Rovenky

Rovenky lies amid the rolling uplands of the Donets country, in a region once crossed by the settlements and grazing grounds of the Cossacks. The place takes its name from the Rovenek, a stream of the Mius basin. Its early history belongs to the troubled frontier between the Don Cossack lands and the territories claimed by the Russian state.

A settlement here is recorded in the early years of the eighteenth century. During the Bulavin rebellion, Cossack communities in the region were caught up in the conflict with the tsar's government; Rovenky was destroyed in 1708. Settlement resumed, and by the end of the century the land belonged to Vasily Orlov. Farming and sheep breeding formed an important part of local life.