Bolhrad
Encyclopedia
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in Odessa Oblast
Odessa Oblast
Odesa Oblast, also written as Odessa Oblast , is the southernmost and largest oblast of south-western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Odessa.-History:...
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) of south-western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. It is the administrative center
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of Bolhrad Raion (district
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
), and is located at around 45°40′N 28°32′E.
Bolhrad's population was estimated at around 17,400 in 2001.
History
Bolhrad was founded in 1821 by BulgarianBulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
settlers under the direction of General Ivan Inzov
Ivan Inzov
Ivan Nikitich Inzov was a Russian commander in the Patriotic War of 1812 and Governor of Bessarabia from 1818. Chişinău owes to him some of its finest buildings, including the Nativity Cathedral....
who is "revered" by Bolhrad residents as the "Founder of Our City." Bolhrad formed part of Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
from 1856 to 1859, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
from 1859 to 1878, 1918 to 1940, and from 1941 to 1944 before being included in the territory of the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
and later independent Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
The surrounding Bolhradsky district is predominantly populated by ethnic Bulgarians (a majority of 61%). Bolhrad is also inhabited by a large number of Bessarabian Bulgarians
Bessarabian Bulgarians
The Bessarabian Bulgarians are a Bulgarian minority group of the historical region of Bessarabia, inhabiting parts of present-day Ukraine and Moldova.- Location and number :-Modern Ukraine:...
and is considered by locals to be the unofficial capital of the Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
n historic district of Budjak
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak is a historical region in the Odessa Oblast of Ukraine. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube and Dniester rivers this multiethnic region was the southern part of Bessarabia...
.
The Georgi Sava Rakovski Bolhrad High School
Bolhrad High School
The Georgi Sava Rakovski Bolhrad High School ; , Bolgradskaya gimnaziya imeni G. S. Rakovskogo is a gymnasium in Bolhrad, Odessa Oblast, southwestern Ukraine...
founded in 1858 is the oldest Bulgarian high school.
Notable natives
- Dimitar GrekovDimitar GrekovDimitar Panayotov Grekov was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who also served as Prime Minister.A native of Bolgrad in Bessarabia , Grekov was educated at a French legal school....
(1847–1901), Bulgarian politician - Danail NikolaevDanail NikolaevDanail Tsonev Nikolaev , was a Bulgarian officer and Minister of War on the eve of the Balkan wars. He was the first person to attain the highest rank in the Bulgarian military, General of the infantry...
(1852–1942), Bulgarian general - Georgi TodorovGeorgi Todorov (general)Georgi Stoyanov Todorov was a Bulgarian General who fought in the Russo-Turkish War , Serbo-Bulgarian War , Balkan Wars and First World War .-Biography:At the age of 19 he volunteered in the Bulgarian Corps during the Russo-Turkish...
(1858–1934), Bulgarian general - Bogomil Beron (1866–1936), Bulgarian physician
- Ivan Vulpe (1876–1929), Bulgarian opera singer
- Volf Moskovich (b. 1936), linguist and Yiddish lexicographer
- Mykola Shmatko (b. 1943), is a contemporary Ukrainian sculptor, professor and painterPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
(not a native, but lived in Bolhrad) - Petro Poroshenko (b. 1965), Ukrainian businessman and politician