Kiev Governorate Киевская губерния Київська губернія | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
.svg) Location in the Russian Empire beforeWorld War I | |
| Country | Russian Empire→ Ukrainian People's Republic→ Ukrainian State→ Ukrainian People's Republic→ Ukrainian SSR Soviet Union |
| Krai | Southwestern (in the Russian Empire) |
| Established | 1802 |
| Abolished | 1925 |
| Capital | Kiev (modern-day Kyiv) |
| Area | |
• Total | 50,957 km2 (19,675 sq mi) |
| Population (1897) | |
• Total | 3,559,229 |
| • Density | 70/km2 (180/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 12.90% |
| • Rural | 87.10% |
Kiev Governorate[a] was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of theRussian Empire (1796–1917),Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921),Ukrainian State (1918), and theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–1925; part of theSoviet Union since 1922). It included the territory of theright-bank Ukraine and was formed after a division of theKiev Viceroyalty into Kiev andLittle Russia Governorates in 1796. Its capital was inKiev. By the early 20th century, it consisted of 12uyezds, 12 cities, 111miasteczkos and 7344 other settlements. After theOctober Revolution, it became part of the administrative division of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1923 it was divided into severalokrugs and on 6 June 1925 it was abolished by the Soviet administrative reforms.[1][2]
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Kiev Governorate on the right bank of Dnieper was officially established byEmperor Paul I's edict of November 30, 1796. However it was not until 1800 when the first governor was appointed. Prior to such, the territory was governed by the Kiev Viceroy Vasiliy Krasno-Milashevich (in 1796 –1800).
Three existingLeft-bank Ukraine viceroyalties were merged into oneLittle Russia Governorate centered onChernigov, while the Kiev Governorate now centered onRight-bank Ukraine. With Kiev still the capital, the governorate included the right-bank parts of the former Kiev Viceroyalty merged with territories of the formerKiev[3] andBracławVoivodeships which were gained by theRussian Empire fromthe partitions of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (the lands of thePolish Crown province).[4] The edict took effect on August 29, 1797, bringing the total number of uyezds to twelve.[4]
On January 22, 1832, the Kiev Governorate, along with theVolhynia and thePodolia Governorates formed theKiev Governorate General, also known as theSouthwestern Krai.[5] At the time,Vasily Levashov was appointed the Military Governor of Kiev as well as the General Governor of Podolia and Volhynia. In 1845, the population of the Governorate was 1,704,661.[4]
At the turn of the 20th century, the governorate included twelveuyezds named by their centers:Berdychiv,Cherkasy,Chyhyryn,Kaniv,Kiev,Lipovets,Radomyshl,Skvyra,Tarashcha,Uman,Vasylkiv andZvenyhorodka.[6]
By the1897 Russian Census, there were 3,559,229 people in theguberniya making it the most populous one in all of the Russian Empire.[6] Most of the population was rural. There were 459,253 people living in cities, including about 248,000 inKiev. According to individuals'mother tongue, the census classified the respondents as follows: 2,819,145Malorossy (Ukrainians) representing 79.2% of the population, 430,489 Jews representing 12.1% of the population, 209,427Velikorossy (Russians) representing 5.9% of the population, and 68,791Poles representing 1.9% of the population.[7] By faith, 2,983,736 census respondents wereOrthodox Christians, 433,728 were Jews and 106,733 were of the Roman Catholic Church.[6][8]
The estimated population in 1906 was 4,206,100.[9]
Kiev Governorate remained a constituent unit of the larger Governorate General with Kiev being the capital of both well into the 20th century. In 1915, the General Governorate was disbanded while theguberniya continued to exist.
Kiev Governorate consisted of 12 uyezds (their administrative centres in brackets):
| County | County Town | Arms of County Town | Area | Population (1897 census) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transliteration name | Russian Cyrillic | ||||
| Berdichevsky | Бердичевский | Berdichev | _(1846).gif) | 3,361.7 km2 (1,298.0 sq mi) | 279,695 |
| Vasilkovsky | Васильковский | Vasilkov | _(1852).png) | 4,508.6 km2 (1,740.8 sq mi) | 315,823 |
| Zvenigorodsky | Звенигородский | Zvenigorodka | _(1852).gif) | 3,293.3 km2 (1,271.6 sq mi) | 274,704 |
| Kanevsky | Каневский | Kanev | _(1852).png) | 3,264.6 km2 (1,260.5 sq mi) | 268,860 |
| Kievsky | Киевский | Kiev | _(1782).gif) | 5,642.5 km2 (2,178.6 sq mi) | 541,483 |
| Lipovetsky | Липовецкий | Lipovets | _(1796).gif) | 2,891.3 km2 (1,116.3 sq mi) | 211,825 |
| Radomyslsky | Радомысльский | Radomyshl | _(1796).gif) | 9,592.7 km2 (3,703.8 sq mi) | 315,629 |
| Skvirsky | Сквирский | Skvira | _(1791).gif) | 3,721.5 km2 (1,436.9 sq mi) | 251,257 |
| Tarashchansky | Таращанский | Tarashcha | _(1852).png) | 3,339.4 km2 (1,289.3 sq mi) | 245,752 |
| Umansky | Уманский | Uman | _(1845).gif) | 4,295.2 km2 (1,658.4 sq mi) | 320,744 |
| Cherkassky | Черкасский | Cherkassy | _(1852).gif) | 3,599.6 km2 (1,389.8 sq mi) | 307,542 |
| Chigirinsky | Чигиринский | Chigirin | _(1852).jpg) | 3,273.8 km2 (1,264.0 sq mi) | 225,915 |
| Language | Native speakers | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian | 2,819,145 | 79.2% |
| Yiddish | 430,489 | 12.0% |
| Russian | 209,427 | 5.8% |
| Polish | 68,791 | 1.9% |
| German | 14,707 | 0.4% |
| Belarusian | 6,389 | 0.1% |
| Czech | 3,294 | 0.09% |
| Tatar | 1,954 | 0.05% |
| Romani | 884 | 0.02% |
| Other languages | 4.149 | 0.1% |
| Total | 3,559,229 | 100.00 |
Russian Empire Census of 1897[12]
In thetimes after the Russian revolution in 1917–1921, the lands of the Kiev Governorate switched hands on several occasions. After the last Imperial governorAlexey Ignatyev (who ruled until March 6, 1917) fell from power, the local leaders were appointed by competing authorities. At times, the Governorate appointed by theCentral Rada and the Governorate appointed by the Communists both claimed sole authority over the Governorate, while some of the short-lived ruling regimes of the territory did not establish any particular administrative subdivision.[13]
TheSoviet Ukrainian authority re-established the Governorate, whose leading post was titled the Chairman of the Governorate's Revolutionary Committee(revkom) or of the Executive Committee(ispolkom).[13]
In the course of theSoviet administrative reform of 1923–1929 the Kiev Governorate of theUkrainian SSR was transformed into sixokruhas in 1923. In 1932, the Kyiv Okruha was transformed into anoblast.[13]
as Governing Commissioners
as Governing Elders
 Western Krai Governorates of the Russian Empire 1795–1912 | |
|---|---|
| Northwestern Krai | |
| Southwestern Krai | |
50°27′00″N30°31′25″E / 50.4500°N 30.5236°E /50.4500; 30.5236