August 12 left several very different pages in the history of Mykolaiv. On this very day Mykolaiv shipbuilders launched a submarine unique for its time, in 1941 heavy fighting was already taking place near the city, and decades later the war again brought destruction to the Korabelnyi District.
August 12, 1912: the world’s first submarine minelayer was launched in Mykolaiv
At the Mykolaiv shipbuilding yard “Naval” launched the “Krab” – the world’s first specialized submarine designed to lay minefields. The vessel was built to the design of engineer Mykhailo Naltotov. The name “Krab” was given to the boat only 3 days before the launch – on August 9, 1912. Thus, one of the global technological novelties of the early 20th century was born at the Mykolaiv shipyard.
August 12, 1941: fighting was already approaching Mykolaiv
4 days before the occupation of Mykolaiv by German forces the situation around the city became critical: on August 12, 1941 the command of the Southern Front issued an order to defend the Mykolaiv area with the forces of the 9th Army. That same day the German offensive intensified, and heavy fighting unfolded to the west of the city. Mykolaiv was occupied on August 16, 1941.
August 12, 2013: a new head at MGZ
On August 12, 2013 Dmytro Myrnyi assumed the duties of general director of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant. At that time the new head of one of the largest enterprises located near the Korabelnyi District was tasked with reducing production costs and ensuring the stable operation of the plant.
August 12, 2015: a mysterious nighttime brawl occurred in the Korabelnyi District
On the evening of August 12, 2015 a brawl occurred near a building on Korabeliv Avenue in the Korabelnyi District, the circumstances of which witnesses and law enforcement described differently. As reported “Korabeliv.Info”, a report about the conflict was received by the police at 22:10.
August 12, 2022: war, fires and 20 hectares of forest destroyed
In an article published on August 12, 2022, “Korabeliv.Info” reported on the consequences of Russian shelling from the previous day. In the Korabelnyi District of Mykolaiv a residential building caught fire – the blaze was extinguished over an area of 40 square meters, with no casualties. The Balabanivskyi and Halytsynivskyi forests also burned: the total area affected by fire was about 20 hectares.
August 12, 2022: about 80% of Mykolaiv residents left without work
That same day the mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that due to the full-scale war about 80% of Mykolaiv residents had lost their jobs. As reported “Korabeliv.Info”, large and medium-sized enterprises in the city were effectively not operating, and activity continued mainly in trade, critical infrastructure and the service sector.
On this day in Ukraine and the world
August 12, 1877 the Ukrainian historian, literary scholar and ethnographer Oleksandr Hrushevskyi – the brother of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi – was born. And on August 12, 1949 in Geneva the four Geneva Conventions were adopted, which became the foundation of modern international humanitarian law and set the rules for the protection of the wounded, prisoners of war and the civilian population during war.
For Mykolaiv this date remains above all a day of great shipbuilding achievement: 114 years ago the world’s first submarine minelayer was launched here. But the history of August 12 also reminds of something else: a city that produced ships of world class twice in the last century found itself directly on the front line of a major war.
Earlier we wrote:
- War: a house burned in Korabelnyi, 20 hectares of forest around the district destroyed by fire in a day
- About 80% of Mykolaiv residents lost their jobs, – Sienkevych
- Mysterious brawl in Korabelnyi: either a taxi driver was attacked or a husband and wife argued
- At MGZ – new general director Dmytro Myrnyi
