Lviv Oblast

Lviv Oblast (Ukrainian: Львівська область, translit. L’vivs’ka oblast’; also referred to as L’vivshchyna, Ukrainian: Львівщина) is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv. Population: 2,534,174 (2016 est.)[2].

Lviv Oblast

Львівська область
L’vivs’ka oblast’
Oblast
Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
Львівщина (Lvivshchyna)
Country Ukraine
Administrative centerLviv
Government
 • GovernorMaksym Kozytsky[1]
 • Oblast council84 seats
 • ChairpersonOleksandr Hanushchyn
Area
 • Total21,833 km2 (8,430 sq mi)
Area rankRanked 17th
Elevation
296 m (971 ft)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total 2,534,174
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code+380-32
ISO 3166 codeUA-46
Raions20
Cities (total)44
• Regional cities9
Urban-type settlements34
Villages1849
FIPS 10-4UP15
Websitewww.loda.gov.ua

History

The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939 following the Soviet invasion of Poland. The territory of the former Drohobych Oblast was incorporated into the Lviv Oblast in 1959.

The oblast's strategic position at the heart of central Europe and as the gateway to the Carpathians has caused it to change hands many times over the centuries. It was ruled variously by Great Moravia, Kievan Rus', Poland, was independent as the state of Galicia-Volhynia (circa 1200 to 1340), and then ruled by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1340 to 1772), the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1772 to 1918), West Ukrainian People's Republic and Poland (1919 to 1939), when it was part of the Lwów Voivodeship of the Second Republic of Poland. The region's historically dominant Ukrainian population declared the area to be a part of an independent West Ukrainian National Republic in November 1918 — June 1919, but this endured only briefly. Local autonomy was provided in international treaties but later on those were not honoured by the Polish government and the area experienced much ethnic tension between the Polish and Ukrainian population.

The region and its capital city take their name from the time of Galicia-Volhynia, when Daniel of Galicia, the King of Rus', founded Lviv; naming the city after his son, Leo. During this time, the general region around Lviv was known as Red Ruthenia (Cherven' Rus').

The region only became part of the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939, when it was annexed to the Ukrainian SSR. It was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, when almost all local Jews were killed, and remained in Soviet hands after World War II as was arranged during the Teheran and Yalta conferences. Local Poles were expelled and Ukrainians expelled from Poland arrived. Given its historical development, Lviv Oblast is one of the least Russified and Sovietized parts of Ukraine, with much of its Polish and Habsburg heritage still visible today.

In Ukraine today, there are three provinces (oblasts) that formed the eastern part of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Two of these, Lviv Oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast were entirely contained in the kingdom; the third oblast of Ternopil was mainly in the kingdom apart from four of its most northerly counties (raions). The counties of the Kingdom of Galicia remained largely unchanged when they were incorporated into successor states; with minor changes as detailed below, the current counties are almost co-extensive with those of the Kingdom.

Kingdom of Galicia, administrative, 1914
Modern Counties of
Lviv Oblast		 Equivalent Counties
of Galicia
Brody Raion Southern part of
Brody county.
Brody city-county Brody
Busk Raion Złoczów
Busk city-county Złoczów
Drohobych Raion Drohobycz
Drohobych city-county Drohobycz
Horodok Raion Grodek (southern part) and
Rudky (southern part)
Kamianka-Buzka Raion Kamionka
Mostyska Raion Mosciska
Mykolaiv Raion Żydaczów (Only the northern
part of the county.)
Peremyshliany Raion Przemyślany and the northern
part of Bóbrka
Pustomyty Raion Lviv county
Radekhiv Raion Northern part of Brody county and
northern part of Kamionka.
Sambir Raion Sambor and Rudky
Skole Raion All of the old county of Stryj
south of modern Stryi Raion.
Sokal Raion To the north Sokal and
To the south Rawa-Ruska.
Staryi Sambir Raion Stari Sambor
Stryi Raion Stryj (Only the northern part
of the county.)
Turka Raion Turka
Yavoriv Raion Jaworów and
Grodek (northern part)
Zhovkva Raion To the north Rawa-Ruska and
To the south Żółkiew
Zhydachiv Raion Żydaczów (Excluding the
northern part of the county.)
Zolochiv Raion Eastern part of Żółkiew county and
western part of Peremyshliany.

The region is also notable for having declared independence from the central government during the 2014 Euromaidan protests.[3]

Geography

The terrain of Lviv Oblast is highly varied. The southern part is occupied by the low Beskyd (ukr: Бескиди) mountain chains running parallel to each other from northwest to southeast and covered with secondary coniferous forests as part of the Eastern Carpathians; the highest point is Pikuy (1408 m). North from there are the wide upper Dniester river valley and much smaller upper San River valley. These rivers have flat bottoms covered with alluvial deposits, and are susceptible to floods. Between these valleys and Beskyd lies the Precarpathian upland covered with deciduous forests, with well-known mineral spa resorts (see Truskavets, Morshyn). It's also the area of one of the earliest industrial petroleum and gas extraction. These deposits are all but depleted by now.

In the central part of the region lie Roztocze, Opillia, and part of the Podolia uplands. Rich sulphur deposits were mined here during the Soviet era. Roztocze is densely forested, while Opillia and Podolia (being covered with loess on which fertile soils develop) are densely populated and mostly covered by arable land. In the central-north part of the region lies the Small Polesia lowland, geographically isolated from the rest of Polesia but with similar terrain and landscapes (flat plains with sandy fluvioglacial deposits and pine forests). The far North of the region lies on the Volhynia upland, which is also covered with loess; coal is mined in this area.

Climate

The climate of Lviv Oblast is moderately cool and humid. The average January temperatures range from −7 °C (19 °F) in the Carpathians to −3 °C (27 °F) in the Dniester and San River valleys while in July the average temperatures are from 14–15 °C (57–59 °F) in the Carpathians to 16–17 °C (61–63 °F) in Roztocze and 19 °C (66 °F) in the lower part of the Dniester valley.[4] The average annual precipitation is 600–650 mm (23.62–25.59 in) in the lowlands, 650–750 mm (25.59–29.53 in) in the highlands and up to 1,000 mm (39.37 in) in the Carpathians, with the majority of precipitation occurring in summer. Prolonged droughts are uncommon, while strong rainfalls can cause floods in river valleys. Severe winds during storms can also cause damage, especially in the highlands. The climate is favourable for the cultivation of sugar beets, winter wheat, flax, rye, cabbage, apples, and for dairy farming. It is still too cold to successfully cultivate maize, sunflower, grapes, melon, watermelon or peaches in Lviv Oblast. In the Carpathians conditions are favourable for Alpine skiing 3–4 months a year.

Politics
Government House, Lviv
Raions of Lviv Oblast

Governors
  • Chairmen of the Executive Committee
Term start Term end Name Year of birth Year of death
March 1991 6 April 1992 Vyacheslav Chornovil b. 1937 d. 1999
June 1994 July 1995 Mykola Horyn b. 1945
  • Representative of the President
Term start Term end Name Year of birth
20 March 1992 June 1994 Stepan Davymuka b. 1947
  • Heads of the Administration[5]
Term start Term end Name Year of birth Year of death
7 July 1995 6 Feb. 1997 Mykola Horyn b. 1945
6 Feb. 1997 14 Jan. 1999 Mykhailo Hladiy b. 1952
15 Jan. 1999 19 March 2001 Stepan Senchuk b. 1955 d. 2005
26 March 2001 26 April 2002 Mykhailo Hladiy b. 1952
26 April 2002 4 June 2003 Myron Yankiv b. 1951
9 June 2003 20 Dec. 2004 Oleksandr Sendeha b. 1953
20 Dec. 2004 4 Feb. 2005 Bohdan Matolych (acting) b. 1955
4 Feb. 2005 20 Feb. 2008 Petro Oliynyk b. 1957 d. 2011
20 Feb. 2008 27 Feb. 2008 Valery Pyatak (acting) b. 1959
27 Feb. 2008 20 April 2010? Kmit Mykola
(acting to 1 Sep 2008)		 b. 1966
20 April 2010 21 December 2010[6] Vasyl Horbal[7] b. 1971
21 December 2010 2 November 2011[6] Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk[6] b. 1964
2 November 2011[6] 4 March 2013[8] Mykhailo Kostiuk[6] b. 1961
4 March 2013[8] 31 October 2013[9] Viktor Shemchuk[8] b. 1970
31 October 2013[9] 23 January 2014[10] Oleh Salo[9] b. 1968
2 March 2014 14 August 2014[11] Iryna Sekh b. 1970
14 August 2014 26 December 2014 Yuriy Turyanskyi (acting) b. 1975
26 December 2014 11 June 2019 Oleh Synyutka b. 1970
11 June 2019 5 July 2019 Rostyslav Zamlynsky (acting) b. 1976
5 July 2019 Markiyan Malsky b. 1984

Subdivisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of Lviv Oblast
Drohobych.The second largest city in Lviv Oblast
Truskavets - a small resort town in the Carpathian foothills
Architecture in Stryi
Half-timbered old villa in the Carpathian foothills in Skole Raion

Lviv Oblast is administratively subdivided into 20 raions (districts), as well as 9 city (municipalities) which are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Boryslav, Chervonohrad, Drohobych, Morshyn, Novyi Rozdil, Sambir, Stryi, Truskavets, and the administrative center of the oblast, Lviv.

Raions of the Lviv Oblast
In English In Ukrainian Administrative Center
Brody Raion Бродівський район
Brodivs'kyi raion		 Brody
(City)
Busk Raion Буський район
Bus'kyi raion		 Busk
(City)
Drohobych Raion Дрогобицький район
Drohobyts'kyi raion		 Drohobych
(City)
Horodok Raion Городоцький район
Horodots'kyi raion		 Horodok
(City)
Kamianka-Buzka Raion Кам'янка-Бузький район
Kamyanka-Buz'kyi raion		 Kamianka-Buzka
(City)
Mostyska Raion Мостиський район
Mostys'kyi raion		 Mostyska
(City)
Mykolaiv Raion Миколаївський район
Mykolayivs'kyi raion		 Mykolaiv
(City)
Peremyshliany Raion Перемишлянський район
Peremyshlians'kyi raion		 Peremyshliany
(City)
Pustomyty Raion Пустомитівський район
Pustomytivs'kyi raion		 Pustomyty
(City)
Radekhiv Raion Радехівський район
Radekhivs'kyi raion		 Radekhiv
(City)
Sambir Raion Самбірський район
Sambirs'kyi raion		 Sambir
(City)
Skole Raion Сколівський район
Skolivs'kyi raion		 Skole
(City)
Sokal Raion Сокальський район
Sokal's'kyi raion		 Sokal
(City)
Starosambirskyi Raion Старосамбірський район
Starosambirs'kyi raion		 Staryi Sambir
(City)
Stryiskyi Raion Стрийський район
Stryis'kyi raion		 Stryi
(City)
Turkivskyi Raion Турківський район
Turkivs'kyi raion		 Turka
(City)
Yavorivskyi Raion Яворівський район
Yavorivs'kyi raion		 Yavoriv
(City)
Zhovkivskyi Raion Жовківський район
Zhovkivs'kyi raion		 Zhovkva
(City)
Zhydachivskyi Raion Жидачівський район
Zhydachivs'kyi raion		 Zhydachiv
(City)
Zolochivskyi Raion Золочівський район
Zolochivs'kyi raion		 Zolochiv
(City)

Demographics
  • Male/female ratio: 48%/52%
  • Nationalities (2001): 94.8% of the region's population are Ukrainians; 3.6% (or 92,600 people) are Russians; Poles account for 0.7%; there are also smaller German, Jewish (0.2%), and Gypsy minorities.[12] Notably, the comparison of the 2001 Ukrainian census (mentioned above), with the last Soviet census of 1989 reveals that in those 12 years the number of Poles in the Lviv Oblast went down by 29.7 percent which, in the opinion of "Wspólnota Polska" Society defies explanation, and could possibly be attributed to the intensive Ukrainization of the Roman Catholic Church.[13]

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 202,923/female 193,000)
15-64 years: 70.0% (male 867,699/female 897,788)
65 years and over: 14.3% (male 122,906/female 238,016) (2013 official)

Median age
total: 38.0 years
male: 35.2 years
female: 40.9 years (2013 official)

Religion

Fifty-nine percent of the religious organisations active in the Lviv Oblast adhere to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church is the second largest religious body. The followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) are mostly from the Polish, and Russian or non-Galician Ukrainian minorities respectively.

  • Zhovkva. Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
  • Church of Sts. Peter & Paul in Sokal
  • Church of Our Lady Protectress in Stryi
  • Church of St. Anna in Boryslav, the fifth largest city in Lviv Oblast
  • Church of the Blessed Eucharist, Klymets, Skole district
  • Zolochiv. The church of Assumption of the Holy Virgin (1731-1763)

Historical and cultural sites

The city of Lviv contains a well-preserved main square (Rynok) and numerous historical and beautiful churches. Other sites of interest are the historic Lychakivskiy Cemetery, the local museum of folklore, and the ruins of the famous Vysokyi Zamok. The name of the castle is closely tied to the name of the city. There is also a museum of military artifacts, the "Arsenal".

Well-preserved local wooden churches, castles, and monasteries can be found throughout the Oblast. One of them is the Olesko Castle which is first recorded in 1327. Another castle that was built at the end of the 15th century is Svirzh Castle in the village of Svirzh, Peremeshliany Raion. One more and no less famous castle is the Pidhirtsi Castle. Its architectural complex consists of the three-story palace, Kostel, and small park. In Roztochia is also located the Krekhivsky monastery in the buch-pine grove at the foot of the Pobiyna mount. The whole complex consists of the Saint Nikola Church, the bell tower, numerous service structures, and defensive walls with towers. Another site worth of mentioning is the Tustan city-fortress which is built in the rock. The site was nominated as the historical and as the natural wonder of Ukraine. There also a nature complex in the valley of the Kamianka river in Skoliv Raion. Another natural wonder of the region is the Kamin-Veleten (Rock-Giant in English) which is located near city of Pidkamin in Brodivskyi Raion. The name of the local city means Under the Rock. A local museum of Ukrainian art and an institution of higher learning (Ivan Franko State University) are also present.

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: L'viv is the center of the L'vivs'ka oblast' (Lviv 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 Lviv Oblast, Lvivshchyna.

See also: Romanization of Ukrainian

See also

References
  1. Zelensky introduces new head of Lviv Regional State Administration, Ukrinform (6 February 2020)
  2. "Чисельність наявного населення України (Actual population of Ukraine)" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  3. Ukraine Facing Civil War: Lviv Declares Independence from Yanukovich Rule
  4. WorldClimate.com (Data for L'viv)
  5. Lviv, worldstatesmen.org
  6. Yanukovych appoints ex-Ukrzaliznytsia head Kostiuk governor of Lviv region, Kyiv Post (2 November 2011)
  7. Horbal appointed Lviv regional governor, Kyiv Post (April 20, 2010)
  8. Gryshchenko introduces new Lviv regional governor to local officials, Kyiv Post (4 March 2013)
  9. Yanukovych appoints Salo as governor of Lviv region, UKRINFORM (23 January 2014)
  10. Lviv governor Salo resigns – mass media, Unian (23 January 2013)
  11. Poroshenko dismisses Sekh as Lviv region governor, appoints Turiansky as acting governor, kyivpost.com (15 August 2014)
  12. Державний комітет статистики України (2004). "Національний склад населення / Львівська область" [Ukrainian Census, Lviv Oblast]. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  13. Polonia w opracowaniach (2013). "Zmiany w liczebności ludności polskiej na Ukrainie w okresie 1989-2001" [Changes in the number of Poles in Ukraine in the period between 1989 and 2001]. Polacy na Ukrainie. Stowarzyszenie "Wspólnota Polska". Archived from the original on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 10 December 2013.

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