Volhynian Governorate or Volyn Governorate (russian: Волы́нская губе́рния, translit=Volynskaja gubernija, uk, Волинська губернія, translit=Volynska huberniia) was an administrative-territorial unit initially of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, created at the end of 1796 after the
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...
from the territory of the short-lived
Volhynian Vice-royalty and
Wołyń Voivodeship.
After the
Peace of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet Wa ...
, part of the governorate became the
new Wołyń Voivodeship in the
Second Polish Republic, while the other part stayed as a part of the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
until 1925 when it was abolished on resolution of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee and Counsel of People's Commissars.
[
]
History
Until 1796 the guberniya was administrated as a namestnichestvo
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
(Vice-royalty). It was initially centred in Iziaslav and was called the Izyaslav namesnichestvo. It was created mostly out of the Kiev Voivodeship
The Kiev Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kijowskie, la, Palatinatus Kioviensis, uk, Київське воєводство, ''Kyjivśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
and the east part of the Wolyn Voivodeship.
On 24 October 1795 the Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...
happened.
On 12 December 1796 the Volhynian Governorate (guberniya) was created and included the rest of the Wolyn Voivodeship
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...
and Kowel Voivodeship
Kovel (, ; pl, Kowel; yi, קאוולע / קאוולי ) is a city in Volyn Oblast (province), in northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion (district). Population:
Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runi ...
.
In 1796 the administration moved to Novograd-Volynsky
Zviahel (, ; translit. ''Zvil'') is a city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Originally known as ''Zviahel'', the city was renamed to ''Novohrad-Volynskyi'' () in 1795 after annexation of territories of Polish–Lithuanian ...
, but because no buildings were found suited for administrative purposes the seat (capital) was moved again to Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...
.
In 1802 Zhytomyr was finally bought out of the properties of Prince (knyaz) Ilyinsky and in 1804 it became officially the seat of the Volyn Governorate.
From 1832 to 1915 the Volhynian Governorate and the Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...
and the Podolia Governorate
The Podolia Governorate or Podillia Governorate (), set up after the Second Partition of Poland, was a governorate (''gubernia'', ''province'', or ''government'') of the Russian Empire from 1793 to 1917, of the Ukrainian People's Republic from 1 ...
were part of the Southwestern Krai
Southwestern Krai (russian: Юго-западный край, Yugo-zapadny kray), also known as Kiev General Governorate or Kiev, Podolia, and Volhynia General Governorate ( rus, Киевское, Подольское и Волынское г ...
General-Governorate, a type of militarized administrative-territorial unit.
In the 1880s the general-governorate was extended and included also other governorates.
In 1897 the population of the gubernia was 2,989,482 and in 1905 – 3,920,400. The majority of the population of the governorate spoke in old Ukrainian language
Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...
with slight variety of dialects.
During the Ukrainian–Soviet War
The Ukrainian–Soviet War ( uk, радянсько-українська війна, translit=radiansko-ukrainska viina) was an armed conflict from 1917 to 1921 between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Bolsheviks (Soviet Ukraine and S ...
Zhytomir served as the provisional capital of Ukraine in 1918.
After the Polish-Soviet war in 1920 and according to the Peace of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet Wa ...
(1921) most of the territory became part of the Second Polish Republic and transformed into Wołyń Voivodeship with the capital in Łuck
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding L ...
(Lutsk). The eastern portion existed to 1925 and later split into three okruhas Shepetivka Okruha, Zhytomyr Okruha, and Korosten Okruha.
Heads of Guberniya
;Revkom
*1919 Mikhail Kruchinskiy (concurrently the head of Volyn Cheka)
;Volyn Executive Committee
*1920 Oleksandr Shumsky
Alexander Yakovlevich Shumsky or Oleksandr Yakovych Shumskyi ( uk, Олександр Якович Шумський, russian: Александр Яковлевич Шумский; 2 December 1890 – 18 September 1946) was a Ukrainian communist and ...
*1920 Vasiliy Averin
* – 1921 Danylevych
*1921–1922 Ivan Nikolayenko
Head of Security Services
;Cheka
*1919 Vasyl Viliavko
*1919 M.Shuf
*1919 Mikhail Kruchinskiy
*November 1919 – December 1919 Vsevolod Balytsky
*December 1919 Vasyl Levotsky (acting)
* – 2 November 1921 Semen Kesselman (Zapadny)
*January 1922 – 2 June 1922 Janis Biksons
;GPU
* -1923 Pavel Ivonin
* March 1923 – October 1923 Foma Leoniuk
* 1 July 1923 – 1 September 1924 Symon Dukelsky
* 1924 – 1925 Aleksandr Safes (Grozny)
Principal cities
Russian Census of 1897
* Zhytomir
Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...
– 65 895 (Jewish – 30 572, Russian – 16 944, Ukrainian – 9 152)
* Rovno
Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
– 24 573 (Jewish – 13 704, Russian – 4 278, Ukrainian – 4 071)
* Kremenets
Kremenets ( uk, Крем'янець, Кременець, translit. ''Kremianets'', ''Kremenets''; pl, Krzemieniec; yi, קרעמעניץ, Kremenits) is a city in Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center o ...
– 17 704 (Ukrainian – 8 322, Jewish – 6 476, Russian – 1 863)
* Kovel – 17 697 (Jewish – 8 502, Russian – 4 828, Ukrainian – 2 093)
* Novograd-Volynsky
Zviahel (, ; translit. ''Zvil'') is a city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Originally known as ''Zviahel'', the city was renamed to ''Novohrad-Volynskyi'' () in 1795 after annexation of territories of Polish–Lithuanian ...
– 16 904 (Jewish – 9 363, Russian – 2 939, Ukrainian – 2 662)
* Starokonstantinov
Starokostiantyniv ( uk, Старокостянтинів; pl, Starokonstantynów, or ''Konstantynów''; yi, אלט-קאָנסטאַנטין ''Alt Konstantin'') is a city in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. ...
– 16 377 (Jewish – 9 164, Ukrainian – 4 886, Russian – 1 402)
* Lutsk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...
– 15 804 (Jewish – 9 396, Russian – 2 830, Ukrainian – 1 478)
* Ostrog – 14 749 (Jewish – 9 185, Ukrainian – 2 446, Russian – 2 199)
* Dubno
Dubno ( uk, Ду́бно) is a city and municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Dubno Raion (district). The city is located on intersection of two major ...
– 14 257 (Jewish – 7 096, Russian – 2 962, Ukrainian – 2 474)
* Zaslavl – 12 611 (Jewish – 5 991, Ukrainian – 3 990, Russian – 1 722)
Administrative division
Language
*By the Imperial census of 1897. In bold are languages spoken by more people than the state language.
Religion
*By the Imperial census of 1897.Religion Statistics of 1897
In bold are religions with more members than the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Governorates of the Russian Empire
History of Volhynia
1790s establishments in the Russian Empire
Governorates of Ukraine