Novyi Oskol

a city and the administrative center of Novyi Oskol Raion, Belgorod Oblast, RSFSR. It is situated on the left bank of the Oskol River, a tributary of the Severskii Donets, at the influx of the Belen’kaia River. It has a railroad station on the Kastornoe-Valuiki line, 254 km east of Belgorod. Population, 16,000 (1974).

Founded in 1637 as a fort on the abatis line of the Muscovite state, the town was named Tsarev-Alekseev in 1647 and received its present name in 1655. It was raided by Tatars a number of times between 1676 and 1680. In 1708 it was incorporated into Kiev Province, and in 1727 it became part of Belgorod Province. In 1779 it became a district capital in the Kursk Namestnichestvo (vicegerency), and from 1797 to 1924 it was a district capital in Kursk Province. The city’s many food-processing enterprises include a meat-packing plant, a flour mill, a creamery, a cannery, and a brewery. Novyi Oskol also produces construction materials, reinforced-concrete components, and furniture. The city has a sovkhoz technicum.