Editing Ashgabat (section)

===Soviet period===
[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] rule was established in Ashgabat in December 1917. However, in July 1918, a coalition of [[Menshevik]]s, [[Social Revolutionaries]], and [[Tsarism|Tsarist]] former officers of the [[Imperial Russian Army]] revolted against the [[Bolshevik]] rule emanating from Tashkent and established the [[Transcaspian Government|Ashkhabad Executive Committee]]. After receiving some support (but even more promises) from General [[Wilfrid Malleson|Malleson]], the British withdrew in April 1919 and the [[Tashkent Soviet]] resumed control of the city.

In 1919, the city was renamed '''Poltoratsk''' ({{langx|ru|Полторацк}}), after [[Pavel Poltoratskiy]], the Chairman of the Soviet of National Economy of the [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]].<ref name="Pospelov" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article085143.html|title=Ашхабад|publisher=Bse.sci-lib.com|date=May 28, 2009|access-date=February 26, 2015}}</ref> When the [[Turkmen SSR]] was established in 1924, Poltoratsk became its capital. The original name but in the form of "A'''sh'''khabad" rather than "A'''s'''khabad" was restored in 1927.<ref name="Pospelov" /> In keeping with standard Soviet practice, Imperial Russian street names were changed to honor prominent Communists, Russians, or socialist ideals. For example, Skobolev Square became [[Karl Marx]] Square, Grodekov Street became [[Alexander Ostrovsky|Ostrovskiy]] Street, and Kuropatkin Avenue became Freedom Avenue (and from 1953 to 1961, following [[Joseph Stalin]]'s death, Stalin Avenue).<ref name=osm /><ref name=gaz /> In 1927 a statue of [[Vladimir Lenin]] designed by A.A. Karelin and Ye.R. Tripolskaya was erected.<ref name=encyclopedia />

During [[World War II]] Ashgabat became a refuge for both institutions, including Moscow State University and the Kiev film studio, and individuals. Roughly 8,000 refugees were quartered in private homes during the war.<ref name=muradov4 /> Among the outsiders who escaped to Ashgabat during the war were [[Andrei Sakharov]] and author [[Yury Olesha]]. In 1944 Ukrainian motion picture director [[Mark Donskoy]] filmed ''[[Rainbow (1944 film)|Rainbow]]'' ({{langx|uk|Веселка}}, {{langx|ru|Радуга}}) in Ashgabat, which was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] as best foreign film.<ref name=muradov4 />

From this period onward, the city experienced rapid growth and industrialisation, although severely disrupted by a [[1948 Ashgabat earthquake|major earthquake]] on October 6, 1948. An estimated 7.3 on the [[Surface magnitude scale]], the earthquake killed 110–176,000<ref name="NGDC">{{cite web | url=https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/3891|title=Significant Earthquake Information|last=National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information|year=1972 |publisher=NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information|doi=10.7289/V5TD9V7K}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/most_destructive.php |title=US Geological Survey |publisher=Earthquake.usgs.gov |access-date=2010-06-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901233953/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/most_destructive.php |archive-date=September 1, 2009  }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/176199/earthquake |title=Britannica Online |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=2010-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://turkmenistan.gov.tm/_eng/2007/10/06/today_the_people_of_turkmenistan_mourn_for_those_perished_in_the_1948_ashgabat_earthquake.html |title=Today the People of Turkmenistan Mourn for Those Perished in the 1948 Ashgabat Earthquake |publisher=Golden Age State News Agency |date=2007-10-06 |access-date=2010-06-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406122236/http://turkmenistan.gov.tm/_eng/2007/10/06/today_the_people_of_turkmenistan_mourn_for_those_perished_in_the_1948_ashgabat_earthquake.html |archive-date=April 6, 2009  }}</ref> (two-thirds of the population of the city), although the official number announced by Soviet news was only 40,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/life/newsid_3169000/3169472.stm |title=Би-би-си &#124; Люди и нравы &#124; Горькая память Ашхабада |work=BBC News |access-date=2013-11-24 |first=Владимир |last=Ардаев |date=2003-10-06|language=ru}}</ref> The earthquake was recorded as one of the deadliest natural disasters in Soviet history.