Rivne (/ˈrɪvnə/; Ukrainian: Рівне, IPA: [ˈriu̯nɛ] ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raion (district created in the USSR) within the oblast.[2] Administratively, Rivne is incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does not belong to the raion. It has a population of 243,873 (2022 estimate).[3]

Rivne
Рівне
  • From top, left to right: Church of St. Anthony of Padua (now House of Organ Music)
  • Church of Peter and Paul
  • Resurrection Cathedral
  • National University of Water Management and Natural Resources
Flag of Rivne
Coat of arms of Rivne
Rivne is located in Rivne Oblast
Rivne
Rivne
Rivne is located in Ukraine
Rivne
Rivne
Coordinates: 50°37′09″N 26°15′07″E / 50.61917°N 26.25194°E / 50.61917; 26.25194
Country Ukraine
OblastRivne Oblast
RaionRivne Raion
HromadaRivne urban hromada
First mentioned1283
Government
 • MayorOleksandr Tretyak [uk][1] (European Solidarity[1])
Area
 • Total
58.00 km2 (22.39 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
243,873
 • Density4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (CEST)
Websitecity-adm.rv.ua [dead link]

In the spring of 1919, it also served as a provisional seat of the Ukrainian government throughout the ongoing war with Soviet Russia. Between World War I and World War II, the city was located in Poland as a district-level (county) seat in Wolyn Voivodeship. At the start of World War II in 1939, Rivne was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and received its current status by becoming a seat of regional government of the Rivne Oblast which was created out of the eastern portion of the voivodeship. During the German occupation of 1941–44 the city was designated as a capital of German Ukraine (Reichskommissariat Ukraine).

Rivne is an important transportation hub, with the international Rivne Airport, and rail links to Zdolbuniv, Sarny, and Kovel, as well as highways linking it with Brest, Kyiv and Lviv. Among other leading companies there is a chemical factory of Rivne-Azot (part of Ostchem Holding).

Names

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History

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Middle Ages

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Rivne was first mentioned in 1283 in the Polish annals Rocznik kapituły krakowskiej[5][6] as one of the inhabited places of Halych-Volhynia near which Leszek II the Black was victorious over a part of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army. Following the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia's partition after Galicia–Volhynia Wars in the late 14th century, it was under the rule of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in 1434 the Grand Duke of Lithuania Švitrigaila awarded the settlement to a Lutsk nobleman Dychko.[5] In 1461 Dychko sold his settlement to Prince Semen Nesvizh.[5][6] In 1479 Semen Nesvizh died and his settlement was passed to his wife Maria who started to call herself princess of Rivne.[6] She turned the settlement into a princely residence by building in 1481[5] a castle on one of local river islands and managed to obtain Magdeburg rights for the settlement in 1492 from the King of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellon.[6] Following her death in 1518, the city was passed on to the princes of Ostrog and declined by losing its status as a princely residency.[5]

 
Lubomirski Palace, 1945

In 1566 the town of Rivne became part of newly established Volhynian Voivodeship. Following the Union of Lublin in 1569, it was transferred from the realm of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Crown of Poland.[5][6] The city had a status of privately held by nobles (Ostrogski and Lubomirski families). Following the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 Rivne became a part of the Russian Empire, and in 1797 it was declared to be a county level (uyezd) town of the Volhynian Governorate.

World War I

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During World War I and the period of chaos shortly after, it was briefly under German, Ukrainian, Bolshevik and Polish rule. During April–May 1919 Rivne served as the temporary capital[citation needed] of the Ukrainian People's Republic. In late April 1919 one of the Ukrainian military leaders Volodymyr Oskilko attempted to organize a coup-d'état against the Directorate led by Symon Petliura and the cabinet of Borys Martos and replace them with Yevhen Petrushevych as president of Ukraine. In Rivne, Oskilko managed to arrest most of the cabinet ministers including Martos himself, but Petliura at that time was in neighboring Zdolbuniv and managed to stop Oskilko's efforts. At the conclusion of the conflict, in accordance with the Riga Peace Treaty of 1921, it became a part of Polish Volhynian Voivodeship, a situation which would last until the Second World War. Before World War II, Rivne (Równe) was a mainly Jewish-Polish city (Jews constituted about 50% of the city's population, and Poles 35%). When Jews died during the Holocaust, Poles from Rivne were deported to Poland's new borders after 1945.

World War II

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In 1939, as a result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the partition of Poland, Rivne was occupied by the Soviet Union. Starting December of that year Rivne became the center of the newly established Rivne Oblast in the Ukrainian SSR.

On 28 June 1941 Rivne was invaded by the 6th army of Nazi Germany. On 20 August, the Nazis declared it the administrative center of Reichskommissariat Ukraine. A Gestapo prison opened on Belaia Street.[7][better source needed] Roughly half of Rivne's inhabitants were Jewish.

On 6–8 November, 17,500 Jewish adults from Rivne were shot to death or thrown alive into a large pit in a pine grove in Sosenki, and 6,000 Jewish children suffered the same fate at a nearby site.[8] From 8-13 November German actor Olaf Bach was flown to the city to perform for the German forces.[citation needed] The city's remaining Jews were sent to Rivne Ghetto. In July 1942, they were sent 70 km (43 mi) north to Kostopil and shot to death. The ghetto was subsequently liquidated.

On 2 February 1944, the city was captured by the Red Army in the Battle of Rivne, and remained under Soviet control until Ukraine regained its independence on the break-up of the USSR in 1991.

Post-war era

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In 1958, a TV tower began broadcasting in the city; in 1969, the first trolley ran through the city; in 1969, Rivne airport opened. In 1983, the city celebrated its 700th anniversary.

On 11 June 1991, the Ukrainian parliament officially renamed the city Rivne according to the rules of Ukrainian orthography. It had previously been known as Rovno.[2]

In 1992, a 20,000-square-metre (4.9-acre) memorial complex was established at the site of the World War II massacre to commemorate the 17,500 Jews murdered there in November 1941 during the Holocaust, marking the mass grave with an obelisk inscribed in Yiddish, Hebrew and Ukrainian.[9]

On 6 June 2012, the World War II Jewish burial site was vandalised, as part of an antisemitic attack.[10]

Russo-Ukrainian War

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On 14 March 2022, Rivne TV Tower has experienced heavy missile attack by Russian troops. The tower was damaged and an administrative room was destroyed. As a result of attack 20 people were killed and nine injured.[11][12][13]

On 25 June 2022, 4 people were killed by a Russian missile attack in Sarny. Two more attacks in March and August 2022 hit the town, but the damage was not significant.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
189724,573—    
193943,000+75.0%
195959,598+38.6%
1970115,541+93.9%
1979178,956+54.9%
1989227,925+27.4%
2001248,813+9.2%
2011249,840+0.4%
2022243,873−2.4%
Source: [14]

Language

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Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census:[15]

Language Number Percentage
Ukrainian 225 899 92.08%
Russian 18 346 7.48%
Other or undecided 1 078 0.44%
Total 245 323 100.00 %

According to a survey conducted by the International Republican Institute in April–May 2023, 96% of the city's population spoke Ukrainian at home, and 3% spoke Russian.[16]

Geography

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Climate

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Rivne has a moderate continental climate with cold, snowy winters and warm summers. Snow cover usually lasts from November until March.[17] The average annual precipitation is 598 mm (24 in) June and July being the wettest months and January and February the driest.

Climate data for Rivne, Ukraine (1991–2020, extremes 1951–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.9
(57.0)
16.7
(62.1)
26.2
(79.2)
30.5
(86.9)
33.0
(91.4)
34.2
(93.6)
35.3
(95.5)
37.0
(98.6)
36.4
(97.5)
26.2
(79.2)
21.2
(70.2)
14.5
(58.1)
37.0
(98.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −0.9
(30.4)
0.7
(33.3)
6.2
(43.2)
14.5
(58.1)
20.3
(68.5)
23.4
(74.1)
25.3
(77.5)
25.0
(77.0)
19.3
(66.7)
12.7
(54.9)
5.6
(42.1)
0.5
(32.9)
12.7
(54.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.4
(25.9)
−2.4
(27.7)
1.9
(35.4)
9.0
(48.2)
14.4
(57.9)
17.8
(64.0)
19.5
(67.1)
18.9
(66.0)
13.7
(56.7)
8.1
(46.6)
2.7
(36.9)
−1.8
(28.8)
8.2
(46.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −5.9
(21.4)
−5.2
(22.6)
−1.8
(28.8)
3.7
(38.7)
8.9
(48.0)
12.3
(54.1)
14.0
(57.2)
13.1
(55.6)
8.7
(47.7)
4.2
(39.6)
0.2
(32.4)
−4.1
(24.6)
4.0
(39.2)
Record low °C (°F) −34.5
(−30.1)
−32.6
(−26.7)
−26.3
(−15.3)
−11.5
(11.3)
−3.8
(25.2)
2.0
(35.6)
5.7
(42.3)
1.8
(35.2)
−3.5
(25.7)
−10.0
(14.0)
−20.1
(−4.2)
−26.1
(−15.0)
−34.5
(−30.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 28
(1.1)
31
(1.2)
33
(1.3)
37
(1.5)
66
(2.6)
78
(3.1)
99
(3.9)
59
(2.3)
55
(2.2)
43
(1.7)
34
(1.3)
39
(1.5)
602
(23.7)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) 6
(2.4)
7
(2.8)
5
(2.0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1
(0.4)
4
(1.6)
7
(2.8)
Average rainy days 8 7 10 13 15 17 16 12 15 13 12 11 149
Average snowy days 17 17 10 3 0.2 0 0 0 0.03 1 8 15 71
Average relative humidity (%) 85.6 84.1 79.3 69.3 68.8 73.7 74.8 73.9 78.8 81.5 86.4 87.8 78.7
Source 1: Pogoda.ru[18]
Source 2: World Meteorological Organization (humidity and precipitation 1981–2010)[19]

Industry

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During Soviet times the provincial town was transformed into an industrial center of the republic. There were two significant factories built. The first was a machine building and metal processing factory capable of producing high-voltage apparatus, tractor spare parts and others. The other was a chemical factory and synthetic materials fabrication plant. Light industry, including a linen plant and a textile mill, as well as food industries, including milk and meat processing plants and a vegetable preservation plant, have also been built. In addition the city became a production center for furniture and other building materials. [citation needed]

Landmarks

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Cathedral of the Intercession

As an important cultural center, Rivne hosts a humanities and a hydro-engineering university, as well as a faculty of the Kyiv State Institute of Culture,[citation needed] and medical and musical as well as automobile-construction, commercial, textile, agricultural and cooperative polytechnic colleges. The city has a historical museum.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the monument for the Soviet hero Dmitry Medvedev was removed, and the Nikolai Kuznetsov monument was moved to another location within the city. Instead, in order to reflect the controversial history of the region the monuments for "People who died in the honor of Ukraine", and "Soldiers who died in local military battles" were installed.

Buildings

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  • Church of the Assumption (1756)
  • Cathedral of the Intercession (2001)
  • Cathedral of the Ascension (1890)
  • A classicism-style gymnasium building (1839)
  • During Soviet times the center of the city from Lenin street to Peace Avenue (1963 architects R.D. Vais and O.I. Filipchuk) was completely rebuilt with Administrative and Public buildings in neo-classical, Stalinist style.

Memorials

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The following memorials are found in Rivne:[20]

  • Monument to the 25th Anniversary of the Liberation of Rivne from the Fascists, Mlynivs'ke Highway
  • Monument to the Victims of Fascism, Bila Street Square (1968, by A.I. Pirozhenko and B.V. Rychkov, architect-V.M.Gerasimenko)
  • Bust on the Tomb of Partisan M. Strutyns'ka and Relief on the Tomb of Citizens S. Yelentsia and S. Kotiyevs'koho, Kniazia Volodymyra Street, Hrabnyk Cemetery
  • Monument to the Perished of Ukraine, Magdeburz'koho Prava Plaza
  • Communal Grave of Warriors, Soborna Street
     
    Memorial to Warriors' Glory, Dubens'ka Street, Rivne Military Cemetery
  • Monument of Eternal Glory, Kyivs'ka Street
  • Monument to Taras Shevchenko, T.G. Shevchenko Park; Statue on Nezalezhnosti Plaza
  • Memorial to Warriors' Glory, Dubens'ka Street, Rivne Military Cemetery (1975, by M.L. Farina, architect-N.A. Dolgansky)
  • Monument to the Warrior and the Partisan, Peremohy Plaza (1948 by I.Ya. Matveenko)
  • Monument to Colonel Klym Savura, Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army, Soborna Street
  • Monument to Symon Petliura, Symon Petliura Street
  • Monument to N.I. Kuznetsov (bronze and granite, 1961 by V.P Vinaikin)
  • Monument to the Jewish Victims of the Holocaust - mass grave site (ca. 1991)
    The memorial was desecrated on June 8, 2012, by breaking parts of it and spraying swastikas. The teenagers in charge of the antisemitic action were caught and trialed.[21]
  • Monument to the victims of the Chernobyl disaster, Simon Petliura Street
  • Statue and Plaza dedicated to Maria Rivnens'ka, Soborna Street
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  • In his memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness, Israeli author Amos Oz describes Rivne through the memories of his mother and her family, who grew up in the city before emigrating to Israel in the 1930s.[22]
  • Rivne was mentioned several times in The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors, a 1992 episode of the Canadian-American TV show Are You Afraid of the Dark?, being referred to by a variation of its pre-1991 name (either Ravno or Rovno).
  • In Leonard Bernstein's operetta Candide, the character of The Old Lady sings an aria "I am easily assimilated", in which she refers to her father having been born in Rovno Gubernya

Notable people

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Leonard Bernstein, 1977
 
Anna Walentynowicz, 2005
 
Yana Zinkevych, 2019
 
Yuriy Lutsenko, 2018

Sport

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International relations

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Twin towns – Sister cities

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Rivne is twinned with:

Sport

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Rugby

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Speedway

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The Rivne Speedway Stadium hosts the speedway club Rivne Speedway.[27][28][29]

History

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The stadium opened on 24 May 1959.[citation needed] The venue has hosted significant speedway events including a qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship in 1962.[30][31] and 1991.

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Ukrainian: Ровно[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Young Ukrainian mayor offers hope of a new politics Archived 2021-03-24 at the Wayback Machine UkraineAlert by Brian Mefford, Atlantic Council (22 March 2021)
  2. ^ a b On bringing the name of Rovno city and Rovno Oblast in accordance to rules of Ukrainian spelling Archived 2015-10-05 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrainian parliament. 11 June 1991
  3. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Про приведення назви міста Ровно і Ровенської області у відповідність до правил українського правопису". zakon.rada.gov.ua.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bovhyria, A. Rivne (РІВНЕ) Archived 2018-05-22 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine.
  6. ^ a b c d e History of Rivne (Історія Рівне) Archived 2018-05-22 at the Wayback Machine. Ukraine-in portal.
  7. ^ Burds, Jeffrey (2013). "Holocaust in Rovno: The Massacre at Sosenki Forest, November 1941" (PDF). www.jewishgen.org. p. 86. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  8. ^ This Ukrainian City Was Once Home to a Vibrant Jewish Community. Now Its Grand Synagogue Is a Sports Hall, Haaretz
  9. ^ "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Rivne". Information Portal to European Sites of Remembrance. Berlin, Germany: Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  10. ^ "В Ривне вандалы осквернили место массового расстрела евреев". MIG news.com.ua. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Атака на телевежу Рівненщини: підтверджено вже 20 загиблих, можливо, є шанси врятувати ще одну людину, - голова ОВА". LB.ua. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Удар по телевежі на Рівненщині: кількість загиблих зросла до 19". www.ukrinform.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Number of victims of missile strike on Rivne's TV tower grown to 19, removal of rubble continues – local authorities". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Cities & Towns of Ukraine".
  15. ^ "Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України" (in Ukrainian).
  16. ^ "Municipal Survey 2023" (PDF). ratinggroup.ua. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Rivne, Ukraine Climate Data". Climatebase. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  18. ^ Погода и Климат – Климат Ровно [Weather and Climate – The Climate of Rivne] (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  19. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  20. ^ (in Ukrainian) Рівне, план міста, 1:12000. Міста України. Картографія.
  21. ^ [1] Archived 25 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Oz, Amos, 2004, A Tale of Love and Darkness, pp. 132-190.
  23. ^ "European Pros - Artem Kachanovskyi". www.eurogofed.org. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  24. ^ "European Go Journal". eurogojournal.com. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  25. ^ Артист Ярослав Евдокимов рассказал «ОГ» о своих корнях Archived 2015-05-03 at the Wayback Machine Областная газета, 12 ноября 2013
  26. ^ "Federal Way welcomes Rivne, Ukraine as sister city". March 4, 2022. Retrieved Mar 18, 2022.
  27. ^ "Speedway Club". Rivne Speedway 1959. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Speedway Veterans Open Cup". Mogul Oil. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  29. ^ "ROVNO - Ukraine". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  30. ^ "1962 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  31. ^ "1962 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

Maps

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