This city is situated far to the south-east of Ukraine and is one of the central cities of the Donbass region, known for its industrial strength (in particular, for coal-mining). In 1995, the city marked its 200th anniversary. Lugansk population is over half a million.
Lugansk is constantly developing its infrastructure, offering a wide selection of modern facilities, services, commodities and shopping centers. In addition to the existing theaters, circus, movie theaters and museums, Lugansk boasts an active night life: you can find any selection of music to suit your taste (rock, disco, trance, pop, etc.), spend the evening with a favorite Russian girl playing pool, bowling or other numerous activities.
One foreigner's impression of Lugansk:
I've just got back from Lugansk, where I was meeting some Russian girl pen pals of mine. And I must say I know all about Lugansk! The weather was very hot for sure, 38 degrees Celsius. I met with my Russian girl pen pals and I went all over Lugansk City, (the roads are not good) it was interesting to watch the taxi drivers avoid the holes in streets:). I went ice skating and then walked a few blocks to see the beautiful new Orthodox Cathedral with a gold dome. And I also saw the horseback riding at the stables on the way to the airport. My girlfriend(s) and I walked several times along the main street where the large statue of Mary and Jesus is situated. Then across the street there is the park. If you keep walking and you come to The Museum of History. Across the street there is World War I memorial. There is another area if you keep walking with more large bronze statues. A foreigner will need a walking guide to point out to him the military general's former home and the homes of other famous people and the old factories of the military area.
The German hotel is another beautiful building. There are little underground shopping malls beneath the main street of Lugansk. Also along the main street there are many nice restaurants serving many kinds of food. There is the Russian drama theater and also the Lugansk drama theater. There is also The Puppet Theater for Russian girls with children. The circus arena, the soccer stadium and a tennis-court there. Also there is a nice restaurant just in front of the stadium on the street.
There is the University of teachers and the famous Rossiya dept store with it's beautiful displays of merchandise. You can buy tickets to all entertainment events in the city on the second floor.(It is like ticket master in USA) only they hand you the tickets to any event. It is so convenient.
There are three good disco clubs and more if you ask the cab drivers. The club I went to is called 80's Music Club and is one of the best clubs and has great lighting and music. Life starts after 10.00 pm and Thursday is a good day to go. The comedy club with the large stage is good and there is another on the north side with lots of mirrors. It is a large club with Russian girl go-go dancers.
There is also the Art Museum where you can buy art, too. The Lugansk Region building, city hall, and regional sports building make good photo shoots as well as the many statues and older buildings in the factory neighborhoods. There is the open market street across from the Rossiya Dept store for which runs for several blocks. It is loaded with hundreds of shops and street vendors and thousands of people each day visit this area. It is fun just to walk up and down the street and visit the long malls which run parallel to the street.
I have mentioned quite a bit here. It kept me busy for 8 full days not including my arrival and departure days from Kiev and back again. Take a cab. Cabs are inexpensive for westerners, costing about 15-25 Ukrainian dollars (hrivnas) to any club one way ($3-$5). This is pretty cheap. There are cabs everywhere you look. Oh, and I should not forget the ice cream - it is very tasty!!
Here are the main streets of Lugansk where I walked. My Russian girl friend and I went down the main side streets to connect. Geroev VOV , Sovetskaya street, Oboronnaya street, where Rossiya supermarket is. There is a casino next door, a bank machine, a workout gym across the street, restaurants, farmers market, street vendors, perfume store.
I love the underground malls. They are different than anything I have seen in the West. There are hundreds of street vendors and hundreds of small shops. I walked many, many kilometers for hours, it was quite an experience and I enjoyed it and also the food. My Russian girl friends made me home made "Borsch" and the sour cream Summer soup, yummy!!! And of course I cannot keep my silence: there are many good looking Russian girls there! :).
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