Don Host Oblast[a] was a province (oblast) of the Russian Empire which consisted of the territory of the Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with present-day Rostov Oblast in Russia. Its administrative center was Cherkassk, and later Novocherkassk.[2]

Don Host Oblast
Область Войска Донского
Oblast of the Russian Empire
1786-1920
Coat of arms of
Coat of arms

CapitalNovocherkassk
Area 
• 
162,888.57 km2 (62,891.63 sq mi)
Population 
• 
1,712,898
History 
• Established
1786
• Disestablished
1920
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Yekaterinoslav Viceroyalty
Don Soviet Republic
Don Republic
Today part ofRussia
The Don Metropolitan Cathedral, Novocherkassk in 1905.
Map of 1816

It comprised the areas where the Don Cossack Host settled in the Russian Empire. From 1786, the territory was officially named Don Host Land (Russian: Земля Войска Донского, romanizedZemlya Voyska Donskogo), renamed Don Host Oblast in 1870.[3]

During 1914, the oblast, with an area of 164,000 km², had about 3.9 million inhabitants.[1] Of these, 55% (2.1 million) were Cossacks in possession of all the land; the remaining 45% of the population being townsfolk and agricultural guest labourers from other parts of Russia.[citation needed]

It was abolished in 1920; from the major part of it the Don Oblast of the RSFSR was created, which was incorporated into the North Caucasus Krai in 1924.[3]

Administrative divisions

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The districts (okrugs) of the Don Host Oblast in 1897 were as follows:

District Capital Area Population
(1897 census)
Transliteration name Russian Cyrillic
Donetsky Донецкій Kamenskaya 24,659.3 square versts (28,063.8 km2; 10,835.5 sq mi) 455,819
1st Don 1-й Донской Konstantinovskaya 15,415.9 square versts (17,544.3 km2; 6,773.9 sq mi) 271,790
2nd Don 2-й Донской Nizhne-Chirskaya 23,219.7 square versts (26,425.5 km2; 10,202.9 sq mi) 239,055
Rostovsky Ростовскій Rostov-on-Don 6,012 square versts (6,842 km2; 2,642 sq mi) 369,732
Salsky Сальскій Velikoknyazheskaya 18,961.0 square versts (21,578.8 km2; 8,331.6 sq mi) 76,297
Taganrogsky Таганрогскій Taganrog 12,229.4 square versts (13,917.8 km2; 5,373.7 sq mi) 412,995
Ust-Medveditsky Усть-Медведицкій Ust-Medveditskaya 18,082.6 square versts (20,579.1 km2; 7,945.6 sq mi) 246,830
Khopersky Хоперскій Uryupinskaya 15,861.4 square versts (18,051.3 km2; 6,969.6 sq mi) 251,498
Cherkassky Черкасскій Novocherkassk 9,750.3 square versts (11,096.4 km2; 4,284.4 sq mi) 240,222

Demography

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Language

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  • Population by mother tongue according to the Imperial census of 1897.[1][4]

Notes

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  1. ^
    • Russian: Область Войска Донского, romanizedOblast Voyska Donskogo
    • Ukrainian: Область Війська Донського, romanizedOblast Viiska Donskoho, also known as Донщина, Donshchyna[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Донщина / А. І. Жуковський // Енциклопедія Сучасної України [Електронний ресурс] / Редкол. : І. М. Дзюба, А. І. Жуковський, М. Г. Железняк [та ін.] ; НАН України, НТШ. – К. : Інститут енциклопедичних досліджень НАН України, 2008.
  2. ^ Smele, Jon (2015). Historical dictionary of the Russian civil wars, 1916-1926. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 334. ISBN 9781442252813.
  3. ^ a b "Область Войска Донского". Soviet Historical Encyclopedia. pp. 395–396.
  4. ^ "Annex. Statistical indicators reference". Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved 2024-03-06.

47°26′09″N 40°05′55″E / 47.4358°N 40.0986°E / 47.4358; 40.0986