"Ukraine's Far East" a Luhansk Travel Page by hunterV

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The Russian Drama Theater, Luhansk, Ukraine

Where the Sun Rises in Ukraine

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Luhansk is the easternmost city of Ukraine located 850 km (528 miles) to the east of the nation's capital Kiev. The city was founded in 1795 as a working settlement for the iron foundry. Luhansk has held municipal rights since September 1882.
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At present Luhansk is a big city stretching for 20 km (12.4 miles) from southwest to northeast along the River Luhanka. Two other rivers flow within the city boundaries: the Olkhovka and the Seversky Donets. The latter is the left tributary of the Don, a large Russian river flowing to the Sea of Azov.
The city covers the area of over 270 square kilometers (104 square miles) and has about 460,000 inhabitants.According to the official information, the city consists of more than 1,100 blocks, squares, streets, side streets and lanes. You might not believe, but the specialists have calculated and made the conclusion that the total length of all the streets and lanes of Luhansk comprises about 900 km (559 miles), which is more than the distance from Luhansk to Kiev!

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Luhansk is a member of the World Federation of Twin-Cities and has several twin cities, among them Cardiff in Great Britain, Saint Etienne in France, Lublin in Poland, Pernik in Bulgaria.

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Luhansk is perhaps one of the few cities in the world that was renamed four times within 55 years.
On November 5, 1935 by a decree of the Communist party Politbureau signed by Joseph Stalin the city of Luhansk was renamed into Voroshilovgrad in honor of Clement Voroshilov (1881-1969). Voroshilov was a five-star general, who had lived and worked in Luhansk in 1917 - 1918 and got the highest military rank, Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1935.
On March 5, 1958. after the denunciation of the Stalin's personality cult and the so-called "anti-party group" (ardent Stalinists) that included Clement Voroshilov as well, the city got back its historical name by the decision of the Communist party.
On January 5, 1970 after Marshal Voroshilov's death Luhansk became Voroshilovgrad again by the decision of the Communist party leadership.
On May 4, 1990 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the resolution on returning the historical name to the city.
This stormy history of the city name could also be represented in the following way:
Luhansk (1882-1935);
Voroshilovgrad (1935-1958);
Luhansk (1958-1970);
Voroshilovgrad (1970-1990);
Luhansk (1990 - till now and forever!)

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So for 43 years of its existence the city bore the name of Clement Voroshilov, a close associate of Joseph Stalin

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A view of "Luhansk" hotel

An Important Center

Luhansk is a large administrative, industrial, scientific and cultural center of Eastern Ukraine.

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The city is divided into four administrative districts:

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Lenin District, October District, Artiom District and Stone Ford District.

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October District is called in honor of the October Communist revolution of 1917, Artiom (Ukrainian - Artem) District is called in honor of Fyodor Sergeyev (1883-1921) whose revolutionary name was Artiom and who was the Prime Minister of the Donetsk and Kryvyi Rih Socialist Republic (DKSR) in 1918. He used to live in Lenin Street in Luhansk, too.

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Fyodor Andreyevich Sergeyev (Artyom) became the Chairman of the Council of the People’s Commissars (the Prime-Minister) of Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Socialist Republic (DKSR).
This “ghost republic” existed in the stormy minds of the Bolsheviks and on the map from the end of January until the middle of March 1918. It was a part of the Russian Federation and included Kharkiv Region, Yekaterinolav Region, a part of Kherson Region and the areas of the Russian Don Cossacks.
This “republic” became a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic on March 19, 1918 with the capital in Kharkiv.
After Kharkiv was occupied by the German army the government of DKSR moved to Luhansk and remained here from April 7 till April 28, 1918. Artyom lived here at 7 Lenin Street.
So Luhansk was the capital of a republic for several days in 1918.
By May 1918 all of Ukraine was occupied by German troops according to the Treaty of Brest, a separate peace treaty between the Bolsheviks and Germany.
On February 17, 1919 DKSR was abolished by the government of the Russian Federation.

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Stone Ford District is named in honor of the ancient Cossack settlement of Stone Ford that was located on the River Luhanka.

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Reports of Luhansk International Tourism Department mention that only a few foreigners visit Luhansk region now. So Luhansk region is not a major tourist attraction in Ukraine.
They say the main reason for such a small number of foreign visitors is the present ecological situation in the region, although in my opinion the local leaders have not done what they could have for making the stay in the city enjoyable for foreigners. Foreign visitors of the city who do not speak any Russian cannot do without the friendly help of the locals when they need:
- to find the right places to send a telegram or to call home, institutions and hospitals, if need be;
- to dine at the city cafes and restaurants that may have good cuisine, but no menus in English;
- to buy tickets, order a taxi, etc.
The absense of the International Tourism Bureau can also be a problem for a foreigner in the city. Also, not every local speaks English, and if anybody does, the knowledge is limited to a couple of phrases from books or movies.
I think even just adding English to the street signs and restaurant menus would be a huge help to foreigners.

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A bird's eye view of "Rossiya" trade center

The Cultural Life of the City

Some statistics about Luhansk
for you to have an idea of the city size:
All in all the city has 1,676 apartment houses, among them 141 condominiums.
The highest of them is 16 storeys tall.
October District has the largest number of apartment houses of all the city districts: 685, among them 83 condos.
The city has 28 hospitals and clinics at its disposal, 65 public schools and several private schools. Also, there are 43 cultural institutions such as:
museums, theaters, libraries and concert halls.

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There are four universities, four colleges and dozens of technical and vocational schools in the city.
The three theaters - the Russian Drama Theater,
the Ukrainian Drama Theater
and the Puppet Theater,
the concert hall, the circus, the conference centers and cinemas play a significant role in the cultural life of the city.
The two centuries of Luhansk history are reflected in the exhibits of the city museums: Vladimir Dahl's House,
the museum of local lore,
the fine arts museum
and the city history museum. The 450 memorials, monuments and historical sites tell us about the city's history.
So there are lots of things to see here and a great number of different attractions, cafes and restaurants to visit. Enjoy your stay in Luhansk, fellow travelers!

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