Podolia Governorate Подольская губерния | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
.svg) Location in the Russian Empire | |
| Country | Russian Empire |
| Krai | Southwestern |
| Established | 1793 |
| Abolished | 1925 |
| Capital |
|
| Area | |
• Total | 42,017 km2 (16,223 sq mi) |
| Population (1897) | |
• Total | 3,018,299 |
| • Density | 71.835/km2 (186.05/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 7.35% |
| • Rural | 92.65% |
Podolia Governorate[a] was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of theSouthwestern Krai of theRussian Empire. It borderedVolhynian Governorate to the north,Kiev Governorate to the east,Kherson Governorate to the southeast,Bessarabia Governorate to the south, andAustria to the west. Its administrative centre was Kamenets-Podolsky (Kamianets-Podilskyi), which later moved to Vinnitsa (Vinnytsia). The governorate covered part ofUkraine'sKhmelnytskyi Oblast and most ofVinnytsia Oblast, along with the fractionally recognised state ofTransnistria.
The Podolia Governorate occupied the southwestern frontier of the former Russian empire, borderingAustria-Hungary, and had an area of about 42,000 km2. The administrative centre wasKamenets-Podolskiy until 1914 when it moved toVinnytsia.
Podolia Governorate was one of the three governorates of theSouthwestern Krai administration. In 1917 it was recognized by theRussian Provisional Government to be governed by theGeneral Secretariat of Ukraine as the representative of theRussian Provisional Government in the region.
The Government of Podolia was established right after theSecond Partition of Poland in place of the formerPodole andBracław Voivodeships in 1793. The governorate became part of theSouthwestern Krai along withVolhynia andKiev. Its capital was located in Kamenets-Podolsky, and later moved to Vinnitsa.
Under theRussian Provisional Government administrative power in the governorates was transferred tocommissars, who preserved their positions after theproclamation ofUkrainian People's Republic in November 1917. Their power was mostly nominal due to the growth ofBolshevikSoviet influence, especially in industrial areas. During that timeMykola Stakhovsky served as the gubernial commissar of Podolia.[1]
After the return ofCentral Rada in March 1918 new commissars were appointed along with militarycommandants. After the establishment of theHetmanate, in May 1918 those were replaced with Governoratestarosts. As a result of administrative reforms of theUkrainian SSR, in 1924-1925 the government was dissolved into fiveokruhas.[1]
Until 1918 the governorate consisted of 12uyezds (counties):
| County | County Town | Arms of County Town | Area | Population (1897 census) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transliteration name | Russian Cyrillic | ||||
| Baltsky | Балтский | Balta | _(1852).gif) | 7,766.25 km2 (2,998.57 mi2) | 391,018 |
| Bratslavsky | Брацлавский | Bratslav | _(1796).png) | 3,079.93 km2 (1,189.17 mi2) | 241,868 |
| Vinnitsky | Винницкий | Vinnitsa | _(1796).png) | 2,980.92 km2 (1,150.94 mi2) | 248,314 |
| Gaysinsky | Гайсинский | Gaysin | _(1796).gif) | 3,383.11 km2 (1,306.23 mi2) | 248,142 |
| Kamenets-Podolsky | Каменец-Подольский | Kamenets-Podolsky | _(1796).gif) | 2,884.19 km2 (1,113.59 mi2) | 266,350 |
| Letichevsky | Летичевский | Letichev | _(1796).gif) | 2,699.14 km2 (1,042.14 mi2) | 184,477 |
| Litinsky | Литинский | Litin | _(1796).gif) | 3,322 km2 (1,283 mi2) | 210,502 |
| Mogilyovsky | Могилёвский | Mogilyov | _(1796).gif) | 2,746.14 km2 (1,060.29 mi2) | 227,672 |
| Novoushitsky | Новоушицкий | Novaya Ushitsa | _(1838).gif) | 2,840.26 km2 (1,096.63 mi2) | 223,312 |
| Olgopolsky | Ольгопольский | Olgopol | _(1820).gif) | 4,008.14 km2 (1,547.55 mi2) | 284,253 |
| Proskurovsky | Проскуровский | Proskurov | _(1796).gif) | 2,691.06 km2 (1,039.02 mi2) | 226,091 |
| Yampolsky | Ямпольский | Yampol | _(1796).gif) | 3,618.01 km2 (1,396.92 mi2) | 266,300 |
On 12 April 1923 all uyezds (counties) were transformed intookruhas (counties), while volosts (districts) – into raions (districts). Okruhas served as a subdivision of government until it was abolished on 1 August 1925. Together with the government of Podilia, the Haisyn okruha was dissolved as well. Some territory of Tulchyn okruha were included into the newly formedMoldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
Russian Census of 1897:
According to theRussian Empire Census on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, the Podolia Governorate had a population of 3,018,299, including 1,505,940 men and 1,512,359 women. The majority of the population indicatedLittle Russian[b] to be their mother tongue, with a significantJewish speaking minority.[2]
| Language | Native speakers | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Little Russian[b] | 2,442,819 | 80.93 |
| Jewish | 369,306 | 12.24 |
| Great Russian[b] | 98,984 | 3.28 |
| Polish | 69,156 | 2.29 |
| Romanian | 26,764 | 0.89 |
| German | 4,069 | 0.13 |
| Tatar | 2,296 | 0.08 |
| Bashkir | 1,113 | 0.04 |
| Czech | 886 | 0.03 |
| White Russian[b] | 834 | 0.03 |
| Roma | 510 | 0.02 |
| Votyak | 254 | 0.01 |
| French | 245 | 0.01 |
| Chuvash | 137 | 0.00 |
| Mordovian | 136 | 0.00 |
| Latvian | 112 | 0.00 |
| Cheremis | 101 | 0.00 |
| Other languages | 577 | 0.02 |
| TOTAL | 3,018,299 | 100.00 |
| Faith | Male | Female | Both | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percentage | |||
| Eastern Orthodox | 1,180,148 | 1,178,349 | 2,358,497 | 78.14 |
| Judaism | 179,612 | 191,000 | 370,612 | 12.28 |
| Roman Catholic | 131,145 | 131,593 | 262,738 | 8.70 |
| Old Believer | 9,357 | 9,492 | 18,849 | 0.62 |
| Lutheran | 2,020 | 1,795 | 3,815 | 0.13 |
| Islam | 3,427 | 33 | 3,460 | 0.11 |
| Armenian Apostolic | 65 | 29 | 94 | 0.00 |
| Reformed | 30 | 26 | 56 | 0.00 |
| Armenian Catholic | 23 | 14 | 37 | 0.00 |
| Karaite | 11 | 13 | 24 | 0.00 |
| Anglican | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Mennonite | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Baptist | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Other Christian denomination | 12 | 9 | 21 | 0.00 |
| Other non-Christian denomination | 84 | 0 | 84 | 0.00 |
| Total | 1,505,940 | 1,512,359 | 3,018,299 | 100.00 |
48°40′50″N26°34′50″E / 48.6806°N 26.5806°E /48.6806; 26.5806