Lugansk People's Republic: Pages of History

The collection marks the history of the Lugansk People's Republic, which was proclaimed in April 2014 and recognized by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation of February 21, 2021. Official documents (decrees, laws and regulations), archival sources, statistical information, manuscripts of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society as well as cartographic and visual materials revealing the historical stages of the existence of the republic starting from the 18th century, when its lands after the successful Russian-Turkish wars became part of Novorossiya, and until the present day are available.

On September 30, 2022 the agreements were signed in the Kremlin on the reunification of Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions with the Russian Federation based on a referendum held on September 23–27, during which the residents of these territories overwhelmingly supported their return to Russia.

The collection contains evidence of territorial and administrative changes in the Lugansk lands: at the end of the 18th century Slavyanoserbia came under the control of the Ekaterinoslav province of the Russian Empire, other lands in the first half of the 19th century became part of the Voronezh and Kharkov provinces and the Don Army Region. In 1897, the population participated in the First General Census of the Russian Empire. Archives illustrate the opening of gymnasiums and schools, for example, about the establishment of a district school in Slavyanoserbsk (from 1882 - Lugansk), Lisichansk Mining School. The economy of the region is also illustrated, starting with the Lugansk iron foundry, the construction of bridges, railways, during the First World War - the activities of the Lugansk cartridge plant, locomotive building, Rakityan beet sugar plant, Lisichansk chemical plants, etc.

The historical region of Novorossiya was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR in the 20s of the 20th century as part of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Republic. Soviet-era documents include laws and orders of the Workers' and Peasants' Government, in particular on new names. Thus, in 1935, Lugansk became Voroshilovgrad, and a little later, by separating part of the Donetsk (at that time Stalin) region of the Ukrainian SSR, the Lugansk (Voroshilovgrad) region was formed.

The collection, in separate sections, includes collections of materials about famous personalities, natives of the Lugansk lands, such as the author of the famous explanatory dictionary of the Great Russian language V. I. Dal, the military and Soviet statesman K. E. Voroshilov, the hero of the Great Patriotic War, the hero of the Soviet Union, pilot N. F. Gastello, and others.