Donetsk is a large city in eastern
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
on the
KalmiusThe Kalmius is one of two rivers flowing through the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The other river called the Kalchik flows into the Kalmius. The Kalmius flows into the Sea of Azov near the Azovstal steel manufacturing combine....
river. Administratively, it is a center of
Donetsk OblastDonetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural
Donets BasinDonbas or Donbass , full rarely-used name Donets Basin , is a historical, economic and cultural region of eastern Ukraine. Originally a coal mining area, it has become a heavily industrialised territory suffering from urban decay and industrial pollution.-Geography:Donbas covers three...
(
Donbas) region. Donetsk - a dynamic metropolis, a major financial, industrial, scientific center of Ukraine with a high concentration of companies and skilled workforce. In 2009, 2010, recognized as the best city of Ukraine.
The city was founded in 1869 by a
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
businessman,
John HughesJohn James Hughes was a Welsh engineer, businessman and founder of a city in Ukraine. The city was originally named Yuzovka or Hughesovka after Hughes, but was renamed Stalino in 1924 .-Biography:Hughes was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales,...
, who constructed a steel plant and several
coal minesThe goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in the region; the town was thus named
Yuzovka (Юзовка) in recognition of his role in its founding ("Yuz" being a Russian or Ukrainian approximation of Hughes). During Soviet times, the city's steel industry was expanded.
In 1924 at the plenum Yuzovsky executive committee had decided to rename the town from Yuzovka to
Stalin (Сталiн). In 1929-1931 the town was renamed in
Stalino (Сталино). In 1932 the city became the center of Donetsk region. In 1961, during the De-Stalinisation the city was again renamed to its modern name
Donetsk after the
Seversky DonetsSeversky Donets is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine and then again through Russia to join the Don River, about from the Sea of Azov...
river. In addition, some sources state that the city was briefly called Trotsk—after
Leon TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
—for a few months in 1923. Today, the city still remains an important industrial centre for coal and steel in Ukraine.
The city is currently home to two major professional
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
teams in Ukraine:
Shakhtar DonetskFC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...
and
Metalurh DonetskFC Metalurh Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. The club currently plays in the Ukrainian Premier League.- Pre-history :...
, both of which currently play in the
Ukrainian Premier LeagueThe Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...
. Important attractions of the city include the Cathedral Transfiguration of Jesus, the
Donetsk National UniversityDonetsk National University is the leading higher educational institution in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The University's history starts in 1937 from the moment of creation of a pedagogical institute in Donetsk . In 1965, the Institute was transformed into Donetsk State University...
, and others.
Donetsk currently has a population of over 982,000 inhabitants (2010) and has a
metropolitan areaThe term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
of over 1,566,000 inhabitants (2004). According to the
2001 Ukrainian CensusThe first Ukrainian Census was carried out by State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989....
, Donetsk is the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.
Geography and climate
Donetsk lies in the
steppeIn physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
landscape of Ukraine, surrounded by scattered woodland, hills (
spoil tips), rivers, and lakes. The northern outskirts of the city are mainly used for agriculture. The
Azov SeaThe Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
, 95 km south of Donetsk, is a popular recreational area for those living in Donetsk. A wide belt of farmlands surrounds the city.
The city stretches 28 km from north to south and 55 km from east to west. There are 2 nearby
reservoirsA reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
: Nyzhnekalmius (60 ha), and the "Donetsk Sea" (206 ha). 5 rivers flow through the city, including the
KalmiusThe Kalmius is one of two rivers flowing through the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The other river called the Kalchik flows into the Kalmius. The Kalmius flows into the Sea of Azov near the Azovstal steel manufacturing combine....
, Asmolivka (13 km), Cherepashkyna (23 km), Skomoroshka, and Bakhmutka. The city also contains a total of 125 spoil tips.
Donetsk's climate is moderate
continentalContinental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
. The average temperatures are −5 °C (23 °F) in January and 18 °C (64 °F) in June. The average number of rainfall per year totals 162 days and up to 556 millimetres per year.
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Ave. high °C (°F) |
-2 (27) |
-1 (29) |
3 (39) |
13 (57) |
20 (68) |
23 (74) |
25 (77) |
24 (76) |
19 (67) |
11 (53) |
3 (39) |
0 (32) |
11 (53) |
| Ave. low °C (°F) |
-7 (18) |
-7 (19) |
-2 (28) |
5 (41) |
10 (51) |
13 (57) |
15 (60) |
14 (58) |
10 (50) |
3 (39) |
-1 (30) |
-5 (23) |
4 (40) |
| Source: Weatherbase |
History
Donetsk was founded in 1869 when the
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
businessman
John HughesJohn James Hughes was a Welsh engineer, businessman and founder of a city in Ukraine. The city was originally named Yuzovka or Hughesovka after Hughes, but was renamed Stalino in 1924 .-Biography:Hughes was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales,...
built a steel plant and several
coal minesThe goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in the southern part of
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
at
Aleksandrovka . The town initially was given the name
Hughesovka (Yuzovka; ; ). By the beginning of the 20th century, Yuzovka had approximately 50,000 inhabitants, and had attained the status of a city in 1917.
In 1924, under the Soviet rule, the city's name was changed to
Stalin. In that year, the city's population totaled 63,708, and in the next year — 80,085. In 1929-31 the city's name was changed to
Stalino. The city did not have a drinking water system until 1931, when a 55.3 km system was laid underground. In July 1933, the city became the administrative centre of the
Donetsk OblastDonetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
of the
Ukrainian SSRThe Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
. In 1933, the first 12 km sewer system was installed, and next year the first exploitation of gas was conducted within the city.
In the beginning of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the population of Stalino consisted of 507,000, and after the war - only 175,000. The
NaziNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invasionOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
during World War II almost completely destroyed the city, which was mostly rebuilt on a large scale at the war's end. It was occupied by Nazi Germany between 16 October 1941 and 5 September 1943.
The territory of Donetsk at the time of the
Nazi GermanNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupation consisted mainly of a Jewish
ghettoDuring World War II, ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe were set up by the Third Reich in order to confine Jews and sometimes Gypsies into tightly packed areas of the cities...
, in which 3,000 Jews died, and a
concentration campInternment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in which 92,000 people were killed. During the war, a collective responsibility system was enforced. For every killed
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
soldier, 100 inhabitants were killed, and one for every killed policeman.
In 1945 many forced laborers, young men and women aged 17 to 35, were interned into reparation servitude from the Danube Schwabian communities Schwowe of Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Roumania ( the Batschka, and
BanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
) and worked under extreme hardship to rebuild Stalino and to labor in its mines. Many died from disease and malnutrition.
Although Stalino means Steel in Russian, during
Nikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's second wave of destalinization in November 1961 the city was renamed Donetsh, after the
Seversky DonetsSeversky Donets is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine and then again through Russia to join the Don River, about from the Sea of Azov...
river, a tributary of the Don in order to distance it from the former leader
Joseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
.
In 1965, the Donetsk Academy of Sciences was established as part of the
Academy of Science of the Ukrainian SSRThe National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is the highest government research body in Ukraine and one of the six state academies. Its presidium is located at 57 Volodymyr Street, across the street from the Building of Pedagogical Museum where used to preside the Central Rada during the...
. In 1970, Donetsk was recognized by
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as the cleanest industrial town of the world. Donesk was granted the
Order of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
in 1979.
Residents of the city tend to be pro-Russian in their political beliefs. This has been massively exploited during
2004 presidential electionThe Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 was held on October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union...
, in which the city mostly voted for candidate
Viktor YanukovychViktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
, which had been announced as the winner of the election by the
Central Election CommissionThe Central Election Commission of Ukraine ; sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine) is a permanent and independent collegiate body of the Ukrainian government.- Mission and Authority :...
. The vote was later proven to have been falsified, with many of the falsified votes coming from the surrounding region. This led to an election re-run, thus making Yanukovych lose the election. During the
2006 Ukrainian parliamentary electionsThe Ukrainian parliamentary election took place on March 26, 2006. Election campaigning officially began on July 7, 2005. Between November 26 and December 31, 2005 party lists of candidates were formed....
, the Yanukovych-led
Party of RegionsThe Party of Regions is an Ukrainian political party created on October 26, 1997 just prior to the 1998 Ukrainian parliamentary elections under the name of Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine. It was reformed later in 2001 when the party united with several others...
also won most of the votes from the region.
Government and administrative divisions
While Donetsk is the administrative center of the
Donetsk OblastDonetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
(
provinceOblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
), the city is the capital of the Donetsk City Municipality. However, Donetsk is a
city of oblast subordinanceUkraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts , one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".- Overview :...
, thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the Donetsk City Municipality housed in the city itself.
The territory of Donetsk is divided into 9 administrative
raionA raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
s (districts). In addition, every raion consists of
raion councils, which are subordinate to the Donetsk City Council.
EWLINE
| # | Raion A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
s | UkrainianUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
| AreaArea is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
| PopulationA population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
|
| 1 |
Budionivskyi Raion |
|
25 km² |
100,300 |
| 2 |
Voroshylovskyi Raion |
|
10 km² |
97,300 |
| 3 |
Kalininskyi Raion |
|
19 km² |
109,700 |
| 4 |
Kyivskyi Raion |
|
33 km² |
143,700 |
| 5 |
Kirovskyi Raion |
|
68 km² |
171,700 |
| 6 |
Kuibyshevskyi Raion |
|
51 km² |
120,800 |
| 7 |
Leninskyi Raion |
|
37 km² |
107,800 |
| 8 |
Petrovskyi Raion |
|
57 km² |
88,600 |
| 9 |
Proletarskyi Raion |
|
58 km² |
102,800 |
|
Demographics
Donetsk currently has a population of over 982,000 inhabitants (2010) and has a
metropolitan areaThe term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
of over 1,566,000 inhabitants (2004). It is the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.
While the majority of people in central and western Ukraine speak Ukrainian, the completer majority of the residents of Donetsk are Russian-speaking
UkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and ethnic
RussiansThe Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. According to 2001 population census, Ukrainians are 56,9% of Donetsk oblast and Russians are 38,2%. The Russian language is dominant in
DonbasDonbas or Donbass , full rarely-used name Donets Basin , is a historical, economic and cultural region of eastern Ukraine. Originally a coal mining area, it has become a heavily industrialised territory suffering from urban decay and industrial pollution.-Geography:Donbas covers three...
: even the ethnic Ukrainians consider Russian as their first language. In 1989 there were no Ukrainian language schools in Donetsk.
The actual nationality structure of the Donetsk City Municipality is as follows:
- Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
: 493,392 people, 48.15%
- Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
: 478,041 people, 46.65%
- Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
: 11,769 people, 1.15%
- Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
: 10,180 people, 0.99%
- Jews: 5,087 people, 0.50%
- Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
: 4,987 people, 0.49%
- Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
: 4,050 people, 0.40%
- Azerbaijanis
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
: 2,098 people, 0.20%
- Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
: 2,073 people, 0.20%
- Other: 13,001 people, 1.27%
- Total: 1,024,678 people, 100.00%
In 1991 one-third of the population described themselves as
Russian, one-third as
Ukrainian while the majority of the rest described themselves as
Slav.
Artema Street
The main part of Donetsk, this large avenue is the place to start for any tourist trip around the city. You'll see an interesting mix of new and old architecture together with small parks, stylish hotels, shopping centers and fine restaurants. The historical sites are the most amazing here and include Lenin Square, the Opera & Ballet Theater, Monument to Coalminers, and Donetsk Drama Theater.
Statue of Artem (Fyodor Sergeyev)
This imposing six meter statue on Artema Street is a tribute to one of the Soviet’s most celebrated politicians and adopted son of Joseph Stalin. He died in the Donets Basin in 1921.
Donetsk Opera & Ballet Theater
Built in 1936, this is a gem of a theater with an elegant exterior and world-class performances inside.
Pushkin Boulevard
A beautiful green walkway that takes you away from Donetsk city life for a 2 km (1.24 mi) stroll. Here you can enjoy peaceful fountains, al fresco cafes, and a number of interesting statues such as the monument o Taras Shevchenko.
Monument to John Hughes
This 2001 statue located in front of Donetsk National Technical University honors the hard work of Welsh city founder John James Hughes. He was responsible for the city’s Yuzovka Steel Plant that gave Donetsk its industrial history.
Lenin Square
This Square features the gigantic 42 meter Lenin Statue, one of Ukraine’s largest symbols of Lenin and a symbol of the importance of the city during the Soviet Union.
Architecture
Donetsk, at the time
Yuzovka, was divided into two parts: north and south. In the southern part were the city's factories, train depots, telegraph buildings, hospitals and schools. Not far from the factories was the
English colony where the engineers and the management lived. After the construction of the residence of
John HughesJohn James Hughes was a Welsh engineer, businessman and founder of a city in Ukraine. The city was originally named Yuzovka or Hughesovka after Hughes, but was renamed Stalino in 1924 .-Biography:Hughes was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales,...
and the various complexes for the foreign workers, the city's southern portion was constructed mainly in the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
style.
These buildings used rectangular and triangular shaped façades, green rooftops, large windows, which occupied a large portion of the building, and balconies. In this part of the town, the streets were large and had sidewalks. A major influence on the formation of architecture in Donetsk was the
official architect of a
NovorossiyaNovorossiya is a historic area of lands which established itself solidly after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire, but was introduced with the establishment of Novorossiysk Governorate with the capital in Kremenchuk in the mid 18th century. Until that time in both Polish...
company —
Moldingauyer. Preserved buildings of the southern part of Yuzovka consisted of the residences of John Hughes (
1891, partially preserved), Bolfur (
1889) and Bosse.
In the northern part of Yuzovka,
Novyi Svet, lived traders, craftsmen and bureaucrats. Here were located the market hall, the police headquarters and the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The central street of Novyi Svet and the neighbouring streets were mainly edged by one- or two-story residential buildings, as well as markets, restaurants, hotels, offices and banks. A famous preserved building in the northern part of Yuzovka was the Hotel Great Britain.
The first general plan of Stalino was made in 1932 in
OdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
by the architect P. Golovchenko. In 1937, the project was partly reworked. These projects were the first in the city's construction bureau's history.
A large portion of the city's buildings from the second half of the 20th century were designed by the architect Pavel Vigdergauz, which was given the
Government award of the USSRThe USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
for architecture in the city of Donetsk in 1978.
Sports
Three major professional
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
clubs play in the city, which include two in the
Ukrainian Premier LeagueThe Ukrainian Premier League is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Supreme League it was founded in 1991 after the fold of the Soviet Union's Vysshaya Liga. In 2008 it was reformed into a more autonomous entity of the Football Federation of Ukraine and changed...
and one in the
Ukrainian Second LeagueThe Ukrainian Second League is a professional football league in Ukraine which is part of the Professional Football League of Ukraine. The league is lower than the Ukrainian First League and the lowest level of professional football competitions in the country. Druha Liha is the third level of...
:
Shakhtar DonetskFC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...
, which plays at the Donbass Arena,
Metalurh DonetskFC Metalurh Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. The club currently plays in the Ukrainian Premier League.- Pre-history :...
, which plays at the Metalurh Stadium, and
FC Olimpik DonetskFC Olimpik Donetsk is a professional football team based in Donetsk, Ukraine. Olimpik Donetsk entered the professional competition in 2004. After six seasons Druha Liha Olympik became champions in the 2010–11 season and were promoted to the Persha Liha. They play at their stadium "Olimpik".-League...
.
Shakhtar DonetskFC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...
is 7-times winner of Ukrainian Championship, the winner of UEFA Cup in 2009, quarterfinalist of UEFA Champions League. Shakhtar is now one of the most well-known clubs in Europe.
MFC Shakhtar DonetskShakhtar is a futsal team from Donetsk, Ukraine.The team was founded in 1998 as Ukrsplav, and after year came up from the second league to the first one.-Domestic:*Ukrainian Championship: 5*Ukrainian Cup: 3*Ukrainian Super Cup: 3...
won the
UkrainianUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
futsalFutsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
championship five times. The team was dissolved in January 2011 mid-way through the season.
VC Shakhtar DonetskVC Shakhtar Donetsk is a volleyball club from Donetsk. It won the Soviet Volleyball Championship in 1992, and was the last to do so.It played 5 seasons only in that top league.Except the 1992 championship, it was a runner up in 1991....
were the last team to win the Soviet Volleyball Championship, in 1992.
The city also has a team in the
Ukrainian Basketball Super LeagueThe Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague is the top professional basketball league in Ukraine.-2010–2011 Teams:* Azovmash Mariupol* BC Kyiv* Khimik Yuzhny* MBС Mykolaiv* BC Donetsk* BC Budivelnik* BC Halychyna* BC Hoverla* BC Dnipro-Azot...
,
BC DonetskBC Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional basketball club, that is based in Donetsk. The mascot of the team is a tiger, which also appears on their symbol, and the "Tigers" is also the nickname of the team.-History:...
.
In Donetsk, the
USSR Tennis ChampionshipThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
took place within the city in 1978, 1979, and 1980 near the Donetsk Railroad tennis courts. Some tennis matches of the
Davis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
took place in Donetsk in 2005.
In Donetsk, the Soviet Championship on Light Athletics in Youth took place in 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1984. A monument to famous
pole vaultPole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
athlete Serhiy Bubka is installed in the city.
In the city,
sailboatA sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
championships take place on the city's
KalmiusThe Kalmius is one of two rivers flowing through the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The other river called the Kalchik flows into the Kalmius. The Kalmius flows into the Sea of Azov near the Azovstal steel manufacturing combine....
river.
When the joint bid for the UEFA Euro 2012 was won by
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Donetsk's Donbass Arena was chosen as the location for 3 Group Matches, Quarter-Final, and Semi-Final matches. The
RSK Olimpiyskyi StadiumRSK Olimpiyskyi is a multi-purpose stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine, owned by Shakhtar Donetsk. The stadium's maximum capacity is 25,678, and it is used exclusively for football matches. After its reconstruction in 2003, the stadium was also host to Shakhtar's city-rivals, FC Metalurh Donetsk...
was chosen as a reserve stadium.
Religion
Donetsk's residents belong to many different religious bodies:
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Greek Catholic,
ProtestantProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, and
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, as well as
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic Mosques and Judaic
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s. The largest religious body with the most members is the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is an autonomous Church of Eastern Orthodoxy in Ukraine, under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate...
.
Media
Five television stations operate within Donetsk:
- TRK Ukraina
- KRT, Kyivska Rus'
- First Municipal
- Kanal 27
- TRK Donbass
In Donetsk, there is the 360 metre tall TV tower, one of the tallest structures in the city, completed in 1992.
Famous people
Donetsk has been home to many people, including sportsmen, musicians, writers, businessmen, dissidents, and many others. The citizens of Donetsk are commonly called
Donechyani . The following is a list of famous people that were born or raised in the city:
World ChampionAthletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
: 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995,
European ChampionThe European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
: 1986; Champion of the USSR: 1984, 1985
- Pavel Gililov — Russian pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
- Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko — Russian
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
Mathematician and lecturerLecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
at the Moscow UniversityLomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
- Yaroslav Kargin - internationally renowned violist
- Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
- General SecretaryGeneral Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
of the CPSUThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
and PremierThe office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
of the Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
1953-1964 (born in KalinovkaKalinovka may refer to:*Kalinovka, Hajigabul, a village in Azerbaijan*Kalinovka, Masally, a village in Azerbaijan*Kalinovka, Kazakhstan, a settlement in Almaty Province of Kazakhstan*Kalinovka, Russia, name of several rural localities in Russia...
, Kursk OblastKursk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kursk.-Geography:The oblast occupies the southern slopes of the middle-Russian plateau, and its average elevation is from 177 to 225 meters . The surface is hilly, and intersected by ravines...
, RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
but grew up in Yuzovka)
- Oleksandr Koliaskyn — tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player
- Marina Kroshyna — tennis player
- Ilya Mate - Olympic champion in 1980
- Oleksiy Pecherov
Oleksiy Pecherov is a Ukrainian basketball player. He stands at 7'0".The NBA's Washington Wizards selected him with the 18th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft; Pecherov signed a contract with the Wizards on July 5, 2007. Pecherov had previously played with Paris Basket Racing internationally...
— a Ukrainian basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player
- Aleksandr Pervy - Weightlifter
- Lilia Podkopayeva
Lilia Alexandrivna Podkopayeva ; born August 15, 1978 in Donetsk) is a retired Ukrainian gymnast who became the 1996 Olympic all-around champion, the 1995 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships all-around champion and the 1996 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships all-around champion...
— a UkrainianUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
gymnastGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, and the 1996 Olympics winner
- Sergiy Rebrov — Soccer player
- Vladislav Shabalin- Russian artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
-sovietdissidentA dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
,painter,graphic,sculptor.
- Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
— former SovietThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
dissidentA dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
, anticommunistAnti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
, Zionist, IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician and writer
- Vasyl Stus
Vasyl Semenovych Stus was a Ukrainian poet and publicist, one of the most active members of Ukrainian dissident movement. For his political convictions, his works were banned by the Soviet regime and he spent 23 years in detention...
— Ukrainian poet and publicist, one of the most active members of Ukrainian dissident movement
- Oleg Tverdovsky
Oleh Fedorovych "Oleg" Tverdovsky is a Ukrainian-Russian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League .-Early years:...
— ice hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player
- Olexander Yakhubin — boxer
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
The main forms of transport within Donetsk are: trams, electric trolley buses, buses and
s (private minibuses). The city public transportation system is controlled by the united
municipal company. The city has 12 tram lines (~130 km), 17 trolley bus lines (~188 km), and about 115 bus lines. Both the tram and trolley bus systems in the city are served by 2
each. Another method of transport within the city is
The city also contains autostations located within the city and its suburbs: autostation
(South), which serves mainly transport lines to the south, hence its name; autostation
(Indoor market), which serves mainly transport in the north and east directions; and the autostation
system under construction in Donetsk, with the first stage totaling 6 stations to open by 2012.
Donetsk's Main Railway Station, which serves about 7 million passengers annually, is located in the northern part of the city. There is a museum near the main station, dealing with the history of region's railroads. Other railway stations are:
(Budionivskyi Raion). Some passenger trains avoid Donetsk station and serve the station
, located outside the city limits. Although not used for regular transportation, the city also has a children's railway. (As of September 2009) a new railway terminal facility that will comply with
requirements (since Donetsk is one of the host city's for UEFA EURO 2012) is planned.
As the Donetsk Oblast is an important transportation hub in Ukraine, so is its center Donetsk. The
, based in Donetsk, is one of the largest railway divisions in the country. It serves the farming and industrial businesses of the area, and the populations of the Donetsk,
In addition, another international road runs through the city: the M 04. Also, three national Ukrainian roads ( N 15, N 20, and N 21) pass through the city.
. It was constructed in the end of the 1940s to the beginning of the 1950s. The whole airport complex was finished in 1973. The city-based
Donetsk and the surrounding territories are heavily urbanized and agglomerated into conurbation. The workforce is heavily involved with
. The city is an important center of heavy industry and coal mines in the
) and Ukraine. Directly under the city lie coal mines, which have recently seen an increase in
Donetsk's economy consists of about 200 industrial organizations that have a total production output of more than 5 billion
per year and more than 20,000 medium-small sized organizations. The city's
industry comprises 5 large metallurgical plants located throughout the city; the engineering market comprises 67 organizations, and the food industry — 32 organizations.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Donetsk and other neighbouring cities of the Donbas suffered heavily, as many factories were closed down and many inhabitants lost their jobs. However, in spite of the difficult
, Donetsk is a developing city. About 412 thousand m² of living space, 7.9 km of gas networks, and 15.1 km of water supply networks were constructed in the city during 1998-2001.
. Donetsk currently has nine
. The
The airline Donbassaero has its head office on the property of Donetsk International Airport.
Donetsk is a well-known educational location of the surrounding area, accompanied with several universities, which include 5 state
The most important and prominent educational institutions include the National Technical University ("Donetsk Polytechnical Institute" in 1960-1993), as well as the
which was founded in 1965. The National Technical University held close contacts with the University in Magdeburg. Since 1970, more than 100 students from Germany (
) have completed their higher education at either one of the two main universities in Donetsk.
schemes to foster good international relations. Partners include: