| Povits of Ukraine | |
|---|---|
 Povits in 1921 following theTreaty of Riga | |
| Category | Second level of subdivision |
| Location |  Ukraine / Ukrainian SSR |
| Found in | Governorates of Ukraine |
| Created |
|
| Abolished |
|
| Number | 99 (as of 1923) |
| Government |
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| Part ofa series on the |
| Subdivisions of Ukraine |
|---|
 |
| First level |
| Second level |
| Third level |
Apovit (Ukrainian:повіт), also known as acounty, was a type of historical territorial-administrative and judicial unit in Ukraine, administered by astarosta.[1] Under theRussian Empire, the Russian administration introduced the system ofuezds which locally (inUkrainian language) were still referred in old manner as povits.[2] After Ukraine declared its independence in 1918, povits remained in use until the introduction ofraions in 1923.
Counties were introduced in Ukrainian territories under Poland (the CommonwealthRzeczpospolita to be more precise) in the second half of the 14th century (Polish:powiat). More detailed norms were adopted in the SecondStatutes of Lithuania of 1566.
They were introduced in the eighteenth century in theCossack State by the judicial reforms of HetmanKyrylo Rozumovskyi – while the system of Cossack regiments and companies remained in use as well (seeCossack host) – and they became administrative and financial entities in 1782. Under theRussian Empire, counties were also introduced inSloboda Ukraine,Southern Ukraine, andRight-Bank Ukraine (Russian:уезд,romanized: uezd).[1]
In 1913, there were 126 counties in Ukrainian-inhabited territories of the Russian Empire.[1] Under theAustrian Empire in 1914, there were 59 counties in Ukrainian-inhabited Galicia, 34 inTranscarpathia, and 10 inBukovina.[1] Counties were retained by the independentUkrainian People's Republic of 1917–1921, and inCzechoslovakia,Poland, andRomania until the Soviet annexations at the start of World War II. 99 counties formed theUkrainian SSR in 1919, where they were abolished in 1923–25 in favour of 53okruhas (in turn replaced byoblasts in 1930–32), although they existed in theZakarpattia Oblast until 1953.[1][3]
