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Donetsk, also spelt Doneck, formerly (until 1924) Yuzovka, or (1924-61)
Stalino, city and administrative centre of Donetsk oblast (province),
south-eastern Ukraine, on the headwaters of the Kalmius river.
In
1872 an ironworks was founded there by a Welshman named John Hughes (from
whom the town's pre-Revolutionary name Yuzovka was derived), to produce iron
rail for the growing Russian rail network. Later steel rails were made. The
plant used coal from the immediate vicinity, and both coal mining and steel
making developed rapidly. By 1914 there were 4 metallurgical plants, 10 coal
pits, and a population of about 50,000.
After the October revolution (1917), Yuzovka was renamed Stalino and in
1961, Donetsk.
Heavy destruction in World War II led
to post-war modernization and an increase in the scale of industry.
Subsequent growth has been rapid and sustained. There are now more than 40
Coal pits within the town limits. A major integrated coking, iron-smelting
and steel-making plant makes modern Donetsk one of the largest metallurgical
centers of the Ukraine. Coke by-products are the basis of a chemical
industry producing plastics. There are several heavy-engineering works,
which produce, in the main, mining equipment. Refrigerators are manufactured
and there are other light industries.
The necessity of avoiding areas subject to subsidence caused by mining has
led to a patchy development of the densely built-up and factory areas, and
open spaces over the extensive area of the towns administrative limits (162
square miles or 420 square km). The principal street, from the railway
station to the steelworks is 5.5 miles (9km) long, with the main shops,
hotels and administrative buildings.
There is a university and a
polytechnic, medical and trade institutes, and more than 30 scientific
research establishments, including a branch of the Academy of Sciences of
Ukraine. Cultural amenities include several theatres and a philharmonic
hall. Pop. (1993 est.) 1,121,000.
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