in Ukraine. During the reign of Catherine the Great, the area was annexed by Russia after the liquidation of t ...

(today

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

) acquired a piece of land and founded a factory. Named after its owner and chief engineer, Jakob Niebuhr, it was completed in 1894. In 1892, Mennonites formed the colony of New York from seven settlements.Our dear New York. As a village in the Donetsk region, it fights for attention and investment

Hromadske.TV hromadske (; lit. ''Public'') is an independent online media in Ukraine. The station was announced in June 2013 by 15 journalists, before commencing operations on 22 November 2013. It is registered as an NGO. The industrialization of New York was accompanied by the construction of a north-south railway line. At the turn of the 20th century, the colony had electricity, a telegraph, a bank, a hotel, a bookstore, a school for girls and for boys. In 1916, New York was chosen to host a new

naphthalene Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white Crystal, crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 Parts-per notation ...

production plant. Despite the revolution of February 1917, the factory came into operation in July 1917. In the context of rising tensions between the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, the Mennonite German population was expelled to the Far East, where they founded the settlement . In 1938, New York received rural settlement status. 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 ...

, New York was occupied by Nazi German forces from October 1941 until September 1943. The Petrovsk Machinery Plant (formerly Niebuhr) was transported and rebuilt in Soviet Kazakhstan. The

phenol Phenol (also known as carbolic acid, phenolic acid, or benzenol) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () ...

plant was moved to the Moscow region. The two factories were relocated back to New York after the conflict. On October 19, 1951, in the context of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, an

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz ( ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leadership (e.g., Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' or the Most Holy Synod) that had the force of law. " Edict" and " decree" are adequate trans ...

(decree) of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

of the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

ordered the change of name to Novhorodske (literally translated as "of new city" and may also be seen as an adjective from "

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

"). During Soviet industrialization, industry developed in the settlement. The Dzerzhinsky phenol plant was completed and modernized, and the Novgorod Machine-Building Plant – named after

Grigory Petrovsky Grigory Ivanovich Petrovsky (, ; 4 February 1878 – 10 January 1958) was a Ukrainian Soviet politician and Old Bolshevik. He participated in signing the Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Treaty of Brest-L ...

– was built. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, workshops and other buildings were sold out; various production facilities were organized in some, others were mothballed; three workshops were dismantled for building materials.

Russo-Ukrainian War

War in Donbas

As part of the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

, which began in mid-April 2014, the fighting caused civilian and military casualties. On 8 November 2016, a civilian was killed by shelling. According to Mykola Lenko, who was mayor, 16 residents lost their lives between 2014 and 2021. In 2019, a former house of the German colony was restored and transformed into an exhibition, cultural and artistic hub. In the wave of name changes required by the nationwide

decommunization Decommunization in former communist states is the process of purging former communist high officials and eliminating communist symbols. It is sometimes referred to as political cleansing. Although the term has been occasionally used during t ...

laws of 2015, the City Council validated the return to New York. The request to change the name to New York that was submitted by the civil-military administration of

was finally approved by the Committee of the Ukrainian parliament on the organization of state power, local self-government, regional development and urban planning on 3 February 2021."The last step remains." The Council Committee supported the renaming of one of the settlements in the Donbas to New York
(3 February 2021) On 1 July, the Ukrainian parliament renamed the city.New York on Ukraine's frontline: parliament backs town's name change

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

(2 July 2021) The formal restoration of the city's name launched a wave of cultural events. On the initiative of the Ukrainian writer

Victoria Amelina Viktoriia Amelina (; ; 1 January 1986 – 1 July 2023), was a Ukrainian novelist and war crimes researcher. She was the author of two novels and a children's book, a winner of the Joseph Conrad Literary Award and a European Union Prize for Lit ...

, whose husband had roots in the settlement, the first "

Ukrainian New York literature festival Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...

" was held in October. The "New York marathon", inspired by the American event, brought together several dozens of participants at the beginning of November.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

As part of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the phenol factory was bombed on 5 April 2022. Many inhabitants were evacuated. Another bombing of the plant occurred on 16 June 2023. The city was again hit by missiles on 18 March 2023, and 15 January 2024. As part of an offensive to capture

, Russian troops entered New York on 3 July 2024 and advanced inside its southern area, reaching the central portion of the settlement the following day. At the same time, Russia advanced in other nearby satellite settlements of Toretsk. On 18 August, Russian sources claimed that the town had been completely captured, which the Russian defence ministry formally claimed on 20 August. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' said that the capture of New York showed that Russia was "slowly solidifying its position in Donetsk". However, the situation in New York improved for Ukraine by 6 September when the

Azov Brigade The 12th Special Forces Brigade "Azov" () is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion (), ...

was able to successfully break out of the encirclement of their remaining territory held in the city. Despite this, Russian forces were able to capture New York by the end of September.

Economy

file:Дзержинський фенольний завод.JPG, Dzerzhynsk

plant

Transportation

New York has the passenger and freight train station of the Donets Railway, which connects the town with Sloviansk in the north and with

in the south.

Demographics

As of the

2001 Ukrainian census The 2001 Ukrainian census is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

65.74% * Ukrainian 33.95% *

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

0.12% *

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 ...

0.03% *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

0.02% *

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

0.01% In 2021, the population was estimated at less than 10,000 inhabitants by local authorities.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places established in 1892 Rural settlements in Bakhmut Raion Bakhmutsky Uyezd Former German settlements in Donetsk Oblast Toretsk urban hromada