Historian Every Saturday. Nadiia Temirova: the historical dimensions of the Donbas (13.04.2024)
An academic lecture by Dr. Nadiia Temirova (Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University, now in Vinnytsia) on the historical dimensions of the Donbas. The key point for the article: a refutation of the myth that “the Donbas has always been Russian” — the late origin of the term itself, the settlement of the region with the participation of the Ukrainian Cossacks (the Kalmius palanka of the Zaporozhian Host), and the international (Welsh) character of the industrial Donbas of the 19th century. It complements the topic on the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2014 (the section on the “Russian Donbas”).
Key moments
- 13:47 The term "Donbas" is late (first third of the 19th century); it was coined by the mining engineer Yevhraf Kovalevsky (of Ukrainian descent)
- 31:43 Settlement of the region: Cossacks performed sentry duty and built the first forts (Sloviansk and others)
- 49:30 The Kalmius palanka of the Zaporozhian Host occupied this territory until the destruction of the Sich (1775); Greeks were then brought here (1779)
- 42:42 Industrial Donbas: the Welshman John Hughes builds a plant (1869) — the future Yuzivka/Donetsk; by 1900 there were 13 metallurgical works