This large cultural, scientific and industrial center from 1919 to 1934 was the capital of Soviet Ukraine. Now Kharkov in terms of population is in second place in the country. Despite the economic difficulties in Ukraine, the number of inhabitants in the city is growing due to the migration influx.
general information
The city of Kharkov is the largest agglomeration of eastern Ukraine, it is the administrative center of the region of the same name. It is located in the north-east of the country near the confluence of two rivers with the names Lopan and Uda. The urban territory stretches from north to south for 24 km, from east to west - for 25 km and covers an area of 310 square meters. km In the village there are about 2.5 thousand avenues, streets, lanes and squares.
A significant part of the city (approximately 55% of the area) is located on elevated sites at the level of 105-192 meters. Hilly terrain is located on the border of two natural zones - forest-steppe and steppe.
The population of Kharkov is more than 1.45 million people as of the beginning of 2018. The city, together with the suburbs and villages, forms its own agglomeration with a population of more than 2 million people. North of Kharkov (26 km from it) is the Russian border (Belgorod region).
Since Soviet times, it is the largest center of mechanical engineering, including tank, tractor, and turbine engineering. The city has 142 research institutions and 45 higher education institutions.
Settlement foundation
The modern city is built on an elevated plateau on the site of an ancient Russian settlement. There are many underground passages on the watershed. Initially, a small fortress of the Moscow kingdom arose in this place, which was supposed to withstand the raids of nomads. According to a document dated 1630, Little Russians from the Dnieper Polish and Little Russian cities moved to the wooden town.
Around 1653, settlers from Right-Bank Ukraine and the Dnieper River settled here, who fled to the borders of the Russian state from the Ruins of the uprising of the Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky. In the years 1654-1656 a small prison was rebuilt into a real fortress. Therefore, the official date of foundation of the city is 1654. The population of Kharkov in 1655 was 587 adult combat-ready men. In those days, the census took into account only the representatives of the stronger sex, women and children were not subject to registration.
Population
In 1765, a province was established with a center in Kharkov. After that, the population of the city began to grow rapidly. The industry began to develop rapidly. By the beginning of the 19th century, about 70 industrial enterprises worked here. At that time, 13,584 people lived in the city.
In connection with further industrialization, a large influx of population from the countryside began. In the last pre-revolutionary year in Kharkov, there were 362 672 inhabitants.
In the first decades of Soviet power, the active development of mechanical engineering, especially military, began. In 1939, there were already 833,000 Kharkovites. In November 1962, a million residents officially lived in Kharkov. In the last year of Soviet power, a maximum population of 1,621,600 was reached. In the first decades of independence, the number of inhabitants was constantly decreasing.
The population of Kharkov in 2018 amounted to 1,450.1 thousand people according to the Central Directorate of Statistics of the region. In the previous year, the number of inhabitants increased by 11,046 people, while reducing due to natural reasons to 7,656 people.
Ethnic composition
Since ancient times, Kharkov is a multinational city, the ethnic composition of the population was first documented in 1897. Interesting fact. Then nationality was determined by the linguistic principle. The official data is as follows.
At that time in Kharkov in the national composition of the population prevailed:
- Great Russians (Russian) - 63.2%;
- Ukrainians -25.9%;
- Jews -5.7%;
- Poles - 2.3%;
- Germans -1.35%.
Less than one percent were Tatars, Belarusians and Armenians. A large Jewish community traditionally lived in the city, almost completely destroyed during the years of occupation. It practically recovered in the post-war period and again decreased during the period of emigration in 1980-1990.
Today, representatives of 111 nationalities live in Kharkov. The share of Ukrainians in the population is constantly growing, especially in recent decades. If in 1939 their number was 48.5%, in 1989 - 50.38%, then according to the 2001 census, it increased to 60.99%.
The city is one of the largest Armenian diasporas in the country, which has about 70 thousand people. Most of them came to Kharkov during the collapse of the Soviet Union.