Sverdlovsk, city, eastern Ukraine, in the Donets Basin. Sverdlovsk, named for the Bolshevik leader Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov, is a coal-mining centre historically important for the production of anthracite. Other economic activities have included panel manufacturing and food processing. To the east lies the Provalsky Steppe, a reserve of natural steppe vegetation. The city was incorporated in 1938 following the amalgamation of several local mining settlements. Pop. (2001) 72,531; (2005 est.) 69,763.