Oleksandro-Shultyne
Oleksandro-Shultyne
Олександро-Шультине | |
|---|---|
 St. Sergius Church built in 1829 | |
 Interactive map of Oleksandro-Shultyne | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Donetsk Oblast |
| Raion | Kramatorsk Raion |
| Hromada | Kostiantynivka urban hromada |
| Elevation | 114 m (374 ft) |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total | 2 |
| Postal code | 85142 |
| Area code | +380 6272 |
Oleksandro-Shultyne (Ukrainian: Олександро-Шультине) is a village in the Kostiantynivka urban hromada, Kramatorsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The settlement lies on both banks of the Neumykha River, about ten kilometres from the hromada centre, with the city of Kostiantynivka bordering its lands to the southeast. In early 2025 the village only had two residents, in September 2025 it was captured during the war.[1]
History
[edit]The village was first mentioned in the mid-eighteenth century under the name Oleksandrove, within Bakhmut uezd of Yekaterinoslav Governorate. In the late eighteenth century it belonged to the collegiate assessor Oleksandr Nesterov, before passing to the Russian finance minister Count Dmitry Guriev.[2]
In 1814 the estate was purchased by General-Lieutenant Pyotr Kotlyarevsky, a distinguished commander of the Russo-Persian War and cousin of the Ukrainian writer Ivan Kotliarevsky. Kotlyarevsky developed the estate into a prosperous property, constructing a Greek-style church dedicated to Saint George in 1822. His father, Stepan Kotlyarevsky, served as parish priest there until his death at the age of 98.
The Kotlyarevsky estate became notable for its Merino sheep farming, which produced annual revenues of 50,000–100,000 rubles. Upon Petro Kotlyarevsky’s death, the property passed to his grandsons Serhiy and Oleksandr. By the mid-nineteenth century the estate included more than 5,000 desiatinas of land, nearly 7,000 sheep, several mills, and small factories.
In November 1917 the village came under the jurisdiction of the newly proclaimed Ukrainian People's Republic. During the Soviet era the Kotlyarevsky estate was repurposed as a warehouse and later as the offices of a collective farm, before being dismantled for bricks after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1930 the Lenin’s Path collective farm was formally established in the village.[3] A new three-storey school was constructed in 1991.[4]
St George’s Church
[edit]The first parish church in the settlement was recorded in 1746. The current stone St George’s Church was erected between 1822 and 1829 under Petro Kotlyarevsky. It was one of several churches built by him in the region.
Closed by the Soviet authorities in 1963, the church was converted into a warehouse and later a cinema. Following Ukrainian independence, it was gradually restored. The first service after reopening was held at Easter 1996, and the church was formally reconsecrated in 2002.[5]
Demographics
[edit]According to the 1859 census, Oleksandro-Shultyne had 457 inhabitants in 53 households, with an Orthodox church present. By 1886 the population had grown to 532. The 1897 Imperial census recorded 527 residents, all of them Orthodox Christians.[6]
In 1908 the village contained 90 households with 844 inhabitants. Around this time German settlers also established a small colony nearby, known as Shultyne or Fetter.
The 2001 Ukrainian census recorded 195 inhabitants, of whom 92 per cent declared Russian as their native language and 8 per cent Ukrainian. By 2025 the population had dwindled to only two permanent residents.
Transport
[edit]Oleksandro-Shultyne lies near the railway line running south of the village, with the nearest halt at kilometre 1086. The local road S050816 (Ivanopillia – Oleksandro-Shultyne) passes through the settlement, while the nearest major railway station is at Kostiantynivka, 8.6 kilometres away.
Name
[edit]The modern form of the name derives from Yosyp Shulten, a later landowner of the settlement. In the nineteenth century it was common practice to append the landowner’s surname in parentheses to the name of a village; in this case Oleksandrove (Shultene) gradually evolved into Oleksandro-Shultyne. The settlement has also been recorded under the names Yuriivka, Oleksandrove, Oleksandrivka, Kotliarivka, and Serhiivka.
Notable people
[edit]- Oleksandr Khvylia (1905–1976), Ukrainian actor, was born in Oleksandro-Shultyne.
References
[edit]- ^ "The Central Front's Gomel'-Rechitsa Offensive (30 September–30 October)", Battle for Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, pp. 90–124, 2024-04-26, ISBN 978-0-7006-3723-2, retrieved 2025-09-09
- ^ "Туристично–краєзнавчий маршрут Костянтинівна-Олександро-Шультино-Кравецька Балка-Клебан Бик» | Україна на новому шляху | конкурс 2013 | конкурс". mij-kraj.com.ua. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
- ^ "Іванопільська | Константиновский Районный Совет". konstrada.org.ua (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
- ^ Чорний, Д. М. (2017-02-20). "ТРЕТІЙ УНІВЕРСАЛ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЇ РАДИ І ХАРКІВСЬКЕ МІСЬКЕ СУСПІЛЬСТВО". Drinovsky sbornik. X: 336–344. doi:10.7546/ds.2017.10.31. ISSN 2218-0567.
- ^ "Четыре сестры: Провинциальные церкви XIX века (ч.1)". Новостной портал ЗИ (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-09-09.
- ^ Н.А, Тройницкий (1905), Русский: Крупнейшие поселения России по переписи 1897 года (PDF), retrieved 2025-09-09