HORLIVKA

Russian Gorlovka, city, Donetsk oblast (province), eastern Ukraine. It lies in the centre of the Donets Basin industrial area on the headwaters of the small Korsun River. Horlivka was founded in 1867 as a mining settlement beside the newly constructed railway from Kharkiv to Taganrog on the Sea of Azov. Several other small mining settlements were incorporated into Horlivka, which became a town in 1932 and is now one of the largest coal-mining centres of the area, especially for coking coal. Its many pits include some of the deepest of this field, and their waste heaps are dominant landmarks. There is also a large engineering industry making coal-mining machinery, as well as a chemical complex. A network of railways links Horlivka to neighbouring towns, including Nikitovka, where there is a major mercury mine. There is a teacher-training institute in the city. Pop. (1991 est.) 336,600.