| Bakhmut Raion | |
| Native Name: | Бахмутський район |
| Native Name Lang: | uk |
| Settlement Type: | Raion |
| Flag Alt: | Flag of Bakhmut Raion |
| Shield Alt: | Coat of arms of Bakhmut Raion |
| Coordinates: | 48.8548°N 38.1043°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Oblast |
| Subdivision Type2: | Raion |
| Parts Type: | Subdivisions |
| Parts: | 7 hromadas |
| Established Title1: | Established |
| Established Date1: | 1923 |
| Established Title2: | Current form |
| Established Date2: | July 2020 |
| Seat Type: | Admin. center |
| Seat: | Bakhmut |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Title1: | Chairman |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 1747.6 |
| Population Total: | 220275 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | EET |
| Utc Offset1: | +02:00 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +03:00 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal index |
| Postal Code: | N/A |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 380 |
| Website: | Verkhovna Rada website |
Bakhmut Raion (Ukrainian: Бахмутський район|Bakhmutskyi raion), known as Artemivsk Raion (Ukrainian: Артемівський район) between 1924 and 2016, is a raion (district) within the northeastern part of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Bakhmut. Its area is, and its population is approximately
Bakhmut Raion was first created in 1923.[2] It was renamed Artemivsk Raion in 1924[3] after its administrative center was renamed Artemivsk, named in honor of the Soviet figure Fyodor Sergeyev ("Comrade Artyom"). In 1926, Artemivsk Raion had a Jewish community of 17,622, making up 2.3% of the population.[4] In 1932, Artemivsk became a city of oblast significance, meaning that while it still served as the administrative center of the raion, it was no longer part of it, instead being subordinated directly to the government of Donetsk Oblast.[5] On 10 September 1959, was abolished, and its territory merged into Artemivsk Raion.[6]
Due to the capture of parts of other raions by the separatist Donetsk People's Republic in 2014 during the war in Donbas, some small parts of other raions were transferred to Artemivsk Raion for administrative purposes.[7] On 4 February 2016, the Verkhovna Rada renamed Artemivsk Raion back to Bakhmut Raion under decommunization reforms.[8]
In November 2017, the village Hladosove in Horlivka Municipality was recaptured by Ukrainian forces.[9] [10] Since it was now effectively severed by the war's frontline from the rest of Horlivka Municipality, Hladosove was transferred to Bakhmut Raion for administrative purposes on 28 May 2019, increasing the size of the raion by 71.7 hectares.[11]
On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Donetsk Oblast was reduced to eight, of which only five were controlled by the government, and the area of Bakhmut Raion was significantly expanded.[12] [13] The separatist-controlled city Vuhlehirsk was transferred from Bakhmut Raion to Horlivka Raion. The January 2020 estimate of the raion population was
After the reform in July 2020, the raion consists of 7 hromadas:
As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, the self-reported ethnic makeup of the raion was:[14]