The current territory of Luhansk Oblast has long been called Wild Field. This is the easternmost region of Ukraine, which once separated the Crimean Khanate from the Moscow state. Due to this geographical location, Luganshchina was often attacked by different peoples. Nevertheless, Dikoye Pole was able to transform from an area of constant unrest and warfare into a rich and prosperous region.
Fertile lands and beautiful nature of Lugansk region attracted the first settlers thousands of years ago. In Stanichno-Lugansk district a site of an ancient man from the early Paleolithic period was found, and in Krasny Yar settlement archeologists discovered a site of a man from the late Paleolithic period — they are more than 14 thousand years old.
Later Sarmatians and Scythians, Cimmerians, Bulgarians and Alans lived here, who left the remains of hundreds of ancient settlements on the territory of the region. In the period from IX to XIII century the territory of the present Lugansk region was settled by Torks, Pechenegs and Polovtsians, now almost in every settlement of the region you can find stone sculptures created by these peoples.
In the XIII century after the invasion of the Mongols, the fertile lands were deserted, and so it continued until the middle of the XVI century, when peasants began to settle here. Luganshchina was most actively settled in the 1640s: peasants fled from the Right-Bank Ukraine, trying to escape the War of Liberation raging in 1648-1654.
But during the Northern War also these lands were plagued by unrest: in 1707-1708 a mass peasant-Cossack uprising was organized here. Then Prince Yuri Dolgoruky was killed, who went to Luganshchina with tsarist troops to search for escaped serfs. Under the leadership of Ataman Bulavin, the serfs and Don Cossacks fought back against the tsarist authorities, for which they paid for it cruelly: Peter the Great massacred the rebels, all the towns were ruined and burned.
Then a new settlement of the Lugansk region began: for a hundred years, undeveloped lands were distributed by the Moscow government to slobodsk Cossacks, German colonists, Russian officers, peasants and Austrians. From this period, the region began to grow actively as an industrial region — coal mining and metallurgical production began here.
This history of the region has caused that now it is famous not only for its beautiful natural sights, but also for its ancient villages, many of which were founded in the middle of the XVI century. These are the village of Stary Aidar (1640), known for the oldest in the region St. Nicholas Church of 1787, the village of Osinovo (1643) in Novopskovsky district, where the Assumption Church of 1802 is preserved, the village of Novopskov — one of the first settlements in Lugansk region. And also one of the oldest cities in Ukraine — Belovodsk, which is famous for the Trinity Cathedral Church, called one of the best religious buildings of the XIX century in the country.
The natural monuments of the region are no less rich and diverse. One of them — «Baranyi Lby» in Novoaidarsky district — is considered to be a visiting card of the region, it is unique chalk rocks. A tourist not indifferent to the beauty of nature will be pleasantly surprised by the Lugansk Nature Reserve, which has several branches throughout the region, in one of which you can see the Royal Rocks — a very picturesque sight.
Many guests of Lugansk region also enjoy visiting the memorial museums of military commander K.E. Voroshilov and writer V.I. Dahl.
In total, there are more than 1600 monuments of urban planning, history, architecture and monumental art in the region.
Now Lugansk region is considered an industrial land, but it has not lost its beauty and natural wealth and attracts thousands of tourists every year.