Balta

Balta [Балта]. Map: VI-10. City (2011 pop 19,353) on the Kodyma River (a tributary of the Boh River); a raion center in Odesa oblast. Balta has existed since the 16th century. It belonged to Turkey until 1791 and later, in accordance with the Treaty of Iaşi, to Russia. In 1797 it became a county town of Podilia gubernia. It was known for its wheat-trading markets. In 1865 the first railroad in Russian-ruled Ukraine was built; it connected Balta with Odesa. In 1880, 80 percent of its population was Jewish. In 1924–9 it was the capital of the Moldavian ASSR. The city has a furniture, a brick, and a clothing factory, and a food industry.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]