5.5.2011
The Region for Immense Opportunities. The Best among the Equal
The region of Donbass is unique. Plains meet hills, forests meet steppes, land meets sea. In the bowels of the earth hidden immense wealth, inherited from the distant geological epochs. The richest resources of coal, salt, unique kinds of clays, mercury, marl, graphite, zirconium, lead-zinc ore, gold, kimberlite pipes – diamondiferous rocks.
The fount of Donbass might is in unbelievable far off of ages. So many events had been happening on these back-woods all over the time. It’s described in ancient legends and stories, in chronicles of Kiev Rus “Chronicles of Ancient Ttime”, in “The Novel about Igor’s Regiment’, in chronicles “Kalka Battle” and Tver chronicles of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
The first traits of people in the region appear 150 thsnd years ago. At ancient time Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, the Turks and Huns inhabit this land. In XI – XII the considerable part of Donetsk region lands belonged to the Polovtsian Khanate. It was here in 1223 the famous battle at the Kalka took place, where Russian army met for the first time the Mongol hordes.
The first settling people appeared here in XVII century. They were Zaporozhye Cossacks, Ukrainians, Greeks, Germans and Jews who moved here by the decree of Catherine II. Donbass region with its untold wealth became home to the people of so different nationalities, customs and religions.