Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

in eastern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administrative center of

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

, before pro-Russian separatists seized control of the city in 2014 and made it the capital of the self-proclaimed

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

. The Ukrainian administration was located in

Sievierodonetsk Sievierodonetsk or Severodonetsk, officially since 2024 Siverskodonetsk, is a city in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located to the northeast of the left bank of the Donets river and approximately to the northwest from the administrati ...

from 2014 to 2022 during the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

, due to Ukraine not being in control of Luhansk. Sievierodonetsk was captured by Russia in 2022 and Luhansk Oblast was later annexed by Russia in late 2022.

Etimology

The city was founded as a foundry in 1795-1796, following the decree of Empress Catherine II titled ''On the establishment of a foundry in the Donetsk uyezd by the Lugan River''. The settlement that developed around the plant was named Lugansk, deriving its name from the hydronym Lugan, which itself originates from the Russian word ''lug'' (meadow). The settlement was granted city status in 1882. In 1935, the city was renamed Voroshilovgrad in honor of the Soviet political and military figure

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov ( ; ), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (; 4 February 1881 – 2 December 1969), was a prominent Soviet Military of the Soviet Union, military officer and politician during the Stalinism, Stalin era (1924–195 ...

. Following the adoption of a 1957 decree by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which prohibited naming populated places after living political figures, the city's original name, Lugansk, was restored in 1958. However, in 1970, after Voroshilov's death, the city was once again renamed Voroshilovgrad. In 1990, the name Luhansk was reinstated.

History

Founding and early history

The city traces its history to 1797 when the British industrialist Charles Gascoigne, commissioned by the Imperial Russian government in 1795, founded an ammunition and cannon factory for the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. Gascoigne had emigrated to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

years earlier, and founded factories and mines across the Russian Empire during his time there. There is a prominent bust of him in Luhansk commemorating his role in the city's founding. The factory was built in the

Donets Basin The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv ...

(or Donbas) at the confluence of the Luhan and rivers. The Russian craftsmen settled upstream, at the settlement of Kamianyi Brid. The name "Luhansk" comes from the Luhan River, which flows through the city. According to

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

, the name is also derived to the word "Luh" (Ukrainian: Луг), which means "meadow", referring to the floodplains around the river. The factory was greatly expanded during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, and again during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. By 1880, the factory was a large industrial node, linked by rail to other major cities and to the Azov Sea. In 1882, the Luhansk Factory was merged with Kamianyi Brid into a new settlement named Luhansk, which received city status. In 1897, Luhansk had a population of 20,400, 68.2% of whom were

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. In summer 1896, German industrialist founded a

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

-building company in Luhansk, which is now Luhanskteplovoz. It became operational in 1900, and soon produced a large proportion of all locomotives in the Russian Empire.

In the Soviet Union

Luhansk was economically devastated by the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. In April 1918, Luhansk was occupied by the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

during their invasion of Ukraine. Then, it was taken by

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...

's anti-communist

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

in May 1919, before changing hands several times. It was finally taken by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in January 1920. After the end of the war, the victorious

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

created the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

on the territory of the former Russian Empire, and began restoring the city. The city grew rapidly during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

. On 5 November 1935, the city was renamed Voroshilovgrad (; ) in honour of Soviet military commander and politician

. In 1938, Voroshilovgrad Oblast was established, with the city as its center. The economic recovery and development of the city was also accompanied by significant demographic change. The population grew from 72,000 to 212,000 between 1926 and 1939, and there was an influx of

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

from the countryside into the city. The proportion of Ukrainians grew from 19.1% to 58.7% between 1897 and 1939, many of whom were refugees fleeing the

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

, a manmade famine across

Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party m ...

. The Russian proportion of the population shrank to 34.5%. Voroshilovgrad became a frontline city in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

after the failure of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

to capture major Soviet cities. In March 1942, a grand concert featuring the work of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

was held in the city to inspire Ukrainians to fight off the invading Nazis. In July 1942, Germany concentrated its forces in the area and forced the Soviets to retreat to the Volga and the North Caucasus. On 14 July 1942, German troops captured Voroshilovgrad. Locals waged partisan warfare against the occupation. The city was eventually liberated by the

on 14 February 1943. In the postwar period, the city was rebuilt. The population recovered and grew, again alongside demographic change. More Russians were brought in to rebuild and help with

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

, again reducing the share of Ukrainians to a minority of 48.3% by 1959 and raising the share of Russians to 47.1%. On 5 March 1958, after Khrushchev's call to not name cities after living people, the old name of Luhansk was reinstated. Kliment Voroshilov himself opposed the restoration of the old name in 1958. In January 1970, after the death of Kliment Voroshilov on 2 December 1969, the city's name was changed again to Voroshilovgrad. Demographic shifts continued during the late Soviet period; by 1989, Ukrainians made up 41.8% of the population and Russians had a majority of 52.4%. On 4 May 1990, a decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR gave the city back its original name.

Ukrainian independence

Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1994, a consultative referendum took place in

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

and

, with around 90% supporting the Russian language gaining status of an official language alongside Ukrainian, and for the Russian language to be an official language on a regional level. The previous demographic trends reversed in independent Ukraine; by 2001, Ukrainians—who increasingly spoke Russian—were 50% of the population and Russians made up 47%. The population as a whole began to decline as the economy stagnated, dropping from 505,000 in 1992 to 424,000 in 2014.

Russo–Ukrainian War

In April 2014,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

-backed separatists seized governmental buildings in the region, proclaiming the

(LPR), with its capital in Luhansk. An

independence referendum An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an Independence, independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independenc ...

, unconstitutional under Ukrainian law, was held on 11 May 2014. This referendum was not recognized as legitimate by any government. These events escalated into the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

. In August 2014, Ukrainian government forces completely surrounded rebel-held Luhansk. Heavy shelling caused civilian casualties in the city. On 17 August, Ukrainian soldiers entered the rebel-controlled Luhansk and for a time had control over a police station. A statement released on 22 August by

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n foreign minister Linas Antanas Linkevičius said that the Lithuanian

honorary consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in Luhansk, Mykola Zelenec, was abducted by the pro-Russian separatists and murdered. Linkevičius defined the abductors as 'terrorists'. After the Ilovaisk counteroffensive, LPR forces regained

Lutuhyne Lutuhyne (, ) is a city in the Luhansk Raion of Luhansk Oblast (oblast, region) of Eastern Ukraine, Donbas. Residence of Lutuhyne urban hromada. The 2022 population was History From mid-April 2014 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, pro-Russi ...

and other Luhansk suburbs. Ukrainian forces withdrew from the Luhansk International Airport on 1 September 2014, after heavy fighting.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

reported high civilian casualties in and around the city, recording over 300 civilian deaths caused by explosive weapons between May and September 2014. The temporary administration of Luhansk Oblast was moved to

by the government of Ukraine. On 21 November 2017, armed men in unmarked uniforms took up positions in the center of Luhansk in what appeared to be a power struggle between the head of the republic Igor Plotnitsky and the (sacked by Plotnitsky) LPR appointed interior minister Igor Kornet. Media reports stated that the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

, a parallel Russian-backed entity in neighboring

, had sent armed troops to Luhansk the following night. Three days later the website of the separatists stated that Plotnitsky had resigned "for health reasons. Multiple war wounds, the effects of blast injuries, took their toll."Ukraine rebel region's security minister says he is new leader
,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

(24 November 2017)
Separatist Leader In Ukraine's Luhansk Resigns Amid Power Struggle
,

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(24 November 2017) The website stated that security minister

Leonid Pasechnik Leonid Ivanovich Pasechnik (; ; born 15 March 1970) is a Russian politician who has served as head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) since 2017. He holds the position in acting capacity ever since the Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson ...

had been named acting leader "until the next elections."

Geography

Luhansk is located at the confluence of the Luhan (also known as Luhanka) and Olkhova rivers. The total area of land within the city’s boundaries is 28.6 thousand hectares. The city's main street is Sovetskaya St., and the central venue for major public events is Theatre Square.

Climate

Luhansk has a hot summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfa''). Luhansk has both the highest and lowest temperature recorded in Ukraine. A record high of was recorded on 12 August 2010, which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Ukraine. A record low of was recorded on 8 January 1935.

Administrative divisions

The city of Luhansk is administratively divided into four districts: * Zhovtnevyi District (until 1964: Oktyabrsky). The district includes the settlements of Velyka Vergunka, Mala Vergunka, Krasnyi Yar, and Veselenke. During the Soviet period, these settlements were part of the Vatutynskyi District, which was merged into Zhovtnevyi District in the 1960s. * Artemivskyi District Previously, this district had jurisdiction over the satellite town of Oleksandrivsk, the urban-type settlement of Yuvileine ( Katerynivka), (Katerinivka), and the rural settlements of Teplychne and Dzerzhynske (Zrazkove or Prymerne). * Leninskyi District * Kamiano-Bridskyi District Additionally, in 2014, three territorial administrations were established by Russian authorities: * Yuvileine * Oleksandrivsk * Burchak-Mykhailivka, Mykolaivka, Pionerske, and Lobachove. Between 2020 and 2022, as part of the city administration, three structural territorial departments were formed: * Department for Yuvileine * Department for Oleksandrivsk (including the settlements of Dzerzhynske and Teplychne) *Department for the town of Shchastia There are 49 local self-organization committees in operation.

Symbols

Flag of Luhansk.svg, Ukraine-recognized Flag of Luhansk Coat of arms of Luhansk.svg, Ukraine-recognized Coat of arms of Luhansk Flag of Lugansk.svg, Russia-recognized Flag of Luhansk since 2024 Coat of Arms of Lugansk.svg, Russia-recognized Coat of arms of Luhansk since 2024

Education

Some of the more prestigious universities in Ukraine have their home in Luhansk. Luhansk is the location of the main campus of the Luhansk University, East Ukrainian National University and of Luhansk State Medical University.

Demographics

In the Ukrainian Census of 2001, 49.6% of the inhabitants declared themselves as ethnically

and 47% as Russians. 85.3% of the population spoke Russian as their native language, while 13.7% spoke Ukrainian, 0.2%

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 around the ...

and 0.1% Belarusian.

Sport

Luhansk is home to Zorya Luhansk which now plays in the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

annual

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

championship and plays at the Avanhard Stadium. The club won the 1972 Soviet Top League. The other football team was Dynamo Luhansk.

Culture

Merheleva Ridge

On 7 September 2006, archaeologists in Ukraine announced that an ancient structure had been discovered near Luhansk, which the press reported as a pyramid antedating those in Egypt by at least 300 years. The stone foundations of the structure were said to resemble Aztec and Mayan pyramids in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

. It was later concluded that the site in question was not a pyramid but was still of great interest.

Notable people

* Vladislav Anisovich (1908–1969) a Russian and Soviet painter and art educator * Vladimir Bobrov (1915–1970) a Soviet

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

* Nadiya Bychkova (born 1989) a Ukrainian-Slovenian ballroom and Latin American dancer *

Vladimir Dal Vladimir Ivanovich Dal (, ; 22 November 1801 – 4 October 1872) was a Russians, Russian Lexicography, lexicographer, Multilingualism, speaker of many languages, Turkology, Turkologist, and founding member of the Russian Geographical Society. Du ...

(1801–1872), Russian

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

and

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

Dov Feigin Dov Feigin (; 1907-2000) was an Israeli sculptor. Biography Dov Feigin was born in 1907 in Luhansk, Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Rus ...

(1907-2000) an Israeli sculptor. * Pavel Luspekayev (1927—1970) a Soviet actor * Yulia Malinovsky (born 1975), Israeli politician * Mikhail Matusovsky (1915–1990), Soviet poet, songwriter * Julia Rysina (born 1989) stage name ''

T-DJ Milana T-DJ Milana (Julia Igorevna Rysina; born February 12, 1989, in Luhansk) is a Ukrainians, Ukrainian DJ, composer, dancer and model, best known for performing in top-less in her sets. Biography Julia Rysina was born on February 12, 1989, in Luha ...

'', DJ, composer, dancer and model *

(born 1970) leader of the self-proclaimed

. * Igor Plotnitsky (born 1964) former leader of the self-proclaimed

. * Andriy Portnov (born 1973) a Ukrainian lawyer and politician. *

Aleksandr Ptushko Aleksandr Lukich Ptushko (, – 6 March 1973) was a Soviet animation and fantasy film director, and a People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Ptushko is frequently (and somewhat misleadingly) referred to as "the Soviet Walt Disney," because of his p ...

(1900–1973) a Soviet animation and fantasy film director * Nikolay Shmatko (1943–2020), sculptor, professor and painter * Tatyana Snezhina (1972–1995) a Russian poet and singer-songwriter. * Kostiantyn Sytnyk (1926–2017) a Ukrainian and Soviet scientist and academician *

(1881–1969), Soviet military commander

Sport

* Sergey Andreyev (born 1956) a football manager and a former player with 617 club caps and 26 for the

* Valeriy Brumel (1942–2003), a Soviet high jumper; silver medallist at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

and gold medallist at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

Viktor Bryzhin Viktor Arkadyevich Bryzhin (, , ''Viktor Bryzgin;'' born 22 August 1962 in VoroshilovgradGreat Russian Encyclopedia (2006), Moscow: Bol'shaya Rossiyskaya Enciklopediya Publisher, vol. 4, p. 692) is a former Soviet athlete, winner of gold medal in ...

(born 1962) a former sprinter, team gold medallist at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. * Yelyzaveta Bryzhina (born 1989), sprinter, team bronze medallist at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

* Sergey Bubka (born 1963), Soviet and Ukrainian

pole vault 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, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

er, former World Record holder, and gold medallist at the

* Vasiliy Bubka (born 1960), Soviet and Ukrainian pole vaulter * Fedor Emelianenko (born 1976), Russian heavyweight

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

and judoka * Vyacheslav Glazkov (born 1984) boxer, bronze medallist at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Irina Kirichenko Irina Ivanovna Kirichenko (; 13 June 1937 – 11 March 2020) was a Soviet sprint cyclist who won two gold, four silver and one bronze medal at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in 1962–1969. Between 1960 and 1969 she also won 10 nationa ...

(1937–2020) a Soviet sprint cyclist *

Serhiy Malyi Serhiy Viktorovych Malyi (; born 5 June 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ordabasy. Born in Ukraine, he plays for the Kazakhstan national team. Career Malyi is the product of the Luhansk's sportive system. His f ...

(born 1990) footballer with over 150 club caps and 46 for

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

* Viktor Onopko (born 1969), Russian football player with 462 club caps and 109 for

Sergei Semak Sergei Bogdanovich Semak ( ; born 27 February 1976) is a Russian football manager and a former international midfielder who manages Russian Premier League side Zenit Saint Petersburg. Early life Semak was born in the village of Sychanske, ...

(born 1976), footballer and manager with 552 club caps and 65 for

* Andriy Serdinov (born 1982), butterfly swimmer, bronze medallist at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. *

Oleh Shelayev Oleh Mykolayovych Shelayev (, born 5 November 1976) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian former international association football, footballer. He is among the top-3 most capped footballers of the Ukrainian Premier League. Club career Shelayev plays in a ...

( born 1976) footballer with over 400 club caps and 36 for

Anton Shoutvin Anton Shoutvin (; born January 25, 1989) is an Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Liga Leumit. Early life Shoutvin was born in Voroshilovgrad, Ukraine. He played for the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Team. Professional c ...

(born 1989), Israeli basketball player * Tetyana Skachko (born 1954) long jumper, bronze medallist at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

* Tetyana Tereshchuk-Antipova (born 1969), hurdler, bronze medallist at the

* Sergei Yuran (born 1969), football player with 276 club caps and 25 for

Oleksandr Zavarov Oleksandr Anatoliyovych Zavarov (; born 26 April 1961) is a Ukrainian former footballer and the former head coach of FC Arsenal Kyiv. He became first among Soviets footballers who got transferred to West European world class club when he was pi ...

(born 1961), Soviet and Ukrainian football player and coach with over 450 club caps and 41 for the

International relations

Luhansk is twinned with: *

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, United Kingdom *

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, Poland *

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, Hungary *

Daqing Daqing () is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The name literally means "Great Celebration" and refers to the tenth anniversary of the PRC. Daqing is known as the "Oil Capital of China" a ...

, China *

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

, France *

Pernik Pernik ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province an ...

, Bulgaria

Gallery

File:Институт Культуры.jpg, Luhansk University File:Night Luhansk sovetskya street.jpg, Radianska Street at night File:Гостиница "Луганск".jpg, Luhansk Hotel File:Володимирський кафедральный собор (Луганськ).JPG, St. Volodymyr Cathedral File:Эстакада.jpg, Luhansk railway station File:Кукольный Театр.jpg, Soviet buildings in the central city File:В.И.Даль 02.jpg, City old hospital File:Lugansk Lenini kujuga 09.08. 2015.jpg, Luhansk Drama Theatre File:Sõjapurustused Luganskis.jpg, A consumer electronics and appliance store, heavily damaged as a consequence of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. File:LUHANSK 111.jpg, Monument to the Revolution Heroes

References

External links

Official website of the Luhansk city council

Former website of the Luhansk city council (last updated July 2015)
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Topographic map 1:100 000
{{Authority control 1795 establishments in Europe Cities in Luhansk Oblast Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Donets Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic Former Soviet toponymy in Ukraine Luhansk urban hromada Oblast centers in Ukraine Populated places established in 1795 Populated places established in the Russian Empire Slavyanoserbsky Uyezd Territorial disputes of Ukraine

Etimology

History

Founding and early history

In the Soviet Union

Ukrainian independence

Russo–Ukrainian War

Geography

Climate

Administrative divisions

Symbols

Education

Demographics

Sport

Culture

Merheleva Ridge

Notable people

Sport

International relations

Gallery

See also

References

External links