Donetsk National University Of Economics And Trade Named After M
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
located on the Kalmius River in
Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
. The population was estimated at in the city core, with over 2 million in the
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
(2011). According to the 2001 census, Donetsk was the fifth-largest city in Ukraine. Administratively, Donetsk has been the centre of
Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the larger economic and cultural Donets Basin (''Donbas'') region. Donetsk is adjacent to another major city, Makiivka, and along with other surrounding cities forms a major
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
and
conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
in the region. Donetsk has been a major economic, industrial and scientific centre of Ukraine with a high concentration of heavy industries and a skilled workforce. The density of heavy industries (predominantly steel production, chemical industry, and coal mining) determined the city's challenging ecological situation. In 2012, a UN report ranked Donetsk among the world's fastest depopulating cities. The original settlement in the south of the European part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
was first mentioned as Aleksandrovka in 1779, during the reign of the Empress
Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
. In 1869, the Welsh businessman John Hughes founded a steel plant and several
coal mines Coal mining is the process of extracting 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 ...
in the region, and the town was named Hughesovka or Yuzovka (Юзовка) in recognition of his role ("Yuz" being a Russian-language approximation of ''Hughes''). During
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
times, the city's steel industry expanded. In 1924, Yuzovka was renamed Stalin. In 1929, Stalin was renamed Stalino, and in 1932, the city became the centre of the Donetsk region. Renamed Donetsk in 1961, the city today remains a centre for
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting 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 ...
and for the steel industry. Since April 2014, Donetsk and its surrounding areas have been one of the major sites of fighting in the ongoing
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
, as pro-Russian separatist forces battle against Ukrainian military forces for control of the city and surrounding areas. Throughout the war, the city of Donetsk has been administered by the pro-Russian separatist forces as the center of the
Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...
(DPR), with outlying territories of the Donetsk region divided between the two sides.
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
became the epicenter of the war in 2014 with almost a year-long battle. ,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
has full control of the city, with Ukrainian and Russian forces still engaging in combat touching the city.


History


Foundation

One of the early mining settlements in the territory of Donetsk was . The existence of Aleksandrovskaya Cossack ''
Sloboda A sloboda ( rus, слобода́, p=sləbɐˈda) was a kind of settlement in the history of the Old Russian regions Povolzhye, Central Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and may be loosely ...
'' in its place is attested by 1779., with the eventually being opened there. The city of Donetsk was founded in 1869 by
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
businessman John Hughes, who operated a steel plant and several coal mines at Aleksandrovka. The worker's settlement at the plant merged with Aleksandrovka and the place was named Yuzovo, later Yuzovka (russian: Юзово, Юзовка), after Hughes. In its early period, it received immigrants from Wales, especially from the town of
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
. By the beginning of the 20th century, Yuzovka had approximately 50,000 inhabitants, and attained the status of a city in 1917. The main district of Yuzovka is named English Colony, and the British origin of the city is reflected in its layout and architecture.


Soviet Union

When the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
broke out, Yuzovka was part of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic from its declaration of independence on 12 February 1918. The Republic was disbanded at the 2nd All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets on 20 March 1918, when the independence of the
Ukrainian Soviet Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Republic (russian: Украинская Советская Республика, translit= Ukrainskaya Sovetskaya Respublika) was one of the earlier Soviet Ukrainian quasi-state formations (Ukrainian People's Republic of S ...
was declared. It failed to achieve recognition, either internationally or by the
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
, and was abolished under the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace, separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russian SFSR, Russia and the Central Powers (German Empire, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of ...
. In 1924, under 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''.http://alldonetsk.info/en/history-city-donetsk The history of the city of Donetsk The city did not have a drinking water system until 1931, when a system was laid underground. In July 1933, the city became the administrative center of the Donetsian Oblast of the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
. In 1933, the first sewer system was installed, and the use of gas began the next year. Some sources state that the city was briefly called Trotsk—after
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
—for a few months in late 1923. At the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the population of Stalino was 507,000. After the war, the population was 175,000. The
invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
almost completely destroyed the city. It was occupied by German and Italian forces as part of the
Reichskommissariat Ukraine During World War II, (abbreviated as RKU) was the civilian occupation regime () of much of Nazi German-occupied Ukraine (which included adjacent areas of modern-day Belarus and pre-war Second Polish Republic). It was governed by the Reich Min ...
between 16 October 1941 and 5 September 1943. It was mostly rebuilt on a large scale after the war. In 1945, young men and women aged 17 to 35, from the Danube Swabian ''(Schwowe)'' communities of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
(the Batschka and
Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
), were forcibly sent to Russia as Allied "war reparations", being put to work as slave labour to rebuild Stalino and to work in its mines. The conditions were so poor that many died from disease and malnutrition. During
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
's second wave of destalinization in November 1961, the city was renamed Donetsk, after the Seversky Donets River, a tributary of the
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
in order to distance it from the former leader
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
. In 1965, the Donetsk Academy of Sciences was established as part of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. File:Школа детей английской администрации ЮМЗ 004.jpg, This building was formerly an English-speaking school for the British in Yuzovka File:1887. Новый свет. Базар.jpg, A market on the main street of ''Novyi Svet'' section of Yuzovka. (1887) File:Stadtplan Stalino LOC 2012593213.jpg, A German map of the city in 1943. Note that all the streets have been given German names.


Independent Ukraine

After the declaration of independence made by the
Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
on 24 August 1991 the
1991 Ukrainian independence referendum A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence was held in Ukraine on 1 December 1991. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', page 1976 An overwhelming majority of 92.3% of voters approved the dec ...
was held on 1 December 1991. In this referendum 83.90% of Donetsk's voters voted in favour of independence. After experiencing a tough time in the 1990s, when it was the center of gang wars for control over industrial enterprises, Donetsk modernised quickly, largely under the influence of big companies. In 1994 a consultaitve referendum was held in
Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
and
Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...
, with around 90% supporting recognition of Russian as an official language alongside
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
, and for Russian to be an official language on a regional level. In the 1990s and the 2000s, hundreds were killed in coal mine collapses in Donetsk and the region. These included the
2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse The 2008 Ukrainian coal mine collapse occurred at the Karl Marx Coal Mine in the city of Yenakiieve, Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine on June 8, 2008. The mine collapse was said to have been caused by a gas pipe explosion. The exp ...
, the
2007 Zasyadko mine disaster The 2007 Zasyadko mine disaster was a mining accident that happened on November 18, 2007 at the Zasyadko coal mine ( uk, Шахта ім. Засядько) in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. By November 30, 101 miners were reported ...
, and the
2015 Zasyadko mine disaster On 4 March 2015, at around 05:20 local time, there was a mining accident at the Zasyadko coal mine in rebel-held Eastern Ukraine. It is suspected to have been caused by a gas explosion. Twenty-three people were confirmed dead. Local rebels cla ...
. Ukraine has had many mining accidents since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, with one reason cited as the linking of miners' pay to production, which is an incentive to ignore safety procedures that slow production. In a summit in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in 2008, Donetsk was recognised as the best city in the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
for its implemented development strategies; in 2012 and 2013 Donetsk was recognised as the best place for business in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Whilst getting praise for its business potential in 2009, Donetsk also received criticism for the strong mafia connection of its growing oligarchy, and for an increasing poverty rate. Some analysts warned of a long-term collapse of the Donetsk economy; and that it could share
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
's gloomy fate, due to its failure to combat crime and poverty.


Donetsk People's Republic and Russia (2014–present)

After President Yanukovych fled Ukraine to seek asylum in Russia, Russian-backed separatists took over the (OSA), the main government building, in Donetsk. The police did not offer resistance. Later in the week the authorities of Donetsk disallowed a referendum on the status of the region and the police retook the Donetsk OSA building. Donetsk became one of the centers of the
2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the succes ...
. On 7 April 2014, pro-Russian activists seized control of Donetsk OSA and declared the "
Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...
", asking for Russian intervention. On 11 May 2014, a Donetsk status referendum, 2014 was held in Donetsk in which voters could choose political independence. It was stated by the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic election commission, Roman Lyagin, that almost 90 percent of those who voted in the Donetsk Region endorsed political independence from
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. Ukraine does not recognize the
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, while the EU and US stated that the polls were illegal. Heavy shelling by the Ukrainian Army and paramilitary units have caused civilian fatalities in Donetsk.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
has called on both warring factions to cease using the unguided BM-21 Grad missiles in populated areas, and has said the use of these weapons systems was a violation of international humanitarian laws and could constitute a war crime. It also called on the insurgents to avoid their deployment in densely populated areas. The
2015 IIHF World Championship Division I The 2015 IIHF World Championship Division I was an international ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested in Kraków, Poland, after the original host, Donetsk, Ukraine, withdrew, from 19 to 25 Ap ...
, Group A was scheduled for 18 to 24 April 2015 in Donetsk, but Ukraine withdrew as hosts due to the ongoing conflict in the country. Instead of Donetsk, the tournament was organized in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, Poland. Eventually, Ukraine co-organized
2017 IIHF World Championship Division I The 2017 IIHF World Championship Division I was an international ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested in Kyiv, Ukraine from 22 to 28 April 2017 and Group B in Belfast, United Kingdom from 23 ...
, again Group A, but in its capital,
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. On 30 September 2022, Putin signed a decree claiming to annex four regions, including Donetsk, as part of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. This annexation has been seen by the global community as a breach of international law.


Geography

Donetsk lies in the
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
landscape, surrounded by scattered
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
, hills,
spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...
s,
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s and
lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s. The northern outskirts are mainly used for agriculture. The Kalmius River links the city with the
Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
, which is to the south, and a popular recreational area for those living in Donetsk. A wide belt of farmlands surrounds the city. The city stretches from north to south and from east to west. There are 2 nearby reservoirs: Nyzhnekalmius (60 ha), and the "Donetsk Sea" (206 ha). 5 rivers flow through the city, including the Kalmius, Asmolivka (13 km), Cherepashkyna (23 km), Skomoroshka and Bakhmutka. The city also contains a total of 125 spoil tips.


Climate

Donetsk's climate is moderate warm summer continental ( Köppen: ''Dfb''). The average temperatures are in January and in July. The average number of rainfall per year totals 162 days and up to 556 millimetres per year.


Government and administrative divisions

Since 7 April 2014 Donetsk is ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' governed by the
Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...
as its capital city. The Donetsk People's Republic is not recognized internationally and all
UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...
recognize the city as Ukrainian. South Ossetia, another state with limited recognition, recognizes the Donetsk People's Republic as a sovereign entity and Donetsk as its capital. The territory of Donetsk is divided into 9 administrative
raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
s (districts), whose local government is administered by ''raion councils'', which are subordinate to the Donetsk City Council.


Demographics

''See article: Russians in Ukraine'' Donetsk had a population of over 985,000 inhabitants in 2009 and over 1,566,000 inhabitants in the
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
in 2004. It was the fifth-largest city in Ukraine. According to the 2001 census, the Donetsk Oblast is inhabited by members of more than 130 ethnic groups.2001 Ukrainian Census
''Численность и состав населения Донецкой области по итогам Всеукраинской переписи населения 2001 года
he size and composition of the population on the basis of the Donetsk region in the 2001 Census He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
'.
The Ukrainian ethnicity is 56.9% of the population (2,744,100 people); the Russian ethnicity is 38.2% of the population (1,844,400 people). The native language of 74.9% of the population of the Donetsk region is Russian, compared with 24.1% Ukrainian. 58.7% of people of Ukrainian ethnicity considered Russian to be their native language.2001 Ukrainian Census
''Численность и состав населения Донецкой области по итогам Всеукраинской переписи населения 2001 года, Языковой состав населения Донецкой области, по данным Всеукраинской переписи населения he size and composition of the population on the basis of the Donetsk region in the 2001 Census, Linguistic composition of the population of the Donetsk region, according to the Census'
In 1989 there were no Ukrainian language schools in Donetsk. The structure of the Donetsk City Municipality by ethnicity in 2001 is as follows: #
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
: 493,392 people, 48.15% #
Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
: 478,041 people, 46.65% #
Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...
: 11,769 people, 1.15% # Pontic Greeks (including Caucasus Greeks): 10,180 people, 0.99% # Jews: 5,087 people, 0.50% #
Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
: 4,987 people, 0.49% #
Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
: 4,050 people, 0.40% #
Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...
: 2,098 people, 0.20% #
Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
: 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 identified as ''Russian'', one-third as ''Ukrainian'' while the majority of the rest declared themselves
Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
. Smaller minorities include in particular ethnic groups from the
South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
and northeast
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
region, including
Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
,
Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...
,
Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
, and Pontic Greeks (including those defined as Caucasus Greeks). Native language of the population of the city of Donetsk as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: * Russian 87.8% *
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
11.1% *
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
0.1% *
Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...
0.1%


Economy

Donetsk and the surrounding territories are heavily urbanised and agglomerated into conurbation. The workforce is heavily involved with heavy industry, especially
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting 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 ...
. The city is an important center of heavy industry and coal mines in the Donets Basin (''Donbas''). Directly under the city lie coal mines, which have recently seen an increase in
mining accident A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. C ...
s, the most recent accident being at the Zasyadko mine, which killed over 100 workers. Donetsk's economy consists of about 200 industrial organizations that have a total production output of more than 120 billion rubles per year and more than 20,000 medium-small sized organizations. The city's
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting 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 ...
industry comprises 17 coal mines and two concentrating mills; the
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
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 neighboring cities of the Donbas suffered heavily, as many factories were closed down and many inhabitants lost their jobs. About of living space, of gas networks, and of water supply networks were constructed in the city during 1998–2001. The city also houses the "Donetsk" special economic zone. Donetsk currently has nine
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
. The German city of
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
had economic partnerships with Donetsk during 1962–1996. In 2012, Donetsk was rated the best city for business in Ukraine by
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
. Donetsk topped the rating in five indicators:
human capital Human capital is a concept used by social scientists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a substantial ...
, the purchasing power of citizens, investment situation,
economic stability Economic stability is the absence of excessive fluctuations in the macroeconomy. An economy with fairly constant output growth and low and stable inflation would be considered economically stable. An economy with frequent large recessions, a pronou ...
, as well as
infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
and
comfort Comfort (or being comfortable'')'' is a sense of physical or psychological ease, often characterized as a lack of hardship. Persons who are lacking in comfort are uncomfortable, or experiencing discomfort. A degree of psychological comfort c ...
. The shopping areas in the city include the enclosed shopping mall
Donetsk City Donetsk City ( uk, Донецьк-Сіті, Stylized: DOHEцЬK CITi) is a large enclosed shopping mall in Donetsk, Ukraine. Located along Artema Street, the mall opened in October 2006 and includes a total area of approximately 115,000 sq. meter ...
.


Sports

Donetsk is a large sports center, has a developed infrastructure, and has repeatedly held international competitions –
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
,
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
. Representatives of the city are state leaders sports such as football, hockey, basketball, boxing, tennis, athletics and others. The most popular sport in Donetsk is
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. Donetsk is home to two major professional football clubs: Shakhtar Donetsk, which played at the
Donbas Arena Donbass Arena ( uk, Донба́с Аре́на ; is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in Donetsk, Ukraine, that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the Lenin Comsomol park. With a capacity of 52,187 ...
prior to 2014 but now plays at NSC Olimpiyskiy, and
FC Olimpik Donetsk FC Olimpik Donetsk ( uk, «Олімпік» Донецьк ) is a Ukrainian inactive football team based in Donetsk, Ukraine. The club currently doesn't play in any Ukrainian competition due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since its prom ...
, which currently plays in Chernihiv Stadium. Until 2021, both played in the Ukraine Premier League, but in 2021, Olimpik was relegated to the
Ukrainian First League The Persha Liha ( uk, Перша ліга) or Ukrainian First League is a professional football league in Ukraine and the second tier of national football competitions pyramid. Members of the league also participate in the Ukrainian Cup. It is th ...
. Shakhtar Donetsk won the Ukrainian Championship and Ukrainian Cup multiple times, and in 2009 they became the second team from Ukraine (after
FC Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was offici ...
) to win a European competition, the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
. Donetsk was also home to the women's football club
WFC Donchanka WFC Donchanka, also known as Donchanka TsPOR for sponsorship reasons, is a Ukrainian women's football club from Donetsk. Founded in 1992 as Tekstilshchik Donetsk, it was renamed as Donetsk-Ros in 1994 before taking its current name in 1997. Donch ...
, one of the most successful clubs in the history of the
Ukrainian Women's League The Ukrainian Women's Professional Football League, WFPL, is part of the Ukrainian football clubs competitions among females that consists of two divisions, the Top League (Vyshcha Liha) which has a professional status and the First League (Persha ...
, but it ceased operations in 2014. Donetsk is home to the football stadium
Donbas Arena Donbass Arena ( uk, Донба́с Аре́на ; is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in Donetsk, Ukraine, that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the Lenin Comsomol park. With a capacity of 52,187 ...
, which was opened in 2009. It became the first stadium in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
designed and constructed according to the UEFA standards for stadiums of "Elite" category. When the joint bid for the
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
was won by
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, Donetsk's
Donbas Arena Donbass Arena ( uk, Донба́с Аре́на ; is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in Donetsk, Ukraine, that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the Lenin Comsomol park. With a capacity of 52,187 ...
was chosen as the location for three
Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA World ...
matches, one quarter-final match, and one semi-final match. The RSK Olimpiyskyi Stadium was chosen as a reserve stadium. Donetsk, together with the nearby
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...
, were the host towns of the
2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2009 Final Tournament was held in Ukraine in the cities of Donetsk and Mariupol. Players born after 1 January 1990 were eligible to participate in this competition. Qualification Qualification for the final ...
. The stadiums hosting the event on behalf of Donetsk were
RSC Olimpiyskiy Regional Sports Complex "Olimpiyskyi" stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine. The stadium is part of bigger sports complex Olimpiyskyi and until 2014 was property of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. Since 2014 along with ...
(which hosted the final) and the Metalurh Stadium. Donetsk is home to the
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
club HC Donbass, playing at the
Druzhba Arena Druzhba Arena was an indoor arena in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was built to develop hockey in the region. It was destroyed in May 2014. History Druzhba was built in 1975 as Druzhba Palace of Sports, by a standard design (dated 1956), with a seatin ...
since 2011 (but discontinuing operations is 2014 and then moving to
Druzhkivka Druzhkivka ( uk, Дружківка, ; russian: Дружковка, Druzhkovka) is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: ; 64,557 (2001). The area of the ...
in 2015), which won the 2011 Ukrainian Hockey Championship, and which is the only elite level team in the country. After playing a single season in the Russian Major League, the club upgraded its arena to Kontinental Hockey League regulations, and joined the league in 2012. When moving to the KHL, the club created a local farm club to play in the Ukrainian Championship under the name
HC Donbass-2 Hockey Club Donbass-2 (russian: ХК Донбасс-2; uk, Хокейний Клуб Донбас-2, '' tr. Khokeinyi Klub Donbas-2''), was a Ukrainian Professional Hockey League club based in Donetsk. They were a founding member of the Professio ...
, which won the 2012 and 2013 national titles. In 2013 Donetsk was hosting the
2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup The Continental Cup 2012–13 was the 16th edition of the IIHF Continental Cup. The season started on 28 September 2012, and finished on 13 January, 2013. The Super Final was played in Donetsk, Ukraine on the 11–13 January 2013. The points s ...
ice hockey Super Final, which HC Donbass won, and the 2013 IIHF World Championship Division I – Group B, where
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
finished 1st and earned promotion to Group A (both were hosted at the
Druzhba Arena Druzhba Arena was an indoor arena in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was built to develop hockey in the region. It was destroyed in May 2014. History Druzhba was built in 1975 as Druzhba Palace of Sports, by a standard design (dated 1956), with a seatin ...
). After the team resumed operations in 2015, it withdrew from the KHL, ultimately ending up in the
Ukrainian Hockey League The Ukrainian Hockey League is the name of the highest ice hockey league in Ukraine since the 2016–17 season, playing for the Ukrainian Hockey Championship. The league was created in June 2016 and folded in 2021. Seasons * 2016–17 (winner: ...
, where it has won four of the last five championships. Donetsk was also home to the basketball club
BC Donetsk Basketball Club Donetsk ( uk, баскетбольний клуб Донецьк), commonly known as simply Donetsk, was a Ukrainian professional basketball club, based in Donetsk. The team played in the Ukrainian SuperLeague. The mascot of the te ...
, which played in the
Ukrainian Basketball Super League The Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague (USL) ( uk, Українська баскетбольна суперліга) is the first-tier level of professional basketball league in Ukraine. Established in 1992, the league is currently contested by 10 c ...
, and won the 2012 champion title. The club played at the
Druzhba Arena Druzhba Arena was an indoor arena in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was built to develop hockey in the region. It was destroyed in May 2014. History Druzhba was built in 1975 as Druzhba Palace of Sports, by a standard design (dated 1956), with a seatin ...
, and Donetsk had been chosen as one of the 6 Ukrainian cities to host the
FIBA EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 S ...
. However, the club discontinued play after 2014 due to the ongoing war, and the 2015 FIBA tournament had to be moved out of the country. The city used to be the home of few notable at the time yet now defunct clubs. The MFC Shakhtar Donetsk club won the Ukrainian futsal championship five times, but was dissolved in January 2011 midway through the season due to financial problems (at the time – the most titled club in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
). One of the top
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
volleyball teams at the time, VC Shakhtar Donetsk, who were the last team to win the Soviet Volleyball Championship, in 1992. The team also won the first two championships in the independent
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
league, in 1992 and 1993 (the 1992 Ukraine championship was held in Donetsk), and won the Ukraine Cup in 1993, but after having financial issues, the club was relegated in 1997, and after one season in the second tear it was shut down. Donetsk hosted the USSR Tennis Championship in 1978, 1979 and 1980, and hosted some tennis matches of the 2005
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
. Donetsk was home to the
Alexander Kolyaskin Memorial The Alexander Kolyaskin Memorial is a tennis tournament held in Donetsk, Ukraine since 2002. The event is part of the ''challenger series and is played on outdoor hard court A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is ...
, which was held between 2002–2008 and part of the
ATP Challenger Series The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...
, and Donetsk is the home of the female
Viccourt Cup The Viccourt Cup was a tournament for professional female tennis players played on outdoor hard courts in Donetsk, Ukraine. The event was classified as a $75,000 ITF Women's Circuit tournament which first took place in 2012. The event was cancell ...
, which is classified as an ITF Women's Circuit and started in 2012. Donetsk was always an important
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
centre, and hosted various events. Donetsk was one of the host towns for the 1978 and 1980 Soviet Athletics Championships, and was the sole host town of the event in 1984. Donetsk also hosted the
1977 European Athletics Junior Championships The 1977 European Athletics Junior Championships was the fourth edition of the biennial athletics competition for European athletes aged under twenty. It was held in Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Ук ...
. The stadium used for those athletics events was the
RSC Olimpiyskiy Regional Sports Complex "Olimpiyskyi" stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine. The stadium is part of bigger sports complex Olimpiyskyi and until 2014 was property of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. Since 2014 along with ...
(at the time called RSC Lokomotiv). Among the different
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
sports, Donetsk especially has a big name in
pole vaulting Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...
.
Serhii Bubka Sergey Nazarovych Bubka ( uk, Сергій Назарович Бубка; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by ''Tr ...
, regarded by many as the greatest pole vaulter in history, grew up in the city, and also started in 1992 an annual pole vaulting event in Donetsk, called
Pole Vault Stars Pole Vault Stars is an annual indoor pole vaulting competition which is typically held in February at the Druzhba Palace of Sports in Donetsk, Ukraine. The meeting was founded in 1990 by Sergey Bubka, the pole vault world record holder who grew up ...
. Bubka himself set the
world indoor record World records in Sport of athletics, athletics are ratified by World Athletics. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking. Records are kept for athletics at the Summer Olympi ...
at the event three times (1990, 1991, 1993). His indoor world pole vault record of 6.15m, set in the Donetsk Olympic Stadium on 21 February 1993, was not broken until 2014. The
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n female pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva set a new world record at the event every year between 2004 and 2009. The
2015 IIHF World Championship Division I The 2015 IIHF World Championship Division I was an international ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested in Kraków, Poland, after the original host, Donetsk, Ukraine, withdrew, from 19 to 25 Ap ...
ice hockey tournament had been scheduled for 18 to 24 April 2015 in Donetsk but was later moved to
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, Poland due to the ongoing war.


Professional sports teams

The following is a list of existing professional sports teams, and notable (title-winning) defunct clubs. None of the clubs currently play in the city due to the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
.


Culture


Attractions


First Line Avenue (Artema Street)

First Line Avenue, also known as Artema Street, is considered to be the main part of Donetsk. It generally functions as the foremost place to start for any tourist trip around the city. The street hosts a mix of new and old architecture together with small parks, hotels, shopping centers and restaurants. Noteworthy sites include Lenin Square, the Opera & Ballet Theatre, Monument to Coalminers and Donetsk Drama Theatre.


Statue of Artyom (Fyodor Sergeyev)

This six meter tall statue on Artema Street is a tribute to Soviet politician
Fyodor Sergeyev Fyodor Andreyevich Sergeyev (, ; March 19, 1883 – July 24, 1921), better known as Comrade Artyom (), was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet politician, agitator, and journalist. He was a close friend of Sergei Kirov and Joseph Stali ...
.


Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre

Built in 1936, the Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre has been home to the Donetsk Ballet company since 1946.


Donbass Palace

This 5-star hotel in the center of Donetsk is the only ex-Ukrainian hotel to join The Leading Hotels of The World and was Ukraine's leading business hotel according to the World Travel Awards Association. It was built in 1938 by order of Shuvalova and Rechanikov. During the Nazi occupation of Donetsk, the Gestapo occupied the hotel as a headquarters; the building was partially destroyed during the war. The hotel was reopened after the reconstruction in 2004.


Pushkin Boulevard

A long greenway that features fountains, cafes, and a number of statues such as the monument to
Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...
. The Mertsalov Palm sculpture is also located on Pushkin Boulevard. Originally created for an exhibition in 1896 by Aleksei Mertsalov, a local blacksmith, out of a single rail, it was meant to represent the skills and power of the heavy industry in Czarist Russia.


Monument to John Hughes

This 2001 statue located in front of Donetsk National Technical University honors the work of Welsh city founder John James Hughes, who built the city's Yuzovka Steel Plant which gave Donetsk its industrial history.


Forged Figures Park

Forged Figures Park was opened in 2001. The International Smithcraft Festival takes place in the park every year. Some prize-winning works are gifted to the city and remain in the park, periodically increasing the number of sculptures.


Aqua park

Donetsk Aquapark "Royal Marine" was opened in Scherbakova Park in late 2012. The free-standing dome, made with an aluminum truss structure, is high with a diameter of , and features a retractable design that slides open to reveal up to 50% of the structure to sunlight. The aqua park, one of the largest indoor water parks in the world, was built by Canadian company OpenAire, Inc.


Architecture

Donetsk, at the time ''Yuzovka'', was divided into two parts: north and south. In the southern part were the city's factories, railway stations, 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 Hughes and the various complexes for the foreign workers, the city's southern portion was constructed mainly in the English 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 pavements. A major influence on the formation of architecture in Donetsk was the ''official architect'' of a Novorossiya 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
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
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 USSR for architecture in the city of Donetsk in 1978.


Religion

Donetsk's residents belong to religious traditions including the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
,
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, and the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, as well as
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. The religious body with the most members is the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...
and
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...
. In 2014, a leaflet carrying the signature of the "Chairman of Donetsk's temporary government Denis Pushilin" was distributed to Jews on the festival of Passover. The leaflet asked Donetsk's Jewish citizens to register themselves, their property, and their families to the pro-Russian authorities. The leaflet claimed that failure to comply with its demands would result in the revocation of citizenship and confiscation of property. The leaflet prompted confusion and fear among Donetsk's Jewish population, who saw echoes of
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
in the leaflet. Pushilin denied any connection with the leaflets and called them a provocation.


Media

Five television stations operate within Donetsk: * TRK Ukraina ( uk, ТРК Україна) * KRT, Kyivska Rus' ( uk, КРТ, Київська Русь) * First Municipal (russian: Первый муниципальный) * Kanal 27 (russian: 27 канал) * TRK Donbass (russian: ТРК Донбасс) In Donetsk, there is the 360-metre tall TV tower, one of the tallest structures in the city, completed in 1992.


Notable people

The citizens of Donetsk are commonly called ''Donchyani'' ( uk, дончани, russian: дончане). The following is a list of famous people who were born or brought up in the city: * Rinat Akhmetov (born 1966), a Ukrainian billionaire businessman *
Emma Andijewska Emma Andijewska (or ''Emma Andiievska'', uk, Емма Андієвська, link=no) (born March 19, 1931 in Stalino) is a modern Ukrainian poet, writer and painter. Her works are marked with surrealist style. Some of Andijewska's works have ...
(born 1931), a modern Ukrainian poet, writer and painter. *
Alexander Anoprienko Alexander Anoprienko () is a Professor of the Computer Engineering Department of thDonetsk National Technical University (DonNTU). He also holds the position of the Director of the DonNTU Competence Center as well as the Director of the DonNTU UNI ...
(born 1957), Professor of Computer Engineering in Donetsk * Zalman Aran (1899–1970) a Zionist activist, educator and Israeli government minister. *
Serhiy Arbuzov Serhiy Hennadiyovych Arbuzov ( uk, Сергій Геннадійович Арбузов, russian: Сергей Геннадьевич Арбузов, translit=Sergey Gennadyevich Arbuzov; born 24 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former banker and polit ...
(born 1976), head of Ukrainian Bank, 2010-2012 *
Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov ( uk, Мико́ла Я́нович Аза́ров, ; née, né Pakhlo; Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January ...
(born 1947), Prime Minister of Ukraine, 2010 to 2014. * Fyodor Berezin (born 1960), a Russian science fiction writer and active supporter of the
Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...
* Volodymyr Biletskyy (born 1950), a Ukrainian mining engineer and scientist. *
Viktor Burduk Viktor Ivanovich Burduk (born November 10, 1957, in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad Oblast, USSR) is a Russian artist. Honoured Artist of Ukraine, director of the Ukrainian Handcrafted Wrought Iron and Forge Company “Hefest”, the head of Ukraine Black ...
(born 1957), artist and blacksmith. *
Vera Filatova Vera Filatova ( uk, Віра Філатова; born 6 November 1982), also known as Vera Graziadei, is a Ukrainian-British actress. She has played Elena in Channel 4's cult series ''Peep Show'' alongside David Mitchell and Robert Webb, Eva in ''L ...
(born 1982), a Ukrainian British actress. *
Anatoly Fomenko Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko (russian: Анато́лий Тимофе́евич Фоме́нко) (born 13 March 1945 in Stalino, USSR) is a Soviet and Russian conspiracy theorist, mathematician, professor at Moscow State University, well-known as ...
(born 1945), mathematician, academic and promoter of New Chronology. * Dmytro Gnap (born 1977), journalist, investigates corruption. *
Yuri Kara Yuri Viktorovich Kara (Russian: Юрий Викторович Кара), born on 12 November 1954 in Stalino, is a Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Yuri Kara was born on 12 November 1954 in the Stalino, which is now c ...
(born 1954), Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. *
Yevgeny Khaldei Yevgeny Ananyevich Khaldei ( rus, Евгений Анатольевич Халдей, ukr, Євген Анатольєвич Халдей) ( – 6 October 1997) was a Soviet Red Army naval officer and photographer. He is best known f ...
(1917–1997), Red Army naval officer and Soviet photographer. *
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
(1894–1971), Premier of the Soviet Union 1953–1964, grew up in Yuzovka *
Iya Kiva Iya Yanivna Kiva (another spelling - Ija Kiva) (; born May 4, 1984) is a Ukrainian poet, translator, journalist, and critic. She is the author of the books, ''Подальше от рая'' (Further from Heaven), ''Перша сторінка з ...
(born 1984), Ukrainian poet, translator, journalist, critic * Valeriy Konovalyuk (born 1966), economist and businessman. *
Anna Korsun Anna Korsun ( uk, Анна Корсун, italic=no, born 1986) is a Ukrainian singer, pianist, organist, conductor, composer and academic teacher, based in Germany. Her works have been performed at major European festivals. Life Born in Donet ...
(born 1986), Ukrainian singer, pianist, organist, conductor and composer *
Tatyana Kravchenko Tatyana Eduardovna Kravchenko (russian: Татья́на Эдуа́рдовна Кра́вченко; born 9 December 1953, Stalino (since 1961 — Donetsk), Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress, People's Artist of Ru ...
(born 1953), Soviet and Russian actress. *
Mikhail Krichevsky Mikhail Yefimovich Krichevsky ( ua, Михайло Юхимович Кричевський, russian: Михаил Ефимович Кричевский; 25 February 1897?, Karlovka, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire – 26 December 2008, Donet ...
(1897–2008), WW I veteran who fought for the Russian Empire. *
Alexander Kuzemsky Alexander Leonidovich Kuzemsky (russian: Александр Леонидович Куземский; born 1944) is a Russian (and former Soviet) theoretical physicist. Biography Kuzemsky studied physics at the Faculty of Physics in Moscow State ...
(born 1944), Soviet and Russian theoretical physicist. *
Make Me Famous Make Me Famous were a Ukraine, Ukrainian metalcore band. They were founded by lead guitarist and co-vocalist Denis Stoff, Denis Shaforostov, who gained popularity through his YouTube channel "above92", and songwriter/guitarist Jimmy X Rose. They ...
(2010–2012), English language Metalcore band. *
Oleksiy Matsuka Oleksiy Vitaliyovych Matsuka ( ua, Олексі́й Віта́лійович Мацу́ка, born 15 January 1983) is a Ukrainian journalist. He is the editor-in-chief of ''Novosti Donbassa'', a Donbas news website. In 2013, he launched ''Donetsk ...
(born 1983), Ukrainian journalistand corruption investigator *
Siouzana Melikián Siouzana Melikian () is a Ukrainian- Mexican actress of Armenian descent. Biography Melikian was born on 14 August 1986, into a family of circus performers in Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, USSR. Before moving to Mexico with her family, she spent the ...
(born 1986), Russian-Mexican actress. *
Vadym Pysarev Vadym Pysarev is a famous Ukrainian dancer, People's Artist of Ukraine, Art Director of Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after A. Solovyanenko, founder and director of international festival World Ballet Stars. Early life an ...
(born 1965), Ukrainian dancer and art Director * Aleksandr Revva (born 1974), stand-up comedian, TV host and voice actor * Volodymyr Rybak (born 1946), Mayor of Donetsk and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada *
Vladislav Rusanov Vladislav Rusanov may refer to: * Vladislav Rusanov (writer) * Vladislav Rusanov (footballer) Vladislav Rusanov (russian: Владислав Русанов, known until 2020 as Vladislav Bakonin, (russian: Владислав Баконин); born ...
(born 1966), Russian-language science fiction writer *
Denis Stoff Denis Alexandrovich Shaforostov ( uk, Денис Олександрович Шафоростов; born 4 May 1992), also known by his stage name Denis Stoff, is a Ukrainian singer, best known for his work as a guitarist and singer of the Ukraini ...
(born 1992), Ukrainian musician, vocalist for ''Asking Alexandria'' * Natan Sharansky (born 1948), former anticommunist, Zionist, Israeli politician and writer. *
Ihor Sorkin Ihor Vyacheslavovych Sorkin ( uk, Ігор В'ячеславович Соркін, Ihor Vyacheslavovych Sorkin) is a former chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine. Biography Early years. Military career Igor Sorkin was born on March 3, 1967 i ...
(born 1967), former head of the Ukrainian National Bank. * Anatoliy Solovianenko (1932–1999), Soviet operatic tenor. *
Oleg Stefan Oleg Stefan ''né'' Oleg Stepanovich Shtefanko (russian: Олег Степанович Штефанко; born September 7, 1959) is a Soviet and Russian actor who became popular in Russia after moving there to study acting. He later became an Ame ...
(born 1959), Soviet and Russian actor. * Vasyl Stus (1938–1985), Ukrainian poet and publicist and member of the dissident movement. *
Petro Symonenko Petro Mykolayovych Symonenko ( uk, Петро́ Микола́йович Симоне́нко; born 1 August 1952) is a Ukrainian politician and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Symonenko was the Co ...
(born 1952), head of the Communist Party of Ukraine. *
Kirill Tolpygo Kirill Borisovich Tolpygo ( uk, Кирилo Борисович Толпиго; russian: Кирилл Борисович Толпыго; 3 May 1916 – 13 May 1994) was a Soviet physicist and a corresponding member of the National Academy of Scienc ...
(1916–1994), Soviet physicist worked on condensed matter theory *
Marina Tsvigun Marina Tsvigun ( ua, Марина Цвігун), or Maria Devi Christos by assumed name, (born 1960) is a religious sect leader of the New Community of Enlightened Humanity, also known as "YUSMALOS" (YUS - Youann Swami KA Yuri Krivonogov, her co- ...
(born 1960), religious sect leader, new age movement. * Viktor Yanukovych (born 1950), former president of Ukraine; deposed in 2014. *
Pavlo Vigderhaus Pavlo Isaakovich Vigderhaus ( uk, Павло Ісаакович Вігдергауз, russian: Павел Исаакович Вигдергауз, born September 7, 1925, died February 11, 2013) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Ukraine, Ukrainian ar ...
(1925-2013), Soviet architect, Monument to a Miner creator. * Vladimir Zakharov (1901–1956), Soviet composer and choir conductor.


Sport

*
Polina Astakhova Polina Ghrighorievna Astakhova (Полина Григорьевна Астахова, 30 October 1936 – 5 August 2005) was a Soviet and Ukrainian artistic gymnast. She won ten medals at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics. Biography Ast ...
(1936–2005), Ukrainian gymnast, multiple Olympic medallist. *
Serhii Bubka Sergey Nazarovych Bubka ( uk, Сергій Назарович Бубка; born 4 December 1963) is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by ''Tr ...
(born 1963), Ukrainian pole vault athlete; gold medallist
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
*
Yuriy Dehteryov Yuriy Vitaliyovych Dehteryov ( uk, Юрій Віталійович Дегтерьов, russian: Юрий Витальевич Дегтерёв, ''Yuriy Vitalyevich Degteryov''; 5 October 1948 – 9 October 2022) was a Ukrainian association footb ...
(born 1948), goalkeeper, 321 caps with Shakhtar Donetsk and 17 with the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
*
Yuriy Gavrilov Yuriy Anatoliyovich Gavrilov ( ua, Юрій Анатолійович Гаврилов, February 27, 1967 in Donetsk - 6 May 2021 in Luxembourg) was a Ukrainian handball player who competed for the Unified Team in the 1992 Summer Olympi ...
(1967-2021), volleyball player, Olympic gold medallist. * Julia Glushko (born 1990), Israeli tennis player. * Aleksandr Lebziak (born 1969), Russian boxer. *
Natalya Mammadova Natalya Aleksandrovna Mammadova ( uk, Наталія Мамедова; born 2 December 1984) is a retired Ukrainian and Azerbaijani volleyball player. Natalya played as an outside hitter and is widely recognized as one of the best players of her ...
(born 1984), Azeri volleyball player. *
Evgenij Miroshnichenko Evgenij Miroshnichenko (born December 28, 1978) is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2002. Miroshnichenko won the Ukrainian Chess Championship in 2003 and 2008. Also in 2003 he tied for 1st–3rd with ...
(born 1978), Ukrainian chess player. * Ilya Mate (born 1956), Soviet Ukrainian freestyle wrestler, gold medal at the
1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
* Oleksiy Pecherov (born 1985), a Ukrainian basketball player. *
Lilia Podkopayeva Lilia Oleksandrivna Podkopayeva ( uk, Лілія Олександрівна Подкопаєва; born August 15, 1978) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast. She is the 1995 world all-around champion, and the 1996 Olympic all-around and floor e ...
(born 1978), a Ukrainian gymnast, and the 1996 Olympic All Around Champion *
Serhii Rebrov Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov ( uk, Сергій Станіславович Ребров; born 3 June 1974) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is in charge of UAE Pro League side Al-Ain. R ...
(born 1974), footballer with 425 club caps and 75 for
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
*
Viktor Smyrnov Viktor Smyrnov (born 2 August 1986 in Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR) is a paralympic swimmer from Ukraine competing mainly in category S11 events. Viktor has competed at two Paralympic games, winning ten medals, five of them gold. In the 2004 Summer ...
(born 1986), Paralympic swimmer. *
Viktor Sidyak Viktor Alexandrovich Sidyak (russian: Ви́ктор Алекса́ндрович Сидя́к; born 24 November 1943) is a Russian former left-handed sabre fencer, a pupil of Mark Rakita and David Tyshler. He was known for his aggressive style ...
(born 1943), fencing, first Soviet individual sabre Olympic gold medal in Munich 1972 *
Nadiya Tkachenko Nadiya Volodymyrivna Tkachenko ( uk, Надія Володимирівна Ткаченко) or Nadezhda Vladimirovna Tkachenko (russian: Надежда Владимировна Ткаченко) (born 19 September 1948) is a Ukrainian former penta ...
(born 1948), Olympic-gold winning pentathlete. *
Oleg Tverdovsky Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "bless ...
(born 1976), ice hockey player. *
Alexander Yagubkin Alexander Gennadiyevich Yagubkin (25 April 1961 – 7 August 2013) was a Ukrainian amateur boxer who competed between 1979 and 1988. The only Soviet boxer to become the World heavyweight champion (1982,) never turned professional for political r ...
(1961–2013), 1982 World heavyweight amateur boxing champion * Oleg Vernyayev (born 1993), Gymnast, Olympic gold medallist.


Museums

Donetsk is home to about 140 museums. Among them, two large regional museums – Donetsk Region History Museum and Donetsk Regional Art Museum. Donetsk Region History Museum reveals the city's true identity and covers to the entire local community, diverse as it is. Set up in 1924, it offers an extensive expo with 120,000 exhibits: from archeological findings dating back to pre-historic times to the founding of the city by John Hughes, development of industry and coal mining, World War II and the Soviet times. On 21 August 2014, the mayor of Donetsk reported that the roof and walls of the Donetsk Regional History Museum had been destroyed by shellfire early that morning. FC Shaktar Museum was opened in 2010. This museum was the first Ukrainian museum to be nominated for a European Museum of the Year Award.


Transport


Local transport

The main forms of transport within Donetsk are: trams, electric trolley buses, buses and
marshrutka ''Marshrutka''minibuses A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...
). The city's public transport system is controlled by the united ''Dongorpastrans''
municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
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 depots each. Another method of transport within the city is
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
service, of which there are 32 in Donetsk. The city also contains autostations located within the city and its suburbs: autostation ''Yuzhny'' (South), which serves mainly transport lines to the south, hence its name; autostation ''Tsentr'' (Centre), which serves transport in the direction of Marinka and
Vuhledar Vuhledar (, ; , , transcribed Ugledar; both names meaning 'gift of coal', referring to its coal mining industry) is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Its popula ...
as well as intercity transport; the autostation ''Krytyi rynok'' (Indoor market), which serves mainly transport in the north and east directions; and the autostation ''Putilovsky'', which serves mainly the north and northwest transport directions. The construction of the
metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
system in the city, begun in 1992, was recently abandoned due to the lack of funding. No lines or stations have been finished.


Railways

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 the region's railways. Other railway stations are: ''Rutchenkovo'', located in the Kyivskyi Raion; ''Mandrykino'' (Petrovskyi Raion), and ''Mushketovo'' (Budionivskyi Raion). Some passenger trains avoid Donetsk station and serve the Yasynuvata station, located outside the city limits. Although not used for regular transport, the city also has a children's railway. As of September 2009, a new railway terminal facility to comply with
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
requirements (since Donetsk was one of the host cities for
UEFA EURO 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
) was planned. The Donetsk Oblast was an important transport hub in Ukraine, so was its centre Donetsk. The ''
Donetsk Railways , logo_filename = Logo of Donetsk Railway.png , logo_size = 150px , system_map = DZD.svg , map_caption = Map of the system (in Russian) , map_size = 150px , marks = , image = Donezk Bahnho ...
'', based in Donetsk, is the largest railway division in the Republic. It serves the farming and industrial businesses of the area, and the populations of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics and parts of the
Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
,
Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...
and
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine. highway, part of the International E-road network, runs through the city ''en route'' to
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. 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. The construction of the fourth stage of a circular road bypassing Donetsk was to be completed in 2014.


Air travel

In addition to public and rail transport, Donetsk used to have an
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
. It was constructed during the early 1940s and early 1950s. It was rebuilt in 1973 and again from 2011 to 2012. Because of fighting the airport has been closed as of 26 May 2014 and the airport has since then largely been destroyed. The airspace above Donetsk has also been closed since the
MH17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over e ...
disaster.


Education

Donetsk has several universities, which include five state
universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, 11 institutes, three academies, 14 technicums, five
private universities Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...
, and six
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
s. The most important and prominent educational institutions include Donetsk National Technical University, founded in 1921 ("Donetsk Polytechnical Institute" in 1960–1993), as well as the
Donetsk National University Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University (Vasyl' Stus DonNU) ( uk, Донецький національний університет імені Василя Стуса, ''Donets’kyi Natsional’nyi Universytet''; russian: Донецкий на ...
which was founded in 1937. The National Technical University held close contacts with the university in Magdeburg. Since 1970, more than 100 students from Germany (''German Democratic Republic, East Germany'') have completed their higher education at either one of the two main universities in Donetsk. Donetsk is also the home of the Donetsk National Medical University, which was founded in 1930 and became one of the largest medical universities in the Soviet Union. There are also several scientific research institutes and an
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic University within Donetsk. Donetsk is also the home of the Prokofiev Donetsk State Music Academy, a music conservatory founded in 1960.


Twinnings

Donetsk participates in international town twinning schemes to foster good international relations. Partners include: * Baku, Azerbaijan (2009) * Bochum, Germany, (1987) * Charleroi, Belgium * Katowice,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
* Kutaisi, Georgia (country), Georgia * Matagalpa, Nicaragua (2004) *
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
* Pittsburgh, United States *
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
* Sheffield, United Kingdom * Taranto, Italy (1984) * Vilnius, Lithuania


See also


References


Sources

* *


External links

General
donetsk.org.ua
— Donetsk city administration website
stroit.dn.ua
— Construction site of Donetsk *
partner.donetsk.ua
— Informational portal about Donetsk
Official site of the Donetsk international airport

Shakhtar Donetsk
official website of the Shakhtar football team
dntsk.net
— old and recent photos of Donetsk Historical

— History of Donetsk and the story of the founder John Hughes
bfcollection.net
— Historic images of Donetsk
alldonetsk.info
– The history of the city of Donetsk

- Language Sandarmokh of Donetchyna, Mariya Oliynyk (UKR) Maps
citylife.donetsk.ua
— City map in English language for foreigners
maps.google.com
— Google Maps satellite view of Donetsk
wikimapia.org
— Wikimapia view of Donetsk
gorod.dn.ua
— City map browsable and searchable by address {{Authority control Donetsk, Cities in Donetsk Oblast Special economic zones Populated places established in 1869 Mining cities and regions in Ukraine Articles containing video clips Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Populated places established in the Russian Empire 1869 establishments in the Russian Empire City name changes in Ukraine Former Soviet toponymy in Ukraine Oblast centers in Ukraine Bakhmutsky Uyezd De-Stalinization Territorial disputes of Ukraine Donetsk Raion