LVIV OBLAST

'Lviv Oblast' (, translit. ''L’vivs’ka oblast’''; also referred to as 'L’vivshchyna' - '') is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.

Contents

History

Geography

Subdivisions

Economy

Demographics

Religion

Historical and Cultural Sites

Nomenclature

See also

References

External links

History

The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939. 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', and by one of its successors, the state of Halych-Volynia (circa 1200 to 1400), then by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (circa 1400 to 1795), the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1795 to 1918), and Poland (1918 to 1939), when it was part of the Lwów Voivodship 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 People's Republic in 1918 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 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 and remained in Soviet hands after World War II as was arranged during the conferences Teheran and Yalta. Thanks to its historical development, Lviv Oblast is one of the least Russified and Sovietized parts of Ukraine, with much of its Habsburg heritage still visible today.
The region and its capital city take their name from the time of Halych-Volynia, when Danylo, the King of Rus' founded Lviv, naming the city after his son, Lev (Leo). During this time, the general region around Lviv was known as Red Ruthenia (Cherven' Rus').

Geography

The terrain of Lviv Oblast is highly varied, ranging from open steppes to dense forests, with intensively cultivated river basins and forested mountains.

Subdivisions

The 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
	Brodivskyi Raion	Бродівський район ''Brodivs'kyi raion''	Brody ''(City)''
	Buskyi Raion	Буський район ''Bus'kyi raion''	Busk ''(City)''
	Drohobytskyi Raion	Дрогобицький район ''Drohobyts'kyi raion''	Drohobych ''(City)''
	Horodotskyi Raion	Городоцький район ''Horodots'kyi raion''	Horodok ''(City)''
	Kamyanka-Buzkyi Raion	Кам'янка-Бузький район ''Kamyanka-Buz'kyi raion''	Kamyanka-Buzka ''(City)''
	Mostyskyi Raion	Мостиський район ''Mostys'kyi raion''	Mostyska ''(City)''
	Mykolaivskyi Raion	Миколаївський район ''Mykolayivs'kyi raion''	Mykolaiv ''(City)''
	Peremyshlianskyi Raion	Перемишлянський район ''Peremyshlians'kyi raion''	Peremyshliany ''(City)''
	Pustomytivskyi Raion	Пустомитівський район ''Pustomytivs'kyi raion''	Pustomyty ''(City)''
	Radekhivskyi Raion	Радехівський район ''Radekhivs'kyi raion''	Radekhiv ''(City)''
	Sambirskyi Raion	Самбірський район ''Sambirs'kyi raion''	Sambir ''(City)''
	Skolivskyi Raion	Сколівський район ''Skolivs'kyi raion''	Skole ''(City)''
	Sokalskyi Raion	Сокальський район ''Sokals'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)''

Economy

The chief industries are agriculture, cattle and sheep farming and forestry. Significant mineral extraction also occurs, and the region also possesses oil and natural gas deposits which are piped to the city of Lviv and used locally. Numerous factories were built in the Soviet times, including the Lvovskiy Avtomobilnyi Zavod which produced buses. Significant amount of smaller factories exist.

Demographics

★ Male/female ratio: 48%/52%

★ Nationalities: 90% of region's population are Ukrainians; 200,000 people are Russians; there are also smaller German, Polish, Jewish, and Gypsy minorities.

Religion

Fifty-six 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 Patriarchy) are mostly from the Polish, and Russian or non-Galician Ukrainian minorities respectively.

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 high castle ruins. There is also a museum of military artifacts, the "Arsenal".
Well-preserved local wooden churches can be found in the surrounding countryside, as can the Olesky Zamok (castle). 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" (, 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

★ Subdivisions of Ukraine

References

★ Source for statistics used: ''L'viv Regional State Administration Web Site'' - accessed February 29, 2004.

External links

★ L'viv Regional State Administration Web Site

★ Symbols and flags