Кадиевка және Стаханов: Тарихы мен қазіргі жағдайы

City in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine

Kadiivka (Кадіївка) or Stakhanov (Lang ru), is a city in Alchevsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Residence of Kadiivka urban hromada. It is located on the Komyshuvakha River, a right tributary of the Luhan. Ukraine renamed the city Kadiivka in 2016, and refers to the city by this name, however Ukraine has not controlled the city since early 2014. Following their 2022 annexation referendum, Russia claimed the entire Luhansk Oblast, including Stakhanov (Kadiivka), as part of their Lugansk People's Republic (LPR / LNR). Kadiivka's population is approximately Russia maintains the name Stakhanov, after the famous Soviet miner Alexei Stakhanov, and all city signage remains in the name of Stakhanov.

Kadiivka has its origins in the mid 19th century in the settlement of Shubynka, when coal mining was developing in the region. On 15 February 1978, the city was renamed Stakhanov (Стаханов; Lang ru) after the famous Soviet miner Alexei Stakhanov, who started his career there. On 12 May 2016, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada voted to change its name back to Kadiivka as a result of decommunization laws, however as the Luhansk People's Republic, who control the city have not recognized this decision and maintain the name Stakhanov, the name change has only had a symbolic, and political meaning. A local newspaper has been published in the settlement since September 1930. In 1919, the population of the city was 38,000. Kadiivka received city status in 1932. By 1940, the population of Kadiivka had risen to 95,000. During the Second World War, the city was occupied by German troops from July 1942 until September 1943. A Soviet labor camp for German prisoners of war operated at Kadiivka during the Second World War. In November 1944, three districts (city district councils) were created: Illichivskyi, Bryanskyi, and Golubivskyi. In the 1950s, the city encompassed settlements that were later separated into separate cities Brianka, Pervomaisk, and Kirovsk. The city was renamed in 1978 in honor of Alexei Stakhanov, a Soviet coal miner famous for purportedly setting a new record of coal mining output using his own innovative working methods and inspiring the Stakhanovite movement.

From 2014, Kadiivka, as all of Donbas, became caught up in the aftermath of Euromaidan. From April 2014, pro Russia separatists started taking over parts of the south and east of Ukraine. In April and early May 2014, Luhansk and the surrounding area, including Kadiivka,
was taken over by Russian backed forces of the self proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR / LNR). In May, the 2014 Donbass status referendums were held. The referendums returned an overwhelming majority vote to cede from Ukraine into the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, however they were condemned by the west, and did not obtain international recognition. In autumn 2014, with separatist leader Pavel Dremov controlling Kadiivka, there was talk of the area being a breakaway 'Cossack Republic' within the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic. While remaining a part of the LPR, Dremov and his militia were among the most outspoken against LPR authorities. Any possibility of a breakaway 'Cossack Republic' ended with Dremov's death in a car explosion in late 2015. From 2016 until 2022, Stakhanov was not an active scene of war. The OSCE left the city shortly before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, Kadiivka has been a significant, although not central location. In 2022, Russia's Wagner Group were reported to have significant bases in Kadiivka, and these were repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian strikes. The city of Kadiivka itself has been hit multiple times by Ukrainian shelling since 2022, with multiple civilian casualties and fatalities. Kadiivka's economy has been severely affected by ongoing war, and it is unclear what is still operational.

Kadiivka is situated between the cities of Pervomaisk, to its north, and Alchevsk, to the south. The area around is traditionally known for mining, and richness of natural resources.

As per the Ukrainian Census of 2001, the ethnicity of Kadiivka was: Ukrainians: 46.1%, Russians: 50.1%, Belarusians: 1%, Other: 2.9%. The languages spoken were: Russian: 85.3%, Ukrainian: 13.0%, Belarusian: 0.1%, Armenian: 0.1%.