Donetsk region

Donetsk region is situated in the steppe zone of Eastern Ukraine. It borders on Russia in the east, and washed by the Azov Sea in the south. The climate is with dry summers, and severe, windy and often very snowy winters with snowdrifts. There are two main rivers on the territory of the region: the Severskiy Donets is the biggest tributary of the Don River, and the Kalmius River which flows into the Azov Sea. Donetsk region is well developed industrial region of Ukraine with the focus on coal output, metallurgy, and chemical industry. The agriculture is highly mechanised yet the soil is pretty poor. The region has always been sparsely populated because of the severe climate. The settlement of the region began after the development of the territory by Zaporozhye Cossacks (Kalmiusskaya Palanca, early 15th century). The mass settlement of the territory started after the Crimea was conquered by Russia in 1739-1782, and then after the decree of Empress Catherine II on the settlement of the free territories (1762-1763), followed by her order to destroy Zaporozhskaya Sech in 1775. Donetsk, the main city of Donbass, was founded in 1869 by British industrialist John Hughes. Tourists are much attracted to the city by museums (more than 40), religious tourism (10 cloisters, Lavra, a lot of churches), health-improving tourism (Slavyanskiy Resort, Svyatogorsk city), green tourism, rural tourism (the village of Schurovo, the coast of the ​​Azov Sea), business tourism (the region contains 20% of the industrial potential of Ukraine), medical cure in the salt mines in the city of Soledar.