Western Oblast (russian: Западная область, ''Zapadnaya oblast'') was an ''oblast'' (a first-level administrative and municipal unit) of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1929 to 1937. Its seat was in the city of Smolensk. The oblast was located in the west of European Russia, and its territory is currently divided between Bryansk Oblast, Bryansk, Kaluga Oblast, Kaluga, Pskov Oblast, Pskov, Smolensk Oblast, Smolensk, and Tver Oblast, Tver Oblasts. By the Soviet Census (1937), 1937 All-Union Census, the population of the oblast was 4,693,495 persons. It was abolished on 27 September 1937.

History

The oblast was established on 1 October 1929 by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.Первая советская реформа, укрупнение единиц административно-территориального деления в 1923 – 1929 гг\\С.А.Тархов Изменение административно-территориального деления за последние 300 лет
/ref> The territory of the oblast was formed from Smolensk Governorate, Smolensk and Bryansk Governorates, parts of Moscow Governorate, Moscow, Kaluga Governorate, Kaluga, and Tver Governorates, as well as Velikiye Luki Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. The oblast was subdivided into eight administrative districts (''okrugs''), *Bryansk Okrug (with the seat located in Bryansk); *Klintsy Okrug (Klintsy); *Roslavl Okrug (Roslavl); *Rzhev Okrug (Rzhev); *Smolensk Okrug (Smolensk); *Sukhinichi Okrug (Sukhinichi); *Velikiye Luki Okrug (Velikiye Luki); *Vyazma Okrug (Vyazma). Before the oblast was established, the constituent governorates used the old division inherited from the Russian Empire (uyezds). On 1 October 1929 the division of the oblast into districts was established. The following districts have been established, * In Bryansk Okrug: Brasovsky District, Brasovsky, Bryansky District, Bryansky, Dyatkovsky District, Dyatkovsky, Karachevsky District, Karachevsky, Khotynetsky District, Khotynetsky, Khvastovichsky District, Khvastovichsky, Komarichsky District, Komarichsky, Lyudinovsky District, Lyudinovsky, Navlinsky District, Navlinsky, Kirovsky District, Kaluga Oblast, Pesochensky, Sevsky District, Sevsky, Shablykinsky District, Shablykinsky, Suzemsky District, Suzemsky, Trubchevsky District, Trubchevsky, Vygonichsky District, Vygonichsky, Zhizdrinsky District, Zhizdrinsky, Zhiryatinsky District, Zhiryatinsky, and Zhukovsky District, Bryansk Oblast, Zhukovsky. * In Klintsy Okrug: Churovichsky District, Churovichsky, Gordeyevsky District, Gordeyevsky, Klimovsky District, Klimovsky, Klintsovsky District, Klintsovsky, Krasnogorsky District, Bryansk Oblast, Krasnogorsky, Mglinsky District, Mglinsky, Novozybkovsky District, Novozybkovsky, Pogarsky District, Pogarsky, Ponurovsky District, Ponurovsky, Pochepsky District, Pochepsky, Starodubsky District, Starodubsky, Surazhsky District, Surazhsky, and Unechsky District, Unechsky. * In Roslavl Okrug: Dubrovsky District, Dubrovsky, Khislavichsky District, Khislavichsky, Kletnyansky District, Kletnyansky, Mokrovsky District, Mokrovsky, Pochinkovsky District, Pochinkovsky, Rognedinsky District, Rognedinsky, Roslavlsky District, Roslavlsky, Shumyachsky District, Shumyachsky, Stodolishchensky District, Stodolishchensky, Yekimovichsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Yekimovichsky, and Yershichsky District, Yershichsky. * In Rzhev Okrug: Belsky District, Tver Oblast, Belsky, Kuvshinovsky District, Kamensky, Karmanovsky District, Karmanovsky, Lukovnikovsky District, Lukovnikovsky, Molodotudsky District, Molodotudsky, Nelidovsky District, Nelidovsky, Oleninsky District, Oleninsky, Pogorelsky District, Pogorelsky, Rzhevsky District, Rzhevsky, Selizharovsky District, Selizharovsky, Staritsky District, Staritsky, Stepurinsky District, Stepurinsky, Sychyovsky District, Sychyovsky, Vysokovsky District, Vysokovsky, Yeltsovsky District, Tver Oblast, Yeltsovsky, and Zubtsovsky District, Zubtsovsky. *In Smolensk Okrug: Baturinsky District, Baturinsky, Demidovsky District, Demidovsky, Dorogobuzhsky District, Dorogobuzhsky, Dukhovshchinsky District, Dukhovshchinsky, Glinkovsky District, Glinkovsky, Grinyovsky District, Grinyovsky, Kardymovsky District, Kardymovsky, Kasplyansky District, Kasplyansky, Katynsky District, Katynsky, Krasninsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Krasninsky, Monastyrshchinsky District, Monastyrshchinsky, Ponizovsky District, Ponizovsky, Prechistensky District, Smolensk Oblast, Prechistensky, Rudnyansky District, Rudnyansky, Safonovsky District, Safonovsky, Slobodskoy District, Western Oblast, Slobodskoy, Yartsevsky District, Yartsevsky, and Yelninsky District, Yelninsky. * In Sukhinichi Okrug: Baryatinsky District, Baryatinsky, Duminichsky District, Duminichsky, Kozelsky District, Kozelsky, Meshchovsky District, Meshchovsky, Mosalsky District, Mosalsky, Pavlinovsky District, Pavlinovsky, Ulyanovsky District, Kaluga Oblast, Plokhinsky, Spas-Demensky District, Spas-Demensky, Sukhinichsky District, Sukhinichsky, Vskhodsky District, Vskhodsky, and Yukhnovsky District, Yukhnovsky. * In Velikiye Luki Okrug: Bologovsky District, Bologovsky, Idritsky District, Idritsky, Ilyinsky District, Kalinin Oblast, Ilyinsky, Kholmsky District, Novgorod Oblast, Kholmsky, Kunyinsky District, Kunyinsky, Leninsky District, Kalinin Oblast, Leninsky, Loknyansky District, Loknyansky, Nasvinsky District, Nasvinsky, Nevelsky District, Pskov Oblast, Nevelsky, Novosokolnichesky District, Novosokolnichesky, Oktyabrsky District, Kalinin Oblast, Oktyabrsky, Ostashkovsky District, Ostashkovsky, Penovsky District, Penovsky, Porechensky District, Porechyevsky, Pustoshkinsky District, Pustoshkinsky, Rykovsky District, Rykovsky, Sebezhsky District, Sebezhsky, Sovetsky District, Western Oblast, Sovetsky, Toropetsky District, Toropetsky, Lovatsky District, Troitsky, Tsevelsky District, Tsevelsky, Usmynsky District, Usmynsky, Ust-Dolyssky District, Ust-Dolyssky, Usvyatsky District, Usvyatsky, Velizhsky District, Velizhsky, and Velikoluksky District, Velikoluksky. * In Vyazma Okrug: Dzerzhinsky District, Kaluga Oblast, Bukharinsky, Gagarinsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Gzhatsky, Izdeshkovsky District, Izdeshkovsky, Iznoskovsky District, Iznoskovsky, Kholm-Zhirkovsky District, Kholm-Zhirkovsky, Medynsky District, Medynsky, Novoduginsky District, Novoduginsky, Tyomkinsky District, Tyomkinsky, Uvarovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Uvarovsky, Andreyevsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Voskresensky, Vyazemsky District, Vyazemsky, and Znamensky District, Smolensk Oblast, Znamensky. On 10 May 1930 Uvarovsky District was transferred to Moscow Oblast. On 12 May of the same year Smolensk Okrug was renamed Yartsevo Okrug, and its seat was transferred to Yartsevo, Smolensk Oblast, Yartsevo. On 1 August 1930 the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast. Smolensk and Bryansk were made cities of the oblast significance. On 20 September 1930 twelve districts were abolished: Bologovsky, Ponizovsky, Porechyevsky, Rykovsky, Slobodskoy, Sovetsky, Stepurinsky, Tsevelsky, Troitsky, Usmynsky, Ust-Dolyssky, Vysokovsky Districts. On 20 November of the same year Grinyovsky, Kardymovsky, and Katynsky Districts were abolished and merged into Smolensky District. On 10 February 1931 Vskhodsky District was abolished. On 1 February 1932 eighteen more districts were abolished: Baturinsky, Churovichsky, Idritsky, Iznoskovsky, Kasplyansky, Khotinetsky, Kunyinsky, Mokrovsky, Molodotudsky, Nasvinsky, Pavlinovsky, Ponurovsky, Rognedinsky, Voskresensky, Vygonichsky, Yeltsovsky, Yershichsky, and Zhiryatinsky Districts. On 30 January 1934 Pogorelsky, Prechistensky, and Suzemsky Districts were abolished. On 28 December of the same year Plokhinsky District was renamed Rumyantsevsky. On 18 January 1935 a number of districts were established or re-established. These were Chertolinsky, Iznoskovsky, Kardymovsky, Kunyinsky, Penovsky, Pogorelsky, Ponizovsky, Prechistensky, Rognedinsky, Suzemsky, Tumanovsky, Voskresensky, Vskhodsky, and Yershichsky Districts. On 29 January 1935 the northern part of Western Oblast was transferred into newly established Tver Oblast, Kalinin Oblast. It consisted of Chertolinsky, Kamensky, Kholmsky, Kunyinsky, Leninsky, Loknyansky, Lukovnikovsky, Nelidovsky, Nevelsky, Novosokolnichesky, Oktyabrsky, Oleninsky, Ostashkovsky, Penovsky, Pogorelsky, Pustoshkinsky, Rzhevsky, Sebezhsky, Selizharovsky, Staritsky, Toropetsky, Velikoluksky, and Zubtsovsky Districts. On 27 December 1935 Voskresensky District was renamed Andreyevsky District, on January 1936 Pesochensky District was renamed Kirovsky District, and on 5 March 1937 Bukharinsky District was renamed Dzerzhinsky District, following the arrest of Nikolai Bukharin, subsequently executed. In 1937, Rumyantsevsky District was renamed Ulyanovsky, following the arrest of Ivan Rumyantsev, the first secretary of the Western Oblast Committee of the Bolshevik Party. On 27 September 1937 the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issues a decree which abolished Western Oblast. It was split between Oryol Oblast, Oryol and Smolensk Oblasts. In particular, the following 29 districts, Brasovsky, Bryansky, Dubrovsky, Dyatkovsky, Gordeyevsky, Karachevsky, Khvastovichsky, Kletnyansky, Klimovsky, Klintsovsky, Komarichsky, Krasnogorsky, Lyudinovsky, Mglinsky, Navlinsky, Novozybkovsky, Pochepsky, Pogarsky, Rognedinsky, Sevsky, Shablykinsky, Starodubsky, Suzemsky, Surazhsky, Trubchevsky, Ulyanovsky, Unechsky, Zhizdrinsky, and Zhukovsky Districts, were transferred to Oryol Oblast. The remaining 49 districts were transferred to Smolensk Oblast. These were Andreyevsky, Baryatinsky, Baturinsky, Belsky, Demidovsky, Dorogobuzhsky, Dukhovshchinsky, Duminichsky, Dzerzhinsky, Gzhatsky, Glinkovsky, Ilyinsky, Izdeshkovsky, Iznoskovsky, Kardymovsky, Karmanovsky, Kasplyansky, Khislavichsky, Kholm-Zhirkovsky, Kirovsky, Kozelsky, Krasnyansky, Medynsky, Meshchovsky, Monastyrshchinsky, Mosalsky, Novoduginsky, Ponizovsky, Pochinkovsky, Prechistensky, Roslavlsky, Rudnyansky, Safonovsky, Shumyachsky, Slobodskoy, Smolensky, Spas-Demensky, Sukhinichsky, Stodolishchensky, Sychyovsky, Tyomkinsky, Tumanovsky, Usvyatsky, Velizhsky, Vskhodsky, Vyazemsky, Yartsevsky, Yekimovichsky, Yelninsky, Yershichsky, Yukhnovsky, and Znamensky Districts. The most important authority in the oblast was the first secretary of the CPSU, VKP(b) Oblast Committee. The following persons were the first secretaries, * Ivan Petrovich Rumyantsev (1929–1937), executed during the Great Purge; * Demyan Sergeyevich Korotchenko (1937), acting first secretary.

References

{{reflist Oblasts of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Geography of Smolensk Oblast Geography of Pskov Oblast Geography of Bryansk Oblast Geography of Tver Oblast Geography of Kaluga Oblast