Chernobyl Raion () or Chornobyl Raion () was a raion in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

located in the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. It was one of 26 administrative raions (districts) of

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

in northern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. After the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

, the majority of the raion was contaminated, and many of its populated places were included into the

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, also called the 30-Kilometre Zone or simply The Zone, was established shortly after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. Initially, Soviet authorities declar ...

, which is an officially designated exclusion area around the site of the disaster.

Geography

The Chernobyl Raion was located in the northern portion of Kyiv Oblast, at the time an administrative portion of the

. To the raion's east, it bordered upon the

Kyiv Reservoir The Kyiv Reservoir (), locally the Kyiv Sea (), is a large Reservoir (water), water reservoir located on the Dnipro River in Ukraine. Named after the city of Kyiv, which lies to the south, it covers an area of within the Kyiv Oblast. The reserv ...

; to its south, the Vyshhorod Raion; to its southwest, the Ivankiv Raion; and to its west, the Poliske Raion, significant portions of which also suffered due to the Chernobyl disaster. Today, the territory of the former raion is administratively part of the Vyshhorod RaionDe facto the area of the former raion is located within and is governed by the specially designated

. (prior to the 2020 reform, it was part of the Ivankiv Raion). Prior to its liquidation, the Chernobyl Raion had an area of and a population of 44,000. The

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in h ...

flows through the territory of the former raion before emptying into the Kyiv Reservoir.

History

The Chernobyl Raion was established in 1923 out of transformation of Radomyslsky County and Chernobyl County ( uyezds) which was created in 1919 within the Kyiv Governorate following an administrative reorganization of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. From its creation in 1923 until 1941, its

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

was the

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

Chernobyl Chernobyl, officially called Chornobyl, is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, to the north of Kyiv and to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. ...

; after 1941, the settlement's status was upgraded to that of a city of district significance. On 16 November 1988, the Chernobyl Raion was liquidated and merged with the Ivankiv Raion based on a decree of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1996, the remaining populated settlements of the Chernobyl Raion that weren't evacuated after the disaster were transferred to the Ivankiv Raion's administration. Today, most of the district former territory is located in the exclusion zone, where the ChNPP (Chernobyl Nuclear-Power Plant) service personnel live on a shift basis, and 135 (as of October 2017) samosely or "self-settlers" permanently reside. Most of the radionuclides are contained in the upper soil layer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, most places are harmless to humans – there are only about 3–4 MK3V of gamma radiation. On July 17, 2020, the areas of the Poliske Raion and the Ivankiv Raion (thus, the territory of the former Chernobyl Raion), as well as the city of Slavutych, were merged into Vyshhorod Raion as part of the Decentralisation in Ukraine.

Administrative divisions

Overview

Before it was liquidated, the Chernobyl Raion had one city council (miskrada) under its administration (the administrative center Chernobyl), and 23 rural councils ( silrada), to which 69 villages were subordinated. There was a total of 70 populated places in the raion. The city of

Pripyat Pripyat, also known as Prypiat, is an abandoned industrial city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat (river), Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1970 as the ninth ''atomgrad'' ...

, which was established in 1970 for workers and families of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, was formerly administratively subordinate to the Chernobyl Raion. In 1980, it was given the status of a city of regional significance, administratively subordinate to the Kyiv Oblast authorities rather than the Chernobyl Raion.

Settlements

*Inside the Exclusion Zone:

(city), Andriivka, Benivka,

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

, Bychky, Buriakivka, Chapaievka, Cherevach, Chistohalivka, Hlynka, Horodchan, Horodyshche, Illintsi, Ilovnytsia, Ivanivka, Kamianka, Kopachi, Kosharivka, Koshivka, Kotsiubynske, Krasne/Masheve, Krasne/Tovstyi Lis, Kryva Hora, Kupuvate, Ladyzhychi, Leliv, Masheve, Nova Krasnytsia, Novoshepelychi, Novosilky, Opachychi, Otashiv, Paryshiv, Pliutovyshche, Rozizhdzhe, Rozsokha, Rudky, Rudnia-Illinetska, Rudnia-Veresnia, Stara Krasnytsia, Stari Shepelychi, Starosillia, Stechanka, Terekhy, Teremtsi, Tovstyi Lis, Usiv, Yampil, Yaniv (until 1980, administered by the city of

), Zalissia, Zamoshnia, Zapillia, Zymovyshche. *Outside the Exclusion Zone: Dytiatky, Fruzynivka, Hubyn, Hornostaipil, Laputky, Medvyn, Strakholissya, Zoryn.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control History of Kyiv Oblast Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Former raions of Kyiv Oblast 1923 establishments in Ukraine 1988 disestablishments in Ukraine Vyshhorod Raion