Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

(province) in northeast

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 ...

. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

s from

Kharkiv Oblast Kharkiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine. Kharkiv borders Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the southeast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the southwest, Poltava Oblast to the w ...

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by 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

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 ...

. The estimated population is The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy. Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka. The modern region combines territories of the historical Severia (northern part) and

Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine, also known locally as ''Slobozhanshchyna'' or ''Slobozhanshchina'', is a historical region in northeastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia. It developed from Belgorod Razriad and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries on the ...

(southern part). On territory of the Sumy Oblast important centers of Ukrainian culture are located, such as the city of Hlukhiv which served as a hetman residence during the

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

as well as the cities of Okhtyrka and Sumy which were regional centers of the

. The oblast has a heavy mix of agriculture and industry, with over 600 industrial locations. Among the most notable was the Soviet

film stock Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent pl ...

manufacturer Svema in Shostka. Importantly, seven rivers pass through the oblast.

Geography

The Sumy Oblast is situated in the northeastern part of Ukraine. In Ukraine it borders

to its west, Poltava Oblast – southwest, and

– southeast. To its east Sumy Oblast borders the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

including

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

on the northeast,

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

and Belgorod on the east. The length of the state border with the Russian Federation is . There are three railway border crossing (Volfine, Pushkarne, Zernove) and five highway border crossings (Bachivsk, Katerynivka, Ryzhivka, Yunakivka, Velyka Pysarivka). In regard to border crossings, since 2006 the city of Sumy has an airport which has an international checkpoint. On its territory the Dnieper Lowland transitions east to the Central Russian Upland. The northern part of Sumy Oblast is part of the Polesie Lowland as its eastern region. Elevation is 110–240 m above sea level. Its area (23,800 km²) constitutes 3.95% of the country. Seven main rivers flow through the oblast, with Desna River being the largest. All of them are transit because crossing the oblast flowing from the territory of the Russian Federation west towards

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called 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. Approximately long, with ...

. All rivers in Sumy Oblast are part of the Dnieper River basin. The Sumy Oblast contains 168 objects and territories of natural reserve. The oblast is rich in picturesque banks of numerous rivers, and sources of mineral waters. Major environmental problems are:

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the Topsoil, upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, Atmosphere of Ea ...

, pesticide pollution, air and

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

. The city has a problem of garbage utilization. The only place for pesticide utilization in Ukraine is Shostka, Sumy Oblast.

History

The region was created on the ukase of

of the

on 10 January 1939 as part of 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. ...

. The newly created Sumy Oblast included 12 former raions of

, 17 former raions of

, and 2 former raions of Poltava Oblast. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1941–43, it was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

under administration of the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. After the German forces were driven out, the Soviet Union regained control of the region under jurisdiction of the

. In 1965 one of former Chernihiv Oblast raions ( Talalaivka Raion) was returned to Chernihiv Oblast. During the 2022

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

the Sumy Oblast was one of the first regions where Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed. Parts of the oblast came under Russian occupation during the invasion. On 4 April 2022 Governor of Sumy Oblast Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units. On 8 April 2022 Zhyvytskyi stated that all Russian troops had left Sumy Oblast. On 9 June 2024, amid Russian cross-border operations in neighboring

, Russian forces claimed to have attacked and captured the border village of Ryzhivka, though this was denied by Ukrainian authorities. Part of Sumy Oblast including the village of Novenke is currently occupied by Russia in its incursion into the province.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, ethnic Ukrainians accounted for 88.8% of the population of Sumy Oblast, and

ethnic Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

for 9.4%.

Language

Due to the Russification of Ukraine during the Soviet era, the share of Ukrainian speakers in the population of Sumy Oblast gradually decreased, while the share of Russian speakers increased. Native language of the population of Sumy Oblast according to the results of population censuses: Native language of the population of the raions, cities, and city councils of Sumy Oblast according to the 2001 Ukrainian census: Ukrainian is the only official language on the whole territory of Sumy Oblast. According to a poll conducted by '' Rating'' from 16 November to 10 December 2018 as part of the project «Portraits of Regions», 60% of the residents of Sumy Oblast believed that the Ukrainian language should be the only state language on the entire territory of Ukraine. 22% believed that Ukrainian should be the only state language, while Russian should be the second official language in some regions of the country. 10% believed that Russian should become the second state language of the country. 8% found it difficult to answer. On 26 April 2023, Sumy Oblast Military Administration approved the «Programme for the Development of the Ukrainian Language in All Spheres of Public Life in Sumy Oblast for 2023—2027», the main objective of which is to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian language in various spheres of public life in the oblast. According to the research of the ''Content Analysis Centre'', conducted from 15 August to 15 September 2024, the topic of which was the ratio of Ukrainian and Russian languages in the Ukrainian segment of

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

, 75.0% of posts from Sumy Oblast were written in Ukrainian (72.5% in 2023, 55.9% in 2022, 19.4% in 2020), while 25.0% were written in Russian (27.5% in 2023, 44.1% in 2022, 80.6% in 2020). After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, Sumy Oblast, as well as Ukraine as a whole, experienced a gradual Ukrainization of the education system, which had been Russified during the Soviet era. Dynamics of the ratio of the languages of instruction in general secondary education institutions in Sumy Oblast: According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in the 2023—2024 school year, all 91,513 pupils in general secondary education institutions in Sumy Oblast were studying in classes where Ukrainian was the language of instruction. —

Age structure

: ''0-14 years:'' 12.7% (male 74,529/female 70,521) : ''15-64 years:'' 70.8% (male 386,250/female 422,077) : ''65 years and over:'' 16.5% (male 60,374/female 127,306) (2013 official)

Median age

: ''total:'' 42.0 years : ''male:'' 38.6 years : ''female:'' 45.4 years (2013 official)

Points of interest

The following historic-cultural sited were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine. * Monument to a Mammoth (Kulishivka) * Kruhlyi dvir (Round court) * Sofroniiv Monastery

Administrative divisions

It comprises 5 raions (districts) that are further subdivided into 51 territorial hromadas (communities). The following data incorporates the number of each type of

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

s of the Sumy Oblast: * Administrative Center – 1 ( Sumy); * Raions – 5; *

Hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...

s – 51. The local administration of the oblast is controlled by the Sumy Oblast council. The governor of the oblast (chairman of state regional administration) is appointed by the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Districts

Districts in cities

Liquidated districts

More: '' Administrative divisions of Sumy Oblast''

Economy

Industry

The main industrial activities of the oblast are: chemical mechanical engineering, pumping and energy mechanical engineering, agricultural machine-construction, instrument-making industry and radio electronics, technical equipment production for processing fields of agro-industrial complexes, mining and iron ore production industry, polygraph industry and medicine production, oil and gas processing, chemical production, film and photo material production ''(See: Svema)'', and chemical fertilizer production. In general, there are 273 large industry enterprises and 327 small industry enterprises.

Agriculture

In 1999, the gross grain yield was about 446,000 tons, sugar beets – 664,000 tons, sunflower seeds – 27,700 tons, potatoes – 343,600 tons. The region also produced 108,700 tons of meat, 517,800 tons of milk and 295,300,000 eggs. At the beginning of 1999, there were 781 registered farms in the oblast.

Notable people from Sumy Oblast

* Viktor Yushchenko – 3rd

(2005–2010); Khoruzhivka village * Yevhen Adamtsevych – a Ukrainian bandurist, the author of Zaporizhian March * Ivan Bahrianyi – a Ukrainian poet and a political leader in exile; Okhtyrka * Oleksi Berest – one of the soldiers who hoisted the Victory Banner in Berlin and a posthumous Hero of Ukraine. * Dmitry Bortniansky – a Ukrainian composer; Hlukhiv * Dmitry Chechulin – chief architect of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

; born in Shostka in 1901 * Thomas de Hartmann, composer * Volodymyr Holubnychy –

race walker Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

, Olympic gold medal; Sumy *

Abram Ioffe Abram Fedorovich Ioffe ( rus, Абра́м Фёдорович Ио́ффе, p=ɐˈbram ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ ɪˈofɛ; – 14 October 1960) was a prominent Soviet Union, Soviet physicist. He received the USSR State Prize, Stalin Prize (1942), the ...

, an academician, "father of the Soviet physics"; Romny * Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub – WWII ace and air marshal of the Soviet Union. * Panteleimon Kulish, Ukrainian writer, author of Ukrainian alphabet variation; Voronizh * Vladimir Kuts, long-distance runner, Olympic gold medal; Trostianets Raion * Mykola Khvylovy, poet, one of the most recognized members of the so-called Executed Renaissance * Ada Rohovtseva, stage actress of theater and cinema, People's Actor of Ukraine, USSR People's Actor, Hero of Ukraine * Andrey Razumovsky, son of Kyrylo Rozumovsky, Active Privy Councillor, 1st class * Natalia Ivanovna Sedova – Wife of

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

, born in Romny in 1882 * Stephen Timoshenko – considered as "America's father of engineering mechanics" (1878–1972) * Leonid Toptunov – senior reactor control chief engineer at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Unit 4 on the night of 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 ...

* Vladimir Sakhenko,

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and ceramist

Nomenclature

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (, translit. ''oblasnyi tsentr''). The name of each oblast is a relative

adjective An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...

, formed by adding a feminine

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

to the name of respective center city: ''Sumy'' is the center of the ''Sums’ka oblast'' (Sumy 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 Sumy Oblast, ''Sumshchyna''.

Gallery

File:Skyline of Sumy (cropped).jpg, Skyline of Sumy File:Георгіївська церква (мур.), Охтирка P1490651.jpg, St. George's Church in Okhtyrka File:Руїни на місці Путивльської фортеці (Вигляд 2).jpg, Putyvl Fortress File:Глухівський національний педагогічний університет 03.jpg, Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University File:Galitzine Manege.jpg, Kruhlyi Dvir in Trostianets File:Сумський обласний художній музей ім. Никанора Онацького .jpg, Nikanor Onatsky Art Museum File:Сумська Альтанка зима ніч.jpg, Pokrovska Square in Sumy File:Пам'ятник Тарасу.jpg, Monument to

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

File:Trostyanets' Park Neskuchne Trostyanetskiy Park 03 Neskuchans'ka 5 (YDS 7781).JPG, Trostianets Park File:Стариця Десни біля Очкино.jpg, Desna-Stara Huta National Nature Park File:Околиці Замкової гори в селі Куземин 04.jpg, Hetman National Nature Park File:Peremyčka, turistické značení.jpg, Czech transliteration of Ukrainian

References

External links

State Administration of Sumy Oblast
– official site
Information Card of the Region
– official site of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Independent regional Web-portal
– news, features, entertainment & tourism info {{coord, 51, 00, N, 34, 00, E, region:UA_type:adm1st, display=title Oblasts of Ukraine States and territories established in 1939 1939 establishments in Ukraine