Luhansk was called Voroshilovgrad in 1935-1958 and 1970-1990 / Website of Russia-controlled "republics"
Voroshilov in whose honor the city was named during the Soviet times was involved in the execution of over 18,000 people during Stalin's rule.
Leonid Pasechnik, the so-called leader of the self-proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic" ("LPR"), a terrorist organization in Donbas, has issued an "order" to use the Soviet name "Voroshilovgrad" in relation to the Russia-occupied city of Luhansk.
The copy of the "order" was shared by Ukrainian journalist Andrey Dikhtyarenko on Facebook on April 17.
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The document says that the name "city of Voroshilovgrad" will be used along with the name "city of Luhansk" during events related to the anniversary of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
Luhansk was called Voroshilovgrad in 1935-1958 and 1970-1990 in honor of Soviet military officer Kliment (Klim) Voroshilov. He was born on January 23, 1881. In 1953 – 1960, he chaired the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR. He had two awards as a hero of the Soviet Union and one as a hero of socialist labor. He was one of the first Marshals of the Soviet Union (1935).
During the Great Terror period, also known as the Great Purge (large-scale political repression), Voroshilov was among other close associates of Joseph Stalin and personally signed 185 documented execution lists. Voroshilov was involved in the execution of over 18,000 people.