Donetsk is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin (Donbass) region.The city was founded in 1869 by a Welsh businessman, John Hughes, who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines around the region. Hence the original name Yuzovka. During Soviet times, the city's steel industry was expanded and it was renamed Stalino. Although there is an opinion that city was named after Joseph Stalin, and hence renamed during the De-Stalinisation to its modern name after the Seversky Donets river. Today, the city still remains an important industrial centre for coal and steel in Ukraine, and houses the "Donetsk" special economic zone, established in 1998.