Artemivsk – A city that Opens its Heart for Children
Artemivsk, formerly known as Bachmut, is the administrative center for the Artemivsky Raion. It was in 1571 that Bachmut was first established and it was in the late 18th century that it moved up to the status of ‘City’ in the year 1783. The name ‘Bachmut’ was based on the beautiful Bachmutka River, which still lies about 89 kilometers from the Donetsk Oblast. It was not until 1924 that Bachmut city had its name formally changed to Artemivsk. This was done in honor of one of the most famed Russian revolutionary figures, known as Artem. Since 2005 the city has boasted a population made up of over 80,655 people.
Artemivsk is known as a prosperous city and it consists of suburbs such as Chasiv Yar and Soledar which fall under the care of the Artemivsk municipality. Notably the Artemivsk municipality has a cultural and administrative link to Omaha in Nebraska.
It is within Artemivsk, as well as other areas in Ukraine, that you will come across a major crisis, which seems to be escalating – orphanages. Unfortunately, the devastation caused by abandonment can still be seen vividly in many of these children’s eyes. However, it must be noted that the support that is provided by wonderful orphanage staff memebers with huge hearts, even when they themselves may have very little.
Although the abandonment or the circumstances that bring most of these children to this sad point seems never ending, these wonderful caregivers that sacrifice time, energy, love and comfortable living in the desire to give hope to these little lives who’ve had to start life a little differently to most of us are deserving of thanks.