Sverdlovsk ( uk, Свердловськ, translit. ''Sverdlovs’k''; russian: Свердловск) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 Adminis ...

(

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

) of south-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 inva ...

on the border with the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Serving as the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of Sverdlovsk Raion (

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

), the city itself is incorporated as a city of oblast significance, does not belong to the raion, and is located approximately 80 km from the oblast capital,

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...

. On 12 May 2016 it was renamed Dovzhansk (, translit. ''Dovzhansʹk'') by the Ukrainian government as part of decommunization. The city is controlled by the self-declared

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

and the name change has not been enforced. Its population is estimated to be . From the point of view of Ukrainian authorities Sverdlovsk, as Dovzhansk, serves the administrative center of Dovzhansk Raion. Most of the city residents work in the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

industry. The city municipality also includes the city of Chervonopartyzansk (Voznesenivka), six urban-type settlements, and several smaller settlements. The city serves as an international gateway between Ukraine and Russia and has border checkpoint in Chervonopartyzansk.

History

The city tracks its roots from a small village in the headstream of Dovzhyk River (Sharapka). At the end of the 18th century, it was granted by

Catherine II of Russia , 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 Anha ...

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; Russian: атаман, uk, отаман) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military command ...

Vasyl Orlov as a reward for his excellent military service. The farmland took on the name Dovzhykove-Orlovske (Sharapkyne). Development of the area significantly expanded towards the end of the 19th century, after the discovery of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

in the Donetsk region. In 1938 a number of local settlements as well as the Sverdlov mine (today is part of the Sverdlovantratsyt company) were merged into the

of Sverdlovsk in memory of the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

leader

Yakov Sverdlov Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov (russian: Яков Михайлович Свердлов; 3 June Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._22_May.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S ...

. A local newspaper is published in the city since November 1938. Starting mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Luhansk Oblast; including Sverdlovsk.

Demographics

As of the 2001 census, the city's ethnic composition was as follows: * Russians: 48.6% * Ukrainians: 46% * Others: 2.4% * Belarusians: 1.2%

Gallery

File:Cinema is "Victory".JPG, "Victory" cinema File:Palace of Culture (Sverdlovsk).JPG, Palace of Culture File:The church of Saint Peter and Paul, Sverdlovsk.JPG, Church of Saint Peter and Paul File:The chapel of Saint Barbara, Sverdlovsk.jpg, Chapel of Saint Barbara File:Dolzhanskaya Station.jpg, Dovzhanska Train Station File:Стадион шахтер в Свердловске.jpg, City stadium

References

External links

Official city page

City site
* Bondar, O.
Sverdlovsk
The history of cities and villages of the Ukrainian SSR. Cities in Luhansk Oblast Sverdlovsk, Luhansk Oblast Cities of regional significance in Ukraine City name changes in Ukraine Populated places established in 1938 Populated places established in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Soviet toponymy in Ukraine Don Host Oblast {{Luhansk-geo-stub