Gomel Region or Gomel Oblast or Homiel Voblasts ( be, Го́мельская во́бласць, Homielskaja vobłasć, russian: Гомельская область, Gomelskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Belarus. Its

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...

Gomel Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census). Etymology There are at least six narratives of the or ...

. The total area of the region is , the population in 2011 stood at 1,435,000 with the number of inhabitants per km² at 36. Important cities within the region include: Homiel, Mazyr, Zhlobin, Svietlahorsk, Rechytsa,

Kalinkavichy Kalinkavičy ( be, Калі́нкавічы, russian: Калинковичи, pl, Kalinkowicze) is a town in the Gomel Region of south-eastern Belarus. Kalinkavičy is located beside the Netech' River, opposite the town of Mazyr, and is the s ...

, Rahachow and Dobrush. Both the Gomel Region and the Mogilev Region suffered severely from the

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 nuclear reactor, reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainia ...

. The Gomel Province borders the

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, Belarusian: Хона адчужэння Чарнобыльскай АЭС, ''Zona adčužennia Čarnobyĺskaj AES'', russian: Зона отчуждения Чернобыльской АЭС, ...

in places, and parts of it have been designated as mandatory or voluntary resettlement areas as a result of the

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirab ...

Administrative territorial entities

Gomel Region comprises 21 districts and 2 city municipalities. The districts have 278 selsovets, and 17 cities and towns.

Districts of Gomel Region

* Akciabrski District * Brahin District * Buda-Kashalyova District * Chachersk District * Dobrush District * Gomel District * Kalinkavichy District * Karma District * Khoiniki District * Lyelchytsy District * Loyew District *

Mazyr District Mazyr Raion, Mazyrski Raion ( be, Мазырскі раён) is an administrative subdivision, a raion of Gomel Region, in Belarus. Districts of Gomel Region {{Belarus-geo-stub ...

* Naroulia District *

Pietrykaw District The Pyetrykaw District, Pietrykaŭski Rajon ( be, Петрыкаўскі раён) is a district of the Gomel Region, in Belarus. Notable residents * Aleś Dudar (1904, Navasiolki village - 1937), Belarusian poet, critic, translator and a vict ...

* Rahachow District * Rechytsa District * Svietlahorsk District *

Vietka District Vetka District, Vietka District or Vietka Rajon, Vietkaŭski Rajon ( be, Веткаўскі раён, russian: Ветковский район) is a district of Gomel Region, in Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelo ...

Yel’sk District Yelsk District or Jeĺsk District ( be, Ельскі раён, Jeĺski Rajon; russian: Ельский район) is a district (raion) of Gomel Region in Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ...

* Zhlobin District * Zhytkavichy District

Cities and towns

Geography

Pripyatsky National Park covers 2% of the territory of the region. Eleven wildlife preserves of national importance cover 2.1% of the region. The extreme southern point of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

is located in Gomel Region, on the

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukrain ...

to the south of the urban-type settlement of Kamaryn, Brahin District. The 3rd largest lake in Belarus, Lake Chervonoye, is located in Gomel Region, Zhytkavichy District. Gomel Region borders Mogilev Region on the north, Brest Region on the west,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

( Bryansk Oblast) on the east and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

(

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast ( uk, Черні́гівська о́бласть, translit=Chernihivska oblast; also referred to as Chernihivshchyna, uk, Черні́гівщина, translit=Chernihivshchyna) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. T ...

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...

and

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast ( uk, Жито́мирська о́бласть, translit=Zhytomyrska oblast), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna ( uk, Жито́мирщина}) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the obla ...

) on the south and southeast.

Demography

Belarusians in Homieĺskaja voblasć, Belarus (2009 census).png, Belarusians in the region Russians in Homieĺskaja voblasć, Belarus (2009 census).png, Russians in the region Ukrainians in Homieĺskaja voblasć, Belarus (2009 census).png, Ukrainians in the region

Economy

The processing industry is represented by alcohol,

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...

and soft drinks, vegetable-drying and canning industries. Mazyr is home to one of Belarus' major

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquef ...

Transport

Gomel Region is a major

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry s ...

. Major railway junctions include Gomel, Zhlobin, and Kalinkavichy. Gomel is located at the intersection of the highways 95E

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

–

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

– St. Petersburg, Bakhmach –

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

, and M10

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ...

– Brest. River transport is also common in the region with regular navigation on the Pripyat, Dnieper and Berezina rivers.

Tourism

The number of travel agencies in Gomel Region has grown from 21 in 2000 to 54 in 2010. Main tourist destinations of the region are Pripyatsky National Park and

References

External links

Gomel Oblast Executive CommitteeGomel Regional Executive Committee (Archive) (2004)Homel Region: Epicentre Of Troubles That Bore Celebrities
{{coord, 52, 20, N, 29, 40, E, region:BY-HO_type:adm1st_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Regions of Belarus