Istok

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This article is about a town Istok. For other uses, see Istok (disambiguation).

Istog / Burimi Исток / Istok

Population (1991)
- Total	57,261 (municipality)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)

Istok or Istog (Albanian: Istog or Burimi; Serbian: Исток or Istok) is a town in western Kosovo. It is the administrative capital of the municipality of Istok, which includes the town and the surrounding villages.

1 Name
2 Demographics
3 Economy
4 Some notable features
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Name

The name of the town comes from the archaic version of Serbian word istok (modern version istek), meaning "well, water source" referring to the springs of the Istočka river, a tributary to the White Drin river. ^[1] The name of the nearby village of Vrela, one of the largest settlements in the municipality, also means "springs", as does the newly proposed Albanian name of the town, Burimi, ("well" in Albanian).

[edit] Demographics

Year/Population	Albanians	%	Serbs	%	Montenegrins	%	Muslim Slavs	%	Roma/Ashkali	%	Total
Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs
1961	19,067	56.45	9,097	26.91	3,804	11.25	881	2.6	16		33,799
1971	27,371	66.74	8,944	21.81	2,420	5.90	1,876	4.57	243	0.59	41,009
1981	35,972	71.79	7,736	15.44	1,856	3.70	3,545	7.08	747	1.49	50,104
1991	43,910	76.68	5,968	10.42	1,302	2,27	4,070	7.11	1,346	2.35	57,261
1998	51,000	80.1	7,270	11.4
2006	41,000	92	540	1.2			1,330	2.9	1,740	44,610
Ref: Yugoslav Population Censuses for data through 1991, and OSCE estimates for data in 1998 and 2006

Although there is no official data, the total population of the municipality is estimated at 65,000.

[edit] Economy

After World War II, watermills on the river of Istok were nationalized and a new fish plant was built to operate as a Socially-owned Enterprise. The company's name during socialism was "Ribnjak" (in Serbian) meaning "Piscatory or Fishery", and when it was privatized as Motel "Trofta" (in Albanian) meaning "Trout", or the type of fish it has been and is still producing, selling, and distributing. The company currently employs around 70 workers.

[edit] Some notable features

Istok is the home to the strongest wind in the Western Balkans flowing from North to South;

One of the largest prison in Europe is located 4-5km to the east of Istok (Dubrava Prison);

Former President of Kosovo, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, was born in the municipality of Istok (in the village of Crnce);

The father of the famous Turkish-Albanian poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy was born in the municipality of Istok (in the village of Šušica);

Agnesa Vuthaj, who was crowned Miss Kosovo 2003, Miss Albania 2004, and represented Albania in Miss World 2005 hosted in the city of Sanya in China, was born in Istok on 8 February 1986.