DONETSK
Today Donetsk is the administrative centre of Donetsk
region of the Ukraine. It is a major industrial,
scientific and cultural centre; an important node of
railway, road and air lines.
Historical Background
Donetsk began as a small Zaporizhzhe Cossack village (winter-abode) late in the 17th century.
Initially,
farming and
raising cattle were principal industries with the settlement and
adjacent
lands being named
Oleksandrivka in 1779. By 1820, small scale coal mining began
with annual
output of
about 7,000 metric tons by the mid-1850's. The local economy further diversified
in 1869
when the New Russia Company was formed to mine coal, smelt iron, produce
rails, and
operate
a railroad. Skilled workers and technicians were brought from
Britain to expand
the coal mines and build
a steel mill. A new settlement Yuzivka (Hughesivka
- from the
company's owner Welshman John Hughes)
was built to house workers. In 1924
the town
was renamed Stalino, and finally Donetsk in 1961.
industrial cities of the Ukraine. The population of Donetsk is about one million citizens.
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