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'{{short description|City in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Sverdlovsk |other_name = Dovzhansk<br>Довжанськ {{in lang|uk}} |native_name = Свердловськ {{in lang|uk}} |settlement_type=[[City of regional significance (Ukraine)|City]] |image_skyline = The church of Saint Agapetus of Pechersk, Sverdlovsk.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = A church in Sverdlovsk |image_flag = Flag of Sverdlovsk.svg |image_shield = Coat of Arms of Dovzhansk Luhansk Oblast.gif |nickname = |motto = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |pushpin_map = Ukraine Luhansk Oblast#Ukraine |pushpin_label_position = left <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none --> |pushpin_mapsize = |pushpin_map_caption = Location of Sverdlovsk |coordinates = {{coord|48|04|40|N|39|38|50|E|region:UA|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Ukraine|name=Ukraine}}(''[[de jure]]'')<br>{{flag|Russia|name=Russia}} (''[[de facto]]'') | subdivision_type1 = [[Oblasts of Ukraine|Oblast]] | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Luhansk Oblast|name=Luhansk Oblast}} (''[[de jure]]'') | subdivision_type4 = [[Republics of Russia|Republic]] | subdivision_name4 = {{flag|Luhansk People's Republic|name=LPR}} (''[[de facto]]'') |established_title = Founded |established_date = 1938 |established_title1 = City Status |established_date1 = |leader_title = [[Mayor]] |leader_name = |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = 83 |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |elevation_m = 268 |population_total = 62691 |population_as_of = 2022 |population_footnotes= |population_density_km2 = auto |population_metro = |population_note = |postal_code_type=[[Postal code]] |postal_code = 94800—94819 |area_code = (+380) 6434 |registration_plate = BB / 13 |website = http://svk.gov.ua |footnotes = |blank_name = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]] |blank_info = [[Humid continental climate#Mild/cool summer subtype|Dfb]] |module =<!-- {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom= 10 |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}} --> }} '''Sverdlovsk''' ({{lang-uk|Свердловськ}}; {{lang-ru|Свердловск}}) or '''Dovzhansk''' ({{Lang-uk|Довжанськ}}) is an industrial city in [[Luhansk Oblast]], [[Ukraine]], near the internationally recognized border with [[Russia]]. It is located approximately {{convert|80|km}} from the administrative center of the oblast, [[Luhansk]]. Its population is estimated to be {{Ua-pop-est2022|62691|.}} Sverdlovsk has its origins in several mining settlements that appeared in the late 18th century and 19th century. They were united into a single city in 1938, which grew over time despite destructive occupation by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]]. It has been controlled by the [[Luhansk People's Republic]] since 2014. ==History== ===Imperial Russian and Soviet history=== The city has its origins in a settlement named '''Dovzhykove-Orlovskе''' that originated in the late 18th century. It was later renamed to '''Sharapkyne'''. The first coal mines in the area began development in the 1870s.<ref name=IEU>{{Cite web |title=Sverdlovsk |url=https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CS%5CV%5CSverdlovsk.htm |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=[[Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine]]}}</ref> On October 22, 1938, several of the mining settlements in the area, along with the "Sverdlov" mine, were merged into a new city named '''Sverdlovsk''', named after Bolshevik leader [[Yakov Sverdlov]].<ref name=ssr1>{{Cite web |title=Свердловськ, Свердловський район, Луганська область |url=https://ukrssr.com.ua/lugan/sverdlovskiy/sverdlovsk-sverdlovskiy-rayon-luganska-oblast |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Історія міст і сіл Української РСР |language=uk}}</ref><ref name=IEU/> The city became the center of [[Sverdlovsk Raion]].<ref name=ssr1/> A local newspaper began being published in the city in November 1938.<ref>№ 2909. Заря Донбасса // Летопись периодических и продолжающихся изданий СССР 1986 - 1990. Часть 2. Газеты. М., «Книжная палата», 1994. стр.382</ref> During [[World War II]], Sverdlovsk was occupied by [[Nazi Germany]] between July 20, 1942 and February 17, 1943. During the occupation, the Nazis massacred communists and Jews, as well as murdering other civilians for minor infractions. The population waged [[partisan warfare]] against the occupiers. As the Nazis retreated from the settlement, they burned down and blew up several buildings, and [[Deportation of Soviet citizens for forced labour to Germany|kidnapped 4,500 people to Germany for forced labor]].<ref name=ssr1/> In 1962, Sverdlovsk was designated as a [[city of regional significance (Ukraine)|city of oblast significance]]; while it still served as the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Raion, it was no longer part of it, and was instead subordinated directly to [[Luhansk Oblast]].<ref name="ssr2">{{Cite web |title=Свердловськ, Свердловський район, Луганська область (продовження) |url=https://ukrssr.com.ua/lugan/sverdlovskiy/sverdlovsk-sverdlovskiy-rayon-luganska-oblast-prodovzhennya |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Історія міст і сіл Української РСР |language=uk}}</ref> ===21st century=== On June 4, 2014, at the beginning of the [[war in Donbas]], militants proclaiming loyalty to the Russian-backed separatist [[Luhansk People's Republic]] (LPR) seized control of the border guards' base at Sverdlovsk, as well as taking over the city itself.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vaux |first=Pierre |date=2014-08-12 |title=Ukrainian Troops Retreat From Russian Border, Leaving 100 Kilometers Defenseless Against Invasion |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/12/ukrainian-troops-retreat-from-russian-border-leaving-100-kilometers-defenseless-against-invasion |access-date=2023-11-17}}</ref> The Luhansk People's Republic and [[Donetsk People's Republic]], both considered proxies of [[Russia]], went on to seize large swathes of [[eastern Ukraine]].<ref> {{Cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=Moscow's proxies in occupied Ukraine regions claim landslide votes to join Russia |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220927-live-kremlin-proxies-in-ukraine-hold-last-day-of-discredited-referendums |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref><ref> {{Cite news |date=2022-04-01 |title=Donbas: Why Russia is trying to capture eastern Ukraine |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60938544 |access-date=2024-01-25 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Using August 2014 footage from occupied Sverdlovsk, investigators identified a Russian tank in one of the separatist columns that "only have come from across the border in Russia", confirming direct Russian involvement in the war.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28961080|date=28 August 2014|title=Ukraine crisis: T-72 tank shoots hole in Russian denial|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> On August 22 the same year, it was discovered that the LPR authorities in Sverdlovsk - as well as [[Chervonopartyzansk]] and other nearby settlements - had forbidden shops owned by people who held pro-Ukrainian views from selling bread. Residents of the settlements began making a petition to end this practice, calling the bans on selling food "genocide".<ref>{{Cite news |title=У Свердловську терористи заборонили продавати хліб |language=uk |url=https://espreso.tv/news/2014/08/22/u_sverdlovsku_terorysty_zaboronyly_prodavaty_khlib |access-date=2023-11-17}}</ref> On August 23, a group of Russian "humanitarian" trucks arrived with packets of salt and water. However, the trucks were reportedly "half-empty", and the salt packets had unusual prices.<ref>{{Cite news |title=В Свердловську вже розпродують сіль з російської "гуманітарки" по 10 грн за кілограм |language=uk |url=https://espreso.tv/news/2014/08/23/v_sverdlovsku_vzhe_rozproduyut_sil_z_rosiyskoyi_humanitarky_po_10_hrn_za_kilohram |access-date=2023-11-17}}</ref> On September 11, 2014, it was reported that in the past month, sixteen people in Sverdlovsk had died of starvation in what Ukrainian media called a "famine in [[Donbas]]". Elderly people with disabilities living on their own were particularly at risk of starvation, now that social services were unable to access the city.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Голод на Донбассе: в оккупированном Свердловске от голода умерли 16 жителей |language=uk |url=https://tribun.com.ua/21505 |access-date=2023-11-17}}</ref> On September 24, ''Information Resistance'' coordinator [[Dmytro Tymchuk]] reported that the [[Russian military]], who had been fighting alongside the LPR militants in the war, were using an abandoned mine in Sverdlovsk as an impromptu mass grave for its dead soldiers in an attempt to hide casualties and obscure its role in the war.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://espreso.tv/news/2014/09/24/v_sverdlovsku_rosiyski_viyskovi_zrobyly_quotbratsku_mohyluquot_svoyikh_zahyblykh_v_nepracyuyuchiy_shakhti |title=В Свердловську російські військові зробили «братську могилу» в шахті |accessdate=24 September 2014 |archive-date=26 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926032243/http://espreso.tv/news/2014/09/24/v_sverdlovsku_rosiyski_viyskovi_zrobyly_quotbratsku_mohyluquot_svoyikh_zahyblykh_v_nepracyuyuchiy_shakhti }}</ref> On October 4, 2014, there was a "hunger riot" in Sverdlovsk in protest against the LPR, citing lack of payment of wages, lack of food, the collapse of the baking system, and widespread looting and robbery. Unknown people threw grenades at the organizers of the protests. This came in the wake of larger-scale "hunger riots" throughout occupied Luhansk Oblast.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tribun.com.ua/21745 |title=В Свердловске прошел голодный митинг |access-date=19 November 2014 |archive-date=10 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010211934/http://tribun.com.ua/21745 }}</ref> On 17 November 2014, a second, larger-scale rally broke out in protest of the occupation. People poured blue and yellow paint (the national colors of Ukraine) over the gate of an administrative building and threatened the militants. The militants fired automatic weapons in an attempt to disperse the rally, but this failed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tsn.ua/politika/u-sverdlovsku-mistyani-povstali-proti-boyovikiv-naymanci-rozganyayut-miting-avtomatami-392167.html |title=У Свердловську містяни повстали проти бойовиків, найманці розганяють мітинг автоматами, ТСН.юа |accessdate=17 November 2014 |archive-date=18 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118003241/http://tsn.ua/politika/u-sverdlovsku-mistyani-povstali-proti-boyovikiv-naymanci-rozganyayut-miting-avtomatami-392167.html }}</ref> About 2,000 people were taking place in the rally, and they called for the separatists to leave the city,<ref name=RS/> and chanted "Sverdlovsk is Ukraine!"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://informator.lg.ua/?p=48643 |title=В Свердловске пенсионеры требовали от Путина выплаты пенсий |accessdate=19 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124180958/http://informator.lg.ua/?p=48643 |archive-date=24 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> By November 18, activists reported that 64 people in the city had now died of starvation.<ref name=RS>{{cite news|url=http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/26698500.html|title=Донбас охоплюють протести через безгрошів'я та голод|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120180921/http://www.radiosvoboda.org/content/article/26698500.html |archive-date=20 November 2014|work=Радіо Свобода}}</ref> In 2016, Sverdlovsk was renamed ''Dovzhansk'' and Sverdlovsk Raion was renamed to ''Dovzhansk Raion'' by the Ukrainian government as a result of [[Decommunization in Ukraine|decommunization laws]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/342825.html|title=Rada renames some population areas in occupied Donbas as part of decommunization campaign|date=12 May 2016|publisher=[[Interfax-Ukraine]]|access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref> In 2020, the designation of a city of oblast significance was abolished across Ukraine, and Dovzhansk has since been officially subordinated to [[Dovzhansk Raion]].{{cn|date=November 2023}} On August 21, 2022, during the full-scale [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Luhansk Oblast governor [[Serhiy Haidai]] reported that the LPR authorities had forcibly conscripted 430 mine workers in Dovzhansk. According to Russian state TV, only women and the elderly were left to work the mines.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-08-21 |title=Latest Developments in Ukraine: August 21 |language=en |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/latest-developments-in-ukraine-august-21/6710295.html |access-date=2023-11-17}}</ref> [[Child abductions in the Russo-Ukrainian War|Systematic abduction of children]] has taken place in the city, with 200 children being taken to camps in [[Krasnodar Krai]] in Russia for "patriotic training" on August 17, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 17, 2023 |url=https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-17-2023 |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=[[Institute for the Study of War]]}}</ref> ==Economy== Sverdlovsk is an industrial city. It has twelve mines and four coal enrichment plants, as well as [[metalworking]] and machine-building industries. There are repair shops for mining equipment and a clothes factory.<ref name=IEU/> ==Demographics== {{Historical populations | title= Population history | align = right | direction = | percentages = pagr | cols = | 1939 | 37000<ref name=ssr1/> | 2001 | 72531<ref name=ssr1/> | 2013 | 65276<ref name=IEU/> | 2022 | 62691<ref name=ua2022estimate/> }} As of the [[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 census]], the city's population was 72,531.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Sverdlovsk |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sverdlovsk-Ukraine |language=en}}</ref> Its ethnic composition was as follows:<ref>{{citation |title= Дністрянський М. С. Етнополітична географія України. Львів: Літопис |year= 2006 |page= 465 }}</ref> * [[Russians]]: 48.6% * [[Ukrainians]]: 46% * [[Belarusians]]: 1.2% * Others: 2.4% ==Gallery== <gallery> File:Cinema is "Victory".JPG|"Victory" cinema File:Palace of Culture (Sverdlovsk).JPG|Palace of Culture File:The church of Saint Peter and Paul, Sverdlovsk.JPG|Church of Saint Peter and Paul File:The chapel of Saint Barbara, Sverdlovsk.jpg|Chapel of Saint Barbara File:Dolzhanskaya Station.jpg|Dovzhanska Train Station File:Стадион шахтер в Свердловске.jpg|City stadium </gallery> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927175304/http://www.oda.lg.ua/ua/regdep/cities/sverdlovsk/city.php Official city page] {{in lang|uk|ru}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120209050551/http://www.sverdlovsk.lg.ua/ City site] {{Luhansk Oblast}} {{Dovzhansk municipality}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Cities in Luhansk Oblast]] [[Category:Sverdlovsk, Luhansk Oblast]] [[Category:Cities of regional significance in Ukraine]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1938]] [[Category:Populated places established in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]] [[Category:Soviet toponymy in Ukraine]] [[Category:Don Host Oblast]]'