Pre-founding The area that is now Izium has been inhabited since ancient times. Archeologists have discovered remnants of
Mesolithic settlements from the 13th- to 6th-century BC, and
Neolithic settlements from the fifth- to third-century BC. These finds include ceramic implements and flint tools. The "Bondarisi" archeological tract near Izium gives its name to the
Bondarikha culture. In response, Muscovy built fortifications in the
Sloboda Ukraine region, like the (1635–1658) and the (1679–80), causing the Izium Trail to fall into disuse and easing invader pressure on Muscovy's border. The origin of the name "Izium" is uncertain. It may originate from a
Turkic-language word "huzun", meaning "a crossing", or from the (also simply Iziumets) river that the city was built on the banks of, or from a Tatar word "izzun" meaning "long", or "elongated". In
Ukrainian and
Russian, the town's name is spelled the exact same way as the word for "
raisin", but historian V. V. Markin argues that this is a coincidence, and any connection to a supposed Turkic word meaning "raisin" is
false etymology. Markin notes that it would have probably been impossible to grow
grapes in the area, making such a name illogical, and argues that such a word "huzun" meaning "raisin" does not exist in any Turkic language. Starting in 1780, Izium was the administrative center of
Izyumsky Uyezd. Izyumsky Uyezd was originally a subdivision of
Kharkov Viceroyalty in 1780, but was transferred to the reformed
Sloboda Ukraine Governorate in 1796. By 1884, the city's main exports were wool, sold to
Kharkiv and
Poltava, and building materials sold to
Taganrog. It had a population of 14,761 people. In 1910, the Kharkiv-Donbas railway that passed through the city was built.
20th century and early 21st century Izium changed hands several times during the
Russian Civil War between 1918 and 1920, before finally being taken by the victorious
Bolsheviks, who established the
Soviet Union on the territory of the former Russian Empire. Izium was occupied by the
German Army starting on 24 June 1942. Izium was liberated by the Red Army on 5 February 1943. In mid-March 1943, German troops attacked Izium again, but were unsuccessful, according to Soviet sources. There were more clashes near the city in summer 1943, during the
Izyum–Barvenkovo offensive. Soviet Lieutenant General , commander of the that fought on the Izium bridgehead, died in combat in the southern outskirts of the city. On 13 September 1950, after the end of the war, a monument to
Volokh was unveiled in Izium. In January 1989 the population was 64,334 people, up from 12,000 in 1926. During the
2010 Ukrainian presidential election, more than 85% of people in Izium voted for
Viktor Yanukovych.
Russo-Ukrainian War War in Donbas and decommunization s in Izium, October 2014
Deutsche Welle (DW) reported in April 2014 that during the
2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, there was only one attempt to hoist the
Russian flag on any government buildings in Izium. Many of the people who had voted for Yanukovych in 2010 still supported him amidst the
Euromaidan protests that ousted him. Most of the people DW interviewed supported some kind of
federalization of Ukraine, or united Ukraine, and did not support the idea of joining the
Russian Federation. A local government official said that out of the approximately 50,000 inhabitants, Izium had "a maximum of 200 active
pro-Russian people". Izium was the site of sporadic fighting during the beginning of the
war in Donbas in 2014. The Sloviansk-Izium highway was referred to as the "highway of death" by locals during the summer of 2014 due to constant shelling from pro-Russian separatists. Large-scale fighting in the proximity of Izium halted once Ukrainian forces liberated Sloviansk in July 2014. On 30 September 2014, a monument to
Vladimir Lenin in Izium was destroyed by unknown persons. This came as part of a larger trend of
demolition of monuments to Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine. To comply with
nationwide decommunization laws enacted in 2016, the local "
Lenin Square" was renamed "
John Lennon Square" in February 2016. was formed on 14 June 2019, as an
amalgamated hromada with its administrative center in Izium by uniting the with a nearby village council. On 12 June 2020, the hromada was expanded to include several other local councils, and, along with all other amalgamated hromadas in the country, was converted into a plain
hromada. On 18 July 2020, the city of Izium, along with the rest of the hromada, was subordinated to Izium Raion, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine. The area of Izium Raion was also significantly expanded to include the area of several other raions, which reduced the number of raions of Kharkiv Oblast to seven.
Russian invasion of Ukraine During the full-scale
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia began trying to take Izium in March 2022, beginning the
battle of Izium. On 9 March, Russian forces used a large airborne munition on a civilian apartment building in Izium, killing at least 44 civilians in what
Human Rights Watch called one of the deadliest
attacks on civilians during the war. Russia gained control over Izium on 1 April 2022. Russian soldiers used the "Lyceum No. 2" school as a base. The director of the school was one of the residents of Izium accused of
collaborating with Russia, and would later be put on trial in Kharkiv by Ukraine after the end of occupation. In May 2022, Russian forces
attempted to cross the Siverskyi Donets River and advance south. According to the
British Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian forces rebuffed the attempted river crossing with substantial Russian losses. Residents of Izium said they were imprisoned, and tortured by Russian soldiers during the occupation. Ukraine began a
counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region in early September 2022, during which Izium was recaptured. According to city officials, by the end of the occupation, more than 80% of the city's infrastructure was destroyed; about 70% of multi-storey buildings are destroyed. The city administration estimates that all in all, about 1,000 people lost their lives under the Russian occupation. In December 2022, Izium decided to rename 22 street names in the city that previously held names affiliated with
communism and with
Russia. Among others, the street named after Pyotr Volokh was renamed to honor Hetman
Pavlo Polubotok.
Unexploded ordnance has posed a major threat to Izium's population, even months after the battle. In March 2023, a local doctor said that on average, the hospital received a person with wounds from landmines every week. In September 2023, a year after the end of Russian occupation, Izium was still scarred and its people traumatized by war. Most of the city's schools were destroyed in the battles, and were planned to open by the start of 2024, so most students had to attend through
online school technology. The hospital still bore heavy damage from a missile strike, and urgent surgeries were held in a "small, dank room in the basement" due to fear of
Shahed drone attacks. One resident said, "People still haven’t recovered from this psychological trauma[.] This feeling of total fear that came with the occupation — it hasn’t disappeared." == Geography ==