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Chernihiv Oblast
Чернігівська область / Chernihivs’ka oblast’

Flag Coat of arms
Administrative center	Chernihiv
Governor	Oleksadr Sokolov (none)
Oblast council  - Chairperson  - Council seats	(?) ?
Subdivisions  - Raions  - Cities of oblast subordinance  - Cities   -Towns  - Villages	22 3 44 34 1,494
Area Total  - Land  - Water (% of total)	Ranked 2nd 31,865 km² ? km² ? km² (?%)
Population  - Total (2006)  - Density  - Annual Growth	Ranked ? 1,156,609 38/km² ?%
Average Salary (?)  - Annual Growth	Ranked ? $? ?%
Abbreviations  - Postal code  - ISO 3166-2  - FIPS 10-4  - Phone code	? UA-74 UP02 +380-46
Web site	www.regadm.cn.ua

Chernihiv Oblast (Ukrainian: Чернігівська область, translit. Chernihivs’ka oblast’; also referred to as Chernihivshchyna - Ukrainian: Чернігівщина) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Administrative Sudivisions 3.1 Important cities 3.2 Raions 4 Demographics 5 Economy 5.1 Industry 6 Religion 7 Culture and tourist attractions 8 Nomenclature 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

The total area of the province is around 31,900 km².

The oblast is bordered on the west by the Kiev Reservoir of the Dnieper River and Kiev Oblast, by the Sumy Oblast to the east, and the Poltava Oblast to the south. The northern border of the oblast is part of Ukraine's international border abutting Belarus's Homyel Voblast in the north-west and the Russian Bryansk Oblast in the north-east, respectively.

The oblast is bisected into northern and southern sections by the Desna River, which enters the Dnieper just north of the Kyiv city limits.

The Chernihiv Oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on October 15, 1932.

The capital city of Chernihiv has known human settlement for over 2,000 years, according to archaeological excavations. The Chernihiv Oblast comprises a very important historical region, notable as early as the Kievan Rus' period, when the cities of Chernihiv and Novhorod-Siverskyi were frequently mentioned. The city of Chernihiv was the second most important Ukrainian city during the Rus' period of Ukrainian history, often serving as a major regional capital. Danylo of Chernihiv wrote of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem during this era. The numerous architectural monuments of the city bear witness to the invasions suffered, including those by the Tatars/Mongols, Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, and Nazis.

The oblast is located in the historic region of Polesia (Ukrainian: Полісся, translit. Polissia).

The following data incorporates the number of each type of administrative divisions of the Chernihiv Oblast:

• Administrative Center - 1 (Chernihiv)
• Raions — 22;
• City raions — 3 (including the Oblast's administrative center);
• Settlements — 1534, including:
  • Villages — 1489;
  • Cities/Towns — 45, including:
    • Urban-type settlement — 30;
    • Cities — 15, including:
      • Cities of oblast' subordinance — 3;
      • Cities of raion subordinance — 12;
• Selsovets — 525.

The local administration of the oblast' is controlled by the Chernihiv Oblast Rada. The governer of the oblast' is the Chernihiv Oblast Rada speaker, appointed by the President of Ukraine.

Important cities and historical settlements of the Chernihiv Oblast include:

• Bakhmach
• Chernihiv (capital city)
• Koriukivka
• Kozelets (historical city)
• Liubech (historical city)
• Nizhyn (important cultural and industrial center)
• Novhorod-Siversky (historical city)
• Pryluky (important industrial center and major Air Force base)

The raions (districts) of the Chernihiv Oblast include:

Bakhmatsky Raion Bobrovytsky Raion Borzniansky Raion Chernihiv City Chernihivsky Raion Horodniansky Raion Ichniansky Raion

Koriukivsky Raion Koropsky Raion Kozeletsky Raion Kulykivsky Raion Mensky Raion Nizhyn City Nizhynsky Raion

Nosivsky Raion Novhorod-Siversky Raion Pryluky City Prylutsky Raion Ripkynsky Raion Semenivsky Raion Shchorsky Raion

Sosnytsky Raion Sribniansky Raion Talalayivsky Raion Varvynsky Raion

The Slavutych municipality is located in Chernihiv Oblast on the eastern bank of the Dnieper, but officially belongs to Kiev Oblast (being an administrative exclave).

The current estimated population of the oblast is around 1,156,609 (as of 2006).

The population of the oblast is predominantly Ukrainian, with minority Belarusian and Russian populations concentrated in the northern districts.

The province has experienced long-term population decline. The population has fallen 23% from the 1959 figure of 1,554,000, the steepest decline of any Ukrainian oblast. It has the lowest population density in the country.

The economy of the Chernihiv Oblast mostly deals with petroleum and natural gas extraction, transport, machinery, tobacco and textile industry. A major tobacco factory is situated in Pryluky. Cities of Bakhmach and Nizhyn are the important railway junctions on the route from Russia and Belarus to South-Eastern Europe. There are notable machinery and electronics industries in Chernihiv. Chernihiv also has a beer brewery producing beer under the name "Chernihivske".

Main article: History of Christianity in Ukraine

The religion among believers in the oblast is overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox. A substantial percentage of the population is atheist. Small minorities of Ukrainian Catholics, Roman Catholics (including the descendants of earlier Polish colonists), and recent converts to Protestantism are also present.

There are few outstanding historical Orthodox churches and buildings in Chernihiv, Novhorod-Siverskyi, Liubech, Nizhyn (Nezhyn) and Koselets' (an city of Ancient Rus', older than Kyiv). Nizhyn is a historical Kozak city and home to a university.

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: Chernihiv is the center of the Chernihivs’ka oblast’ (Chernihiv 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 Chernihiv Oblast, Chernihivshchyna.

See also: Romanization of Ukrainian

• Subdivisions of Ukraine
• Chernigov Governorate

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	Administrative divisions of Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine
	Raions: Bakhmatskyi | Bobrovytskyi | Borznianskyi | Chernihivskyi | Horodnianskyi | Ichnianskyi | Koriukivskyi | Koropskyi | Kozeletskyi | Kulykivskyi | Menskyi | Nizhynskyi | Nosivskyi | Novhorod-Siverskyi | Prylutskyi | Ripkynskyi | Semenivskyi | Shchorskyi | Sosnytskyi | Sribnianskyi | Talalayivskyi | Varvynskyi
	Cities: Bakhmach | Bobrovytsia | Borzna | Chernihiv | Horodnia | Ichnia | Koriukivka | Mena | Nizhyn | Nosivka | Novhorod-Siverskyi | Oster | Pryluky | Schors | Semenivka
	Urban-type settlements: Korop | Kozelets | Kulykivka | Ripky | Sosnytsia | Sribne | Talalayivka | Varva | more...
	Villages: Kobyzhcha | more...

	Ukraine
	Administrative divisions of Ukraine: Cherkasy Oblast | Chernihiv Oblast | Chernivtsi Oblast | Autonomous Republic of Crimea | Dnipropetrovsk Oblast | Donetsk Oblast | Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast | Kharkiv Oblast | Kherson Oblast | Khmelnytskyi Oblast | Kiev City | Kiev Oblast | Kirovohrad Oblast | Luhansk Oblast | Lviv Oblast | Mykolaiv Oblast | Odessa Oblast | Poltava Oblast | Rivne Oblast | Sevastopol City | Sumy Oblast | Ternopil Oblast | Vinnytsia Oblast | Volyn Oblast | Zakarpattia Oblast | Zaporizhia Oblast | Zhytomyr Oblast
	Administrative centers of subdivision units: 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