Balta, Ukraine

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Balta is a city in southwestern Ukraine, in Odesa Oblast, and the administrative center of Balta urban hromada. It sits on the right bank of the Kodyma River and had about 17,854 people in 2022.

Balta was first mentioned in 1526. In the 18th century, a border town named Józefgród was founded on the opposite bank by Polish nobles. In 1768, during a conflict with Russia, Balta was burned, helping trigger the Russo-Turkish War. Józefgród received town rights in 1776. Balta and Józefgród were annexed by Russia in the late 18th century, and in 1797 they were merged into one town named Balta, in the Podolia region.

By 1897 Balta had about 23,000 residents, the fourth-largest city in Podolia. It had a significant Jewish community, and pogroms occurred in 1882 and 1905.

From 1924 to 1929 Balta was the capital of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. After the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia in 1940, Balta became part of Odesa Oblast. It was occupied by Axis forces in 1941 and recaptured by the Red Army in 1944.

Balta remained the center of Balta Raion until 2016, when it was designated a city of oblast significance. In 2020, Ukraine reorganized its districts, and Balta Municipality was merged into Podilsk Raion. Today Balta is part of Podilsk Raion and serves as the administrative center of its hromada.

Postal codes: 66100–66105. Telephone code: +380 4866.