Alushta or Aluşta is a city of regional significance on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula which is within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a region internationally recognised as territory of Ukraine, but occupied by the Russian Federation and incorporated as the Republic of Crimea. It is located along the Black Sea coast on the road from Gurzuf to Sudak, as well as on the Crimean Trolleybus line. According to the 2014 Census, Alushta had a population of 29,078.
The area is notable for its arid, rocky terrain due to its proximity to the Crimean Mountains. During Byzantine times, the town was called Alouston (Ἄλουστον) meaning "Unwashed".Variants are Ἄλουστος (masc.), Ἀλοῦστον (neu.), Ἀλούστα (fem.) The feminine form, Alusta, is consistent with application to a city rather than a fortress. The anhydrous climate likely gave rise to a satirical, anthropomorphic appellation of “unwashed” to the place from resident(s). Χαραλαμπάκης, Παντελής. “Σκέψεισγια δυο Μεσαιωνικα Τοπωνυμια της Κριμαιαs, (Αλουστου, Παρθενιται)” [Reflections on two medieval names of Crimea (Aloustou, Parthenitai], Βυζαντινά Σύμμεικτα 23 (2013): 201–216; esp. 203, note 7. Vestiges survive of a Byzantine defensive tower from a fortress from which the town's name was derived, as well as a 15th-century Genoese fortress. During Genoese rule, the name was modified to Lusta. Adam Mickiewicz dedicated two of his Crimean Sonnets to Alushta.
History In 1910, 544 Jews lived in Alushta, comprising 13% of the town's population. By 1939, they made up only 2.3% of the town's overall population, numbering 251 individuals. On 4 November 1941, the Germans occupied the town. On 24 November 1941, a unit of SS-Sonderkommando 10b murdered 30 Jews by shooting along with captured communists and partisans. In early December 1941, about 250 Jews from Alushta were shot to death by SS-Sonderkommando 11b in the park of Trade Union Sanatorium No. 7, which is today part of the local center for children and creativity.The murder of the Jews of Alushta during World War II, at Yad Vashem website
Geography Climate
Alushta has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) that closely borders on a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa).
Demographics Ethnic composition according to the Ukrainian national census in 2001:
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities Alushta is twinned with: Santa Cruz, United States Dzierżoniów, Poland Äänekoski, Central Finland Jūrmala, Latvia
Notable people Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1864–1913), Ukrainian author Sabri Ülker (1920–2012), Turkish businessman and founder of Ülker Rustem Umerov (born 1982), Ukrainian politician and former Minister of Defense Oleksandr Vysotskyi (born 1986), Ukrainian football player Oleksandr Nedovyesov (born 1987), Ukrainian-Kazakhstani tennis player
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References