Izmail

The fortress of Izmail, then known as {{lang|it|Licovrissi}}, was built by Genoese merchants in the 12th century. It belonged for a short period of time to Wallachia (14th century) – as the territory north of the Danube was one of the possessions of the Basarabs (later the land being named after them, Bessarabia). The town was first mentioned with the name Ismailiye, derived from the name of the Ottoman grand vizier Ayaşlı Ismail Pasha. The city was founded by a decree of Sultan Murad III, with a deed where he made the land around the crossing point, property of Habeshi Mehmed Agha which was the head of his harem.[https://networks.h-net.org/node/4555727/discussions/5711492/new-book-announcement-ottoman-city-izmail-ismail-danube NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: OTTOMAN CITY OF IZMAIL (Ismail) ON THE DANUBE]. networks.h-net.org. 16 January 2020 The city that Mehmed Agha founded was called after him Mehmedabad and in its significance it was even compared to Baghdad - although the scale, of course, is not the same.

From the end of the 14th century, Izmail was under the rule of Moldavia. In 1484, the Ottoman state conquered the territory, which became from that moment an Ottoman protectorate (under direct rule from 1538). Since the early 16th century it was the main Ottoman fortress in the Budjak region. In 1569 Sultan Selim II settled Izmail with his Nogai subjects, originally from the North Caucasus.

File:Taking of Izmail.jpg

After Russian general Nicholas Repnin took the fortress of Izmail in 1770, it was heavily refortified by the Turks, so as never to be captured again. The Sultan boasted that the fortress was impregnable, but during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 the Russian Army commander Alexander Suvorov successfully stormed it on 22 December 1790. Ottoman forces inside the fortress had the orders to stand their ground to the end, haughtily declining the Russian ultimatum. The defeat was seen as a catastrophe in the Ottoman Empire, while in Russia it was glorified in the country's first national anthem, Let the thunder of victory sound!.

Suvorov "announced the capture of Ismail in 1791 to the Tsarina Catherine in a doggerel couplet, after the assault had been pressed from house to house, room to room, and nearly every Muslim man, woman and child in the city had been killed in three days of uncontrolled massacre, 40,000 Turks dead, a few hundred taken into captivity. For all his bluffness, Suvorov later told an English traveler that when the massacre was over he went back to his tent and wept."J. Goodwin, Lords of the Horizons, p. 244, 1998, Henry Holt and Company, {{ISBN|0-8050-6342-0}}

At the end of the war, Izmail was returned to the Ottoman Empire, but Russian forces took it for the third time on 14 September 1809. After it was ceded to Russia with the rest of Bessarabia by the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest, the town was rebuilt thoroughly. The Intercession Cathedral (1822–36), the churches of Nativity (1823), St. Nicholas (1833) and several others date back to that time. Izmail's oldest building is the small Turkish mosque, erected either in the 15th or 16th centuries, converted into a church in 1810{{Cite web |last=Весніна |first=Олена |date=2018-06-15 |title="Измаил для нас всегда был и будет священным местом": Генконсул Греции в Одессе посетила столицу Придунавья |url=https://bessarabiainform.com/2018/06/izmail-dlya-nas-vsegda-byl-i-budet-svyashhennym-mestom-genkonsul-gretsii-posetila-stolitsu-pridunavya/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Бессарабия ИНФОРМ |language=uk}} and currently housing a museum dedicated to the 1790 storm of Izmail.

File:Izmail Fortress 08.jpg

File:Izmail Pushkina 37.jpg

File:Мала мечеть (Ізмаїл).jpg

File:Заход танкера Usichem в Измаильский морской торговый порт.jpg ]]

File:Chilia branch, Izmail 1.jpg

File:IMGP4352- Міський Сад.jpg

After Russia lost the Crimean War, the town returned to the Principality of Moldavia, which would soon become part of the Romanian Principalities. Russia gained control of Izmail again after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. With the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917 and in the aftermath of World War I, the city was occupied by the Romanian Army on 22 January 1918, after a skirmish with troops of the Danube flotilla. Later that year, the Sfatul Țării of Chișinău, which claimed to be the representative of the whole of Bessarabia, voted to formally unite the region with Romania. This union was recognized by the United Kingdom, France and Italy in the Treaty of Paris, but not by the Soviet Union which had territorial claims over Bessarabia.

In 1940, and again during World War II, it was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and included (August 1940, as a result of Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact ) in the Ukrainian SSR; the region was occupied in 1941 by the Romanian Army participating in Operation Barbarossa. The 678 Jews recorded in the September 1, 1941 Romanian census were deported to Transnistria by the Romanian authorities in 1941, where most of them died.See Radu Ioanid, The Holocaust in Romania: The Destruction of the Jews and Gypsies Under the Antonescu Regime (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2000), p. 129, 131-132, 199, 201. See the census results in Publikationstelle Wien, Die Bevölkerungzählung in Rumänien, 1941, Viena 1943. During the Soviet period following World War II, many Russians and Ukrainians migrated to the town, gradually changing its ethnic composition.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} Izmail Oblast was formed in 1940 and the town remained its administrative center until the oblast was merged to Odesa Oblast in 1954. Since 24 August 1991, Izmail has been part of independent Ukraine.

Until 18 July 2020, Izmail was incorporated as a city of oblast significance and served as the administrative center of Izmail Raion though it did not belong to the raion. In July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Odesa Oblast to seven, the city of Izmail was merged into Izmail Raion.{{Cite news|title=Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ.|url=http://www.golos.com.ua/article/333466|access-date=2020-10-03|date=2020-07-18|website=Голос України|language=uk}}{{cite web |title=Нові райони: карти + склад |url=https://www.minregion.gov.ua/press/news/novi-rajony-karty-sklad/ |publisher=Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України |language=Ukrainian}}

Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, The monument to Alexander Suvorov in Izmail's city centre was placed in temporary storage on 12 November 2022, until city deputies decide where it will be kept permanently.{{cite web |author=|title=The monument to Suvorov from the center of Ishmael will be removed|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2022/11/12/7376070/|website=Ukrayinska Pravda|date=12 November 2022|access-date=12 November 2022|language=Ukrainian}} On 27 September 2024, Izmail suffered a Russian missile and drone attack.{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-attack-on-southern-town-of-izmail-kills-3-injures-14/ar-AA1riIax?ocid=BingNewsSerp |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=www.msn.com}}

File:Danube delta chart.png

The city is located in the Danube Delta on the right-bank of its Chilia branch. On the opposite side of the river belongs to Romania. The city is surrounded by several lakes among which are Yalpuh, Kuhurluy, Kotlabuh and many smaller ones.

The city is located in area known as the Budjak steppe which is a southern portion of Bessarabia. The opposite bank of Danube elevates as the Tulcea Hills.

Under the Köppen climate classification, Izmail falls within either a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) if the {{convert|0|°C}} isotherm is used or a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) if the {{convert|-3|°C}} isotherm is used. Izmail experiences four distinct seasons and generous precipitation year-round, typical for the inland South. Summers are hot and humid, with temperatures somewhat moderated by the city's elevation{{Dubious|date=November 2022}}. Winters are cool but variable, with an average of 48 freezing days per year.

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Izmail (1991–2020, extremes 1886–present)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 18.4

|Feb record high C = 23.0

|Mar record high C = 27.6

|Apr record high C = 31.2

|May record high C = 35.1

|Jun record high C = 36.7

|Jul record high C = 40.7

|Aug record high C = 39.1

|Sep record high C = 35.9

|Oct record high C = 32.2

|Nov record high C = 25.5

|Dec record high C = 19.9

|year record high C = 40.7

|Jan high C = 3.1

|Feb high C = 5.5

|Mar high C = 10.7

|Apr high C = 17.1

|May high C = 23.0

|Jun high C = 27.3

|Jul high C = 29.9

|Aug high C = 30.0

|Sep high C = 24.2

|Oct high C = 17.5

|Nov high C = 10.6

|Dec high C = 4.8

|year high C = 17.0

|Jan mean C = -0.5

|Feb mean C = 1.2

|Mar mean C = 5.5

|Apr mean C = 11.2

|May mean C = 16.9

|Jun mean C = 21.3

|Jul mean C = 23.7

|Aug mean C = 23.3

|Sep mean C = 17.9

|Oct mean C = 12.0

|Nov mean C = 6.4

|Dec mean C = 1.1

|year mean C = 11.7

|Jan low C = -3.7

|Feb low C = -2.5

|Mar low C = 1.2

|Apr low C = 5.8

|May low C = 11.1

|Jun low C = 15.3

|Jul low C = 17.5

|Aug low C = 17.1

|Sep low C = 12.3

|Oct low C = 7.3

|Nov low C = 2.7

|Dec low C = -2.1

|year low C = 6.8

|Jan record low C = -25.4

|Feb record low C = -24.1

|Mar record low C = -18.3

|Apr record low C = -5.3

|May record low C = -0.2

|Jun record low C = 5.5

|Jul record low C = 8.2

|Aug record low C = 3.6

|Sep record low C = -3.3

|Oct record low C = -8.9

|Nov record low C = -17.6

|Dec record low C = -20.8

|year record low C = -25.4

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 32

|Feb precipitation mm = 26

|Mar precipitation mm = 29

|Apr precipitation mm = 33

|May precipitation mm = 43

|Jun precipitation mm = 59

|Jul precipitation mm = 46

|Aug precipitation mm = 32

|Sep precipitation mm = 36

|Oct precipitation mm = 39

|Nov precipitation mm = 36

|Dec precipitation mm = 37

|year precipitation mm = 448

|Jan humidity = 80.4

|Feb humidity = 76.6

|Mar humidity = 71.3

|Apr humidity = 67.8

|May humidity = 66.9

|Jun humidity = 64.7

|Jul humidity = 62.0

|Aug humidity = 60.6

|Sep humidity = 66.9

|Oct humidity = 75.0

|Nov humidity = 80.8

|Dec humidity = 81.7

|year humidity = 71.2

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 5.3

|Feb precipitation days = 4.9

|Mar precipitation days = 4.8

|Apr precipitation days = 5.5

|May precipitation days = 6.6

|Jun precipitation days = 6.1

|Jul precipitation days = 4.8

|Aug precipitation days = 4.1

|Sep precipitation days = 4.2

|Oct precipitation days = 4.6

|Nov precipitation days = 4.9

|Dec precipitation days = 5.9

|year precipitation days = 61.7

|Jan sun = 84

|Feb sun = 110

|Mar sun = 157

|Apr sun = 207

|May sun = 281

|Jun sun = 306

|Jul sun = 336

|Aug sun = 309

|Sep sun = 234

|Oct sun = 167

|Nov sun = 92

|Dec sun = 76

|year sun = 2359

|source 1 = Pogoda.ru{{cite web

| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33889.htm

| script-title = ru:Погода и Климат – Климат Измаил

| trans-title = Weather and Climate – The Climate of Izmail

| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)

| language = ru

| access-date = 29 October 2021}}

|source 2 = NOAA (precipitation, humidity, and sun 1991–2020){{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250420130654/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Ukraine/CSV/Izmail_33889.csv

| archive-date = 20 April 2025 |format= CSV |archive-format=CSV

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Ukraine/CSV/Izmail_33889.csv

| title = Izmail Climate Normals 1991–2020

| work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 20 April 2025}}

|date=September 2012}}

Before 1920, the population of Izmail was estimated at 37,000. During that time, approximately 11,000 of the population were Jewish, 8,000 Romanians and 6,000 Germans. Additional members of the population were Russians, Bulgarians, Turks and Cossacks.{{cite book|last=Kaba|first=John|title=Politico-economic Review of Basarabia|year=1919|publisher=American Relief Administration|location=United States|page=16|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7313/view/1/16/}}

• 2008 — 77,076{{Cite web|url=http://izmail-city.org/about-izmail|title=О городе. История Измаила. Краткая информация о Измаиле. - Интернет Портал города Измаил|website=izmail-city.org|language=ru-ru|access-date=2017-11-07}}
• 2011 — 75,581[http://stat6.stat.lviv.ua/PXWEB2007/ukr/publ/2011/chnas.zip Государственный комитет статистики Украины. Сборник: Численность наличного населения Украины на 1 января 2011. Киев 2011. Ответственная за выпуск Тимошенко Г. В. (doc)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010205321/http://stat6.stat.lviv.ua/PXWEB2007/ukr/publ/2011/chnas.zip|date=2012-10-10}}

The city of Izmail, the largest city of Ukrainian southern Bessarabia, which was also the same as the Izmail urban hromada, had 85,098 inhabitants in 2001, including 32,500 who identified themselves as ethnic Ukrainians (38.2%), 37,166 as ethnic Russians (43.67%), 8,609 as Bulgarians (10.1%), 3,670 as Moldovans (4.31%), 788 as Gagauz (2.42%) and 31 as Romanians (0.04%).The Ukrainian census of 2001, ethnicity/nationality data by localities, at http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ukraine-ethnic2001.htm In 2001, the population of the city of Izmail included 15,353 Ukrainian-speakers (18.04%), 1,538 Romanian-speakers (1.81%), 3,898 Bulgarian-speakers (4.58%), 63,180 Russian-speakers (74.24%), and 327 Gagauz-speakers (0.38%). Most ethnic Moldovans, Ukrainians, Bulgarians and Gagauz in the city were Russian-speakers in 2001. {{cite web | url=https://socialdata.org.ua/projects/mova-2001/ | title=Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України }} Izmail Raion, in its boundaries at that time, and excluding the city of Izmail, had 54,692 inhabitants in 2001, including 15,798 who identified themselves as ethnic Ukrainians (28.89%), 15,083 as Moldovans (27.58%), 14,072 as Bulgarians (25.73%), 8,870 as Russians (16.22%), 230 as Gagauz (0.42%) and 34 as Romanians (0.06%).The Ukrainian census of 2001, ethnicity/nationality data by localities, at http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ukraine-ethnic2001.htm Izmail Raion, within its boundaries at that time, had 54,692 inhabitants in 2001, including 26.34% Ukrainian-speakers, 26.21% Romanian-speakers, 21.56% Russian-speakers, 24.88% Bulgarian-speaking and 0.26% Gagauz-speaking.{{cite web | url=https://datatowel.in.ua/pop-composition/languages-raions | title=Мовний склад районів }}{{cite web | url=https://socialdata.org.ua/projects/mova-2001/ | title=Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України }} The population also consists of many other nationalities: Greeks, Jews, Armenians, etc. - 75 nationalities in total.

• Ioan Chirilă, Romanian writer and sports journalist
• Galina Chistyakova, Soviet, Russian, and later Slovakian athlete, winner of the long jump bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics
• Leonid Dimov (1926–1987), Romanian poet
• Olena Hovorova, Ukrainian athlete, winner of the triple jump bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics
• Wiktor Kemula, Polish chemist, electrochemist, and polarographist, developer of the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE)
• Ruslan Maynov, Bulgarian actor and musician
• Gavril Musicescu, Romanian composer
• Serghei Nicolau (1905–1999), Russian-Romanian communist espionage chief and a Securitate general
• Sergiu Sarchizov, Romanian composer and conductor
• Sholom Schwartzbard, Jewish anarchist, assassin of Symon Petliura
• Ivan Shishman, Bulgarian artist
• {{ill|Vadim Yuryevich Tsarev|ru|Царёв, Вадим Юрьевич}} – Russian philosopher, publicist, author of television films, Member of the Union of writers of Russia
• Artur Văitoianu, Romanian general, Army commander during World War I; Prime Minister

File:Immaculate Conception church in Izmail.jpg|Immaculate Conception church in Izmail

File:Izmail, Benderska 28.jpg|Old lycaeum building

File:Old-believers St. Nicholas church 04.jpg|Old-believers St. Nicholas church

File:Житловий будинок, вул. Грецька, 13 (ріг Героїв Сталінграду вул.).jpg|Old dwelling house

File:Izmail Suvorova 20.jpg|Tulchianov House

File:Шпиталь, Ізмаїл.jpg|Old hospital

File:Suvorova 2a-1.jpg|Sailors' inn

File:Suvorova 20-1.jpg|Old city hall building

File:Suvorova 26-1.jpg|Eparchial office building

File:Suvorova 53-4.jpg|Old trade gallery

File:Izmail palace of culture.jpg|Shevchenko palace of culture

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{{Commons}}

{{EB1911 poster|Izmail}}

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{{Odesa Oblast}}

{{Izmail Raion}}

{{Danube}}

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Category:Castles in Moldavia

Category:Danube Delta

Category:Populated places on the Danube

Category:Port cities and towns in Ukraine

Category:Port cities of the Black Sea

Category:Cities of regional significance in Ukraine

Category:Izmailsky Uyezd

Category:Ismail County

Category:Capitals of the counties of Bessarabia

Category:Cities in Izmail Raion

Category:Izmail Oblast

Category:Hromadas in Izmail Raion

Category:Market towns in Moldavia