Kharkiv Oblast

Kharkiv Oblast
Харківська область
Kharkivs’ka oblast’
Oblast
Flag of Kharkiv Oblast
Flag
Coat of arms of Kharkiv Oblast
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Харківщина (Kharkivshchyna)
Coordinates: 49°35′N 36°26′E / 49.59°N 36.43°E / 49.59; 36.43Coordinates: 49°35′N 36°26′E / 49.59°N 36.43°E / 49.59; 36.43
Country  Ukraine
Administrative center Kharkiv
Government
  Governor Ihor Rainin[1]
  Oblast council ? seats
  Chairperson Serhij Chernov (Independent)
Area
  Total 31,415 km2 (12,129 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 4th
Population (November 1, 2015[2])
  Total Decrease 2,720,342
  Rank Ranked 3rd
Demographics
  Official language(s) Ukrainian, Russian
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code ?
Area code +380-57
ISO 3166 code UA-63
Vehicle registration AX
Raions 27
Cities (total)
 Regional cities
17
7
Urban-type settlements 61
Villages 1683
FIPS 10-4 UP07
Website www.kharkivoda.gov.ua

Kharkiv Oblast (Ukrainian: Харківська область, translit. Kharkivs’ka oblast’; also referred to as KharkivshchynaUkrainian: Харківщина, Russian: Харьковская область, translit. Khar’kovskaya oblast’) 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 province of Ukraine, with a population of 2,857,751 in 2004, more than half (1.5 million) of whom live in the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative center. While the Russian language is primarily spoken in the cities of Kharkiv oblast, elsewhere in the oblast most inhabitants speak Ukrainian.

History

During the Soviet administrative reform of 1923–1929, in 1925, the Kharkov Governorate was abolished leaving its five okruhas: Okhtyrka (originally Bohodukhiv), Izyum, Kupyansk, Sumy, and Kharkiv. Introduced in the Soviet Union in 1923, a similar subdivisions existed in Ukraine back in 1918. In 1930 all okruhas were also abolished with raions becoming the first level of subdivision of Ukraine until 1932.

The modern Kharkiv oblast is a relatively recent creation, having been established on 27 February 1932. In summer of 1932 some parts of the oblast were included in the newly created Donetsk Oblast originally centered in Artemivsk (later in Stalino). In fall of the same year some territories of the Kharkiv Oblast were used in creation of Chernihiv Oblast. More territories became part of Poltava Oblast in fall of 1937 and Sumy Oblast in winter of 1939.

During the Holodomor the population of the Kharkiv 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.

During the 1991 referendum, 86.33% of votes in Kharkiv Oblast were in favor of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. A survey conducted in December 2014 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found 4.2% of the oblast's population supported their region joining Russia, 71.5% did not support the idea, and the rest were undecided or did not respond.[3] A poll by Alexei Navalny also found little support for becoming part of Russia.[4]

Points of interest

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

Demographics

Its population in 2001 was 2,895,800 million (1,328,900 males (45.9%) and 1,566,900 females (54.1%)).

At the 2001 census, the ethnic groups within the Kharkiv Oblast were:

the groups by native language:

Age structure

0-14 years: 12.6% Increase (male 177,464/female 167,321)
15-64 years: 72.2% Decrease (male 945,695/female 1,024,841)
65 years and over: 15.2% Steady (male 135,737/female 277,725) (2013 official)

Median age

total: 40.5 years Increase
male: 36.9 years Steady
female: 44.1 years Increase (2013 official)

Economy

The Kharkiv 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). Agricultural production grew substantially in 2015.[5]

Also in Kharkiv 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 Kharkiv Oblast is a gas field, which is one of the biggest in Ukraine.

Subdivisions

The Kharkiv 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, Kharkiv.

Detailed map of Kharkiv Oblast.
Name Ukrainian name Area
(km2)
Population
census 2015[2]
Admin.center Urban Population Only
Kharkiv Харків (місто) 350 1,449,674 Kharkiv (city) 1,449,674
Chuhuiv Чугуїв (місто) 13 33,243 Chuhuiv (city) 32,401
Izium Ізюм (місто) 44 49,822 Izium (city) 49,822
Kupiansk Ку́п'янськ (місто) 33 56,704 Kupiansk (city) 56,704
Liubotyn Люботин (місто) 31 24,442 Liubotyn (city) 21,619
Lozova Лозова́ (місто) 18 65,950 Lozova (city) 64,269
Pervomaiskyi Первомайський (місто) 15 30,616 Pervomaiskyi (city) 30,616
Balakliys'kyi raion Балаклійський район 1,986 82,003 Balakliia 51,886
Barvinkivs'kyi raion Барвінківський район 1,364 21,919 Barvinkove 9,057
Blyzniukivs'kyi raion Близнюківський район 1,380 19,144 Blyzniuky 3,790
Bohodukhivs'kyi raion Богодухівський район 1,160 39,182 Bohodukhiv 18,998
Borivs'kyi raion Борівський район 875 16,938 Borova 5,624
Chuhuivs'kyi raion Чугуївський район 1,148 46,579 Chuhuiv (city) N/A *
Derhachivs'kyi raion Дергачівський район 900 95,122 Derhachi 67,908
Dvorichans'kyi raion Дворічанський район 1,112 17,775 Dvorichna 3,669
Iziums'kyi raion Ізюмський район 1,553 17,382 Izium (city) N/A *
Kehychivs'kyi raion Кегичівський район 782 21,058 Kehychivka 8,799
Kharkivs'kyi raion Харківський район 1,403 182,239 Kharkiv N/A *
Kolomats'kyi raion Коломацький район 330 7,099 Kolomak 2,919
Krasnohrads'kyi raion Красноградський район 985 44,742 Krasnohrad 21,008
Krasnokuts'kyi raion Краснокутський район 1,040 28,260 Krasnokutsk 8,895
Kupyans'kyi raion Куп'янський район 1,280 24,769 Kupiansk (city) N/A *
Lozivs'kyi raion Лозівський район 1,403 29,139 Lozova (city) N/A *
Novovodolaz'kyi raion Нововодолазький район 1,182 33,175 Nova Vodolaha 11,850
Pecheniz'kyi raion Печенізький район 467 10,113 Pechenihy 5,340
Pervomais'kyi raion Первомайський район 1,225 16,027 Pervomaiskyi (city) N/A *
Sakhnovshchyns'kyi raion Сахновщинський район 1,170 21,377 Sakhnovshchyna 7,333
Shevchenkivs'kyi raion Шевченківський район 977 20,480 Shevchenkove 6,957
Valkivs'kyi raion Валківський район 1,011 31,897 Valky 14,174
Velykoburluts'kyi raion Великобурлуцький район 1,221 22,541 Velykyi Burluk 6,049
Vovchans'kyi raion Вовчанський район 1,888 47,172 Vovchansk 28,143
Zachepylivs'kyi raion Зачепилівський район 794 15,329 Zachepylivka 3,642
Zmiyivs'kyi raion Зміївський район 1,365 71,887 Zmiiv 33,366
Zolochivs'kyi raion Золочівський район 969 26,543 Zolochiv 8,916
Note: Asterisks (*) Though the administrative center of the rayon is housed in the city/town that its named after, cities do not answer to the rayon authorities only towns do; instead they are directly subordinated to the oblast government and therefore are not counted as part of rayon statistics.

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: Kharkiv is the center of the Kharkivs’ka oblast’ (Kharkiv 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 Kharkiv Oblast, Kharkivshchyna.

Sport

It has a regional federation within Ukrainian Bandy and Rink bandy Federation.

Notes

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.