Dzerzhinsk

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Dzerzhinsk (dzĬrzhēnsk´), city (1989 pop. 285,000), W European Russia, a port on the Oka River above. There is a huge chemical complex there. The city was called Chernorech until about 1919 and Rastyapino until 1929, when it was renamed in honor of Feliks Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police.

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