Kiev Oblast

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Kiev Oblast, also written as Kyiv Oblast (Ukrainian: Київська область, translit. Kyivs’ka oblast’; also referred to as Kyivshchyna - Ukrainian: Київщина) is an oblast (province) in central Ukraine.

The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kiev (Ukrainian: Київ, Kyiv), also the capital of Ukraine. Despite being located in the center of the Kiev Oblast, and hosting the governing bodies of the oblast, Kiev itself is a self-governing city with special status and not under oblast jurisdiction. The current Head of the Kiev Oblast State Administration is Vira Ulianchenko.

[edit] History

Kiev Oblast was officialy created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on February 27, 1932.

The current borders of the oblast were last set following the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Administrative oversight of the new city of Slavutych, which was constructed as part of the Chernihiv Oblast, was then transferred to the Kiev Oblast (see Chornobyl zone below).

Historical administrative units that later became the territory of the oblast included the Kijow Voivodship under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kiev Governorate under the Russian Empire. The northern part of the oblast belongs to the historical region of Polesia (Polissia).

[edit] Geography

Kiev Oblast has a total area of 28,100 km² (approximately 35 times the area of Kiev city) and is located in North-central Ukraine. On the west it borders the Zhytomyr Oblast, on the Southwest — Vinnytsia Oblast, on the South — Cherkasy Oblast, on the Southeast - Poltava Oblast, on the East and Northeast — Chernihiv Oblast, and on the North — Homyel Voblasts of Belarus.

The oblast is equally split between the both banks of Dnieper River (Dnipro) north and south of Kiev. Other significant rivers in the oblast are the Dnieper's tributaries: Pripyat (Prypiat) (R), Desna (L), Teteriv (R), Irpin' (R), Ros' (R) and Trubizh (L).

The length of the Dnipro River within the boundaries of the oblast totals 246 km. The oblast has a total number of 177 rivers intersecting the region; 13 reservoirs (the most notable ones being Kiev Reservoir and the Kaniv Reservoir), over 2000 ponds, and approximately 750 small lakes.

[edit] Climate

The climate of Kiev Oblast is characteristic of the Polesia area and other neighbouring forested areas. The oblast has a moderately continental climate with relatively mild Winters and warm Summers. The temperatures range from -6.1°C in January to 19.2°C degrees in July.

[edit] Vegetation

Surely unusually, compared with the other Oblasten, is the large sea-landscape with its dams and bank areas of the Dnepr.

The oblast has small mountains and slopes on the right bank onf the Dnieper. The entire area is surrounded by a continuous belt by greenery and forests. The oblast's "green area" is 43,600 hectares large, characterized by 250 different sorts of trees and bushes.

Image:Map of Kyivska Oblast.gif

[edit] Administrative subdivisions

The oblast is subdivided into 25 raions (administrative districts). It consists of 25 cities, 30 towns, and more than 1,000 villages.

The following data incorporates the number of each type of administrative divisions of Kiev Oblast:

• Administrative Center - 1 (Kiev)
• Raions — 25;
• City raions — 0;
• Settlements — 1184, including:
  • Villages — 1129;
  • Cities/Towns — 55, including:
    • Urban-type settlement — 30;
    • Cities — 25, including:
      • Cities of oblast' subordinance — 11;
      • Cities of raion subordinance — 14;
• Selsovets — 606.

The local administration of the oblast' is controlled by the Kiev Oblast Rada. The governer of the oblast' is the Kiev Oblast Rada speaker, appointed by the President of Ukraine.

[edit] The "exclaves"

The municipality of Slavutych is located within the borders of the neighboring Chernihiv Oblast on the eastern bank of the Dnieper river and the municipality has no common border with the Kiev Oblast. Still, Slavutych is administrated by the Kiev Oblast authorities (being a kind of administrative exclave).

Similarly, the town of Kotsiubynske, which is located within the borders of Kiev city (which is itself surrounded by the Kiev Oblast), officially belongs to the Kiev Oblast.

[edit] Chornobyl zone

The north-western end of the oblast is a part of the zone of alienation due to the radioactive contamination caused by the Chernobyl (Chornobyl) nuclear reactor accident. The largest cities within zone are Chornobyl and Prypiat, which are now abandoned (see ghost towns). The city of Slavutych was built outside of the zone to host evacuated residents of Prypyat and personnel of the zone installations.

[edit] Important cities

Important cities of Kiev Oblast include:

[edit] Views of Kiev Oblast

View of the historical landscape park "Alexandria" in the city of Bila Tserkva.

The railway lines at Slavutych station which take employees back to the zone of alienation.

Aireal view of Boryspil, home of the Boryspil Airport from an airplane.

View of the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery from the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.

[edit] Demographics

Kiev Oblast's largest nationality group are Ukrainians (1,684,800 people, or 92.5%), followed by Russians, Jews, Belarusians, Poles, and others. The current estimated population (excluding Kiev) is around 1.8 million (as of 2006). The population density is 63.01/km².

The urban population, according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census data, accounted for 1,053,500 people, or 57.6%, and the rural population — for 774,400 people, or 42.4%.<ref>Ukrcensus.gov.ua - Kyiv region URL accessed on November 26, 2006</ref>

According to the data, the number of men accounted for 845,900 people, or 46.3%, that of women — 982,000 people, or 53.7%.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Industry

Kiev Oblast's main industry's include: power production, food, chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering and metal-working. The national share of tire production for automobiles constitutes — 63%, excavators — 53%, paper and cardboard — 40%, hoisting cranes — 39%. In general, the oblast has a total of 330 licenced industrial enterprises and 742 smaller industrial enterprises.<ref name="CMU">Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine - Kyiv Region URL accessed on November 26, 2006</ref>

[edit] Agriculture

In addition to industry, the oblast also has a developed agriculture production. In 1999, the gross grain yield in the region was about 1,118,600 tons, sugar-beets — 1,570,900 tons, sunflower seeds — 18,1 thousand tons, potatoes — 669,200 tons. The region also produced 156,900 tons of meat, 738,500 tons of milk and 855,2 million eggs. At the beginning of 1999, there were 1,130 registered farms within the oblast.<ref name="CMU">Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine - Kyiv Region URL accessed on November 26, 2006</ref>

[edit] Nomenclature

See also: Kiev or Kyiv

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers". The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Kiev (Kyiv) is the center of the Kyivs’ka oblast' (Kiev 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 Kiev Oblast, Kyivshchyna.

Kiev is the traditional English name for the administrative center of the Kiev Oblast, but the Ukrainianized versions (transliterated from the Ukrainian language) Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast are sometimes also used.

[edit] See also

• Subdivisions of Ukraine

	Image:Flag of Zhytomyrska oblast.svg Zhytomyr Oblast	Image:Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus	Image:Chernihiv flag.jpg Chernihiv Oblast
		Image:North.svg
		Image:West.svg   Image:Flag-Kiev-obl.jpg Kiev Oblast    Image:East.svg
		Image:South.svg
	Image:Vinnitsa Bandera.jpg Vinnytsia Oblast	Image:Bandera Txerkassi.jpg Cherkasy Oblast	Image:Poltava-Oblast-flag.gif Poltava Oblast

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 50°15′N 30°30′Ebe:Кіеўская вобласць bg:Киевска област ca:Província de Kíev cs:Kyjevská oblast de:Oblast Kiew et:Kiievi oblast es:Oblast de Kiev eo:Kieva provinco fr:Oblast de Kiev it:Oblast di Kiev ja:キエフ州 lt:Kijevo sritis no:Kiev oblast nn:Kiev oblast pl:Obwód kijowski ru:Киевская область fi:Kiovan alue uk:Київська область zh:基辅州