Donbas area is located on the west side of the downstream of the Don River in eastern Ukraine, mainly including Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast. The total area is about 60,000 square kilometers and the total population is about 7 million. Donbas is Ukraine's largest coal base and the main heavy industry center. Donbas accounts for a large proportion of Ukrainian national economy.
The development of Donbass heavy industry is due to the abundant coal resources and the solid industrial foundation laid during the Soviet period. Donbas Coalfield has a long history of coal mining. As early as 1722, Tsarist Russia had already begun to mine coal on this land. During the Industrial Revolution, the coal from Donbas was continuously transported to western Europe, promoting the development of industrial revolutions in Western European countries, and Tsarist Russia also received huge benefits from coal.
During the Soviet period, economic investment in the Donbas region was increased, and the heavy industry in Donbas developed rapidly. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Donbass region belongs to Ukraine and remains the main industrial center of Ukraine. Due to the good industrial foundation, the urbanization rate of in the Donbas region is very high, and 80% of the population lives in cities. So what are the major cities in the Donbass region and how many people do they have?
First, Donetsk City, located in the central Donbass region, is the fourth largest city in Ukraine and the capital of Donetsk Prefecture. The city of Donetsk was built in the 19th century. It initially had only a few coal mines, and the residents were all coal mine workers. Since then, with the development of industry, the population has increased. During the Soviet Union, the city of Donetsk was named Stalino. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was changed back to its original name. In 1998, Ukraine established Donetsk City as a special economic zone, and its industries mainly include coal, metallurgy, and machinery manufacturing, with a total population of about 930,000.
Second, Luhansk City is located in the northern part of the Donbass region with a total population of about 450,000, and is the capital of Luhansk Prefecture. The city was founded in 1795 and was formed by the establishment of a locomotive manufacturing plant, and the initial residents were also workers in the manufacturing plant. During the Soviet period, because Luhansk was the hometown of Voroshilov , in order to commemorate Voroshilov, Luhansk was renamed Voroshilovgrad . During the Soviet period, Lugansk became the Soviet internal combustion engine manufacturing center, and its population gradually increased. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city changed back to its original name. In addition to the internal combustion engine manufacturing industry, Lugansk also has industries such as steel pipes and coal mining machinery.
3, Mariupol City, located in the southern part of the Donbass region, is under the jurisdiction of Donetsk Prefecture, and is the second largest city in Donetsk , with a total population of about 450,000. Mariupol is near the Azov Sea . It is a port city. Coal and industrial products from the Donbas region can go to sea through Mariupol. At the same time, Mariupol is also one of the transportation hub cities in the Donbass region to the Crimea region, and its strategic position is extremely important. Therefore, during the Soviet Union, the construction of Mariupol was highly valued, and famous factories such as the Azov Steel Plant and the Ilyic Steel Plant were established here, with a very developed manufacturing industry.
or above are the three major cities in the Donbas region. In addition, there are many small cities in the Donbas region, such as Makievka, Gorlovka, kramatoolsk in Donetsk Oblast, Lisichangsk, Kadyevka, Red Luci, etc. The population of these small cities is about 100,000 to 200,000, and the industry is mainly based on coal, steel, chemical industry, and machinery manufacturing. It can be seen from this that the Donbas region is a veritable heavy industry center.
