About Makeevka

Makeyevka, city, southeastern Ukraine, in Donet'sk Oblast. A major industrial city, Makeyevka is situated in the Donets Basin, 13 km (8 mi) east of Donets'k. The city's economy is based on the region's coal-mining industry. Many inhabitants work in mines, coke-processing plants, and metallurgical works in the area. Makeyevka dates to 1899, when a metalworks was built at the workers' settlement of Dmitriyevsk. New rail lines brought a boom in coal production to the Donets Basin. Dmitriyevsk grew into a village around the site of the metalworks, engulfing what was then the small town of Makeyevka. The growing city took its present name in 1931. Under the influence of industrial policies in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), it became one of the region's largest producers of coal and heavy industrial goods. Population 395,000 (1998 estimate).