Луганская область

Lugansk region is situated in the east of Ukraine and borders on the Russian Federation. There are forests in the north which occupy up to 10% of the region territory. The south of the region is the steppe, ravines and gullies. Summers are hot, dry and winters are severe, windy, and with little snow. The main river of the region is the Seversky Donets River. The area was low populated at all times. It was especially deserted after the Mongol-Tatar invasion and was a part of "Wild Field". Zaporozhskaya Sech was originated at the beginning of 16th century and the territory was controlled by the Zaporozhskie Cossacks who stayed there for the winter. Beginning of the industrial development in the region and the formation of Lugansk took place in 1795 by the decree of Empress Catherine II to construct a metallurgical plant in the valley of Lugan. After the collapse of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog republic in 1920, Lugansk region stayed within Ukraine. The area is rich in high-quality coal, has an extensive metallurgical, chemical, metal and machine building industries. The business tourism has been well developed. But the main development of tourism in Luhansk region is associated with tourist bases and recreation areas along the Seversky Donets River, in forest areas near Kremennaya (health tourism). Visitors are attracted by more than 40 museums of local history as well as prominent historical figures: the house-museum of V.Dalya – the author of the Russian Glossary, and other places of interest. Ecotourism is developed on the basis of several steppe areas, the best known are Streltsovskaya Steppe and Lugansk Nature Reserve.