Odessa Oblast

Odessa Oblast Одеська область Odes’ka oblast’
Oblast
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Одещина (Odeshchyna)
Country	Ukraine
Administrative center	Odessa
Government
• Governor	Mikheil Saakashvili (independent)
• Oblast council	120 seats
• Chairperson	Mykhailo Shmushkovych
Area
• Total	33,310 km2 (12,860 sq mi)
Area rank	Ranked 1st
Population (September 1, 2013)
• Total	2,392,487
• Rank	Ranked 6
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	65000-68999
Area code	+380-48
ISO 3166 code	UA-51
Raions	26
Cities (total) — Regional cities	19 7
Urban-type settlements	33
Villages	1138
FIPS 10-4	UP17
Website	www.odessa.gov.ua

Odessa Oblast (also spelled Odesa Oblast; Ukrainian: Одеська область, Odes’ka oblast’; also Odeshchyna (Одещина)) is an oblast or province of southwestern Ukraine located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative center is the city of Odessa.

History

Evidence of the earliest inhabitants in this area comes from the settlements and burial grounds of the Neolithic Gumelniţa, Cucuteni-Trypillian and Usatovo cultures, as well as from the tumuli and hoards of the Bronze Age Proto-Indo-Europeans. In the 1st millennium B.C. the Milesian Greeks founded colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea, including the towns of Olbia, Tyras, Niconium, Panticapaeum, and Chersonesus. The Greeks left behind painted vessels, ceramics, sculptures, inscriptions, arts and crafts that indicate the prosperity of their ancient civilisation.

The culture of Scythian tribes inhabiting the Black Sea littoral steppes in the first millennium B.C. is represented by finds from settlements and burial grounds, including weapons, bronze cauldrons, other utensils, and adornments. By the beginning of the 1st millennium A.D. the Sarmatians displaced the Scythians. In the 3rd–4th centuries A.D. a tribal alliance, represented by the items of Chernyakhov culture, developed. From the middle of the first millennium the formation of the Slavic people began. In the 9th century the Slavs became united into a state with Kiev as its centre. The Khazars, Polovtsy and Pechenegs were the Slavs' neighbours during different times. Archeological evidence of the period of the 9th–14th centuries survives in materials from the settlements and cities of Kievan Rus': Belgorod, Caffa-Theodosia, and Berezan Island.

In 1593 the Ottoman Empire set up in the area what became known as its Dnieper Province (Özü Eyalet), unofficially known as the Khanate of Ukraine. Russian historiography refers to it as the Ochakov Oblast. The territory of the Odessa oblast passed to Russia in 1791 in the course of the Russian southern expansion towards the Black Sea at the end of 18th century. Subsequently the Russians colonized the area intensively, establishing new cities and ports. In less than a hundred years the city of Odessa grew from a small fortress to the biggest metropolis of New Russia.

After the February Revolution of 1917 in Russia the area became part of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917-1918), but soon succumbed first to the Russian Volunteer Army (part of the White movement and then to the Russian Bolshevik Red Army. By 1920 the Soviet authorities had secured the territory of Odessa Oblast, which became part of the Ukrainian SSR. The oblast was established on 27 February 1932 from five districts:

1. Odessa Okruha
2. Pervomaisk Okruha
3. Kirovohrad Okruha
4. Mykolaiv Okruha
5. Kherson Okruha

In 1937 eastern portions of the Odessa Oblast were split to create the Mykolaiv Oblast.

Odessa Oblast was enlarged in July 1940 as a result of the 28th of June 1940 Soviet Ultimatum sent to the Kingdom of Romania and the 40 hours latter invasion of Bessarabia. Northern and Southern parts of Bessarabia were given to Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

During World War II Romania occupied the oblast and administered it as part of the Transnistria Province (1941-1944). After the war the Soviet administration reestablished the oblast with its pre-war borders. Odessa Oblast expanded in 1954 to absorb Izmail Oblast (formerly known as the Budjak region of Bessarabia).

During the 1991 referendum, 85.38% of votes in Odessa 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 2.3% of the oblast's population supported their region joining Russia, 91.5% did not support the idea, and the rest were undecided or did not respond. A poll by Alexei Navalny found similar results.

Geography

The country's largest oblast by area, it occupies an area of around 33,300 square kilometres (12,900 sq mi). It is characterised by largely flat steppes divided by the estuary of the Dniester river. Its Black Sea coast comprises numerous sandy beaches, estuaries and lagoons. The region's soils are renowned for their fertility, and intensive agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy. The southwest possesses many orchards and vineyards, while arable crops are grown throughout the region.

Points of interest

Akkerman fortress

• Odessa Opera
• Akkerman fortress
• Potemkin Stairs

Economy

Rapeseed field in Odessa Oblast.

Significant branches of the oblast's economy are:

• oil refining and chemicals processing
• transportation (important sea and river ports, oil pipelines and railway);
• viticulture and other forms of agriculture, notably the growing of wheat, maize, barley, sunflowers and sugar beets.

The region's industrial capability is principally concentrated in and around Odessa.

Demographics

The oblast's population (as of 2004) is 2.4 million people, nearly 40% of whom live in the city of Odessa.

Significant Bulgarian (6.1%) and Romanian (5.0%) minorities reside in the province. It has the highest proportion of Jews of any oblast in Ukraine (although smaller than the Autonomous City of Kiev) and there is a small Greek community in the city of Odessa.

Bulgarians and Moldovans/Romanians represent 21% and 13% respectively, of the population in the salient of Budjak, within Odessa oblast.

Year	Fertility	Birth
1990	1,8	33 166
1991	1,7	32 119
1992	1,6	30 155
1993	1,5	28 185
1994	1,4	26 197
1995	1,4	24 993
1996	1,3	23 666
1997	1,2	22 491
1998	1,2	21 273
1999	1,1	19 969
2000	1,1	20 042
2001	1,1	20 423
2002	1,2	21 227
2003	1,2	22 326
2004	1,3	23 343
2005	1,3	23 915
2006	1,4	25 113
2007	1,5	26 759
2008	1,6	28 780
2009	1,6	28 986
2010	1,6	28 690
2011	1,6	29 225
2012	1,7	30 384

Age structure

0-14 years: 15.5% (male 188,937/female 179,536)

15-64 years: 70.7% (male 812,411/female 867,706)

65 years and over: 14.0% (male 116,702/female 218,808) (2013 official)

Median age

total: 38.4 years

male: 35.4 years

female: 41.5 years (2013 official)

Administrative divisions

The Odessa Oblast is administratively subdivided into 26 raions (districts) and 7 municipalities which are directly subordinate to the oblast government - (Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi and Illichivsk), (Izmail, Kotovsk, Teplodar, Yuzhne and the administrative center of the oblast, Odessa).

Detailed map of Odessa Oblast

Name	Ukrainian name	Area (km2)	Population census 2015	Admin.center	Urban Population Only*
Odessa	Одеса (місто)	139	1,010,490	Odessa (city)	1,010,490
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi	Білгород-Дністровський (місто)	31	57,559	Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (city)	57,559
Illichivsk	Іллічівск (місто)	25	72,553	Illichivsk (city)	67,323
Izmail	Ізмаї́л (місто)	53	72,266	Izmail (city)	72,266
Kotovsk	Котовськ (місто)	25	40,613	Kotovsk (city)	40,613
Teplodar	Теплодар (місто)	3	10,277	Teplodar (city)	10,277
Yuzhne	Южне (місто)	9	32,149	Yuzhne (city)	32,149
Ananyivyi Raion	Ананьївський (район)	1,050	26,999	Ananyiv	8,441
Artsyzyi Raion ^	Арцизький (район)	1,379	45,274	Artsyz	14,886
Baltiskyi Raion	Балтський (район)	1,317	41,666	Balta	18,940
Berezivskyi Raion	Березівський (район)	1,637	33,930	Berezivka	12,614
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion ^	Білгород-Дністровський (район)	1,852	60,774	Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (city)	N/A *
Biliaivkyi Raion	Біляївський (район)	1,497	94,083	Biliaivka	14,334
Bolhradskyi Raion ^	Болградський (район)	1,364	69,148	Bolhrad	15,451
Frunzivkyi Raion	Фрунзівський (район)	956	20,233	Frunzivka	8,881
Ivanivkyi Raion	Іванівський (район)	1,162	26,604	Ivanivka	8,807
Izmailyi Raion *	Ізмаїльський (район)	1,194	51,584	Izmail (city)	N/A *
Kiliyskyi Raion ^	Кілійський (район)	1,358	52,400	Kiliya	28,434
Kodymskyi Raion	Кодимський (район)	818	29,586	Kodyma	11,195
Kominternivskyi Raion	Комінтернівський (район)	1,499	71,158	Kominternivske	14,028
Kotovskyi Raion	Котовський (район)	1,037	27,091	Kotovsk (city)	N/A *
Krasno Oknyaskyi Raion	Красноокнянський (район)	1,013	20,186	Krasni Okny	5,338
Liubashivskyi Raion	Любашівський (район)	1,100	30,688	Liubashivka	10,954
Mykolaivskyi Raion	Миколаївський (район)	1,093	16,127	Mykolaivka	2,850
Ovidiopolskyi Raion	Овідіопольський (район)	829	78,941	Ovidiopol	32,486
Renskyi Raion ^	Ренійський (район)	861	58,352	Reni	25,527
Rozdilnanskyi Raion	Роздільнянський (район)	1,368	37,353	Rozdilna	19,003
Saratskyi Raion ^	Саратський (район)	1,474	45,057	Sarata	4,351
Savranskyi Raion	Савранський (район)	617	19,083	Savran	6,420
Shyriaivskyi Raion	Ширяївський (район)	1,502	27,151	Shyriaieve	6,781
Tarutynskyi Raion ^	Тарутинський (район)	1,874	41,603	Tarutyne	12,932
Tatarbunarskyi Raion ^	Татарбунарський (район)	1,748	38,825	Tatarbunary	10,988
Velyko Mykhailivkyi Raion	Великомихайлівський (район)	1,436	31,006	Velyka Mykhailivka	8,472

Note: An asterisk (^) indicates the two municipalities and nine raions which previously constituted Izmail Oblast until that former oblast's merger with Odessa Oblast on 15 February 1954; these areas lie to the west of the Dniester River, and formerly constituted the territory known as the Budjak (southern Bessarabia).
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: Odessa is the center of the Odes’ka oblast’ (Odessa 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 Odessa Oblast, Odeshchyna. In Romanian, it is known as Regiunea Odesa, and in Greek, as Οδησσός.

See also: Romanization of Ukrainian

See also

• Subdivisions of Ukraine
• Kherson Governorate

External links

• Odessa regional administration homepage
• Maps of Odessa oblast Cities, Towns and Villages