Volyn Oblast

Volyn Oblast Волинська область
Oblast
Volynska oblast[1]
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Ukraine
Administrative centre	Lutsk
Government
• Governor	Yuriy Pohulyaiko[2][3]
• Oblast council	64 seats
• Chairperson	Hryhoriy Nedopad
Area
• Total	20,144 km^2 (7,778 sq mi)
• Rank	Ranked 20th
Population  (2022)[4]
• Total	1,021,356
• Rank	Ranked 24th
GDP [5]
• Total	₴ 93 billion (€2.4 billion)
• Per capita	₴ 90,331 (€2,300)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	43xxx-45xxx
Area code	+380-33
ISO 3166 code	UA-07
Raions	16
Cities (total)	11
• Regional cities	4
Urban-type settlements	22
Villages	1053
HDI (2022)	0.722[6] high
FIPS 10-4	UP24
Website	www.voladm.gov.ua

Volyn Oblast (Ukrainian: Волинська область, romanized: Volýnsʹka óblastʹ) or simply Volyn (Ukrainian: Волинь, romanized: Volýnʹ), is an oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. It borders Rivne Oblast to the east, Lviv Oblast to the south, Poland to the west and Belarus to the north. Its administrative centre is Lutsk. Kovel is the westernmost town and the last station in Ukraine on the rail line running from Kyiv to Warsaw. The population is 1,021,356 (2022 estimate).^[4]

History

See also: Volhynia, Volynia, and Holovne

Lutsk in the 18th century

Volyn was once part of the Kievan Rus' before becoming an independent local principality and an integral part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, one of Kievan Rus' successor states. In the 15th century, the area came under the control of the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in 1569 passing over to Poland and then in 1795, until World War I, to the Russian Empire where it was a part of the Volynskaya Guberniya. In the interwar period, most of the territory, organized as Wołyń Voivodeship was under Polish control.

In 1939 when Poland was invaded and divided by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union following the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, Volyn was joined to Soviet Ukraine, and on December 4, 1939, the oblast was organized.

Many Ukrainians rejoiced at the "reunification", but the Polish minority suffered a cruel fate. Thousands of Poles, especially retired Polish officers and intelligentsia were deported to Siberia and other areas in the depths of the Soviet Union. A high proportion of these deportees died in the extreme conditions of Soviet labour camps and most were never able to return to Volyn again.

In 1941 Volyn along with the Soviet Union was invaded by the Nazi Germany's Barbarossa Offensive. Nazis alongside Ukrainian collaborators completed their holocaust of the Jews of Volhynia in late 1942.

Partisan activity started in Volyn in 1941, soon after German occupation. Partisans were involved in the Rail War against German supply lines and were known for their efficiency in gathering intelligence and for sabotage. The region formed the basis of several networks and many members of the local population served with the partisans. The Poles in the area became part of the Polish Home Army, which often undertook operations with the partisan movement.

UPA initially supported Nazi Germany which had in turn supported them with financing and weaponry before the start of World War II. Many served in the various RONA and SS units. Once they became disillusioned with the Nazi program, they independently began to target all non-Ukrainians (Poles, Jews, Russians, among others) for extermination. Some 30,000 to 60,000 Poles, Czechs, remaining Jews, and Ukrainians who tried to help others escape (Polish sources gave even higher figures) and later, around 2,000 or more Ukrainians were killed in retaliation (see Massacres of Poles in Volhynia).

In January 1944 the Red Army recaptured the territory from the Nazis.

In the immediate aftermath of World War II the Polish-Soviet border was redrawn based on the Curzon line. Volyn, along with the neighbouring provinces became an integral part of the Ukrainian SSR. Most Poles who remained in the eastern region were forced to leave to the Recovered Territories of western Poland (the former easternmost provinces of Germany) whose German population had been expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement.

The area underwent rapid industrialisation including the construction of the Lutsk automobile factory (LuAZ). Nevertheless, the area remains one of the most rural throughout the former Soviet Union.

Historical sites

The following historical-cultural sites were nominated in 2007 for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.^{[citation needed]}

• Upper Castle
• Volodymyr historical-cultural complex
• Villa-museum of Lesia Ukrainka

Relics

• Painting of the Kholm's Virgin Mary

Politics

Former Chairmen of Oblast Council

• 2006 – Vasyl Dmytruk Lytvyn's Bloc
• 2006 – Anatoliy Hrytsiuk

Subdivisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Volyn Oblast

The Volyn Oblast is administratively subdivided into 4 raions (districts).

Name	Center	Center population (thousand people)	Area (km^2)	Population (thousand people)	Hromadas
Volodymyr Raion	Volodymyr	38,9	2558,2	174,7	11
Kamin-Kashyrskyi Raion	Kamin-Kashyrskyi	12,5	4693,4	132,4	5
Kovel Raion	Kovel	68,2	7647,9	271	23
Lutsk Raion	Lutsk	221,1	5247,8	457,3	15

Volyn Oblast districts (since 2020)

Hromada	Type	Center	Raion
Lutsk	city	Lutsk	Lutsk
Volodymyr	city	Volodymyr	Volodymyr
Kovel	city	Kovel	Kovel
Novovolynsk	city	Novovolynsk	Volodymyr
Ustyluh	city	Ustyluh	Volodymyr
Zymne	village	Zymne	Volodymyr
Ovadne	village	Ovadne	Volodymyr
Berestechko	city	Berestechko	Lutsk
Horokhiv	city	Horokhiv	Lutsk
Marianivka	town	Marianivka	Lutsk
Ivanychi	town	Ivanychi	Volodymyr
Lytovezh	village	Lytovezh	Volodymyr
Pavlivka	village	Pavlivka	Volodymyr
Poromiv	village	Poromiv	Volodymyr
Kamin-Kashyrskyi	city	Kamin-Kashyrskyi	Kamin-Kashyrskyi
Soshychne	village	Soshychne	Kamin-Kashyrskyi
Kivertsi	city	Kivertsi	Lutsk
Olyka	town	Olyka	Lutsk
Tsuman	town	Tsuman	Lutsk
Holoby	town	Holoby	Kovel
Lublynets	town	Lublynets	Kovel
Velytsk	village	Velytsk	Kovel
Dubove	village	Dubove	Kovel
Kolodiazhne	village	Kolodiazhne	Kovel
Povorsk	village	Povorsk	Kovel
Lokachi	town	Lokachi	Volodymyr
Zaturtsi	village	Zaturtsi	Volodymyr
Torchyn	town	Torchyn	Lutsk
Boratyn	village	Boratyn	Lutsk
Horodyshche	village	Horodyshche	Lutsk
Pidhaitsi	village	Pidhaitsi	Lutsk
Liubeshiv	town	Liubeshiv	Kamin-Kashyrskyi
Liuboml	city	Liuboml	Kovel
Holovne	town	Holovne	Kovel
Vyshniv	village	Vyshniv	Kovel
Rivne	village	Rivne	Kovel
Kolky	town	Kolky	Lutsk
Manevychi	town	Manevychi	Kamin-Kashyrskyi
Prylisne	village	Prylisne	Kamin-Kashyrskyi
Zabolottia	town	Zabolottia	Kovel
Ratne	town	Ratne	Kovel
Velymche	village	Velymche	Kovel
Zabrody	village	Zabrody	Kovel
Samary	village	Samary	Kovel
Rozhyshche	city	Rozhyshche	Lutsk
Dorosyni	village	Dorosyni	Lutsk
Kopachivka	village	Kopachivka	Lutsk
Stara Vyzhivka	town	Stara Vyzhivka	Kovel
Dubechne	village	Dubechne	Kovel
Serekhovychi	village	Serekhovychi	Kovel
Smidyn	village	Smidyn	Kovel
Lukiv	town	Lukiv	Kovel
Turiisk	town	Turiisk	Kovel
Shatsk	town	Shatsk	Kovel

Demography

Age structure

0–14 years: 19.0% (male 101,739/female 95,332)

15–64 years: 68.2% (male 344,359/female 363,116)

65 years and over: 12.8% (male 42,221/female 90,463) (2013 official)

Median age

total: 35.7 years

male: 33.2 years

female: 38.3 years (2013 official)

Notable people

• Oleh Skvira (born 2000), Ukrainian professional football player
• Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi (born 1953), Ukrainian football manager and former player

Gallery

• 
  Lutsk Castle
• 
  Olyka Castle
• 
  Zymne Monastery
• 
  Church of the Holy Trinity in Liuboml
• 
  Dormition Monastery in Volodymyr
• 
  Dominican church in Staryi Chortoryisk
• 
  Dominican monastery in Lutsk
• 
  Former pharmacy in Kovel
• 
  Lake Svitiaz
• 
  Aerial view of the Stokhid River

See also

• List of villages in Volyn Oblast

References

1. Syvak, Nina; Ponomarenko, Valerii; Khodzinska, Olha; Lakeichuk, Iryna (2011). Veklych, Lesia (ed.). "Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use" (PDF). United Nations Statistics Division. scientific consultant Iryna Rudenko; reviewed by Nataliia Kizilowa; translated by Olha Khodzinska. Kyiv: DerzhHeoKadastr and Kartographia. p. 20. ISBN 978-966-475-839-7. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
2. "Government adopts a series of personnel decisions". Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
3. "Trofimov introduces new head of Volyn Regional State Administration". Ukrinform. December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
4. Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
5. "Валовии регіональнии продукт".
6. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org.

External links

• Volyn Oblast State Administration (in Ukrainian)
• Volyn Region (Newspaper) (in Ukrainian)
• Picture album (in Ukrainian)

50°44′29″N 25°21′14″E