Upon
Ukrainian Independence, Zaliznyi Port was administratively subordinated to the
Novofedorivka Village Council [
uk] of Bekhtery rural hromada of
Hola Prystan Raion of Kherson Oblast.[3] In December 1997, it was officially designated a resort village by the Ukrainian
Verkhovna Rada.[4] Since the abolition of Hola Prystan raion in the
2020 Administrative reform, it has been part of Skadovsk Raion of Kherson oblast, while maintaining the same lower-order territorial subdivisions of prior.[5]
The
Russian occupation of Kherson has reverted the 2020 reform in the territories under its control, administering Zaliznyi Port as part of Hola Prystan Raion.[6]
History
Origin
There are two main theories among historians as to the origin of the name "Zaliznyi Port", which translates to "Iron Port".[7] The first, official version, claims that there was originally a pier connected to an Iron bridge in the village, extending over 100 meters into the sea, and at which ships loaded and unloaded, which became known as the Iron Port. Eventually, the bridge collapsed, but the name remained and was applied to the whole village. The second version claims that the name "Iron Port" began as a name sailors out at sea used as a guiding point, due to being guided by the light reflection of an iron roof on a barn there.[8]
Although the village has its origins in the late 19th century under the
Russian Empire, when
Baron von Falz-Fein [
uk] helped create a settlement there, it was formally founded under the
Soviet Union in 1922 when it was given its name.[3][9] According to official sources, in the early 1920s peasants from the city of
Hladkivka, then known as Kelehei (
Ukrainian: Келегеї), settled Zaliznyi Port and engaged in agricultural work, whose products were exported using ships loaded on the Black Sea coast.[10] By the
1940s, there was still only one street in the village, running across the seashore.[7]
Subsequent to the start of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, during the
Southern Ukraine campaign, the village was entirely occupied by Russian forces. This led to a collapse of the village's tourism industry, causing some locals to protest the invasion.[12] The protestors chanted the phrase "Zaliznyi Port is Ukraine" (
Ukrainian: Залізний Порт – це Україна), alongside singing the Ukrainian anthem and waving the Ukrainian flag.[13][14]
On 4 April 2022, head of the Bekhtery rural hromada, Mykhailo Burak, was allegedly kidnapped by Russian forces while in Zaliznyi Port, according to Ukrainian sources.[15]
On 15 September 2022, some news outlets claimed that Ukrainian forces attempted simultaneous naval landings on the
Kinburn Split,
Lazurne, and Zaliznyi Port. Both
Kirill Stremousov, head of the Russian
Kherson military-civilian administration, and Serhii Bratchuk, head of the Ukrainian Odesa Regional Military Administration, denied all reports of fighting in Zaliznyi Port.[18][19]
On 10 February 2023, it was reported by the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that the occupational authorities had begun issuing Russian passports to the local population of Zaliznyi Port.[23]
Demographics
Population
According to the
1989 USSR census, the population of the village consisted of 1,506 people, 756 of which were men and 750 women.[24]