| En Name: | Sovetsk |
| Ru Name: | Советск |
| Coordinates: | 57.5833°N 107°W |
| Image Coa: | Coat of Arms of Sovetsk (Kirov oblast).png |
| Federal Subject: | Kirov Oblast |
| Adm District Jur: | Sovetsky District |
| Adm Selsoviet Jur: | Sovetsk |
| Adm Selsoviet Type: | Town |
| Adm Ctr Of1: | Sovetsky District |
| Adm Ctr Of2: | Town of Sovetsk |
| Inhabloc Cat: | Town |
| Mun District Jur: | Sovetsky Municipal District |
| Urban Settlement Jur: | Sovetskoye Urban Settlement |
| Mun Admctr Of1: | Sovetsky Municipal District |
| Mun Admctr Of2: | Sovetskoye Urban Settlement |
| Pop 2010Census: | 16598 |
| Current Cat Date: | 1937 |
| Postal Codes: | 613340, 613341, 613343, 613379 |
| Website: | http://admsovetsk.ru/ |
Sovetsk (Russian: Сове́тск), formerly Kukarka (Russian: Кука́рка; Mari: Кукарка), is a town and the administrative center of Sovetsky District in Kirov Oblast, Russia. Population:
The origins of the name "Kukarka" are uncertain. It may derive from Mari words kü (stone) and karman (fortress) or from kugyrak (great). Attempts have been made to trace it to either Udmurt (kar "town") or Turkic (kukar "burned-away forest"). It is not related to the Russian word "Russian: кухарка" (kukharka, "female cook").
In the 12th century, it was a capital of the local principality of Chumbylat, a renowned Mari leader and warrior. Kukarka was occupied in 1594 by Russians during colonization of Mari land. Later it was a sloboda in Vyatka Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was granted urban-type settlement status in 1918. Town status was granted to it in 1937, at which time its name was changed by the Soviet government into Sovetsk (lit. Sovietsk).[1]
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sovetsk serves as the administrative center of Sovetsky District.[2] As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Sovetsky District as the Town of Sovetsk. As a municipal division, the Town of Sovetsk is incorporated within Sovetsky Municipal District as Sovetskoye Urban Settlement.[3]
Sovetsk is the birthplace of Vyacheslav Molotov.