Odessa Oblast

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Odessa Oblast Одеська область Odes’ka oblast’
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname: Одещина  (Ukrainian) Odeshchyna  (transliteration)
Location of Odessa Oblast (red) on the map of Ukraine (blue).
Administrative center	Odessa
Largest cities
Governor	Mykola Dmytrovych Serdyuk (acting) (?)
Oblast council
– Chairman	Mykola Leonidovych Skoryk (Party of Regions)
– № of seats	120
Established
Subdivisions
– Raions	26
– Cities of oblast subordinance	7
– Cities (total)	19
– Towns	33
– Villages	1,138
Area	Ranked 1st
– Total	33,310 km²
– Land	? km²
– Water	? (?%)
Population	Ranked ?
– Total (2006)	2,387,543
– Density	73 p/ km²
– Average salary	UAH ? (?%)
Time zone	EET +2
– Summer (DST)	EEST +3
Abbreviations
– Postal code	65000-68999
– ISO 3166-2	UA-51
– FIPS 10-4	UP17
– Telephone code	+380-48
– Licence plate	(ukr)
Official website	www.odessa.gov.ua
Verkhovna Rada site

Odessa Oblast, also written as Odesa Oblast (Ukrainian: Одеська область, translit. Odes’ka oblast’; also referred to as Odeshchyna—Ukrainian: Одещина) is an oblast (province) of south-western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Odessa.

[edit] History

The finds from the settlements and burial grounds of Gumelnitsa, Tripolie and Usatovo culture, barrows and hoards of the Bronze Age are of special interest. In the first millennium B.C. ancient Greek colonies, such as Olbia, Tyras, Niconium, Panticapaeum, Chersonesus, were founded on the North Black Sea Coast. Painted vessels, terracottas, sculptures, inscriptions, articles of craft art, represented in muzeum, testify about prosperity of the antique civilization.

The culture of Scythian tribes, inhabited in Black Sea littoral steppes, is represented by finds from settlements and barial grounds. There are weapon items, bronze cauldrons, other utensils, adornments. By the beginning of the first millennium A.D. the Sarmatians displaced the Scythians. In the IIIrd–IVth centuries A.D. the tribal alliance, represented by the items of Chernyakhovo culture, was created. Since the middle of the first millennium the formation of Slavic people began. In the IXth century they were united into a state with Kyiv as a centre. The Khazars, Polovtsy, Pechenegs were the Slavs' neighbours during the different times. The period of the IXth–XIVth centuries is reflected by the materials from the settlements and cities of Kyiv Rus, Belgorod, Caffa-Theodosia, Berezan Island.

Formerly ruled by the Ottoman Empire, the territory of the Odessa oblast passed into Russian and Soviet hands in various stages between the eighteenth century and 20th century. The Russian Empire's expansion along the Black Sea coast led to the creation of the territory of Novorossiya, which was colonised by a variety of peoples, of whom the Russians were dominant. The Odessa oblast corresponds to the most westerly portion of "New Russia".

The oblast was created on February 27, 1932 as part of the Ukrainian SSR. It was expanded further following the annexation in 1940 of the Romanian territory of Budjak, the part of southern Bessarabia that lay north of the Danube River. This was part of the deal reached between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. However, the area in the far south around Izmail was not incorporated into the oblast until 1956.

[edit] Geography

The oblast occupies an area of around 33,300 square kilometres (12,850 sq miles). It is characterised by largely flat steppes divided by the estuary of the Dniester river. Its Black Sea coast comprises numerous sandy beaches, estuaries and lagoons. The region's soils are renowned for their fertility, and intensive agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy. The southwest possesses many orchards and vineyards, while arable crops are grown throughout the region.

Snake Island is part of the oblast.

[edit] Economy

Significant branches of the oblast's economy are:

• oil refining & chemicals processing
• transportation (important sea and river ports, oil pipelines and railway);
• viticulture and other forms of agriculture, notably the growing of wheat, maize, barley, sunflowers and sugar beets.

The region's industrial capability is principally concentrated in and around Odessa.

[edit] Demographics

The oblast's population (as of 2004) is 2.4 million people, nearly 40% of whom live in the city of Odessa.

Significant Romanian/Moldovan, Bulgarian and Greek minorities reside in the province. The Greek minority is mostly preponderant in the city of Odessa.

Bulgarians and Romanians represent 21% and 13% respectively, of the population of the formerly Romanian region of Budjak, within Odessa oblast.

[edit] Subdivisions

Detailed map of Odessa Oblast.

The Odessa Oblast is administratively subdivided into 26 raions (districts), as well as 7 cities (municipalities) which are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Illichivsk, Izmail, Kotovsk, Teplodar, Yuzhne, and the administrative center of the oblast, Odessa.

[edit] 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: Odessa is the center of the Odes’ka oblast’ (Odessa 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 Odessa Oblast, Odeshchyna.

See also: Romanization of Ukrainian

[edit] See also

• Subdivisions of Ukraine
• Kherson Governorate

[edit] External links

• Odessa regional administration homepage
• Maps of Odessa oblast Cities, Towns and Villages

Administrative divisions of Odessa Oblast, Ukraine Administrative center:  Odessa Raions Ananyivskyi · Artsyzkyi · Baltskyi · Berezivskyi · Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi · Biliayivskyi · Bolhradskyi · Frunzivskyi · Ivanivskyi · Izmailskyi · Kiliyskyi · Kodymskyi · Kominternivskyi · Kotovskyi · Krasnooknianskyi · Liubashivskyi · Mykolaivskyi · Ovidiopolskyi · Reniyskyi · Rozdilniaskyi · Saratskyi · Savranskyi · Shyriayivskyi · Tarutynskyi · Tatarbunarskyi · Velykomykhailivskyi Cities Ananiv · Artsyz · Balta · Berezivka · Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi · Biliaivka · Bolhrad · Illichivsk · Izmail · Kilia · Kodyma · Kotovsk · Odessa · Reni · Rozdilna · Tatarbunary · Teplodar · Vylkove · Yuzhne Urban-type settlements Frunzivka · Ivanivka · Kominternivske · Krasni Okny · Liubashivka · Mykolaivka · Ovidiopol · Sarata · Savran · Shyriaieve · Tarutyne · Velyka Mykhailivka · more... Villages more...

v • d • e Administrative divisions of Ukraine Capital: Kiev Oblasts Cherkasy · Chernihiv · Chernivtsi · Dnipropetrovsk · Donetsk · Ivano-Frankivsk · Kharkiv · Kherson · Khmelnytskyi · Kiev · Kirovohrad · Luhansk · Lviv · Mykolaiv · Odessa · Poltava · Rivne · Sumy · Ternopil · Vinnytsia · Volyn · Zakarpattia · Zaporizhia · Zhytomyr Cities with special status City of Kiev · City of Sevastopol Autonomous Republic Autonomous Republic of Crimea Administrative centers Cherkasy · Chernihiv · Chernivtsi · Dnipropetrovsk · Donetsk · Ivano-Frankivsk · Kharkiv · Kherson · Khmelnytskyi · Kiev · Kirovohrad · Luhansk · Lutsk · Lviv · Mykolaiv · Odessa · Poltava · Rivne · Sevastopol · Simferopol · Sumy · Ternopil · Uzhhorod · Vinnytsia · Zaporizhia · Zhytomyr

Coordinates: 47°00′N, 30°00′E