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Odessa Oblast
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Odessa Oblast, also written as Odesa Oblast (translit. Odes’ka oblast’; also referred to as Odeshchyna—) is an oblast (province) of south-western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Odessa.
evidence of the earliest inhabitants in the modern territory of the oblast come from settlements and burial grounds of Gumelnitsa, Tripolie and Usatovo culture including barrows and hoards of the Bronze Age.
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Encyclopedia
Odessa Oblast, also written as Odesa Oblast (translit. Odes’ka oblast’; also referred to as Odeshchyna—) is an oblast (province) of south-western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Odessa.
History
The evidence of the earliest inhabitants in the modern territory of the oblast come from settlements and burial grounds of Gumelnitsa, Tripolie and Usatovo culture including barrows and hoards of the Bronze Age. In the first millennium B.C. ancient Greek colonies, such as Olbia, Tyras, Niconium, Panticapaeum, Chersonesus, were founded on the North Black Sea Coast. Painted vessels, terracottas, sculptures, inscriptions, articles of craft art, represented in a museum, testify about prosperity of the antique civilization.
The culture of Scythian tribes inhabiting the Black Sea littoral steppes is represented by finds from settlements and burial grounds. There are weapon items, bronze cauldrons, other utensils, adornments. By the beginning of the first millennium A.D. the Sarmatians displaced the Scythians. In the IIIrd–IVth centuries A.D. the tribal alliance, represented by the items of Chernyakhov culture, was created. Since the middle of the first millennium the formation of Slavic people began. In the IXth century they were united into a state with Kyiv as a centre. The Khazars, Polovtsy, Pechenegs were the Slavs' neighbours during the different times. The period of the IXth–XIVth centuries is reflected by the materials from the settlements and cities of Kyiv Rus, Belgorod, Caffa-Theodosia, Berezan Island.
Formerly ruled by the Ottoman Empire, the territory of the Odessa oblast passed into Russian and Soviet hands in various stages between the eighteenth century and 20th century. The Russian Empire's expansion along the Black Sea coast led to the creation of the territory of Novorossiya, which was colonised by a variety of peoples, of whom the Russians were dominant. The Odessa oblast corresponds to the most westerly portion of "New Russia".
The oblast was created on February 27, 1932 as part of the Ukrainian SSR. It was expanded further in 1954 by absorbing Izmail Oblast (formerly known as Budjak region of Bessarabia).
Geography
The oblast occupies an area of around 33,300 square kilometres (12,850 square miles). It is characterised by largely flat steppes divided by the estuary of the Dniester river. Its Black Sea coast comprises numerous sandy beaches, estuaries and lagoons. The region's soils are renowned for their fertility, and intensive agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy. The southwest possesses many orchards and vineyards, while arable crops are grown throughout the region.
Snake Island is part of the oblast.
Points of Interest
Economy
Significant branches of the oblast's economy are:
The region's industrial capability is principally concentrated in and around Odessa.
Demographics
The oblast's population (as of 2004) is 2.4 million people, nearly 40% of whom live in the city of Odessa.
Significant Bulgarian (6.1%) and Moldovan (5%) minorities reside in the province. There is a small Greek community in the city of Odessa.
Bulgarians and Moldovans represent 21% and 13% respectively, of the population in the region of Budjak, within Odessa oblast.
Subdivisions
The Odessa Oblast is administratively subdivided into 26 raions (districts), as well as 7 cities (municipalities) which are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Illichivsk, Izmail, Kotovsk, Teplodar, Yuzhne, and the administrative center of the oblast, Odessa.
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, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Odessa is the center of the Odes’ka oblast’ (Odessa 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 Odessa Oblast, Odeshchyna.
See also
External links
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