Kirovske Raion (; or Іслямтерецький район; Crimean Tatar: İslâm Terek rayonı) was one of the 25 regions of the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

is the

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

of Kirovske (also known as Isliam-Terek). Its population is The area of the raion has been occupied by Russia since 2014, who continue using it as an administrative unit of their Republic of Crimea.

Geography

The raion is located in eastern Crimea. The geography of the raion is divided between the foothills in the south, while the north forms part of the Crimean steppe. The main waterway of the northern peninsula, the

North Crimean Canal The North Crimean Canal, formerly known as the North Crimean Canal of the Lenin's Komsomol of Ukraine in Soviet times, is a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula. The c ...

supplying water from the

Dnieper river The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

, passes through the raion. The raion is famous for the historical town of

Stary Krym Staryi Krym (; ; ; in all four languages) is a small historical city and former bishopric in Kirovske (Isliam-Terek) Raion of Crimea, Ukraine. It has been occupied by Russia since 2014 (see Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation). It ...

History

In 2014, Russia unilaterally and illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. it has occupied it continuously since then, and since then has also used Kirovske Raion as an administrative unit of their Republic of Crimea. In 2016, the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

of Ukraine passed a law that would rename Kirovske Raion to Isliam-Terek Raion (, ); however, the law had a clause that it would only come into effect when Ukraine re-established control over Crimea, which has not occurred since. In July 2020, Ukraine conducted an administrative reform throughout its de jure territory. This included the

Administrative divisions of Crimea The Crimean Peninsula is a disputed area which as a result of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation is controlled and recognized by Russia as the Republic of Crimea (Russia), Republic of Crimea, a federal subjects of Russia, federal s ...

, which were reorganized from 14 raions and 11 municipalities into 10 raions, with municipalities abolished altogether. In this re-organization, Kirovske Raion was set to be officially abolished, with its territories merged into

Feodosia Raion The Feodosia Raion or Feodosiiskyi Raion () is a prospective raion (district) of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine. It was created on September 7, 2023 from the territories of Islam-Terek Raion and Ichki Raion. The administrative cent ...

. This law, too, was scheduled to come into effect when Crimea was back under Ukrainian control. In September 2023, the Verkhovna Rada enacted a law amending the previous laws to remove the clause about them coming into effect upon recapture, instead changing it so that they came into effect immediately upon the amendment. Thus, the Kirovske Raion of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was simultaneously renamed and abolished on 7 September 2023.

References

Raions of Crimea {{Crimea-geo-stub