Overview

The history of Ukrainian town Hughesovka, a mining/steel town founded in the 1870s by Welsh entrepreneur John Hughes and 70 Welsh workers, which later became Stalino and then Donetsk. Includes free DVD of 1991 BAFTA Cymru-winning documentary series 'Hughesovka and the New Russia', directed by the author and presented by Gwyn Alf Williams. -- Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru

Full Product Details

9781912631438

Table of Contents

Reviews

The recent events in the East of Ukraine make this book very current and an important piece of the puzzle for anyone who wants to understand the situation in which Russia, Ukraine and the West are all entangled. - Alexander Korobko, CEO, Russian Hour; The name Colin Thomas... a guarantee of intelligence and scrupulous integrity. - The Financial Times; A book for anyone interested not only in one man's remarkable vision and drive, but also social and political history played out on a large stage, but examined on a very human level. - Michael Nobbs, Gwales.com

In the inaugural BAFTA Cymru ceremony in 1991, author Colin Thomas received the BAFTA for Best Documentary for the TV series 'Hughesovka and the New Russia', directed by himself and presented by eminent Welsh historian Gwyn Alf Williams. This short volume of social and political history stems from that series. It looks into how the town came to be founded in the 1870s by a Welshman in what was then the Russian-held territory of Ukraine, and traces its subsequent history through industrialisation, revolution, Communist rule as part of the USSR and the independence of Ukraine on the USSR's break-up. Anyone struggling to understand the present-day war in Ukraine will find this rewarding background reading on the complex situation which still entangles Ukraine, Russia and the West to this day. The recent events in the East of Ukraine make this book very current and an important piece of the puzzle for anyone who wants to understand the situation in which Russia, Ukraine and the West are all entangled. Alexander Korobko, CEO, Russian Hour The name Colin Thomas... a guarantee of intelligence and scrupulous integrity. The Financial Times A book for anyone interested not only in one man's remarkable vision and drive, but also social and political history played out on a large stage, but examined on a very human level. Michael Nobbs, Gwales.com -- Publisher: Y Lolfa John Hughes was a very remarkable man. In 1870, at the age of 54, he decided he wanted to create a town, and did just that. Moreover, his town was nowhere near his native Merthyr Tydfil, but rather in the heart of Eastern Europe. Together with seventy Welsh workers, and with the support of the Russian and British authorities, he created an industrial centre for mining and steel-making that still exists today. Colin Thomas' book is partly based on the 1991 TV documentary, Hughesovka and the New Russia, which he made with the late historian Gwyn Alf Williams. A DVD of the film, which won a Bafta award, is included with the book, and it is clear that in revisiting the film, Thomas has been able to retell and expand on the story of Hughes' town with the gift of the perspective of the last two decade's major historical changes. Through the history of Hughesovka, now called Donestak, Thomas is able to tell a bigger story; the rise and fall of the Soviet Union in microcosm. From Bolshevism, through Stalin and on into the post-Glasnost age, Hughes' town's fortunes mirrors those of the Soviet Empire through name changes, huge industrial development, persecution and eventual liberation. A book for anyone interested not only in one man's remarkable vision and drive, but also social and political history played out on a large stage, but examined on a very human level. -- Michael Nobbs @ www.gwales.com

Author Information

Colin Thomas is a prize-winning documentary screenwriter and producer, whose accolades include the Celtic Film and TV Festival Jury Award; the Gold Award at Houston International Film Festival; the Prix Europa and three BAFTA Cymru awards. The TV documentary series, ‘Hughesovka and the New Russia’, from which this book stems, won Best Documentary at the inaugural BAFTA Cymru awards in 1991. His BBC Radio 4 drama documentary on the subject of this book, ‘Hiraeth in Hughesovka’, was broadcast in 2008.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available