Kharkiv Oblast

Coordinates: 49°35′N 36°26′E / 49.59°N 36.43°E / 49.59; 36.43
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Kharkiv Oblast
Харківська область
Oblast
Kharkivska oblast[1]
Flag of Kharkiv Oblast
Flag
Coat of arms of Kharkiv Oblast
Coat of arms
Nickname: 
Харківщина (Kharkivshchyna)
Coordinates: 49°35′N 36°26′E / 49.59°N 36.43°E / 49.59; 36.43
Country Ukraine
Administrative centerKharkiv
Government
 • GovernorOleh Synyehubov
 • Oblast council120 seats
Area
 • Total31,415 km2 (12,129 sq mi)
 • RankRanked 4th
Population
 (2022)[2]
 • TotalDecrease 2,598,961
 • RankRanked 3rd
Gross Regional Product
[3]
 • Total₴ 320 billion
(€8.289 billion)
 • Per capita₴ 122,227
(€3,167)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
61-64
Area code+380-57
ISO 3166 codeUA-63
Vehicle registrationAX
Raions7[4]
Cities (total)17
• Regional cities7
Urban-type settlements61
Villages1683
FIPS 10-4UP07
Websitewww.kharkivoda.gov.ua

Kharkiv Oblast (Ukrainian: Харківська область, romanized: Kharkivska oblast), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna (Ukrainian: Харківщина), is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west, Sumy Oblast to the north-west and Russia's Belgorod Oblast to the north. The area of Kharkiv Oblast is 31,400 square kilometres (12,100 sq mi), corresponding to 5.2% of the total territory of Ukraine.

The oblast is the third-most populous province of Ukraine, with a population of 2,598,961 in 2021, more than half (1.42 million) of whom live in the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative center.[2] While the Russian language is primarily spoken in the cities of Kharkiv oblast, elsewhere in the oblast most inhabitants speak Ukrainian.[citation needed]

Geography[edit]

The oblast borders Russia (Belgorod Oblast) 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.

History[edit]

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 was established on 27 February 1932. In the summer of 1932, some parts of the oblast were included in the newly created Donetsk Oblast originally centered in Artemivsk (later in Stalino). Then in the fall, some territories of the Kharkiv Oblast were used in the 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 Kyiv 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.[5]

Following the Euromaidan, there was pro-Russian unrest in the region, and central government buildings were taken over by separatists in a failed attempt to create a separatist 'Kharkov's People's Republic'.[6] The region also became a very popular destination for refugees from the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast regions.[6]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military launched a major military offensive in the region — the Eastern Ukraine offensive — which resulted in the occupation of parts of the oblast. By late August, about one third of the territory of Kharkiv Oblast was occupied including Izium and Kupiansk. In July 2022, the Donetsk People's Republic signed a memorandum to "liberate Kharkiv from Ukraine".[7]

In early September 2022, the Ukrainian military commenced a counteroffensive in the region. Several settlements in the region were recaptured from Russian control.[8] By 10 September 2022, Ukraine had recaptured Kupiansk and Izium.[8] On 11 September, Russia had retreated from many of the settlements it previously occupied in the oblast [9] and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a formal withdrawal of Russian forces from most of Kharkiv Oblast stating that an "operation to curtail and transfer troops" was underway."[10][11] By 12 September 2022, as the Russian front lines in Kharkiv Oblast continued to collapse, Ukrainian forces had managed to push back to the north-eastern border with Russia in some areas of the region.[12][13] By 3 October 2022, Russian forces had almost completely withdrawn from Kharkiv Oblast.[14][15] As of 2023, fighting continues in the easternmost parts of the oblast in the Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna line.[16]

Demographics[edit]

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:

Groups by native language:

Age structure[edit]

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[edit]

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

Administrative divisions[edit]

Main article: Administrative divisions of Kharkiv Oblast

Kharkiv Oblast is administratively subdivided into seven raions.[4] Prior to the 2020 administrative reform, there were 25 raions,[4] and also seven cities (municipalities) that were directly subordinate to the oblast government (Chuhuiv, Izium, Kupiansk, Liubotyn, Lozova, Pervomaiskyi, and the administrative center of the oblast, Kharkiv).

Further information: List of villages in Kharkiv Oblast
Map of Kharkiv Oblast
Name Ukrainian name Area
(km2)		 Population
(2022)[17]		 Admin. center
Bohodukhiv Raion Богодухівський район 4508 122,287 Bohodukhiv
Chuhuiv Raion Чугуївський район 4804 194,177 Chuhuiv
Izium Raion Ізюмський район 5906 172,130 Izium
Kharkiv Raion Харківський район 3222 1,727,573 Kharkiv
Krasnohrad Raion Красноградський район 4335 103,856 Krasnohrad
Kupiansk Raion Куп’янський район 4612 130,111 Kupiansk
Lozova Raion Лозівський район 4027 147,361 Lozova

Nomenclature[edit]

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially called "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.

See also: Romanization of Ukrainian

Economy[edit]

The Kharkiv oblast has a primarily industrial 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.[18]

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.

Points of interest[edit]

Metalist Stadium

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

Sport[edit]

It has a regional federation within Ukrainian Bandy and Rink bandy Federation.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Syvak, Nina; Ponomarenko, Valerii; Khodzinska, Olha; Lakeichuk, Iryna (2011). Veklych, Lesia (ed.). Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use (PDF). scientific consultant Iryna Rudenko; reviewed by Nataliia Kizilowa; translated by Olha Khodzinska. Kyiv: DerzhHeoKadastr and Kartographia. p. 20. ISBN 978-966-475-839-7. Retrieved 2020-10-06. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b "Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2021 / The current population of Ukraine on 1 January 2021" (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Валовии регіональнии продукт".
  4. ^ a b c (in Ukrainian) Local elections. Kharkiv region: new block and "big change of shoes", The Ukrainian Week (7 September 2020)
  5. ^ Лише 3% українців хочуть приєднання їх області до Росії [Only 3% of Ukrainians want their region to become part of Russia]. Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (in Ukrainian). 3 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b Piechal, Tomasz (2015-06-09). "The Kharkiv oblast: a fragile stability". OSW Centre for Eastern Studies. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  7. ^ Joshua Manning (July 2022). "Donetsk People's Republic signs first memorandum to "liberate Kharkiv from Ukraine"". Euronews.
  8. ^ a b "Ukraine-Russia war: Russian forces 'taken by surprise' as Ukrainian counter-offensive advances 50km, says UK – live". the Guardian. 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  9. ^ Анисимова, Ольга (2022-09-11). "Минобороны РФ опубликовало карту фронта в Харьковской области". RB Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  10. ^ "Russian defense ministry shows retreat from most of Kharkiv region". Meduza. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  11. ^ Russian Defence Ministry Showed Map Of New Frontline In Kharkiv Region, Хартии'97, 11 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Ukraine reclaims more territory, reports capturing many POWs". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  13. ^ Kaonga, Gerrard (2022-09-12). "Ukraine soldiers reach Russian border after driving enemy back, video shows". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  14. ^ Roscoe, Matthew (3 October 2022). "Five Russian-controlled settlements around Kharkiv reportedly liberated by Ukraine". Euro Weekly News.
  15. ^ "Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate village of Borova in Kharkiv Oblast".
  16. ^ Kullab, Samya (2023-02-28). "Ukraine's northeastern front could decide new battle lines". Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  17. ^ "Population Quantity". UkrStat (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  18. ^ (in Russian) Agriculture in 2015: results SQ News (13 February 2016)

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kharkiv_Oblast&oldid=1178744901"