Cities are often renamed. History knows a lot of examples when one city changed its name several times during the period of its existence. In such a situation, confusion can occur, so it is not surprising that many are wondering what Voroshilovgrad is now called. In order to answer this question, it is necessary to delve a little into the past. The history of this city has a fairly large number of different glorious names and pages that the citizens are proud of, but it is most famous for the number of name changes. He was even called a champion in it.
Decree of Catherine II
Even back in 1795, Catherine II signed a decree on the construction of the Lugansk iron foundry on the Lugan River, near the village of Kamenny Brod. In fact, it became a city-forming enterprise. In order to provide the plant with the necessary labor force, several hundred families were brought there, mainly from the Kherson, Olonets and Lipetsk plants.
Basically,The Lugansk plant became the first such large metallurgical enterprise in the southern part of Russia. He supplied the Black Sea Fleet with shells and cannons, and the whole country with iron. Thanks to this enterprise, the Battle of Borodino became what we know it to be. Also, the guns of the Lugansk plant took part in the Crimean War.
Contribution of Alexander III
Continuing to look for the answer to the question of what Voroshilovgrad is now called, we are getting closer to the point. On September 3, 1882, Emperor Alexander III elevated the settlement, together with the Lugansk plant, "to the level of a county town under the name of Lugansk." From that moment on, the settlement that grew up around this plant can officially be considered a city.
In the same year, the City Duma was also assembled, which, of course, was located in one of the best buildings along Kazanskaya Street. In 1903, the coat of arms of the city was approved.
Starting from this time, Lugansk acquires industry and grows right before our eyes. And by 1905, more than 39 industrial enterprises could be counted, not counting small (or even handicraft) industries.
Active city development
Even despite the fact that the development of the city was not backed up by any officially approved plan, huge sums of 20 million rubles were allocated for these purposes at that time. The first street was English, as specialists from England lived there, who were invited to work at the foundry. The doctor I. M., well-known at that time, was also invited. Dal,who later became the father of the world-famous ethnographer Vladimir Ivanovich Dal, who later compiled the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. By the way, he even took a speaking pseudonym for himself, Cossack Lugansk.
Voroshilovgrad (as it is now called, everyone understands) had at that time more than 10 places of worship. Unfortunately, only a few have survived to this day due to the destruction of the 1930s. XX century.
Voroshilovgrad: meaning of the word, definition of the word
Of course, you can argue for a very long time on the issue of renaming cities and what Voroshilovgrad is now called, because every time you read historical or fiction, you come across different names of the same city, so confusion can arise.
So, on November 5, 1935, by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the city of Lugansk began to be officially called Voroshilovgrad.
Of course, this event was preceded by the September assignment of the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union to five commanders, among whom was Voroshilov. Despite the fact that this decision was made not at the local level, but in Moscow, the residents of the former Luhansk accepted it enthusiastically. Sufficiently large-scale campaigns were immediately deployed for this, for example, the Voroshilov campaign subbotnik, which was accompanied by the slogan “Wash away the accumulated dirt from the face of the city for centuries.”
Moreover, Voroshilov himself put a lot of effort into the arrangement of this city. Construction of new schools, opening of two tram routes, asph alting of streets, creation of a parkcrops, landscaping and much more. By the way, it was thanks to him that in 1938 the region became known as Voroshilovgrad, Luhansk region.
There is also evidence that Voroshilov did not leave this city in subsequent years. So, a military school for pilots, a youth theater, a palace of culture, an opera and ballet theater, clubs, a Russian regional drama theater, cinemas, a regional puppet theater, a regional children's library and much more were created.
Lugansk again
Despite the fact that earlier Lugansk was called Voroshilovgrad, already in 1957 the question of its renaming was raised. This is due to the fact that a Decree was issued in which it was forbidden to assign the names of living people to cities, despite their achievements.
So, the very next year, in 1958 (March 5), Voroshilovgrad became Lugansk again. Moreover, many witnesses of those events unanimously said that they did not fully understand why it was necessary to urgently rename not only the city, but all the streets and even dismantle monuments overnight. So, in the morning people went to work along Voroshilovskaya Street, and in the evening they returned along Oktyabrskaya Street.
Many people say that they remember very well that night when the monument was dismantled under the spotlights, and many could not sleep at all not from the noise of working equipment, but because of some kind of anxiety in their souls. Monuments are erected to people not just like that, but for outstanding services, and therefore their dismantling is a kind of blasphemy. But it is worth saying that the decree was initiated by Voroshilov himself.
Voroshilovgrad again
In order to be aware of the name of the city of Voroshilovgrad at a particular time, it is necessary to follow the political mood in the country and various events. So, for example, on December 3, 1969, Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov died. The very next month, in order to perpetuate his memory, it was decided to rename the city of Lugansk again.
It is worth noting that by that time the memory of the townspeople had not yet cooled down, they again accepted this idea with all cordiality.
Last rename
So we come to what the city of Voroshilovgrad is now called. On May 4, 1990, the settlement was returned to its original name, it again became Lugansk.
The history of this city amazes not only with a large number of different renamings, but also with the fact that it has always been considered the heart of the entire USSR thanks to hardworking people who know how to work and know how to do it.
Now everyone knows what Voroshilovgrad is called now, and even despite the fact that all its renaming is far in the past, the inhabitants have not forgotten about the history of their city, and even now every now and then there are initiatives to return the historical name to the city.
Modern Lugansk
In fact, any renaming of a city must have some good reasons: territorial, dissonant, political, etc. But be that as it may, they must be strong enough and justified,and not only because it entails some definitely large costs, but also because the renaming is immediately followed by changes in history, and in the memory of the inhabitants, and in their fate.
If you turn your attention to the existing list of all cities that have been renamed, then most of them are in the countries of the socialist camp. This was due to the fact that at first the names of politicians were assigned to the cities, after which their original names were returned, and so on in a circle. Despite this, Voroshilovgrad (as it is now called, we found out) was and remains a city of eternal labor glory. It is a city of strong men and beautiful women that will remain so, whatever its name may be.
Unfortunately, modern Luhansk is in a state of ruin, in a war. Perhaps the next change in the political regime will also entail a change in the name of the city, which will turn a new page in its history.
