"Border City of Luhansk Region" a Krasnodon Travel Page by hunterV

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Downtown Krasnodon

The Old and the New Glory

Krasnodon means “the Beautiful Don City” in English. The Russian word “krasny” like in Red Square in Moscow (“Krasnaya Ploshchad”) can be seen in many city names, but it does not have its literal meaning as “red” in that case, but means "fine" instead because the Russian word "krasny" had/has a double meaning.
Krasnodon is located in the southeastern part of the Donets Plateau on the left bank of the River Velyka Kamyanka (“the Great Stone River”), a tributary of the Seversky Donets.
It is located 50 km (31 miles) to the southeast of Luhansk, not far from the Russian border.
The city was founded in 1914 and was called Sorokino ("Magpie Village") until 1938 when the Bolsheviks renamed it into Krasnodon.
The city has an area of 77.33 sq.km (30 sq.mi.) and the population of over 45,000 inhabitants.
The city of Krasnodon incorporates a number of small towns and settlements: Molodohvardiysk, Sukhodolsk, the settlement of Krasnodon, Isvarine, Uralo-Kavkaz, Engelsove, Hirne, Krasnodar, Severogundorovsky.
Pictures of Krasnodon

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Luhansk newspaper with the memorial picture

Honoring the Heroes’ Memory

The city has been famous from the Soviet times and up till now as the Young Guards City.
The city was occupied by Nazis on July 20, 1942. The terrible “new order” began.
The Nazis intended to put the coalmines into operation, but the coalminers refused to work. To punish them, the Nazis arrested thirty-two coalminers and buried them alive in the city park in September, 1942.
In response to the Nazi atrocities an underground young people’s organization was set up in this city in the fall of 1942 and acted for about half a year performing acts of sabotage against the Nazi invaders.
Many patriotic young people of Krasnodon, members of the YCL (Young Communist League), joined this underground organization. They dedicated their subversive activities to the 25th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution.
The scope of the activities of this underground organization was wide. Here is what they did during the Nazi occupation:
- published and spread Communist leaflets in the city;
- hoisted red flags on high points of the city (roofs and towers);
- killed several German officers in an ambush on the city outskirts;
- liberated Soviet POWs held captives on the city outskirts;
- set free 500 cows held captive in preparation for their transportation to fascist Germany;
- set fire to the Labor Exchange building, thus annihilating all papers pertaining to the lists of city teenagers for their deportation to forced labor in Germany and its occupied territories;
- hanged two traitors – the local residents who had joined the German police as "people’s police"
By the end of December 1942 there were 92 members of Young Guards underground organization. But in January 1943 arrests began. Most of the members were arrested, savagely tortured and murdered by the Nazis just one month before the city was liberated by the Soviet Army.
The heroic feat of the young people became known worldwide owing to the novel of the Soviet writer Alexander Fadeyev “The Young Guard”.
The Young Guards Memorial is the main attraction of the city.
As our officials say, “The Young Guards are the visiting card of Luhansk region”.
No wonder the local newspaper “Realnaya Gazeta” inquired, ”Idolology of Luhansk?” as though doubting if the old Soviet idols are still relevant in our society.
Take a look at the picture of the festivities dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the “Young Guards” in September 2007.

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City heroes

War and Labor Heroes

Like no other town and city in Luhansk region, Krasnodon is the home city of many heroes.
18 natives of Krasnodon became Heroes of the Soviet Union during the Second World War and 11 residents got the title of the Hero of the Socialist Labor.
The city has also been known as a huge industrial center of Luhansk region.
There are 24 industrial enterprises, 8 transport enterprises and 15 construction enterprises in the city.
The city is known for its coalmines and the meat packing plant.
Also, take a look at the web site about this city.