Bakhmut
Bakhmut
Бахмут | |
---|---|
City | |
Coordinates: 48°35′41″N 38°0′3″E / 48.59472°N 38.00083°ECoordinates: 48°35′41″N 38°0′3″E / 48.59472°N 38.00083°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Oblast | ![]() |
Raion | Bakhmut Raion |
First mentioned | 1571 |
City rights | 1783[3] |
Government | |
• Mayor | Oleksiy Reva (since 1990)[4] |
Area | 41.6 km2 (16.1 sq mi) |
Elevation | 200 m (700 ft) |
Population (2022) | 71,094 (pre-war)[1] 4,000 (2023 estimate)[2] |
Climate | Dfb |
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Bakhmut (Ukrainian: Бахмут, IPA: [bɐx'mut]), formerly known as Artemivsk (Ukrainian: Артемівськ) or Artyomovsk (Russian: Артёмовск),[a] is a city in eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. It is located on the Bakhmutka River, about 89 kilometres (55 mi) north of Donetsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Bakhmut was designated a city of regional significance until 2020 when the designation was abolished. Population: 71,094 (2022 est.).[1]
Bakhmut was the capital of Slavo-Serbia (1753–1764), which was established by mainly Serbian frontiersmen. In 1920–1924, the city was an administrative center of Donets Governorate of the Ukrainian SSR.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bakhmut was besieged by Russian forces and largely destroyed, with most of its population having fled.[2] As of March 2023[update], Ukrainian forces remain in partial control of the city, which is an epicentre of fierce fighting, as Russian forces battle to take control.
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Etymology
The origin of the name Bakhmut is not known for sure. According to a theory by Kharkiv historian Igor Rassokhaa, the word may derive from a Turkic/Tatar word meaning 'salt water' or 'beach".[9]
The former name of Artyomovsk/Artemivsk is named after Fyodor Sergeyev, better known as Comrade Artyom.
Name change
- 1571–1924: Bakhmut
- 1924–1941: Artyomovsk/Artemivsk
- 1942–1943: Bakhmut
- 1943–1992: Artyomovsk/Artemivsk
- 1992–2016: Artemivsk
- 2016–present day: Bakhmut
History
Early history
Although there is evidence of prior settlement in 1556, the first official mention of Bakhmut dates from 1571, when Ivan the Terrible, in order to protect the southern border of the Russian state from Crimean–Nogai slave raids, ordered the creation of border fortifications along the Aidar and Siverskyi Donets rivers.[10] The settlement was described then as a guard-fort (storozha) named after the nearby Bakhmutka River, a tributary of the Siverskyi Donets, and located at the mouth of a stream called the Chornyi Zherebets.[11]
The history of Bakhmut before the 18th century is sparse. It was initially a border post that later became a fortified town.[11] In 1701, Peter I ordered the fort at Bakhmut to be upgraded and the adjacent sloboda (free village) of Bakhmut be designated a city.[11] The new fort was completed in 1703 and housed 170 people.[11] In 1704, Peter commanded some Cossacks to settle at the Bakhmutka River and mine salt.[11] The population of Bakhmut doubled, and the town was assigned to the Izium Regiment, a province of Sloboda Ukraine.[11]
In the autumn of 1705, Bakhmut became one of the centers of the Bulavin Rebellion. A detachment of Don Cossacks headed by Ataman Kondraty Bulavin captured the Bakhmut salt mines[12] and occupied the city until 7 March 1708, when it was retaken by government troops.
From 1708 to 22 April 1725, Bakhmut was assigned to the Azov Governorate. On 29 May 1719, it became the administrative center of Bakhmut Province within the Azov Governorate.[13] From 1753 to 1764, it was a major city of Slavo-Serbia, a territory inhabited by colonists from Serbia and elsewhere.
In 1783, Bakhmut became a city within the Yekaterinoslav province (Novorossiysk Governorate).[14] At this time the city contained 49 great houses and five factories that produced bricks, candles, and soap. The city had about 150 shops, a hospital, and three schools: two private boarding schools for children of wealthy parents, and a Sunday school for children of workers. Bakhmut had a large city center where fairs were held twice a year, on 12 July (Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul) and 21 September (Day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary). The city's annual turnover was about 1 million rubles.
On 2 August 1811, the city emblem was approved. On 25 January 1851, the city became a municipality, with Vasily I. Pershin as mayor. In 1875, a municipal water system was installed. In 1876, large deposits of rock salt were discovered in the Bakhmut Basin, leading to a rapid increase in the number of salt mines. Bakhmut soon produced 12% of the total Russian output of salt.
20th century
Streets were paved in Bakhmut in 1900. The construction of the Kharkov-Bakhmut-Popasnaya railroad encouraged production of alabaster, plaster, brick, tile, and soda ash in Bakhmut. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the city developed a metal-working industry. By 1900, the city had 76 small industrial enterprises, which employed 1,078 workers, as well as four salt mines, which employed 874 workers.
By 1913, the population consisted of 28,000 people. There were two hospitals with 210 beds, four secondary and two vocational schools, six single-class schools, four parish schools, and a private library. In April 1918, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, troops loyal to the Ukrainian People's Republic took control of Bakhmut.[15] On 27 December 1919, Soviet control over the city was established. In 1923, there were 36 enterprises in Bakhmut, including a "Victory of Labor" factory that formerly made nails and spikes, a "Lightning" factory that produced castings for agriculture, as well as brick, tile, and alabaster factories, and one shoe factory. Local mines were renamed "Karl Liebknecht and Sverdlov", "Shevchenko", and "Bakhmut salt". From 16 April 1920 to 1 August 1925, Bakhmut was the administrative center of the Donetsk province.
In 1924, the city's name was changed from Bakhmut to Artemivsk, in honour of a Russian Bolshevik (Communist) revolutionary figure known as Comrade Artyom who lived and worked in the city in the early years of the revolution. In 1938, a man named Moskalenko was the First Secretary of the Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine in Artemivsk. In 1941, Vasily Panteleevich Prokopenko was First Secretary of the City Committee of the Communist Party.
During the Second World War, German troops occupied Artemivsk from 31 October 1941 to 5 September 1943. Nikolai Mikhailovich Zhorov was the secretary of the underground City Party Committee during occupation from 1941. In early 1942, German Einsatzgruppe C took some 3,000 Jews from Artemivsk to a mine shaft two kilometres outside of town and shot into the crowd, killing several people and driving the rest into a tunnel. The soldiers then bricked up the entrance to the tunnel, suffocating the thousands of people trapped inside.[16]
In 1961, Kuzma Petrovich Golovko became First Secretary of the City Party Committee, followed by Ivan Malyukin in 1966, Nikolai S. Tagan in 1976, and Yuri K. Smirnov from 1980 to 1983. From April 1990 to 1994, during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Alexei Reva was Chairman of the Artemivsk City Council and was elected mayor in 1994, three years after Ukraine regained its independence.[17]
In January 1999, a charitable Jewish foundation in Bakhmut, the Artemivsk city council, and a winery that had opened on the site in 1952, inaugurated a memorial to commemorate the victims of the 1942 mass murder. The memorial was built into a rock face in the old mine where water collects and was named the "Wailing Wall" for the murdered Jews of Bakhmut.[16]
Russo-Ukrainian War
2014 war in Donbas
During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, the rebels of the Donetsk People's Republic claimed the city of Artemivsk as part of their territory.[18][19] Ukrainian government forces recaptured the city, along with Druzhkivka, on 7 July 2014.[20][21]
On 15 May 2015, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko signed a bill into law that started a six-month period for the removal of communist monuments and the mandatory renaming of settlements with names related to communism.[22] On 23 September 2015, the city council voted to restore the city's former name of Bakhmut.[23] The final decision was made by the Verkhovna Rada on 4 February 2016.[5][6]
2022 Russian invasion
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bakhmut became a frontline city in May, and was regularly shelled by Russian forces.[24][25][26] In May 2022, according to local authorities, an estimated 20,000 people remained in the city.[27] Russia prioritised Bakhmut as its main offensive effort through August 2022.
According to the Associated Press in October 2022, "taking Bakhmut would rupture Ukraine's supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to press on toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk province".[28] In a December analysis of the offensive, however, the UK Ministry of Defence said "the capture of the town would have limited operational value although it would potentially allow Russia to threaten the larger urban areas of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk".[29]
On 11 December 2022, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian forces had turned the city into "burned ruins".[30]
By early March 2023, Russian forces had not yet taken Bakhmut, but were continuing to press the attack, and hoped to complete their encirclement of the city.[31] On 4 March, the deputy mayor of the city said that 4,000 civilians remained in Bakhmut and were living in shelters with no access to water, gas or electricity.[2]
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Climate
Climate data for Bakhmut (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | −0.9 (30.4) |
0.2 (32.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
15.7 (60.3) |
22.3 (72.1) |
26.3 (79.3) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
21.8 (71.2) |
13.9 (57.0) |
5.2 (41.4) |
0.1 (32.2) |
14.0 (57.2) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.0 (24.8) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
1.7 (35.1) |
9.6 (49.3) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.7 (67.5) |
21.8 (71.2) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
8.4 (47.1) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
8.6 (47.5) |
Average low °C (°F) | −6.9 (19.6) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
3.9 (39.0) |
8.8 (47.8) |
13.1 (55.6) |
15.1 (59.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
8.8 (47.8) |
3.7 (38.7) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 44.9 (1.77) |
38.8 (1.53) |
37.1 (1.46) |
39.7 (1.56) |
44.7 (1.76) |
64.1 (2.52) |
57.6 (2.27) |
37.1 (1.46) |
48.0 (1.89) |
39.3 (1.55) |
43.7 (1.72) |
46.4 (1.83) |
541.4 (21.31) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 9.0 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.7 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 8.9 | 88.0 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 82.2 | 80.5 | 76.4 | 66.2 | 63.0 | 66.0 | 65.0 | 62.8 | 69.2 | 76.1 | 83.7 | 84.0 | 72.9 |
Source: World Meteorological Organization[32] |
Demographics
As of 1 June 2017[update], the population of Bakhmut was 75,900.[33]
According to the Ukrainian Census of 2001, the majority of residents are ethnic Ukrainians who speak Russian as a first language:[34][35]
Ethnicity | |
Ukrainians | 69.4% |
Russians | 27.5% |
Belarusians | 0.6% |
Armenians | 0.3% |
Roma | 0.2% |
Jews | 0.2% |
Language | |
Russian | 62% |
Ukrainian | 35% |
Armenian | 0.19% |
Romani | 0.15% |
Belarusian | 0.10% |
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Economy
Since 1951, the European Bakhmut Winery is located in the city. The Artemsil salt mine is located in the suburb of Soledar, which contains the world's largest underground room. It is large enough that a hot air balloon has been floated inside, symphonies have been played before, and two professional football matches have been held at the same time.
Transport
The highways of Kharkiv-Rostov and Donetsk-Kyiv run through Bakhmut. The city has a public transport system consisting of a network of trolleybuses and buses.
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Education

There are 20 schools (11,600 students), 29 kindergartens (3500 children), 4 vocational schools (2,000 students), 2 technical schools (6,000 students), and several music schools. Some include:
- Artemivsk Industrial College (Tchaikovsky Street)
- Donetsk Musical College named after Ivan Karabyts (Lermontov Street)
- Donetsk Pedagogical School (St. Annunciation)
- Donetsk Medical School (St. W. Nosakova)
- Artemivsk professional school (St. Defence)
After the 2014 outbreak of the war in Donbas the Horlivka Institute for Foreign Languages was evacuated and is now operating in Bakhmut.[36]
Culture
- Artemovsk City Center Children and Youth (Artema Street)
- Artemovsk city center of culture and recreation (Svoboda)
- Artemovsk City Folk House (Victory Street)
- Building Technology "Donetskgeologiya" (St. Sibirtzev)
- Palace of Culture "mechanician" (Artema Street)
Source: "Bakhmut", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 16th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakhmut.
Further Reading

Donbas

Sloviansk

Bakhmut Raion
Fyodor Sergeyev
Siversk

Soledar

Eastern Ukraine

Donets Governorate

Soledar Salt Mine

Joint Forces Operation (Ukraine)

Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine

Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014)

Timeline of the war in Donbas (2015)

Battle of Donbas (2022–present)

Battle of Bakhmut

Battle of Soledar

Paraskoviivka
See also
Notes
- ^ The city was given this name in 1924, but was renamed Bakhmut by the Ukrainian government in 2016 as a part of decommunization.[5][6] This has been unrecognized by the Russian government (which claims, but largely does not control, the city as a part of the Donetsk People's Republic), with Russian sources labeling the town as Artyomovsk.[7][8]
References
- ^ a b Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
- ^ a b c "Bakhmut: Fighting in the street but Russia not in control – deputy mayor". BBC News. 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Історична довідка: Сайт Бахмутської міської ради" [Historical reference: Bakhmut city council website]. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Keys to cities. What is the secret of longevity of mayors Archived 11 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The Ukrainian Week (10 August 2020)
- ^ a b Decommunisation continues: Rada renames several towns and villages Archived 11 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine, UNIAN (4 February 2016)
- ^ a b "Rada de-communized Artemivsk as well as over hundred cities and villages" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. 4 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- ^ "Russian mercenary chief says Ukraine's Bakhmut is practically surrounded". Reuters. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "Official expects Russian troops to take Artyomovsk in near future". TASS. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "Харьковский историк считает, что название Бахмут имеет индоевропейские корни и происходит от слова бук" [Kharkov historian believes that the name Bakhmut has Indo-European roots and comes from the word beech]. Громадський медіапортал Бахмут IN.UA. bahmut.in.ua. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
- ^ Булавинское восстание. (1707—1708 гг.) Труды Историко-Археографического Института Академии Наук СССР. — Москва 1935. — Том XII.
- ^ a b c d e f Artemivsk (Артемівськ) Archived 7 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The History of cities and villages of the Ukrainian SSR.
- ^ Rebellion of peasants and Cossacks under the leadership of Bulavin Archived 3 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
- ^ "Інститут історії України НАН України" [Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine]. history.org.ua. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia Dictionary (in Russian). 1903.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) 100 years ago Bakhmut and the rest of Donbas liberated Archived 1 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (18 April 2018)
- ^ a b ""Wailing Wall" for the murdered Jews of Bakhmut: Remembrance". Information Portal to European Sites of Remembrance. Berlin, Germany: Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ A chronological list of events in the history of Artemovsk Archived 30 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
- ^ Leonid Ragozin (16 April 2014). "Putin Is Accidentally Helping Unite Eastern and Western Ukraine – The New Republic". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "TASS: World – Donbass defenders put WWII tank back into service". TASS. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "BBC News – Ukraine crisis: Bridges destroyed outside Donetsk". BBC News. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "Ukraine flag raised over two cities, military tells Poroshenko". Interfax-Ukraine. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Poroshenko signed the laws about decomunization Archived 23 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Ukrayinska Pravda. 15 May 2015
Poroshenko signs laws on denouncing Communist, Nazi regimes Archived 19 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Interfax-Ukraine. 16 May 2015
Goodbye, Lenin: Ukraine moves to ban communist symbols Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News (14 April 2015) - ^ Renaming city and streets. Artemivsk city council website. 23 September 2015
- ^ "Inside a Ukraine hospital where medics work as rockets fall". Reuters. 11 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "In Ukraine's Bakhmut, war is never far away". France24. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Murals bring hope in Ukrainian city under Russian attack". Reuters. 15 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "російські загарбники завдали авіаудару по Бахмуту" [Russian invaders carried out an airstrike on Bakhmut] (in Ukrainian). Укрінформ. 9 May 2022.
- ^ VARENYTSIA, INNA and SAM MEDNICK (28 October 2022). "Russia's hope for Ukraine win revealed in battle for Bakhmut". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Ministry of Defence [@DefenceHQ] (3 December 2022). "Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 03 December 2022 Find out more about the UK government's response: ow.ly/oBjO50LUiIJ 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Zelenskyy says Russia reduced Bakhmut city to a 'burned ruin'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Russia close to encircling Ukraine's Bakhmut after months of fighting". Reuters. 4 March 2023.
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Количество жителей Бахмута продолжает сокращаться" Archived 5 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine (tr. ""The number of Bakhmut residents continues to decline"") Vecherniy Bakhmut, 5 September 2017.
- ^ Національний склад та рідна мова населення Донецької області. Розподіл постійного населення за найбільш численними національностями та рідною мовою по міськрадах та районах. (tr. "National composition and native language of the population of Donetsk region. Distribution of the permanent population by the most numerous nationalities and native language by city councils and districts.")
- ^ "Ukrcensus.gov.ua". Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) How did the innovations work for entrants from ORDiLO and Crimea Archived 21 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The Ukrainian Week (30 September 2020)
External links


- (in English) Artemivsk at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
- (in Russian) City portal
- (in Ukrainian) Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine
- (in Ukrainian) City council website
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