Park of the Heroes of theGreat Patriotic War, Museum of local history, Academic Russian Drama Theatre, Radianska Street, andLuhanskteplovoz steam locomotive
Luhansk served as the administrative center ofLuhansk Oblast, before pro-Russian separatists seized control of the city in 2014 and made it the capital of the self-proclaimedLuhansk People's Republic. The Ukrainian administration was located inSievierodonetsk from 2014 to 2022 during thewar in Donbas, due to Ukraine not being in control of Luhansk. Sievierodonetsk wascaptured by Russia in 2022 and Luhansk Oblast was laterannexed by Russia in late 2022.
The city traces its history to 1797 when the British industrialistCharles Gascoigne, commissioned by theImperial Russian government in 1795, founded an ammunition and cannon factory for theBlack Sea Fleet.[2] Gascoigne had emigrated toSaint Petersburg years earlier, and founded factories and mines across the Russian Empire during his time there. There is a prominent bust of him in Luhansk commemorating his role in the city's founding.[3]
The factory was built in theDonets Basin (or Donbas) at the confluence of theLuhan andVilkhivka [uk] rivers. The Russian craftsmen settled upstream, at the settlement of Kamianyi Brid.[2] The name "Luhansk" comes from theLuhan River, which flows through the city. According tofolk etymology, the name is also derived to the word "Luh" (Ukrainian: Луг), which means "meadow", referring to the floodplains around the river.[citation needed]
The factory was greatly expanded during theNapoleonic Wars, and again during theCrimean War. By 1880, the factory was a large industrial node, linked by rail to other major cities and to theAzov Sea. In 1882, the Luhansk Factory was merged with Kamianyi Brid into a new settlement named Luhansk, which received city status. In 1897, Luhansk had a population of 20,400, 68.2% of whom wereRussians.[2]
In summer 1896, German industrialistGustav Hartmann [de] founded alocomotive-building company in Luhansk, which is nowLuhanskteplovoz. It became operational in 1900, and soon produced a large proportion of all locomotives in the Russian Empire.[4]
After the end of the war, the victoriousBolsheviks created theSoviet Union on the territory of the former Russian Empire, and began restoring the city.[5] The city grew rapidly during theinterwar period.[2] On 5 November 1935, the city was renamedVoroshilovgrad (Russian:Ворошиловград,romanized: Voroshilovgrad;Ukrainian:Ворошиловград,romanized: Voroshylovhrad) in honour of Soviet military commander and politicianKliment Voroshilov.[6] In 1938,Voroshilovgrad Oblast was established, with the city as its center.[2]
The economic recovery and development of the city was also accompanied by significant demographic change. The population grew from 72,000 to 212,000 between 1926 and 1939, and there was an influx ofUkrainians from the countryside into the city. The proportion of Ukrainians grew from 19.1% to 58.7% between 1897 and 1939, many of whom were refugees fleeing theHolodomor, a manmade famine acrossSoviet Ukraine. The Russian proportion of the population shrank to 34.5%.[2]
Voroshilovgrad became a frontline city inWorld War II after the failure ofNazi Germany'sOperation Barbarossa to capture major Soviet cities.[7] In March 1942, a grand concert featuring the work ofTaras Shevchenko was held in the city to inspire Ukrainians to fight off the invading Nazis.[2] In July 1942, Germany concentrated its forces in the area and forced the Soviets to retreat to the Volga and the North Caucasus. On 14 July 1942, German troops captured Voroshilovgrad. Locals wagedpartisan warfare against the occupation. The city was eventually liberated by theRed Army on 14 February 1943.[7]
In the postwar period, the city was rebuilt. The population recovered and grew, again alongside demographic change. More Russians were brought in to rebuild and help withindustrialization, again reducing the share of Ukrainians to a minority of 48.3% by 1959 and raising the share of Russians to 47.1%.[2]On 5 March 1958, after Khrushchev's call to not name cities after living people, the old name of Luhansk was reinstated.[6] Kliment Voroshilov himself opposed the restoration of the old name in 1958.[8] In January 1970, after the death of Kliment Voroshilov on 2 December 1969, the city's name was changed again to Voroshilovgrad.[6]
Demographic shifts continued during the late Soviet period; by 1989, Ukrainians made up 41.8% of the population and Russians had a majority of 52.4%.[2] On 4 May 1990, a decree of theSupreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR gave the city back its original name.[6]
Ukrainian independence
Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1994, a consultative referendum took place inDonetsk Oblast andLuhansk Oblast, with around 90% supporting the Russian language gaining status of an official language alongsideUkrainian, and for the Russian language to be an official language on a regional level.[9]
The previous demographic trends reversed in independent Ukraine; by 2001, Ukrainians—whoincreasingly spoke Russian—were 50% of the population and Russians made up 47%. The population as a whole began to decline as the economy stagnated, dropping from 505,000 in 1992 to 424,000 in 2014.[2]
In April 2014,Russia-backed separatists seized governmental buildings in the region, proclaiming theLuhansk People's Republic (LPR), with its capital in Luhansk.[2] Anindependence referendum, unconstitutional under Ukrainian law, was held on 11 May 2014. This referendum was not recognized as legitimate by any government.[10][11] These events escalated into theWar in Donbas.
In August 2014, Ukrainian government forces completely surrounded rebel-held Luhansk.[12] Heavyshelling caused civilian casualties in the city.[13][14][15] On 17 August, Ukrainian soldiers entered the rebel-controlled Luhansk and for a time had control over a police station.[16] A statement released on 22 August byLithuanian foreign ministerLinas Antanas Linkevičius said that the Lithuanianhonorary consul in Luhansk, Mykola Zelenec, was abducted by the pro-Russian separatists and murdered.[17] Linkevičius defined the abductors as 'terrorists'.[17]
On 21 November 2017,armed men in unmarked uniforms took up positions in the center of Luhansk in what appeared to be a power struggle between the head of the republicIgor Plotnitsky and the (sacked by Plotnitsky) LPR appointed interior ministerIgor Kornet.[20][21] Media reports stated that theDonetsk People's Republic, a parallel Russian-backed entity in neighboringDonetsk Oblast, had sent armed troops to Luhansk the following night.[20][21] Three days later the website of the separatists stated that Plotnitsky had resigned "for health reasons. Multiple war wounds, the effects of blast injuries, took their toll."[22] The website stated that security ministerLeonid Pasechnik had been named acting leader "until the next elections."[22]
On 7 September 2006, archaeologists in Ukraine announced that an ancient structure had been discovered near Luhansk, which the press reported as a pyramid antedating those in Egypt by at least 300 years. The stone foundations of the structure were said to resemble Aztec and Mayan pyramids inMesoamerica. It was later concluded that the site in question was not a pyramid but was still of great interest.
Geography
Climate
Luhansk has a hot summerhumid continental climate (KöppenDfa). Luhansk has both the highest and lowest temperature recorded in Ukraine. A record high of 42.0 °C (107.6 °F) was recorded on12 August 2010, which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Ukraine.[26][27] A record low of −41.9 °C (−43.4 °F) was recorded on 8 January 1935.[26]
^Flynn, M. K. (1996). "Political mobilization in eastern Ukraine: The referendum of 1994 in the Donetsk oblast".The European Legacy.1 (1):342–349.doi:10.1080/10848779608579417.ISSN1084-8770.
^abcdef"History of Luhansk". Official site of Luhansk City Council. 15 October 2012. Archived fromthe original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved10 June 2015.
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