Ukrainian → English transcript

In

the valley of the Kazennyi Torets River in the north of Donetsk region there is a resort town with an ancient history — Sloviansk.

Back in the 16th century, at the local salty Torske lakes, seasonal industrial workers extracted

salt. In the 17th century, a town was built here with the name Solonyi, which was also called Tor,

and along with the town a fortress appeared.

In the census book of Solonyi from 1683

there is a list by name of the people who lived in the town.

Among them were 199 Ukrainian Cossacks led by ataman Tymofii Navrotskyi.

In 1832, on the local lake Ripne, doctor Yakovlev used the salty water and mud

for treatment. This was the beginning of the development of Sloviansk as a balneological resort.

In particular, in 1907 at an international spa exhibition in Belgium the therapeutic mud of the Sloviansk resort received the highest award.

And Sloviansk is also called the city of potters.

Local ceramics are known throughout Ukraine and beyond.

In 2014, Sloviansk was one of the first cities in eastern Ukraine to come under attack by Russian

forces. In April, the city was occupied.

But already on July 5, 2014, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated it from occupation.

Today, Sloviansk is a Ukrainian stronghold in Donetsk region which, despite constant Russian

shelling, continues to live and fight for a free Ukrainian future.

Learn more about the history of Donetsk and Luhansk regions on the website of Skhidnyi Variant in the section

“Decolonization: Restoring the Truth.”