Kyiv Oblast was created as part of theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on February 27, 1932 among the first five original oblasts in Ukraine. It was established on territory that had been known as Ruthenian land.[8]
In Kyiv region, there was a specific folk icon-painting style much influenced by theKyiv Pechersk Lavra painting school. Saints were depicted on the deep purple or black background, their clothes dark, their haloes dark blue, dark green or even black, outlined by thin white dotted contours. The Kyiv region's icons collection is the part of the exhibition of theMuseum of Ukrainian home icons in the Historical and cultural complex "The Radomysl Castle".[9]
The current borders of the oblast were set following theChernobyl disaster in 1986. Administrative oversight of the new city ofSlavutych, which was constructed as part of theChernihiv Oblast, was then transferred to the Kyiv Oblast (seeChernobyl zone below).
On 24 February 2022,Russian Armed Forces invaded Kyiv Oblast as part of its2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10] Ukraine launched a counter-offensive to retake the region in March 2022. The oblast was declared free of invaders on 2 April 2022 by the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of DefenseHanna Maliar.[10][11] According to theUkrainian Ministry of Defense its troops had retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv.[10] However, on April 9, 2022 the Russians attacked the Oblast again, even destroying a railway station inBucha.[12]
The length of the Dnipro River within the boundaries of the oblast totals 246 km (153 mi). The oblast has a total number of 177 rivers intersecting the region; 13 reservoirs (the most notable ones beingKyiv Reservoir and theKaniv Reservoir), over 2000 ponds, and approximately 750 small lakes.
The climate of Kyiv Oblast is characteristic of thePolesia area and other neighboring forested areas. The oblast has a moderatelycontinental climate with relatively mild winters and warm summers. The temperatures range from −6.1 °C (21.0 °F) in January to 19.2 °C (66.6 °F) degrees in July[dubious –discuss].
Kyiv Oblast has small mountains and slopes on the right bank of the Dnieper River. This entire area is surrounded by a continuous belt by greenery and forests. The oblast's "green area" covers 436 km2 (168 sq mi), characterized by 250 different sorts of trees and bushes.
The current estimated population (excluding Kyiv) is around 1.72 million (as of 2013). The population density is 63.01/km2.
The urban population, according to the2001 Ukrainian Census data, accounted for 1,053,500 people, or 57.6%, and the rural population – for 774,400 people, or 42.4%.[17]
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%.
According to the2001 Ukrainian census,Ukrainian was the native language for over 92% of Kyiv Oblast's population: it was the dominant language in all of the city, town, and village councils of the oblast.
Due to theRussification of Ukraine during the Soviet era, the share of Ukrainian speakers in the population of Kyiv Oblast gradually decreased, while the share of Russian speakers increased.[18] Native language of the population of Kyiv Oblast according to the results of population censuses:[19][20][21][22][23][24]
Ukrainian is the only official language on the whole territory of Kyiv Oblast.[26]
According to a poll conducted byRating from 16 November to 10 December 2018 as part of the project «Portraits of Regions», 68% of the residents of Kyiv Oblast believed that the Ukrainian language should be the only state language on the entire territory of Ukraine. 9% believed that Ukrainian should be the only state language, while Russian should be the second official language in some regions of the country. 19% believed that Russian should become the second state language of the country. 4% found it difficult to answer.[27]
On 21 March 2023,Kyiv Oblast Council approved the «Programme for the Development and Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language in All Spheres of Public Life in the Kyiv Oblast for 2023—2025», the main objectives of which are to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian language in various spheres of public life in the oblast and toUkrainianize therefugees from other regions of Ukraine.[28][29]
According to the research of theContent Analysis Centre, conducted from 15 August to 15 September 2024, the topic of which was the ratio of Ukrainian and Russian languages in the Ukrainian segment ofsocial media, 87.2% of posts from Kyiv Oblast were written in Ukrainian (83.6% in 2023, 75.9% in 2022, 29.3% in 2020), while 12.8% were written in Russian (16.4% in 2023, 24.1% in 2022, 70.7% in 2020).[30][31]
After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, Kyiv Oblast, as well as Ukraine as a whole, experienced a gradualUkrainization of the education system, which had beenRussified[32] during the Soviet era. Dynamics of the ratio of thelanguages of instruction in general secondary education institutions in Kyiv Oblast:[33][34][35][36][37][38][39]
According to theState Statistics Service of Ukraine, in the 2023—2024 school year, all 237,624 pupils in general secondary education institutions in Kyiv Oblast were studying in classes whereUkrainian was the language of instruction.[40]
As with other oblasts of Ukraine, the head of the Kyiv Oblast State Administration (governor) is appointed by thePresident of Ukraine and subordinated to theCabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Local self-government body is the popularly elected Kyiv Oblast Rada, chaired by a Speaker (elected from among the councilors).
The municipality ofSlavutych is within the borders of the neighboringChernihiv Oblast on the eastern bank of theDnieper river and the municipality has no common border with the Kyiv Oblast. Still, Slavutych is administered by the Kyiv Oblast authorities (being a kind of administrativeexclave).
Similarly, the town ofKotsiubynske, which is within the borders ofKyiv city (which is surrounded by the Kyiv Oblast), is administered by the Kotsiubynske Settlement Council.
Kyiv 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 330 licensed industrial enterprises and 742 smaller industrial enterprises.[46] The Boryspil Bus Plant inProlisky produces 1,700 buses per year of various modifications, and several other auto-industry factories are also located in the oblast'.
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.[46]
Simplified map of the major railway lines in Kyiv Oblast.
Kyiv Oblast has a highly developed rail transport system. The total length of the oblast's working railway lines is 88 km (as of 1985). Through the territory of the oblast pass the: Moscow—Kyiv—Lviv, Kyiv—Dnipro—Donetsk and other railway routes. In addition to inter-Ukraine and international rail routes, localElektrychka lines also pass through the oblast: Kyiv—Fastiv—Koziatyn, Kyiv—Fastiv—Myronivka, Kyiv—Teteriv, Kyiv—Nizhyn, and Kyiv—Yahotyn.
The length of the oblast's roads totals 7,760 km, including 7,489 km of paved roads. The main roads passing thorough the oblast include:
Kyiv Oblast has 795 state-run schools of general education, 219 (27.5%) of which are situated in urban areas and 576 (72.5%) of which – in rural areas.[49] These schools are attended by 232,260 students, 141,416 (60.6%) which attend urban schools, and 98,944 (39.4%) which attend rural area schools.[49] In addition, there are 12 evening schools with an enrollment of over 6,000 students, 15 private institutions teaching about 7,000 students, 23 vocational schools teaching over 14,300 students, 22 higher schools with an enrollment of over 34,900 students), and 52home-school institutions containing over 48,700 children.[49] There are also 756 institutions ofpre-school education attended by a total of 44,400 children, 52 home-school institutions, 22 vocational institutions, having an enrollment of 17,300 students.[49]
Also, educational institutions for orphans, physically and mentally disabled children represent an important component of Kyiv Oblast's educational system.
In addition to general education schools, the oblast has educational institutions specifically for gifted children, including:
Fastiv Regional Natural and Mathematic School
Kyiv Regional Lyceum of Physical Education and Sports
Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers". The name of each oblast is arelativeadjective, formed by adding a femininesuffix to the name of respective center city: Kyiv (in transliterated Ukrainian) is the center of theKyivs’ka oblast' (Kyiv 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 Kyiv Oblast,Kyivshchyna.
^Barbara A. Anderson and Brian D. Silver, "Equality, Efficiency, and Politics in Soviet Bilingual Education Policy, 1934-1980," American Political Science Review 78 (December 1984): 1019-1039.
^«Статистичний щорічник України за 1998 рік» — К., 1999."Джерело".pics.livejournal.com. RetrievedDecember 26, 2024.
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