DNIPROPETROVSK

Russian Dnepropetrovsk, oblast (province), southern Ukraine. It lies astride the Dnieper River, which there comprises three reservoirs dammed for hydroelectric power. The oblast consists of rolling plains of loess-covered sedimentary rocks, largely dissected by erosion gullies. In the valleys are outcrops of underlying ancient crystalline rocks. The fertile soil was originally in grass-steppe vegetation that has been almost entirely removed by the plow. Only on the Dnieper and Samara floodplains are there forest groves, mainly of oak. The climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters, the latter modified by incursions of warm air from the Black Sea. The oblast, formed in 1932, is important for its mineral wealth. Around Kryvyy Rih are huge deposits of iron ore, and in the Nikopol-Marhanets area are rich manganese deposits that are estimated to be among the largest in the world. Titanium is mined at Vilnohirsk; natural gas is extracted at Pereshchepyne; and some coal is extracted in the east. These minerals are the basis of large-scale heavy industry in the oblast's four large citiesDnipropetrovsk city (the oblast headquarters), Kryvyy Rih, Dniprodzerzhynsk, and Nikopolwhich engage in iron and steel production and in a wide range of heavy engineering. Agriculture is also important in the oblast, especially the cultivation of winter wheat, corn (maize), spring barley, sunflowers, fodder crops, and melons. Area 12,300 square miles (31,900 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 3,918,600. Russian Dnepropetrovsk, formerly (until 1926) Yekaterinoslav, or Ekaterinoslav, city and administrative centre, Dnipropetrovsk oblast (province), south-central Ukraine. It lies along the Dnieper River, near its confluence with the Samara. The river has been considerably widened by the construction of a dam about 50 miles (80 km) downstream. Founded in 1783 as Yekaterinoslav on the river's north bank, the settlement was moved to its present site on the south bank in 1786. The community was known as Novorossiysk from 1796 to 1802, when its old name was restored and it became a provincial centre. Despite the bridging of the Dnieper in 1796 and the growth of trade in the early 19th century, Yekaterinoslav remained small until industrialization began in the 1880s, when railways were built to Odessa, the Donets Basin, and Moscow. In 1926 the Soviets renamed it Dnepropetrovsk. Dnipropetrovsk has developed into one of the largest industrial cities of Ukraine. With iron ore from Kryvyy Rih, manganese from Nikopol, coal from the Donets Basin, and electric power from the cascade of hydroelectric plants on the Dnieper, a huge iron and steel industry has grown up in the city; and castings, plates, sheets, rails, tubes, and wire are produced. Large engineering industries make electric locomotives, agricultural machinery, mining and metallurgical equipment, presses, and other heavy machinery, as well as light-industrial machinery and radio equipment. Coke-based chemicals, tires, plastics, paint, clothing, footwear, foodstuffs, and other materials are also produced. Dnipropetrovsk has a university and teaching institutes of mining, agriculture, chemical technology, metallurgy, medicine, and railway and constructional engineering. Cultural amenities include several theatres and a philharmonic hall. Newer suburbs have spread to the north bank. The neighbouring suburbs of Igren and Pridneprovsk were annexed in the 1970s. Pop. (1991 est.) 1,189,300.