Mariupol

For other uses, see Mariupol (disambiguation).

Mariupol
Маріуполь (Ukrainian)
City
Night view of Mariupol in 2020
Old Tower in 2020
One of the houses with a spire in 2021
Pryazovskyi State Technical University in 2021
Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre in 2020
From top to bottom and left to right:
Flag of Mariupol
Flag
Coat of arms of Mariupol
Coat of arms
Official logo of Mariupol
Brandmark
Mariupol is located in Donetsk Oblast
Mariupol
Mariupol
Mariupol shown within Donetsk
Mariupol is located in Ukraine
Mariupol
Mariupol
Mariupol shown within Ukraine
Coordinates: 47°5′45″N 37°32′58″E / 47.09583°N 37.54944°E / 47.09583; 37.54944
Country Ukraine[1]
OblastDonetsk Oblast
RaionMariupol Raion
HromadaMariupol urban hromada
Founded1778
City districts
List of 4
Government
 • MayorVadym Boychenko (de jure)[2]
Oleg Morgun (de facto)[3]
Area
 • Total
244 km2 (94 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
120,000 (per Ukraine)
 (May 2023, after 2022 Russian siege and attacks)[4] before this, the January 2022 estimate was 425,681[5]
Postal code
87500—87590
Area code+380 629
ClimateHot summer subtype
Websitemariupolrada.gov.ua/en
Map
City government website maintained in exile

Mariupol[a] is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, with an estimated population of 425,681 people in January 2022;[5] Ukrainian authorities estimate the current population of Mariupol at approximately 120,000.[4] Mariupol has been occupied by Russian forces since May 2022.

Historically, the city of Mariupol was a centre for trade and manufacturing, and played a key role in the development of higher education and many businesses and also served as a coastal resort on the Sea of Azov. In 1948, Mariupol was renamed Zhdanov (Russian: Жданов) after Andrei Zhdanov, a native of the city who had become a high-ranking official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and a close ally to Joseph Stalin. The name was part of a larger effort to rename cities after high-ranking political figures in the Soviet Union. The historic name was restored in 1989.[6]

Mariupol was founded on the site of a former encampment for Cossacks, known as Kalmius,[7] and was granted city rights within the Russian Empire in 1778. It played a key role in Stalin-era industrialization; it was a centre for grain trade, metallurgy, and heavy engineering—including the Illich Iron and Steel Works and the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works.

Beginning on 24 February 2022, a three-month-long siege by Russian forces largely destroyed the city, for which it was named a "Hero City of Ukraine" by the Ukrainian government.[8] On 16 May 2022, the last Ukrainian troops who remained in Mariupol surrendered at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, and the Russian military secured complete control over the city by 20 May.[9]

  1. ^ "CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE". rm.coe.int. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  2. ^ (in Ukrainian) Boychenko was re-elected mayor of Mariupol Archived 22 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrainska Pravda (2 November 2020)
  3. ^ Konstantinova, Alla (31 January 2024). "Mapping the ruins. The reconstruction and demolition of occupied Mariupol". Mediazona.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference population was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b "Чисельність наявного населення України (Actual population of Ukraine)" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Mariupol". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Mariupol". Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  8. ^ Богданьок, Олена (6 March 2022). "Харків, Чернігів, Маріуполь, Херсон, Гостомель і Волноваха тепер міста-герої". Суспільне | Новини (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Ukraine cedes control of Azovstal plant in Mariupol". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.


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