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Lviv Oblast

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Lviv Oblast (Ukrainian: Львівська область, romanized: Lvivska oblast, IPA: [ˈlʲwiu̯sʲkɐ ˈɔblɐsʲtʲ]), also referred to as Lvivshchyna (Ukrainian: Львівщина, IPA: [ˈlʲwiu̯ʃtʃɪnɐ]),[a] is an oblast in western Ukraine. The capital of the oblast is the city of Lviv. The current population is 2,478,133 (2022 estimate).[3]

Lviv Oblast
Львівська область
Oblast
Lvivska oblast[1]
Flag of Lviv Oblast
Flag
Coat of arms of Lviv Oblast
Coat of arms
Nickname: 
Львівщина (Lvivshchyna)
Country Ukraine
Administrative centerLviv
Government
 • GovernorMaksym Kozytskyy[2]
 • Oblast council84 seats
 • ChairpersonYurii Kholod (acting)
Area
 • Total
21,833 km2 (8,430 sq mi)
 • RankRanked 17th
Elevation
296 m (971 ft)
Population
 (2022)[3]
 • Total
2,478,133
 • Density110/km2 (290/sq mi)
GDP
[4]
 • Total₴ 296 billion
(€7.7 billion)
 • Per capita₴ 119,049
(€3,100)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
79-82
Area code+380-32
ISO 3166 codeUA-46
Raions7
Hromadas73
HDI (2022)0.722[5]
high
FIPS 10-4UP15
Websitewww.loda.gov.ua[dead link‍]

History

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Name

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The region is named after the city of Lviv which was founded by Daniel of Galicia, the King of Galicia, in the 13th century, where it became the capital of Galicia-Volhynia. Daniel named the city after his son, Leo. During this time, the general region around Lviv was known as Galicia-Volhynia- one of the strongest and most stable kingdoms in Eastern Europe of that time.

Early history

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19th-century view of Belz, one of the oldest towns in the region

The oblast 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. In the Early Middle Ages, the territory was inhabited by the Lendians, an old Polish tribe. It was ruled variously by Great Moravia, Poland,[6] Kievan Rus', the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (circa 1200 to 1340; from 1246 under the suzerainty of the Golden Horde), and then ruled by the Kingdom of Poland and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1340 to 1772). Apart from the Polish and Ruthenian population, there were sizeable Scottish and Armenian communities in Lviv and Brody during Polish rule.[7][8] Following the First Partition of Poland it passed to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1772 to 1918), then the West Ukrainian People's Republic and Poland (1919 to 1939), when it was part of the Lwów Voivodeship 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 National Republic in November 1918 — June 1919, 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.

Establishment

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The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on 4 December 1939 following the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland and annexation of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia. Several NKVD prisoner massacres were committed in the area in 1941, including at Lviv, Sambir and Dobromyl.

It was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944 following the start of Operation Barbarossa, where most of the local Jewish population were killed. The Germans also established several prisoner-of-war camps with multuple forced labour subcamps in the region for Soviet, French and Belgian POWs, who were subjected to beatings, hunger, epidemics and executions, resulting in a high death rate.[9] Following the end of World War II, the region remained in Soviet hands as was arranged in the Tehran and Yalta conferences. Most local Poles were expelled and Ukrainians expelled from Poland arrived.

As a result of the 1951 Polish–Soviet territorial exchange the area of Belz passed from Poland to the Lviv Oblast, whereas the area of Ustrzyki Dolne passed from the Drohobych Oblast to Poland. In 1959, Drohobych Oblast was incorporated into Lviv Oblast.

Present day

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Given its historical development, Lviv Oblast is one of the least Russified and Sovietized parts of Ukraine, with much of its Polish and Habsburg heritage still visible today.

In Ukraine today, there are three provinces (oblasts) that formed the eastern part of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Two of these, Lviv Oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast were entirely contained in the kingdom; the third oblast of Ternopil was mainly in the kingdom apart from four of its most northerly counties (raions). The counties of the Kingdom of Galicia remained largely unchanged when they were incorporated into successor states; with minor changes as detailed below, the current counties are almost co-extensive with those of the Kingdom.

During the 2014 Euromaidan protests, the region is also notable for having declared independence from the central government led by Viktor Yanukovych who started to use active military force against protestors.[10] During Ukraine's decommunization process that accelerated after 2014, Lviv Oblast became the first region of Ukraine to remove all its Soviet-era monuments by January 2024.[11]

Geography

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The terrain of Lviv Oblast is highly varied. The southern part is occupied by the low Beskids mountain chains running parallel to each other from northwest to southeast and covered with secondary coniferous forests as part of the Eastern Carpathians; the highest point is Pikui (1408 m). North from there are the wide upper Dniester river valley and much smaller upper San River valley. These rivers have flat bottoms covered with alluvial deposits, and are susceptible to floods. Between these valleys and Beskyd lies the Precarpathian upland covered with deciduous forests, with well-known mineral spa resorts (see Truskavets, Morshyn). It's also the area of one of the earliest industrial petroleum and gas extraction. These deposits are all but depleted by now.

In the central part of the region lie Roztochchia, Opillia, and part of the Podolia uplands. Rich sulphur deposits were mined here during the Soviet era. Roztocze is densely forested, while Opillia and Podolia (being covered with loess on which fertile soils develop) are densely populated and mostly covered by arable land. In the central-north part of the region lies the Small Polesia lowland, geographically isolated from the rest of Polesia but with similar terrain and landscapes (flat plains with sandy fluvioglacial deposits and pine forests). The far North of the region lies on the Volhynia upland, which is also covered with loess; coal is mined in this area.

Climate

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The climate of Lviv Oblast is moderately cool and humid. The average January temperatures range from −7 °C (19 °F) in the Carpathians to −3 °C (27 °F) in the Dniester and San River valleys while in July the average temperatures are from 14–15 °C (57–59 °F) in the Carpathians to 16–17 °C (61–63 °F) in Roztochchia and 19 °C (66 °F) in the lower part of the Dniester valley.[12] The average annual precipitation is 600–650 mm (23.62–25.59 in) in the lowlands, 650–750 mm (25.59–29.53 in) in the highlands and up to 1,000 mm (39.37 in) in the Carpathians, with the majority of precipitation occurring in summer. Prolonged droughts are uncommon, while strong rainfalls can cause floods in river valleys. Severe winds during storms can also cause damage, especially in the highlands. The climate is favourable for the cultivation of sugar beets, winter wheat, flax, rye, cabbage, apples, and for dairy farming. It is still too cold to successfully cultivate maize, sunflower, grapes, melon, watermelon or peaches in Lviv Oblast. In the Carpathians conditions are favourable for Alpine skiing 3–4 months a year.

Politics

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Government House, Lviv

Governors

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  • Chairmen of the Executive Committee
Term start Term end Name Year of birth Year of death
March 1991 6 April 1992 Vyacheslav Chornovil b. 1937 d. 1999
June 1994 July 1995 Mykola Horyn b. 1945
  • Representative of the President
Term start Term end Name Year of birth
20 March 1992 June 1994 Stepan Davymuka b. 1947
  • Heads of the Administration[13]
Term start Term end Name Year of birth Year of death
7 July 1995 6 Feb. 1997 Mykola Horyn b. 1945
6 Feb. 1997 14 Jan. 1999 Mykhailo Hladiy b. 1952
15 Jan. 1999 19 March 2001 Stepan Senchuk b. 1955 d. 2005
26 March 2001 26 April 2002 Mykhailo Hladiy b. 1952
26 April 2002 4 June 2003 Myron Yankiv b. 1951
9 June 2003 20 Dec. 2004 Oleksandr Sendeha b. 1953
20 Dec. 2004 4 Feb. 2005 Bohdan Matolych (acting) b. 1955
4 Feb. 2005 20 Feb. 2008 Petro Oliynyk b. 1957 d. 2011
20 Feb. 2008 27 Feb. 2008 Valery Pyatak (acting) b. 1959
27 Feb. 2008 20 April 2010? Mykola Kmit
(acting to 1 Sep 2008) 		b. 1966
20 April 2010 21 December 2010[14] Vasyl Horbal[15] b. 1971
21 December 2010 2 November 2011[14] Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk[14] b. 1964
2 November 2011[14] 4 March 2013[16] Mykhailo Kostiuk[14] b. 1961
4 March 2013[16] 31 October 2013[17] Viktor Shemchuk[16] b. 1970
31 October 2013[17] 23 January 2014[18] Oleh Salo[17] b. 1968
2 March 2014 14 August 2014[19] Iryna Sekh b. 1970
14 August 2014 26 December 2014 Yuriy Turyanskyi (acting) b. 1975
26 December 2014 11 June 2019 Oleh Synyutka b. 1970
11 June 2019 5 July 2019 Rostyslav Zamlynsky (acting) b. 1976
5 July 2019 5 February 2020 Markiyan Malsky b. 1984
5 February 2020 Maksym Kozytsky b. 1981

Subdivisions

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Main article: Administrative divisions of Lviv Oblast
 
Drohobych, the second largest city in Lviv Oblast
 
Truskavets, a small resort town in the Carpathian foothills.
 
Architecture in Stryi
 
Half-timbered old villa in the Carpathian foothills in Stryi Raion
Lviv Oblast
As of January 1, 2022
Number of districts (райони) 7
Number of hromadas (громади) 73

Until the big district reform on July 18, 2020, Lviv Oblast was 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 Lviv Oblast as of August 2020

On 18 July 2020, the number of districts was reduced to seven.[20][21] These are:

  1. Drohobych Raion (Дрогобицький район), the center is in the town of Drohobych;
  2. Lviv Raion (Львівський район), the center is in the city of Lviv;
  3. Sambir Raion (Самбірський район), the center is in the town of Sambir;
  4. Sheptytskyi Raion (Шептицький район), the center is in the town of Sheptytsky;
  5. Stryi Raion (Стрийський район), the center is in the town of Stryi;
  6. Yavoriv Raion (Яворівський район), the center is in the town of Yavoriv;
  7. Zolochiv Raion (Золочівський район), the center is in the town of Zolochiv.

In addition, there are the city raions of the city of Lviv.

 
Kingdom of Galicia, administrative, 1914
Raions of the Lviv Oblast (pre-2020 reform)
In English In Ukrainian Administrative Center
Brody Raion Бродівський район
Brodivskyi raion 		Brody
(City)
Busk Raion Буський район
Buskyi raion 		Busk
(City)
Drohobych Raion Дрогобицький район
Drohobytskyi raion 		Drohobych
(City)
Horodok Raion Городоцький район
Horodotskyi raion 		Horodok
(City)
Kamianka-Buzka Raion Кам'янка-Бузький район
Kamianka-Buzkyi raion 		Kamianka-Buzka
(City)
Mostyska Raion Мостиський район
Mostyskyi raion 		Mostyska
(City)
Mykolaiv Raion Миколаївський район
Mykolaivskyi raion 		Mykolaiv
(City)
Peremyshliany Raion Перемишлянський район
Peremyshlianskyi raion 		Peremyshliany
(City)
Pustomyty Raion Пустомитівський район
Pustomytivskyi raion 		Pustomyty
(City)
Radekhiv Raion Радехівський район
Radekhivskyi raion 		Radekhiv
(City)
Sambir Raion Самбірський район
Sambirskyi raion 		Sambir
(City)
Skole Raion Сколівський район
Skolivskyi raion 		Skole
(City)
Sokal Raion Сокальський район
Sokalskyi raion 		Sokal
(City)
Staryi Sambir Raion Старосамбірський район
Starosambirskyi raion 		Staryi Sambir
(City)
Stryi Raion Стрийський район
Stryiskyi raion 		Stryi
(City)
Turka Raion Турківський район
Turkivskyi raion 		Turka
(City)
Yavoriv Raion Яворівський район
Yavorivskyi raion 		Yavoriv
(City)
Zhovkva Raion Жовківський район
Zhovkivskyi raion 		Zhovkva
(City)
Zhydachiv Raion Жидачівський район
Zhydachivskyi raion 		Zhydachiv
(City)
Zolochiv Raion Золочівський район
Zolochivskyi raion 		Zolochiv
(City)

Demographics

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  • Male/female ratio: 48%/52%
  • Nationalities (2001): 94.8% of the region's population are Ukrainians; 3.6% (or 92,600 people) are Russians; Poles account for 0.7%; there are also smaller German, Jewish and Romani minorities.[22] Notably, the comparison of the 2001 Ukrainian census (mentioned above), with the last Soviet census of 1989 reveals that in those 12 years the number of Poles in the Lviv Oblast declined by 29.7 percent which, in the opinion of "Wspólnota Polska" Society defies explanation, and could possibly be attributed to the intensive Ukrainization of the Roman Catholic Church.[23]

Age structure

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0-14 years: 15.7%   (male 202,923/female 193,000)
15-64 years: 70.0%   (male 867,699/female 897,788)
65 years and over: 14.3%   (male 122,906/female 238,016) (2013 official)

Median age

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total: 38.0 years  
male: 35.2 years  
female: 40.9 years   (2013 official)

Religion

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Fifty-nine 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 Latin Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) are mostly from the Polish, and Russian or non-Galician Ukrainian minorities respectively.

  •  
    Zhovkva. Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
  •  
    Church of Sts. Peter & Paul in Sokal
  •  
    Church of Our Lady Protectress in Stryi
  •  
    Church of St. Anna in Boryslav, the fifth largest city in Lviv Oblast
  •  
    Church of the Blessed Eucharist, Klymets, Stryi Raion
  •  
    Zolochiv. The church of Assumption of the Holy Virgin (1731-1763)

Historical and cultural sites

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The city of Lviv contains a well-preserved main square (Rynok) and numerous historical churches. Other sites of interest are the historic Lychakiv Cemetery, the local museum of folklore, and the ruins of the famous Vysokyi Zamok. The name of the castle is closely tied to the name of the city. There is also a museum of military artifacts, the "Arsenal".

Well-preserved local wooden churches, castles, and monasteries can be found throughout the Oblast. One of them is the Olesko Castle which is first recorded in 1327. Another castle that was built at the end of the 15th century is Svirzh Castle in the village of Svirzh. One more and no less famous castle is the Pidhirtsi Castle. Its architectural complex consists of the three-story palace, Kostel, and small park. In Roztochia is also located the Krekhivsky monastery in the beech-pine grove at the foot of the Pobiina mount. The whole complex consists of the Saint Nicholas Church, the bell tower, numerous service structures, and defensive walls with towers. Another site worth of mentioning is the Tustan city-fortress which is built in the rock. The site was nominated as the historical and as the natural wonder of Ukraine. There also a nature complex in the valley of the Kamianka river in Stryi Raion. Another natural wonder of the region is the Kamin-Veleten (Rock-Giant in English) which is located near city of Pidkamin in Zolochiv Raion. The name of the local city means Under the Rock. A local museum of Ukrainian art and an institution of higher learning (Ivan Franko State University) are also present.

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Economy

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The most important research into cereal epidemics in the country is undertaken here.[24] The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine's Institute of Agriculture in Obroshino is the center of study for cereal pathogens including powdery mildew of barley.[24] In the early 2000s the most active researchers here were Olga Vronska and G. Kosilovich at the IoA.[24] Puccinia recondita, Erysiphe graminis, (syn. Blumeria graminis) and various Pseudocercosporella spp. are present and are significant in winter wheat in this oblast.[25]

Two introduced banded land snails, the Grove Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) and White-Lipped Snail (C. hortensis) are found here.[26] C. n. was intentionally brought here in the late 1800s, but the genetic analysis of Gural-Sverlova et al., 2021 shows continued introductions have also occurred ever since.[26] (The geographic distribution of both suggests they arrive through the gardening trade, as is known from other countries.)[26] This analysis shows several distinct arrivals of C. n. yielding several present-day populations in and around Lviv.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (Ukrainian: обласни́й це́нтр, romanized: oblasnýi céntr, IPA: [oblɐsˈnɪj ˈtsɛntr]). The name of each oblast is a relational adjective—in English translating to a noun adjunct which otherwise serves the same function—formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of the respective center city: Lʹvív is the center of the Lʹvívsʹka óblastʹ (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.
  1. ^ Syvak, Nina; Ponomarenko, Valerii; Khodzinska, Olha; Lakeichuk, Iryna (2011). Veklych, Lesia (ed.). Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use (PDF). scientific consultant Iryna Rudenko; reviewed by Nataliia Kizilowa; translated by Olha Khodzinska. Kyiv: DerzhHeoKadastr and Kartographia. p. 20. ISBN 978-966-475-839-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved 2020-10-06 – via United Nations Statistics Division.
  2. ^ Zelensky introduces new head of Lviv Regional State Administration, Ukrinform (6 February 2020)
  3. ^ a b 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.
  4. ^ "Валовии регіональнии продукт".
  5. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org.
  6. ^ Buko, Andrzej (2008). The Archeology of Early Medieval Poland. Leiden. p. 307. ISBN 978-90-04-16230-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Wijaczka, Jacek (2010). "Szkoci". In Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (eds.). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Muzeum Historii Polski, Bellona. pp. 204, 206. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2.
  8. ^ Stopka, Krzysztof (2010). "Ormianie". In Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (eds.). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Muzeum Historii Polski, Bellona. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2.
  9. ^ Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 313, 315–317, 324, 331. ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
  10. ^ "Ukraine Facing Civil War: Lviv Declares Independence from Yanukovich Rule".
  11. ^ Peleschuk, Dan (30 January 2024). "Ukraine's Lviv becomes first region to remove all Soviet-era monuments". Reuters.
  12. ^ WorldClimate.com (Data for L'viv)
  13. ^ Lviv, worldstatesmen.org
  14. ^ a b c d e Yanukovych appoints ex-Ukrzaliznytsia head Kostiuk governor of Lviv region, Kyiv Post (2 November 2011)
  15. ^ Horbal appointed Lviv regional governor, Kyiv Post (April 20, 2010)
  16. ^ a b c Gryshchenko introduces new Lviv regional governor to local officials, Kyiv Post (4 March 2013)
  17. ^ a b c Yanukovych appoints Salo as governor of Lviv region, UKRINFORM (23 January 2014)
  18. ^ Lviv governor Salo resigns – mass media, Unian (23 January 2013)
  19. ^ Poroshenko dismisses Sekh as Lviv region governor, appoints Turiansky as acting governor, kyivpost.com (15 August 2014)
  20. ^ "Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ". Голос України (in Ukrainian). 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  21. ^ "Нові райони: карти + склад" (in Ukrainian). Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України.
  22. ^ Державний комітет статистики України (2004). "Національний склад населення / Львівська область" [Ukrainian Census, Lviv Oblast]. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  23. ^ Polonia w opracowaniach (2013). "Zmiany w liczebności ludności polskiej na Ukrainie w okresie 1989-2001" [Changes in the number of Poles in Ukraine in the period between 1989 and 2001]. Polacy na Ukrainie. Stowarzyszenie "Wspólnota Polska". Archived from the original on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  24. ^ a b c
  25. ^
  26. ^ a b c d
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