Staryi Oskol

a city under oblast jurisdiction and administrative center of Staryi Oskol Raion, Belgorod Oblast, RSFSR. Situated on the Oskol River and its right tributary the Oskolets. Highway junction and junction of railroad lines to Valuiki, Kas-tornaia, and Saraevka. Population, 71,000 (1975; 11,000 in 1939, 27,000 in 1959,52,000 in 1970).

Staryi Oskol was founded in 1593 as a fortress on the southern frontier of the Muscovite state. It was subjected to raids by Tatars and Poles. Originally called Oskol, it was renamed Staryi Oskol in 1655. It was made part of Kiev Province in 1708 and of the provintsiia (“subprovince”) of Belgorod in 1719. Staryi Oskol became a district city in 1779 and was made part of Kursk Province in 1797. In 1897 it was linked by rail to Kursk and Kharkov. Soviet power was established in the city in December 1917. The city was occupied by General Denikin’s White troops from September to November 1919 and again by fascist German troops from June 2,1942, to Feb. 5,1943. It has been part of Belgorod Oblast since 1954.

Staryi Oskol is one of the iron-ore mining centers of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. An ore-dressing combine is presently under construction (1978). Industry is represented by plants producing equipment for the mining industry, electrical equipment for motor vehicles and tractors, and cement. There is also a building-materials combine, a furniture factory, and a factory producing cables. The food-processing industry is represented by a confectionery factory and a cannery. Staryi Oskol has a geological-prospecting technicum, a technicum for cooperative affairs, a medical school, a museum of local lore, and a people’s amateur theater.