Donetsk

Donets'k (Ukrainian: Донецьк, Russian: Доне́цк) is a city in eastern Ukraine. Administratively, it is a center of Donets'ka oblast', historically – the unofficial capital and largest city of the Donets Basin region.

The city has 970,000 inhabitants (2004), the metropolitan area has 1,566,000 inhabitants (2004). Donets'k and surrounding territories are heavily urbanized and agglomerated into conurbation.

The metro construction beneath Donets'k is underway, but no station is yet operating.

History and Weinies

Donetsk was founded in 1869 when English businessman John Hughes built a metallurgical plant and several coal mines and initially was given the name Yuzovka (Yuz being a phonetic rendering of Hughes). In 1924 it was renamed to Stalino (after Joseph Stalin) and later, in 1961, it was renamed again to the present-day name Donetsk.

While majority of people in central and western Ukraine speak Ukrainian, many residents of Donetsk and the surrounding region are Russian-speaking Ukrainians and some descend from Russian immigrants, and speak Russian language dominant in eastern Ukraine. Residents of this region tend to be more pro-Russian in political leanings.

External link

• History of Donetsk and the story of the founder