Kharkiv Oblast

Kharkov Oblast Харківська область Kharkovskaya oblast’
—  Oblast  —
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Харківщина (Kharkivshchyna) Харьковщина (Kharkovshchyna)
Location of Kharkov Oblast (red) within Ukraine (blue)
Country	Ukraine
Admin. center	Kharkov
Government
• Governor	Mykhailo Dobkin (Party of Regions)
• Oblast council	? seats
Area
• Total	31,415 km2 (12,129.4 sq mi)
Area rank	Ranked 4th
Population (2006)
• Total	2,808,701
• Rank	Ranked 3rd
• Density	89.4/km2 (231.6/sq mi)
Demographics
• Official language(s)	Ukrainian
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	?
Area code	+380-57
ISO 3166 code	UA-63
Raions	27
Cities of oblast subordinance	7
Cities (total)	17
Towns	61
Villages	1683
FIPS 10-4	UP07
Website	www.kharkivoda.gov.ua

Kharkov Oblast (Russian: Харьковская область(Ukrainian: Харківська область, translit. Kharkovskaya oblast’; also referred to as Kharkovshchyna – Ukrainian: Харківщина) is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the north-west. The area of the oblast is 31,400 km², corresponding to 5.2% of the total territory of Ukraine.

The oblast is the third most populous region of Ukraine, with a population of 2,857,751 (as of 2004), more than half (1.5 million) of whom live in the city of Kharkov, the oblast's administrative center. While the Russian language is primarily spoken in the cities of Kharkov oblast, elsewhere in the oblast most inhabitants speak Ukrainian.

History

The territory of the Kharkov oblast has been permanently inhabited since at least the late Paleolithic period (10,000–12,000 years ago) but archaeological evidence indicates a human (Neanderthal) presence as early as the Mousterian period some 80,000 years ago.

The territory was relatively sparsely inhabited until the 1630s, when large numbers of Ukrainians began to settle there before and during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Most of the settlers were migrants from the Dnieper region, many of whom were fleeing fighting between Cossacks, Poles and Tatars. They called the newly settled region the Sloboda Ukraine or Slobozhanshchina (as the area is still sometimes called) and ruled it from the newly established fortress-city of Kharkov (founded 1654). In 1654, the region was incorporated into Muscovy (and subsequently the Russian Empire) under the terms of the Treaty of Pereyaslav.

Over the next centuries, the area became heavily Russified. Kharkov Governorate (Russian: Ха́рьковская губе́рния) was established in 1797 as a governorate of the Russian Empire and disestablished in 1919. Kharkov itself became one of the cultural and administrative centres of the Russian Empire in the mid-18th century, and served as the capital of the Ukrainian SSR from 1919 until 1934.

During the Civil War, on June 25, 1919, the whiteguards created military Kharkov Oblast of the Armed Forces of South Russia (Харьковская область (ВСЮР)). On December 12, 1919 the Oblast was disestablished giving its place back to the Kharkov Governorate (1919–1923).

The administrative unit of the Kharkov Governorate was initially preserved in early years of Soviet Ukraine (from 1922 a constituent republic of the USSR) with some territorial changes.

During the Soviet administrative reform of 1923–1929, in 1925, the Kharkov Governorate was abolished and a part of it became subordinate to the capital (Kharkov) of the Ukrainian SSR until 1932.

The modern Kharkov oblast is a relatively recent creation, having been established on 27 February 1932. During the Holodomor the population of the Kharkov Oblast together with Kiev Oblast suffered the most. The region saw major fighting during World War II in several Battles of Kharkov between 1941 and 1943.

Points of interest

The following sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

• Derzhprom Building
• Pokrov monastery (Kharkov)
• Skovoroda museum

Demographics

Its population (as of 2001) is 2,895,800 million (1328900 males (45,9 %), 1566900 females (54,1%)).

As of the 2001 census, the ethnic groups within the Kharkov Oblast are:

• Ukrainians – 70.7%,
• Russians – 25.6%,
• Belorussians – 0.5%
• Jews – 0.4%,
• Armenians – 0.4%,
• Azeris – 0.2%,
• Georgians – 0.15%,
• Tatars – 0.14%,
• others – 2.1%,;

the groups by native language:

• Ukrainian 53.8%,
• Russian 44.3%,
• other languages 1.9%.

Economy

The Kharkov oblast has a primarily industrially based economy, including engineering, metallurgy, manufacturing, production of chemicals and food processing. It also has an important agricultural sector with 19,000 square kilometres of arable land (comprising 5.9% of the total arable lands of Ukraine).

Also in Kharkov is the Airplane plant for space controlling systems. It is a major center for all branches of engineering, from large-scale manufacture to microelectronics. Also situated in Kharkov Oblast is a gas field, which is one of the biggest in Ukraine.

Subdivisions

Detailed map of Kharkov Oblast.

The Kharkov Oblast is administratively subdivided into 27 raions (districts), as well as 7 cities (municipalities) which are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Chuhuiv, Izium, Kupiansk, Liubotyn, Lozova, Pervomaiskyi, and the administrative center of the oblast, Kharkov.

Raions of the Kharkov Oblast

	In English	In Ukrainian	Administrative Center
	Balakliyskyi Raion	Балаклійський район Balakliys'kyi raion	Balakliia (City)
	Barvinkivskyi Raion	Барвінківський район Barvinkivs'kyi raion	Barvinkove (City)
	Blyzniukivskyi Raion	Близнюківський район Blyzniukivs'kyi raion	Blyzniuky (Urban-type settlement)
	Bohodukhivskyi Raion	Богодухівський район Bohodukhivs'kyi raion	Bohodukhiv (City)
	Borivskyi Raion	Борівський район Borivs'kyi raion	Borova (Urban-type settlement)
	Chuhuivskyi Raion	Чугуївський район Chuhuivs'kyi raion	Chuhuiv (City)
	Derhachivskyi Raion	Дергачівський район Derhachivs'kyi raion	Derhachi (City)
	Dvorichanskyi Raion	Дворічанський район Dvorichans'kyi raion	Dvorichna (Urban-type settlement)
	Iziumskyi Raion	Ізюмський район Iziums'kyi raion	Izyum (City)
	Kehychivskyi Raion	Кегичівський район Kehychivs'kyi raion	Kehychivka (Urban-type settlement)
	Kharkovskyi Raion	Харьковский район Kharkovskiy raion	Kharkov (City)
	Kolomatskyi Raion	Коломацький район Kolomats'kyi raion	Kolomak (Urban-type settlement)
	Krasnohradskyi Raion	Красноградський район Krasnohrads'kyi raion	Krasnohrad (City)
	Krasnokutskyi Raion	Краснокутський район Krasnokuts'kyi raion	Krasnokutsk (Urban-type settlement)
	Kupyanskyi Raion	Куп'янський район Kupyans'kyi raion	Kupiansk (City)
	Lozivskyi Raion	Лозівський район Lozivs'kyi raion	Lozova (City)
	Novovodolazkyi Raion	Нововодолазький район Novovodolaz'kyi raion	Nova Vodolaha (Urban-type settlement)
	Pechenizkyi Raion	Печенізький район Pecheniz'kyi raion	Pechenihy (Urban-type settlement)
	Pervomaiskyi Raion	Первомайський район Pervomais'kyi raion	Pervomaiskyi (City)
	Sakhnovshchynskyi Raion	Сахновщинський район Sakhnovshchyns'kyi raion	Sakhnovshchyna (Urban-type settlement)
	Shevchenkivskyi Raion	Шевченківський район Shevchenkivs'kyi raion	Shevchenkove (Urban-type settlement)
	Valkivskyi Raion	Валківський район Valkivs'kyi raion	Valky (City)
	Velykoburlutskyi Raion	Великобурлуцький район Velykoburluts'kyi raion	Velykyi Burluk (Urban-type settlement)
	Vovchanskyi Raion	Вовчанський район Vovchans'kyi raion	Vovchansk (City)
	Zachepylivskyi Raion	Зачепилівський район Zachepylivs'kyi raion	Zachepylivka (Urban-type settlement)
	Zmiivskyi Raion	Зміївський район Zmiyivs'kyi raion	Zmiiv (City)
	Zolochivskyi Raion	Золочівський район Zolochivs'kyi raion	Zolochiv (Urban-type settlement)

Nomenclature

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (Ukrainian: обласний центр, translit. oblasnyi tsentr). The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Kharkov is the center of the Kharkovskaya oblast’ (Kharkov Oblast). Most oblasts are also sometimes referred to in a feminine noun form, following the convention of traditional regional place names, ending with the suffix "-shchyna", as is the case with the Kharkov Oblast, Khar'kovshchyna.

See also: Romanization of Ukrainian

External links

• Kharkiv Oblast Facts & Figures
• Kharkov Oblast statistics
• Maps of Kharkov oblast Cities, Towns and Villages
• About Kharkov Oblast
• Post codes directory of Kharkov Oblast