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Chisinau

From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.

(Redirected from Kishinev)

The title given to this article lacks diacritics because of certain technical limitations. The title with diacritics is: Chişinău.

Chişinău (Russian Кишинёв, Kishinyov, also Kishinev; Moldovan Cyrillic Кишинэу), estimated population 707,000 (2004 census), is the capital and the largest city of Moldova. Romanians comprise 70% of the population, while Russians represent 13%.

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Geography

The city is located on the river Bâc, a tributary of the Nistru (Dniestr), at 47°0′ N 28°55′ E (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=47_0_N_28_55_E_), and is divided into five administrative districts. Its total area is approximately 565 km² (338 sq. miles).

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History

Founded in 1436 as a monastery town, the city was part of the Moldavian Principality, which, starting with the 16th century fell under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 19th century it was a small village of 7,000 inhabitants. In 1812 it was occupied by Russia, who made it the centre of Bessarabia. Its population had grown to 92,000 by 1862 and to 125,787 by 1900.

The town played an important part in the war between Russia and Turkey (1877–78), as the chief centre of the Russian invasion.

In the late 19th century, especially due to growing anti-semitic sentiment in Russia and Poland, many Jews chose to settle in Chişinău, so in the year 1900 43% of the population of Chişinău was Jewish.

Chişinău was the site of two major pogrom April 6–7, 1903, and October 19–20, 1905 which were among the reasons for the large emigration of Eastern European Jews to Western Europe and the United States in the years immediately following. (See Kishinev pogrom)

Romania held the city from 1918 to 1940, when it was seized by the USSR.

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Economy

Chişinău is a major industrial and services centre; its main industries include consumer and electrical goods, building materials, machinery, plastics, rubber, and textiles. The main service fields are banking and shopping/commerce.

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Transport

There are two bus terminals, with another one under construction, an international airport (Chişinău International Airport), and an international railway terminal.

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Education

The city is home to thirty-six universities, and to the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city has become a relatively lively and well-appointed capital, with a much higher standard of living than most rural areas.

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References

Rosenthal, Herman & Rosenthal, Max, "Kishinef (Kishinev)" (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=247&letter=K), in the Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906)

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