# Chernihivka Raion

**Chernihivka Raion** (Чернігівський район) was a raion (district) of [Zaporizhzhia Oblast](https://www.edgepedia.org/zaporizhzhia-oblast) in southern Ukraine, with its administrative center in the urban-type settlement of Chernihivka. The name should not be confused with Chernihiv Raion of Chernihiv Oblast in northern Ukraine, a different district in a different oblast.

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | Raion (district) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southern Ukraine<sup>[6](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/807-20)</sup> |
| First abolition | 30 December 1962, territory included in Tokmak Raion; restored 5 January 1965<sup>[1](https://xn--h1ajim.xn--p1ai/%D0%A7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BE%D0%BD_%28%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C%29)</sup> |

## The settlement of Chernihivka

The raion's center was founded in 1783 by state peasants resettled from Chernihiv Governorate, which is the origin of the settlement's name. It lies on a western spur of the [Azov Upland](https://www.edgepedia.org/azov-upland), in the valley of the Tokmak River and its tributary the Sysykulak, about 150 km southeast of [Zaporizhzhia](https://www.edgepedia.org/zaporizhzhia), and 9 km from the Verkhnii Tokmak railway station. In 1806 the village had 2,078 residents, and on the eve of the 1861 reform it was a large village of more than 700 households with about 5,000 inhabitants. A 1970 Soviet-era account gave the raion an area of 1.2 thousand km², a population of 28.2 thousand (7.4 thousand urban and 20.8 thousand rural), 45 settlements, and 91.3 thousand hectares of arable land.<sup>[2](https://imsu-zaporizhzhya.com/mista-i-sela-zaporizkoi-oblasti/cherngvskij-rajon/chernigivka.html)</sup>

## Administrative history

A Soviet-wide reorganization of 1962 to 1963 consolidated small rural districts into larger units sized to kolkhoz and sovkhoz production administrations; in Zaporizhzhia Oblast this replaced 23 districts with 10, and [Chernihiv Raion](https://www.edgepedia.org/chernihiv-raion) was among those liquidated, its territory passing to Tokmak Raion on 30 December 1962.<sup>[1](https://xn--h1ajim.xn--p1ai/%D0%A7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BE%D0%BD_%28%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C%29)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://archivzp.gov.ua/ru/80-65122175)</sup> The 4 January 1965 decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR reversed the consolidation and recreated the district, listing it as Chernihiv Raion with its center in the urban-type settlement of Chernihivka and enumerating its settlement councils, including the [Chernihiv](https://www.edgepedia.org/chernihiv) settlement council and the Bohdanivka, Verkhnii Tokmak, and other village councils.<sup>[4](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/2%D0%BD-06)</sup>

The raion survived until the 2020 reform.

## After 2020

The successor unit is the Chernihivka settlement territorial community (hromada) in Berdiansk Raion, which has over 15 thousand residents. Since 26 February 2022, following the full-scale [Russian invasion of Ukraine](https://www.edgepedia.org/russian-invasion-of-ukraine), the community's territory has been under temporary occupation, and its local government has been officially relocated to the city of Zaporizhzhia.<sup>[5](https://ubc.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Letter-from-Chernihivka-community.pdf)</sup>

## References

1. [Черниговский район (Запорожская область), Руниверсалис](https://xn--h1ajim.xn--p1ai/%D0%A7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BE%D0%BD_%28%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C%29)
2. [Чернігівка, Інформаційно-пізнавальний портал, Запорізька область у складі УРСР](https://imsu-zaporizhzhya.com/mista-i-sela-zaporizkoi-oblasti/cherngvskij-rajon/chernigivka.html)
3. [Етапи формування Запорізької області, Державний архів Запорізької області](https://archivzp.gov.ua/ru/80-65122175)
4. [Указ Президії Верховної Ради Української РСР від 04.01.1965 № 2н-06, Legislation of Ukraine](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/2%D0%BD-06)
5. [Letter from Chernihivka community, UBC](https://ubc.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Letter-from-Chernihivka-community.pdf)
6. [Про утворення та ліквідацію районів, Верховна Рада України](https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/807-20)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Administrative and cadastral territories › Intermediate territorial subdivisions › Intermediate subdivisions of Russia and the post-Soviet states › Raions of southern Ukraine*

*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license