Donetsk People's Republic: Pages of History

The collection is dedicated to the history of Donetsk People's Republic - a subject of the Russian Federation, which lands since the second half of the 18th century were part of the Russian Empire as a historical region of Novorossiya, then in the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Republic, Donetsk province, and from 1932 - Donetsk Region of the Soviet Union. On September 30, 2022 Donetsk People's Republic reunited with the Russian Federation. All the main milestones in the history of Donetsk lands since the 19th century to this day, official and archival documents, abstracts of dissertations and studies, statistical information, cartographic and visual materials are presented.

They trace changes in the names of the main city of the republic - Donetsk, which arose from the factory settlement of Yuzovka: the affairs of the early twentieth century about transforming the latter into a city, and later about renaming it Stalino in honor of the main factory products are presented. Major works are devoted to the coal industry of Donbass. In addition, the Yuzovsky Metallurgical Plant was one of the largest enterprises in Russia producing iron and steel. Correspondence from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Railways, information about railways, etc. is presented.

The collection includes documents on the history of not only Donetsk, but also other cities of the republic. Thus, the section “Media of Communication. Post. Telegraph" features cases on changes and continuations of postal routes (for example, Mariupol - Taganrog - Bakhmut), the installation of telephone lines, and a project on the organization of communications in Donbass in the first years of Soviet power. Part of the archives is related to the Ministry of Public Education and the development of education in the region and talks about pro-gymnasiums and gymnasiums, both male and female, vocational and technical schools, private schools and boarding schools. Visual materials include maps of the Yekaterinoslav province, plans of Yuzovka, Bakhmut, Makeevka, Mariupol, seaport, designs of fortresses, bridges, churches, etc.

Lots of documents in the collection are directives, decrees and orders of the USSR Defence Committee during the Great Patriotic War related to the defence of Donbass, mobilization of the population, evacuation of factories, etc. Recent legislative documents are devoted to the recognition of the republic by the Russian Federation, the reunification of Donbass with Russia, the appropriation of Mariupol honorary title "City of Military Glory". Photo books and front-line photo exhibitions spotlighting the current situation in the region are presented.