Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), 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 ...

(region) in south-east

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 ...

. Its

administrative centre 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 Belgi ...

is the city of

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an important part of Ukraine's industry and agriculture. Most of the oblast's area, including all of the coast, has been under Russian military occupation since 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 ...

, although the capital and the majority of the population have remained under Ukrainian administration. In September 2022, Russia declared it had annexed the Zaporizhzhia oblast based on the results of a disputed referendum. The referendum and subsequent annexation are not internationally recognized. To the south, Zaporizhzhia Oblast covers roughly of coastline of the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

, as part of a coastal region known as Pryazovia.

Geography

The area of the oblast is 27,183 km²; its population (estimated as of 1 January 2013) was 1,785,243. Zaporizhzhia Oblast is located within the regions of

(northern part) and Pryazovia (southern part).

Cities

Its largest cities by population are: #

# Melitopol – under Russian occupation #

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk (, ; , ) is a port city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Berdiansk Raion. The c ...

– under Russian occupation # Enerhodar (location of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) – under Russian occupation # Tokmak – under Russian occupation # Polohy – under Russian occupation # Dniprorudne – under Russian occupation # Vilniansk # Orikhiv # Huliaipole # Vasylivka – under Russian occupation

Relief

Zaporizhzhia Oblast is characterized by a flat landscape.

Soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s are mostly chernozem. Knowledge of the relief of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast today is especially important because of the problem of land reclamation and its more intensive use. The territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast as a whole has a flat topography, but there are markedly elevated and depressed areas, which differ in shape, origin, and age. The highest central-eastern part of the oblast is the Azov Upland. It extends to the east and to the territory of

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

, where it meets the Donetsk ridge. In the south, between the Azov Upland and the

, is the western part of the Azov coastal plain, which flows into the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

west of the Molochna River. The northeastern end of the coastal plain merges with the Zaporizhzhia inner plain, which borders the southeastern outskirts of the Dnieper Upland. Thus, the territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast consists of two distinct

geomorphological Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topography, topographic and bathymetry, bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. Ge ...

parts: the outskirts of the Azov and Dnipro uplands, which structurally correspond to the southeastern part of the Ukrainian crystalline massif and the outskirts of the coastal Pryazov and Black Sea plains, which are located within the Black Sea basin.

History

In antiquity, an area which roughly corresponds to the modern Zaporizhzhia Oblast was called the land of Gerrhos, according to

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

. This area was the burial place of the kings of the "Royal

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

". Historically, at various times, the territory was ruled either entirely or partly by Scythia, Old Great Bulgaria, Khazars, the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, the Crimean Khanate,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and

Russia 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 ...

. Khortytsia, a former fortress of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, is located in the oblast. In 1917–1920 the territory passed subsequently between the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

, White Russians, Makhnovists, the Bolsheviks once again, White Russians once again, and eventually fell to the Bolsheviks in late 1920. The modern Zaporizhzhia Oblast was created 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. ...

on 10 January 1939 out of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. During the 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum, 90.66% of votes in the oblast were in favor of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine.

Russian invasion

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 Russian armed forces occupied the southern part of the oblast, defeating the Ukrainian armed forces at Melitopol and at Enerhodar. The northern parts of the oblast, including its capital city,

, remained under Ukrainian control. On 23–27 September 2022, 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 ...

held a referendum in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia oblast for "independence and subsequent entry into the Russian Federation". These referendums are recognized by most states to be staged and against international law. On 29 September 2022, the Russian Federation recognized Zaporizhzhia Oblast as an independent state. On 30 September, Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

announced the

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and signed an "accession decree" which is widely considered to be illegal. At that time, Russia was only in control of about 70% of the province as a whole. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

General Assembly subsequently passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it described as an "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw".

Points of interest

The following sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine. * Kamyana Mohyla, prehistoric "Stone Tomb" site (museum-preserve) * Khortytsia, island in the River Dnieper * Dnieper Hydroelectric Station

Subdivisions

Following the reforms of 2020, the oblast is divided into five new raions, which is reduced from 25. The system of municipalities (cities of regional significance) that were directly subordinate to the oblast government was discontinued. All populated places were subordinated to raion (district) government.

Russian occupation

Since February–March 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation have controlled the majority of the Zaporizhia Oblast. The city of Melitopol serves as a temporary administration center for the occupied territories. The front lines of the war pass through Vasylivka and Polohy raions, just north of both cities of Vasylivka and Polohy.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, the population of the oblast was 1,929,171. Some 70.8% considered themselves

, while 24.7% were

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 ...

. The remainder were Bulgarians (1.4%), Belarusians (0.7%), and others (1.6%). Almost half the population (48.2%) considered the

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

to be their native language.

Age structure

: ''0–14 years:'' 13.5% (male 124,285/female 116,613) : ''15–64 years:'' 70.7% (male 598,849/female 662,838) : ''65 years and over:'' 15.8% (male 91,051/female 190,818) (2013 official)

Median age

: ''total:'' 41.2 years : ''male:'' 37.5 years : ''female:'' 44.8 years (2013 official)

Fertility

Education

679 daytime and 11 evening state schools plus 6 daytime schools that are non-budget supported secondary schools involved 271,400 pupils in 2001. 22 classical schools, 8 lyceums, a Sichovy collegium and 54 education-breeding complex bodies aren't out of reach to gifted children. New style 38 complex kindergarten-schools work too. Over 60,000 children develop their talents through out-of-school institutions. They attend 30 creative centres, 6 science-technical stations and four young naturalists' stations, five tourist clubs, three training flotillas, 11 children's sports clubs and 20 sports schools. The extra-scholastic education system has such a unique body as the Small Academy of Science. Boys and girls work there in six main disciplines: physics-mathematics, chemistry-biology, history-geography, philology, industrial and information technologies. The Small Academy young members maintain close friendly relations with scientists of big institutes and universities. 26 youngsters became winners of the All-Ukrainian Academy contest, so the Zaporizhzhia oblast team gained the 1st place. 325 secondary schools, five classical schools, a collegium, and three comprehensive schools use the Ukrainian language. Nevertheless, the minorities have a free choice—193 schools are Russian, a large Jewish school «Alef» works in Zaporizhzhia and smaller ones exist in other points, a Ukrainian-Bulgarian Lyceum is in Primorsky district. The Greek, Czech, Bulgarian languages are very popular in Yakimivsky, Berdyansky, Priazovsky and Melitopole rural districts. One may learn Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Polish, Tatar and other languages attending option courses anywhere. Specialists keep on looking for an adaptive school model. 26 institutions develop the humanization process using new teaching technologies. The Khortitsky multi-profile teaching-rehabilitation centre has worked out methods for complete support of sanatorium-boarding-schools' children. Berdiansk is the town where a regional boarding school for orphans works out active socialization programs. 42 institutions provide vocational education. This system distributes well-trained workers to regional industries and businesses. The list of specialties includes over 100 names. Vocational schools give courses for improving qualifications in cooperation with unemployment centres. More than 1,500 jobless persons get new professions every year due to it. The higher education system is the most flexible and advanced. Today, 25 state-controlled technical colleges have I-II class rank and 8 higher institutions have III-IV class certificates. These are the university and the Zaporizhzhia Politechnic, the Medical University and the Institute of Law with Ministry of Internal Affairs in Zaporizhzhia City, the Pedagogical University, the Agricultural Academy in Melitopol and the Pedagogical Institute in Berdiansk. There are also five higher-education private bodies—the Institute of Economics and Information Technologies, the State and Municipal Government Institute and the others. Over 65,000 people are students in this oblast. There are 212 Doctors of Science and 1,420 Candidates of Science among their lecturers. The city of Zaporizhzhia is one of the biggest centres for foreigners' education in Ukraine. The

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

named two minor planets 5936 Khadzhinov and 19082 Vikchernov in honor of Ukrainians from Zaporizhizhia Oblast who made a significant contribution in science and education.

Economics

Gross regional product

The volume of the gross regional product (GRP) of the oblast in 2016 amounted to ₴104,323 million (9th place among the regions). The total contribution of the oblast to the GRP of Ukraine was 4.4%. The index of the physical volume of gross regional product in the previous year's prices was 99.7%. The amount of gross value added (GVA) in 2016 amounted to ₴82,054 million (9th place among the oblasts). The total contribution of the oblast to the GVA of Ukraine amounted to 4.1% in 2016. The index of physical volume of gross value added in previous year's prices was 99.8%. The main types of economic activity that form the GVA of the oblast are: * Industry (including the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning): 41% * Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries: 13.9% * Wholesale and retail trade: 10.4% * Real estate transactions: 6%

Gallery

File:Tavrian state agrotechnological university.JPG, Tavrian State Agrotechnological University in Melitopol File:Будинок чоловічої класичної гімназії Бердянськ 5.jpg, Berdiansk State Pedagogical University in

File:Tokmak Tserkva Sergiya Radonez'kogo 05 (Balanovka) (YDS 8437).JPG, Saint Sergius Church in Tokmak File:Вид з мосту, північна сторона.jpg, Railway station in Polohy File:Orihiv Shevchenka 11 Sadyba Genriha Yantsena 01 (YDS 0409).jpg, Old mansion in Orikhiv File:Будівля парового млина "Надія", місто Гуляйполе.jpg, Old mill in Huliaipole File:Nuzp-photo(2020)-001.jpg, Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University File:Запорожье новый терминал.jpg, Zaporizhzhia International Airport File:Solokha barrow. V c. BC - panoramio.jpg, Solokha Kurgan File:Kam mohyla.jpg, Stone Tomb File:Формація латаття білого 2. Розумівка.jpg, White water lily formation in right-bank Zaporizhzhia Oblast File:Формація ковили Лессінга. Запорізьке Правобережжя.jpg, Kaidatska

wash Wash or the Wash may refer to: Industry and sanitation * WASH or WaSH, "water, sanitation and hygiene", three related public health issues * Wash (distilling), the liquid produced by the fermentation step in the production of distilled beverages ...

File:Архіпелаг Білаї. Дніпро.jpg, Bilai Archipelago File:Заплавний ліс. Середня Хортиця.jpg, Middle Khortytsia River File:Неогенові ракушняки на березі Каховського водосховища.jpg, Coast of the Kakhovka Reservoir

Notes

References

External links

Specialized investment portal
– official website
Zaporizhzhia Regional Tourist Information Centre
– official website
Zaporizhzhia Oblast Administration
– official website
Zaporizhzhia Oblast Rada
– official website {{Authority control 1939 establishments in Ukraine Oblasts of Ukraine States and territories established in 1939