Shostka

Shostka Шостка
City
Flag of Shostka Flag Official seal of Shostka Seal
Location of Shostka
Coordinates:
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Sumy
Founded	18th century
Area
• Total	36 km2 (14 sq mi)
Elevation	171 m (561 ft)
Population (January 1, 2004)
• Total	85,800
Website	http://allshostka.net.ua/

Shostka (Ukrainian: Шостка) is a city in Sumy Oblast in north-east of Ukraine. The population is 85,800 (2004). The town lies on the Shostka River, a tributary of Desna, from which it gets its name. Shostka is an important centre of industry; in chemicals (see Svema) and in dairy: Shostka City Milk Plant was recently acquired by the Bel Group.

History

Shostka started out as a village at the beginning of the 17th century for Ukrainian Cossacks which were based there. In 1739, a gunpowder factory was built there. Since that time Shostka was one of the most important gunpowder suppliers in the Russian Empire. In 1893, a branch of a nearby railroad line was built. Shostka was granted municipal rights in 1920. In 1931, a film factory was built in Shostka which was one of the main suppliers of cinema and photo film in the USSR.

Demographics

Shostka's population: 1926 - 8,600 inhabitants, 1959 - 39,000 inhabitants, 1970 - 64,000 inhabitants, 1979 - 80,000 inhabitants, 1984 - 84,000 inhabitants

Sports

Shostka is home to the Ukrainian football team Impuls Shostka.

In popular culture

Shostka is the hometown of the fictional Mousekewitz family in the 1986 animated film An American Tail.

Gallery

• Shostka 2.jpg

  Downtown of Shostka

• Shostka 4.jpg

  Karl Marx Street, Shostka

• Shostka 10.jpg

  Soviet memorial

External links

• (Russian) A website about Shostka
• Portal of Shostka