Sights of Donbass

Donbass Is My Native Land.
Do you know what Englishmen say about their native land? “East or West, home is best.” “There is no place like home.” “Every bird likes its own nest.”
Donetsk is the capital city of our Motherland. It stands on the banks of the river Kalmius. It is the city of million roses. It is an important industrial, scientific, cultural center of our native land.
Donbass is rich in mineral resources, soils, nature, but the main treasure is its people.
Our land is famous for many names. The whole world knows such names as Arhip Kuindzhy, Iosif Kobzon, Alexander Hanzhonkov, Sergey Bubka, Liliya Podkopayeva etc.
The Donbass people are hardworking, generous and real patriots who will overcome any difficulties and never betray their Motherland.
We are proud of our Donbass and want to become its worthy residents.

Donbass is the centre of coal-mining industry. It is also the main fuel base. The capital city – Donetsk was founded in 1869 by a businessman, John Hughes, who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines in the region; thus the town was named Yuzovka. From 1924 to 1961 it was called Stalino, and only in 1961 it became Donetsk.
Donetsk currently has a population of over 982,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in Donbass.
From the History of Donbass

Famous Personalities of Donbass
John James Hughes [hju:z] or Uz [ju:z] is the most famous person of Donetsk-city and its founder. He came into the steppes of Donbass with his sons from Great Britain to build a metallurgical plant on one of the banks of the river Kalmius. Hughes founded a worker`s settlement which was named Uzovka. Later on the settlement turned into a great industrial center of the Russian Empire.

Famous Personalities of Donbass (2)
Georgiy Yakovlevich Sedov a salor, Polar researcher and discoverer. In 1912 he organized an expedition to the North Pole on the ship Saint Foka. Many geographical spots were named after Georgiy Sedov. In 1940 his native settlement – Krivaya Ksa was renamed Sedovo to honour this brave and courageous man.

Famous Personalities of Donbass (3)
Arhip Kuindzhy a genius painter-landscaper. His paintings “ The Birchwood”, “A Moon Night on The Dniper”, “The Dniper in the Morning” played a very important role in the history of landscape painting. Kuindzhy showed people the colours of the forgotten ancient Rus.

Famous Personalities of Donbass (4)
Our countryman Alexander Hanzhonkov was not only a lucky film manufacturer, but a founder of Russian cinematography. He was the first one who produced scientific-popular films, documentaries and cartoons. The monument to Alexander Hanzhonkov was opened in the city of Makeevka on the 8th of August, 2008. It is also a tradition to held Alexander Hanzhonkov`s Days in his native city.

Sergey Prokofyev is a famous musician and composer. He wrote his first opera at the age of 9, at the age of 17 he performed with his first concert. He gave concerts in the USA, Europe, and Japan. People enjoy his well-known “War and Peace”, “Cinderella”, “Romeo and Juliet” all over the world.
Famous Personalities of Donbass (5)

Vadim Pisarev is a famous dancer, choreographer, and a director of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. He is an organizer of the international festival “World Ballet Stars” which is held every year in Donetsk.
Famous Personalities of Donbass (6)

The name of Sergey Bubka – ‘a bird man’ - is written down into the history of light athletics because he set 35 world records in pole vault. He was the first sportsman who jumped over 6 meters high.
Famous Personalities of Donbass (7)