Varash (, ), previously known as Kuznetsovsk () from 1977 to 2016, is a city in

Rivne Oblast Rivne Oblast (), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of the region is . Its population is: Before its annexation by the ...

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 hosts the administration of Varash urban hromada, one of the

hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...

s of Ukraine and Varash Raion, one of the

raions of Ukraine A raion (; ), often translated as district, is the second-level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, administrative division in Ukraine. Raions were created in a 1922 administrative reform of the Soviet Union, to which Ukraine, as the Ukrainian ...

. Population: The mayor of Varash is Oleksandr Menzul.

History

The first written mention of Varash is dated back to 1577. The status of an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

was established in 1973 as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. The new town was named in honor of the Soviet intelligence agent and

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

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 The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

adopted a decision to rename Kuznetsovsk to Varash and conform to the law prohibiting names of Communist origin.

Geography

Varash is located in the

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

n Polissia in the north of

. It is located over the

Styr River The Styr (; ; ) is a right tributary of the Pripyat, with a length of . Its basin area is and located in the historical region of Volhynia. The Styr begins near Brody, Lviv Oblast, then flows into Rivne Oblast, Volyn Oblast, then into Bre ...

which is a tributary of

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in h ...

between Varash Raion (

) and Kamin-Kashyrskyi Raion (

Volyn Oblast Volyn Oblast () or simply Volyn (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. It borders Rivne Oblast to the east, Lviv Oblast to the south, Poland to the west and Belarus to the north. Its Capital city ...

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.

Press

Three newspapers are published in Varash. In addition, a television station and a radio company are operated here.

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. File:Centr varash.jpg, Independence Square File:Жилой-дом-в-Кузнецовске.jpg, A residential building File:Центр-Вараша.jpg File:Дворец-культуры.-Кузнецовск.jpg, Palace of Culture File:Памятник-чернобыльцам.-Кузнецовск.jpg, Monument to people affected by the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

File:Гостиница "Вараш".jpg, Hotel "Varash"

Religion

There are a few churches and a cathedral. The architectural symbol of the city is the Savior-Transfiguration (Sviato-Preobrazhenskyi) Cathedral. File:Фасад-храма.-Кузнецовск.jpg, Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral File:Храм в Кузнецовске.jpg File:Церковь-в-Кузнецовске.jpg

References

External links

varash.rv.gov.ua
- Varash City Council {{Authority control Cities in Rivne Oblast Populated places established in 1973 Populated places established in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Former Soviet toponymy in Ukraine Company towns in Ukraine 1973 establishments in Ukraine Socialist planned cities