Donetsk City Council

Donetsk is the industrial capital of the largest region in Ukraine — Donbass. The city is concentrated industrial and scientific potential is concentrated powerful personnel base of professionals and highly qualified professionals, development of social and industrial infrastructure. Industrial and scientific potential, powerful personnel base of highly-qualified professionals with developed social and industrial infrastructure are concentrated there. All this makes Donetsk one of the most attractive cities in Ukraine for the implementation of large investment projects, many of which have already been implemented.

City mayor A.A.Lukyanchenko

Brief Historical Background

Land development in the region of Donetsk  was started by Zaporozhian and Don Cossacks in XVII century. In 1869, Welshman John Hughes began construction of smelter with workers\’ settlement — Yuzivka. Date of construction of the village is considered a time foundation of Donetsk.

In 1917, the village Yuzivka became a town. Until 1924 Yuzivka  was named after the founder of  the city — businessman John Hughes.

In 1923 the city  had been calling «Trotsky» for a few months. 

In 1924 it was renamed Yuzivka to Stalino, the city had this name until 1961. The name «Donetsk» received from the river Seversky Donets.

In 1932, the city became the center of Donetsk region. In 1936 in Stalino the first automatic telephone exchange machine system on 4,000 telephone numbers was put into operation. In 1970, UNESCO recognized Donetsk as the best industrial city in the world.

In April 1978 the population of Donetsk exceeded one million residents, but by 2006, due to the demographic crisis, declined slightly, as of 2008 was 998,000 people. 

In 2008, Donetsk became a member of the Ring Of The European Cities Of Iron Work.

In Donetsk, there are 2.200 streets, boulevards, avenues. Their total length — 2.500km. Artem\’s street is the main. Kirov\’s street is the longest. There are 21 square in the city.

There are 5 public universities, 11 institutes, 3 academies (including musical DSAM of Prokofiev), 14 colleges, and 5 private universities, 6 colleges in Donetsk.

The European route E50, international highway M-04, National Highway H-15, H-20, H-21 passes through Donetsk.

Basic communication nodes of  the city:

Donetsk railway station (the main);

5 railway stations — Rutchenkovo, Mandrykino, Mushketovo, Donetsk-2, Donetsk;

Airport Donetsk;

2 bus stations — «the South station» and «the Western station»;

5 bus stations — «Center», «Train Station», «Trudovskaya», «Budennovskaya» and «Kritiy rynok» (central market).

Honorary consulates of Austria, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania, the Czech Republic are located in Donetsk. 

Donetsk is a sister city of several cities: 

Bochum (German Bochum, Germany) since 1987; 

Vilnius (Lithuanian Vilnius, Lithuania); 

Kazan (Russia); 

Katowice (Polish Katowice, Poland); 

Moscow (Russia); 

Pittsburgh (born Pittsburgh, USA); 

Rostov-on-Don (Russia); 

Taranto (Italian Taranto, Italy) since 1984; 

Kharkiv (Ukraine); 

Charleroi (Fr. Charleroi, Belgium); 

Sheffield (born Sheffield, England).