Zhytomyr Region

Zhytomyr Oblast is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Population: 1,268,903 (2013 est.)

History

The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937 out of territories of Vinnytsia and Kiev oblasts as well as two border okrugs of Kiev Oblast – Korosten Okrug and Novohrad-Volynsky Okrug.

The oblast covers territories of the historic regions of Polesia, Volhynia, and Podolia, which are reflected on the oblast's coat of arms.

Geography

The total area of the Zhytomyr Oblast is 29,832 km2 (11,518 sq mi).

Among the points of interest it is important to mention the following sites that were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine:

• Church of Saint Basil the Great (Ovruch)
• Stone village state preserve
• Korolev Memorial Astronautical Museum

The Museum of Ukrainian home icons, which is the only one in Europe, is situated in the Zhytomyr Oblast. It is located in Radomyshl, a small town, about 90 km away from Kyiv. The Museum is the part of the Radomysl Castle historical and cultural complex. It was founded by Olga Bogomolets.

Population

The current estimated population of the oblast is 1,268,903 (as of 2013). Zhytomyr Oblast is the most important center of Polish minority in Ukraine, which is numbered there at 49,000.

Age structure

0-14 years: 15.8% (male 103,194/female 97,617) 15-64 years: 68.1% (male 420,285/female 444,803) 65 years and over: 16.1% (male 65,301/female 138,472) (2013 official)

Nomenclature

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (Ukrainian: обласний центр, translit. oblasnyi tsentr). The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Zhytomyr is the center of the Zhytomyrs'ka oblast' (Zhytomyr 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 Zhytomyr Oblast, Zhytomyrshchyna.