LYSYCHANSK

Russian Lisichansk, also spelled Lisicansk, city, Luhansk oblast (province), eastern Ukraine, on the Donets River. In 1721 the first discovery of coal in the Donets Basin was made there at the Cossack village of Lisya Balka, which dated from 1710. Modern industries include coal mining, underground gasification of coal, chemicals (especially soda making), and glassmaking. A petroleum refinery was opened in the 1970s. The city is part of a metropolitan area that includes Syeverodonetsk and Rubizhne, the three towns together constituting one of Ukraine's largest chemical complexes. Pop. (1993 est.) 127,000.