Sviatohirsk (Ukrainian: Святогі́рськ, pronounced [sʲwʲɐtoˈɦ⁽ʲ⁾irsʲk]) or Svyatogorsk (Russian: Святого́рск, pronounced [svʲɐtoˈɡorsk]) is a city in the northern part of the Donetsk Region of Ukraine. A part of the Sloviansk Municipality, it stands on the banks of the Siverskyi Donets River, 30 kilometers (19 mi) from the city of Sloviansk. The population is 4,226 (2022 estimate).[2] The 16th-century Sviatohirsk Lavra Monastery is located in the city.
Sviatohirsk
Святогірськ | |
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Sviatohirsk Location of Sviatohirsk within Donetsk Oblast Sviatohirsk Location of Sviatohirsk within Ukraine | |
Coordinates: 49°02′N 37°34′E / 49.033°N 37.567°E | |
Country | Ukraine |
Oblast (Province) | Donetsk Oblast |
Raion (District) | Kramatorsk Raion |
Hromada | Sviatohirsk urban hromada |
First mentioned | 16th century |
Government | |
• Mayor | Volodymyr Rydakil[1] |
Population (2022) | |
• Total | 4,226 |
In March 2023, Sviatohirsk established a sister city relationship with Easton, Connecticut, United States.[3]
A settlement in the area of the Holy Mountains was first mentioned in written sources in the 16th century.[4] In 1624, the Sviatohirsk Lavra Holy Mountains monastery was established here, but in the end of the 18th century all monastic lands were secularized and passed on to private owners.[4] One of the new owners built a bathing house on the nearby lake, which led to the settlement being called Banne (Ukrainian: Банне)/Bannoye (Russian: Банное) or Bannovskoye (Банновское); literally bathing.[4] The proximity of a nearby selo of Tatyanovka lead to both places sometimes being collectively referred as Bannoye-Tatyanovka (Банное-Татьяновка).[4]
During the Soviet times, the selo was officially known as Bannoye.[4] In 1938, it was granted urban-type settlement status and renamed Bannovsky (Банновский).[4] The settlement served as a resort destination and steadily grew in size, until in 1964 it was granted town status and renamed Slovianohirsk (Ukrainian: Слов'яногірськ)/Slavyanogorsk (Славяного́рск), with the first part of the name (Sloviano-/Slavyano-) being after the nearby city of Sloviansk (Slavyansk), and the second part (-hirsk/-gorsk) being after the Holy Mountains.[4] In 2003, the name was changed to Sviatohirsk, after the monastery itself.[5]
Unlike neighboring Sloviansk, Sviatohirsk was never controlled by the pro-Russian forces who in spring 2014 had made Sloviansk their stronghold.[6] In contrast to most of the Donbas region, which is largely flat open landscape, Sviatohirsk is set among hills and forests - providing some natural defences - making it harder for an army to manoeuvre with artillery and tanks.[7] The city is seen as strategically important during the conflict, due to it being one of the key points preventing an encirclement of the Ukrainian army in Donetsk oblast.[8]
Following the start of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war, the press service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) reported the deaths of two monks and a nun of the city's monastery as a result of shelling on 1 June 2022.[9] On June 4, as a result of further hostilities in the region, one of the temples of the monastery was engulfed in flames.[10] Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russian forces for the resulting burning of the temple and mourned the victims, while calling for Russia's expulsion from UNESCO over it.[11][12] However, the mayor of the city, Volodymyr Bandura, blamed Ukrainian forces for the burning of the temple while in Russian captivity, accusing Zelenskyy of lying.[13][14] The Security Service of Ukraine later accused the mayor of treason over this statement.[15]
According to the Institute for the Study of War, there were reports of the city partially coming under Russian control after a battle on May 31.[16][17] On June 6, Igor Konashenkov, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson, stated that Russian forces were completing the capture of the city.[18] Later that day, Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People's Republic, stated that Sviatohirsk was almost cleared of Ukrainian forces, except for an unnamed height somewhere in the city.[19] Russian minister of defense Sergei Shoigu announced the city's complete capture the next day, on June 7.[20]
Following the Ukrainian eastern counteroffensive of 2022, on 10 September, reports appeared in Ukrainian media that the Ukrainian armed forces had retaken the city from Russian control.[21][22] On 12 September 2022, the Ukrainian armed forces confirmed that they were in control of the city.[23]
Sviatohirsk includes the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra, the Holy Mountains National Park, an historical and architectural reserve, as well as a resort of national importance; thirty objects, among them a monumental sculpture of Communist leader Artem (Fyodor Sergeyev) and a World War II memorial (opened on the day of 40th anniversary of victory) are included in the historic monuments complex of the reserve. The town has been visited by well-known cultural figures, including Hryhorii Skovoroda, Fyodor Tyutchev, Ivan Bunin, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Ilya Repin.
On May 15, 2015, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a bill into law that started a six months period for the removal of communist monuments and the mandatory renaming of settlements with a name related to Communism.[24][25][26] However, since the Artem monument is listed as "National Cultural Heritage" it will not be demolished.[27]
According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the population of the city was 4,226 (2022 estimate).[2] The results of the 2001 Ukrainian census found that the city's population was 3,805, of which 65.49% considered Ukrainian as their mother tongue, 33.96% Russian, 0.24% Armenian, 0.13% Belarusian, and 0.08% Moldovan.[28]
The development plan of Sviatohirsk provides a significant expansion of the resorts, recreational, and tourism network. Within the Sviatohirsk resort are the Holy Mountain sanatorium and hotel-and-tourist complexes. The town carries out a construction and modernization of recreation departments for children and adults.
Early in 2009, a four-star hotel opened. Sviatohirsk also offers the Siverskyi Donets River, chalk mountains, coniferous and mixed forests, centuries-old oak trees, and clean air.