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Dzhankoy

Dzhankoy is a city in Northern Crimea, an important railway junction through which, historically, all routes to the peninsula's resorts and interior passed. The name derives from the Crimean Tatar "djan" (dear, good, "soul") and "qoy" (village) — i.e., "dear village", although modern researchers associate "djan" with the steppe pronunciation of the adjective "yany" (new).

Overview

The city arose near a railway station: it was the laying of the railway next to the settlement that gave impetus to its development toward becoming a city. The first street was the line running along the railway, where builders and railway workers lived; the street's name — Krymska (Crimean) — has been preserved to this day. Dzhankoy became one of the symbols of Crimea as the transport "gateway" of the peninsula.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Origin of the name: "djan" (dear/new) + "qoy" (village); the first written rendering "dear village" was recorded in 1855.
  • Railway and the city: In 1871 a decision was made to build the railway; the station later received city status. Dzhankoy is a junction of lines, including Dzhankoy–Feodosia (1892). See Crimean impassability.
  • Dates of city status (controversial): Most sources cite 1926, when the station was declared a city; at the same time, the date June 5, 1917 — during the Provisional Government — is also given. See the "Controversies" section.
  • Viticulture: In 1955, "Massandra" opened its branch near Dzhankoy, known for its red "Southern Coast" port wines. See History of Crimean winemaking (KHEAR period 1957–1960) and Horticulture and viticulture in Crimea.
  • Colonization and architecture: The outskirts attracted German and Czech colonists; in the city there remain the ruins of the Church of the Sacred Heart and the palace of the landowner Shatilov.
  • Agricultural experiment: In the pre-war decades, on the chernozem soils of the Dzhankoy region, with the participation of the American charitable foundation "Joint" (Joint Distribution Committee) and the Bolshevik authorities, models of agricultural communes (later kolkhozes) were worked out.
  • Resort potential: Despite its steppe character, the city has a mineral bath with warm water and therapeutic mud; a local history museum operates.
  • Khrushchev legend: A local legend connects the restaurant "Chonhar" (near the eponymous crossing point over the administrative border) with Nikita Khrushchev's statement that "only Ukraine can save Crimea."
  • Centenary of the city: In 2017, Dzhankoy celebrated its first centennial anniversary since being granted city status (per the 1917 version).

Controversies and Open Questions

  • The source gives two dates for Dzhankoy being granted city status: 1926 (as the most common in sources) and June 5, 1917 (during the Provisional Government). This discrepancy lies within the material itself; it needs to be cross-checked against official handbooks on the city's history.
  • Dzhankoy centennial (source) — an article by Maksym Duboviaz, newspaper "Krymska svitlytsia", 2017, No. 42.
  • Crimean impassability — railway construction in Crimea, the Dzhankoy–Feodosia line (1892).
  • History of Crimean winemaking (KHEAR period 1957–1960) — the "Massandra" branch near Dzhankoy (1955).
  • Horticulture and viticulture in Crimea — development of viticulture around Dzhankoy.
  • Andriy Shchekun — editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsia", which published the material.
  • Crimea is Ukraine (project) — an all-Ukrainian repository of materials about Crimea, associated with the newspaper "Krymska svitlytsia".
  • Yalta — one of the Crimean resorts, the routes to which (as well as to Feodosia, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Kerch) pass through Dzhankoy.
  • Energy of Crimea — Dzhankoy became a 220 kV nodal substation on the Kakhovka–Dzhankoy power line (1962), which connected the Crimean power system with the Ukrainian SSR.
  • Taras Shevchenko — in Dzhankoy during the independence era a monument to the Kobzar (Shevchenko) was planned (impeded by the russian occupation of 2014).
  • Turkic toponymy of Crimea — etymology of the Turkic names of Crimea, in particular the origin of the proper name Dzhankoy (djan-qoy / yany-qoy).
  • Nikita Khrushchev — associated with the local legend of the "Chonhar" restaurant.