Desnianskyi District, Kyiv

The Desnianskyi District^[a] is an administrative raion (district or borough) of the city of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located in the north-eastern part of the city on the Left Bank^[b] of the Dnieper River and is the most populous district of Kyiv. It is also the second largest district, with the total area of ca. 14.2 ha.

Desnianskyi District Деснянський район
Urban district in Kyiv
Desniansky District as seen from the northern outskirts of Kyiv
Flag Coat of arms
Show Desnianskyi District Show Kyiv Show Ukraine
Coordinates: 50°31′48″N 30°42′15″E
Country	Ukraine
Region	Kyiv
Established	30 December 1987
Subdivisions	List    — city councils    — settlement councils  — rural councils Number of localities:    — cities    — urban-type settlements  — villages    — rural settlements
Government
• Governor	Dmytro Ratnikov
Area
• Total	142 km2 (55 sq mi)
Population  (1 January 2021)
• Total	368 500[1]
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code	38044
Website	http://desn.kyivcity.gov.ua

The Desnianskyi District mainly consists of two microdistricts – Troieshchyna and Lisovyi – making it predominantly residential in nature. There is only one clear-cut, (yet small) industrial zone called Kulykove on the border with Dniprovskyi Raion. This fact explains why the district has the lowest number of registered business entities among Kyiv raions.^[2] Much like commuter town, therefore, Desnianskyi District has very little commercial or industrial activity beyond a small amount of retail, oriented toward serving the locals. However, it differs from commuter towns in that it forms part of the city proper and is not regarded as suburb in a classical sense. Still, its currently weak transportation links with the major part of the city on the Right Bank make it appear as a "city inside a city", which is especially true for Troieshchyna microdistrict.^[3]

History

The first written reference of the lands that today form part of Desnianskyi District dates back to 1667.^[4] Until 1927 the area of the raion belonged to the Oster uyezd of the Chernigov Governorate. Since then it became part of the city of Kyiv. In 1932 the area was reorganized under the Petriv (Podil) Raion. It was not until 1987 when the area was reorganized into a separate raion partially out of the neighboring Dnipro Raion and was named as the Vatutin Raion.

Troieshchyna

Residential development of what would become known as Troieshchyna microdistrict started in 1966. However it was not until the completion of Pivnichnyi Bridge (named Moskovskyi Bridge until 2018^[5]) in 1976 that the development became genuinely large-scale.^[6]

Population

Language

Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census:^[7]

Language	Number	Percentage
Ukrainian	250 165	74.74%
Russian	78 386	23.42%
Other[c]	6 153	1.84%
Total	334 704	100.00%

Gallery

• 
  Troieshchyna microdistrict
• 
  Konotop Battle Square – the centre of Lisovyi microdistrict
• 
  Pivnichnyi Bridge – the key transportation link connecting Desnianskyi District with the rest of the city on west bank of the Dnieper
• 
  Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Troieshchyna microdistrict
• 
  Lisovyi avenue in Kyiv
• 
  Pier near the park Muromets

Notes

1. Ukrainian: Деснянський район, romanized: Desnianskyi raion, lit. 'District of Desna'
2. Informally, Kyiv is subdivided into the Right Bank (Ukrainian: Правий Берег) and the Left bank (Ukrainian: Лівий Берег) on the west and east bank of the Dnieper river respectively.
3. Those who did not indicate their native language or indicated a language that was native to less than 1% of the local population.