Volhynia Governorate

{{Short description|1795–1925 unit of Russia}} {{Use British English|date=March 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Volhynia Governorate | native_name = Волынская губерния | native_name_lang = ru | settlement_type = [[Governorate (Russia)|Governorate]] | image_shield = Coat of arms of Volyn Governorate.svg | image_map = Volhynia in Russian Empire (1914).svg | mapsize = 225px | map_caption = Location in the Russian Empire | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = [[Russian Empire]]→ [[Ukrainian People's Republic]]→ [[Ukrainian State]]→ Ukrainian People's Republic→ [[Ukrainian SSR]] [[Soviet Union]] | subdivision_type1 = [[Krais of the Russian Empire|Krai]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Southwestern Krai|Southwestern]] | established_title = Established | established_date = 1795 | extinct_title = Abolished | extinct_date = 1925 | seat_type = Capital | seat = {{plainlist| * [[Zviahel|Novograd-Volynsky]] (until 1804) * [[Zhytomyr|Zhitomir]] (from 1804) }} | area_total_km2 = 71736 | population_as_of = 1897 | population_total = 2,989,482 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_urban = 7.82% | population_rural = 92.18% | total_type = Total }} '''Volhynia Governorate''', also known as '''Volyn Governorate''',{{efn|{{bulleted list|{{Langx|ru|Волы́нская губе́рния, [[Reforms of Russian orthography#Post-revolution reform|pre-1918]]: Волы́нская губе́рнія, [[Romanization of Russian|romanized:]] Volýnskaya gubérniya|label=[[Russian alphabet#Letters eliminated in 1917–18|Russian]]}}|{{langx|uk|Воли́нська губе́рнія|Volýnsʼka hubérniia}}}}}} was an administrative-territorial unit (''[[guberniya]]'') of the [[Southwestern Krai]] of the [[Russian Empire]], established in the historical region of [[Volhynia]]. It consisted of an area of {{convert|71736|km2|mi2}} and a population of 2,989,482 inhabitants. The governorate bordered [[Grodno Governorate|Grodno]] and [[Minsk Governorate|Minsk Governorates]] to the north, [[Kiev Governorate]] to the east, [[Podolia Governorate]] to the south, [[Lublin Governorate|Lublin]] and [[Siedlce Governorate|Siedlce Governorates]], and after 1912, [[Kholm Governorate (Russian Empire)|Kholm Governorate]] and [[Austria-Hungary|Austria]] to the west. Its capital was in [[Novograd-Volynsky]] until 1804, and then [[Zhitomir]]. It corresponded to most of modern-day [[Volyn Oblast|Volyn]], [[Rivne Oblast|Rivne]] and [[Zhytomyr Oblast|Zhytomyr Oblasts]] of [[Ukraine]] and some parts of [[Brest Region|Brest]] and [[Gomel Region|Gomel Regions]] of [[Belarus]].

It was created at the end of 1796 after the [[Third Partition of Poland]] from the territory of the short-lived [[Volhynian Vice-royalty]] and [[Wołyń Voivodeship (1569–1795)|Wołyń Voivodeship]]. After the [[Peace of Riga]], part of the governorate became the [[Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939)|new Wołyń Voivodeship]] in the [[Second Polish Republic]],<ref>{{cite book |title= Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-Century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, Analysis|last=Eberhardt |first= Piotr |author2=Jan Owsinski |year= 2003|publisher= M.E. Sharpe|isbn= 0-7656-0665-8|pages= 260|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jLfX1q3kJzgC&pg=RA1-PA260}}</ref> while the other part stayed as a part of the [[Ukrainian SSR]] until 1925 when it was abolished on resolution of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee and Counsel of People's Commissars.<ref name=eoh>Vermenych, Ya ''[http://resource.history.org.ua/cgi-bin/eiu/history.exe?&I21DBN=EIU&P21DBN=EIU&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=eiu_all&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=TRN=&S21COLORTERMS=0&S21STR=Volynska_huberniia Volhynian Governorate (Волинська губернія)]''. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine.</ref> [[File:Volyn Governorate (1913).png|thumb|Volyn Governorate map in 1913]]

==History== [[File:Partitions of Poland.png|thumb|left|200px|Three partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] Until 1796, the [[guberniya]] was administered as a Viceroyalty (''[[namestnichestvo]]''). It was initially centred in [[Iziaslav, Ukraine|Izyaslav]] and was called the Izyaslav Viceroyalty. It was primarily created from the [[Kiev Voivodeship]] and the eastern part of the Wolyn Voivodeship.

On 24 October 1795, the [[Third Partition of Poland]] was imposed by [[Prussia]], the [[Habsburg monarchy]], and the [[Russian Empire]].

Then, on 12 December 1796, Volhynia Governorate was established, encompassing the remaining territory of the [[Volhynian Voivodeship (1569–1795)|Wolyn Voivodeship]] and the [[Kowel Voivodeship]].

In 1796, the administration moved to [[Novohrad-Volynskyi|Novograd-Volynsky]]. However, due to the lack of suitable buildings for administrative purposes, the capital was moved once again to Zhitomir ([[Zhytomyr]]).

In 1802, Zhitomir was purchased the properties of Prince Ilyinsky, and in 1804, it officially became the seat of Volhynia Governorate.

From 1832 to 1915, Volhynia Governorate, along with [[Kiev Governorate]] and [[Podolia Governorate]], formed part of the [[Southwestern Krai]] General-Governorate–a militarized administrative-territorial unit.

In the 1880s, the general-governorate was extended to include other governorates.

In 1897, the population of the guberniya was 2,989,482 and by 1905, it had grown to 3,920,400. The majority of the population in the governorate spoke the [[Ukrainian language]] with slight variety of dialects.

[[File:Ukrainian State 1918 divisions.png|thumb|Volhynia Governorate (green) in the [[Ukrainian State]]]] Under the [[Russian Provisional Government]] administrative power in the governorates was transferred to [[commissar]]s, who preserved their positions after the [[Third Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada|proclamation]] of [[Ukrainian People's Republic]] in November 1917. Their power was mostly nominal due to the growth of [[Bolshevik]] [[Soviet]] influence, especially in industrial areas. During that time {{ill|Andrii Vyazlov|uk|Вʼязлов Андрій Григорович}} served as the gubernial commissar of Volhynia.<ref name=ency/>

During the [[Ukrainian–Soviet War]] Zhitomir served as the provisional capital of Ukraine in 1918.

After the return of [[Central Rada]] in March 1918 new commissars were appointed along with military [[commandant]]s. After the establishment of the [[Ukrainian State|Hetmanate]], in May 1918 those were replaced with Governorate [[starost]]s.<ref name=ency>{{Cite book|title=Енциклопедія українознавства. Словникова частина (ЕУ-II)|date=1993|volume=2|pages=456-460}}</ref>

After the [[Polish-Soviet war]] in 1920, and according to the [[Peace of Riga]] (1921) most of the territory became part of the Second Polish Republic and transformed into the [[Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939)|Wołyń Voivodeship]], with the capital in [[Łuck]] (Lutsk). The eastern portion existed until 1925 and was later split into three okruhas: Shepetivka Okruha, Zhytomyr Okruha, and Korosten Okruha.

===Heads of Guberniya=== ;Revkom *1919 Mikhail Kruchinskiy (concurrently the head of Volyn Cheka)

;Volyn Executive Committee *1920 [[Oleksandr Shumsky]] *1920 [[Vasiliy Averin]] * – 1921 Danylevych *1921–1922 Ivan Nikolayenko

===Head of Security Services=== ;Cheka *1919 Vasyl Viliavko *1919 M.Shuf *1919 Mikhail Kruchinskiy *November 1919 – December 1919 [[Vsevolod Balytsky]] *December 1919 Vasyl Levotsky (acting) * – 2 November 1921 Semen Kesselman (Zapadny) *January 1922 – 2 June 1922 Janis Biksons

;GPU * -1923 Pavel Ivonin * March 1923 – October 1923 Foma Leoniuk * 1 July 1923 – 1 September 1924 Symon Dukelsky * 1924 – 1925 Aleksandr Safes (Grozny)

==Principal cities== Russian Census of 1897

* [[Zhytomir]] – 65 895 (Jewish – 30 572, Russian – 16 944, Ukrainian – 9 152) * [[Rovno]] – 24 573 (Jewish – 13 704, Russian – 4 278, Ukrainian – 4 071) * [[Kremenets]] – 17 704 (Ukrainian – 8 322, Jewish – 6 476, Russian – 1 863) * [[Kovel]] – 17 697 (Jewish – 8 502, Russian – 4 828, Ukrainian – 2 093) * [[Novograd-Volynsky]] – 16 904 (Jewish – 9 363, Russian – 2 939, Ukrainian – 2 662) * [[Starokonstantinov]] – 16 377 (Jewish – 9 164, Ukrainian – 4 886, Russian – 1 402) * [[Lutsk]] – 15 804 (Jewish – 9 396, Russian – 2 830, Ukrainian – 1 478) * [[Ostroh|Ostrog]] – 14 749 (Jewish – 9 185, Ukrainian – 2 446, Russian – 2 199) * [[Dubno]] – 14 257 (Jewish – 7 096, Russian – 2 962, Ukrainian – 2 474) * [[Iziaslav, Ukraine|Zaslavl]] – 12 611 (Jewish – 5 991, Ukrainian – 3 990, Russian – 1 722)

===Administrative division===  {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! colspan=2| [[Uezd|County]] !! rowspan=2| Capital !! rowspan=2| Arms of capital !! rowspan=2| Area !! rowspan=2| Population ([[Russian Empire Census|1897 census]]) |- ! [[Romanization of Russian|Transliteration name]] !! Russian Cyrillic |- | [[Vladimir-Volynsky Uyezd|Vladimir-Volynsky]] || Владиміро-Волынскій || [[Volodymyr (city)|Vladimir-Volynsky]] || [[File:Vladimir-Volynsky COA (Volyn Governorate) (1911).gif|42px|center]] || {{convert|6482.1|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 198,688 |- | [[Dubensky Uyezd|Dubensky]] || Дубенскій || [[Dubno]] || [[File:Dubno COA (Volyn Governorate) (1911).png|42px|center]] || {{convert|3963.8|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 158,734 |- | [[Zhitomirsky Uyezd|Zhitomirsky]] || Житомірскій || [[Zhytomyr|Zhitomir]] || [[File:Zhytomyr COA RU Empire.png|42px|center]] || {{convert|7670.5|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 281,387 |- | [[Zaslavsky Uyezd|Zaslavsky]] || Заславскій || [[Iziaslav, Ukraine|Zaslavl]] || [[File:Zaslavl COA (Volyn Governorate) (1796).gif|42px|center]] || {{convert|3476.7|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 93,381 |- | [[Kovelsky Uyezd|Kovelsky]] || Ковельскій || [[Kovel]] || [[File:Coat of Arms Kovel 1852.png|42px|center]] || {{convert|7656.8|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 121,326 |- | [[Kremenetsky Uyezd|Kremenetsky]] || Кременецкій || [[Kremenets]] || [[File:Kremenets COA (Volyn Governorate) (1874).png|42px|center]] || {{convert|3460.8|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 196,751 |- | [[Lutsky Uyezd|Lutsky]] || Луцкій || [[Lutsk]] || [[File:Герб Луцка 1911 crop.png|42px|center]] || {{convert|7540.8|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 203,761 |- | [[Novograd-Volynsky Uyezd|Novograd-Volynsky]] || Новоградъ-Волынскій || [[Zviahel|Novograd-Volynsky]] || [[File:Novograd-Volynsky COA (Volyn Governorate) (1796).gif|42px|center]] || {{convert|7205|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 273,123 |- | [[Ovruchsky Uyezd|Ovruchsky]] || Овручскій || [[Ovruch]] || [[File:Ovruch COA (Volyn Governorate) (1796).gif|42px|center]] || {{convert|10616.9|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 194,796 |- | [[Ostrozhsky Uyezd|Ostrozhsky]] || Острожскій || [[Ostroh|Ostrog]] || [[File:Ostrog COA (Volyn Governorate) (1796).gif|42px|center]] || {{convert|3065.9|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 166,882 |- | [[Rovensky Uyezd|Rovensky]] || Ровенскій || [[Rivne|Rovno]] || [[File:Rovno COA (Volyn Governorate) (1796).gif|42px|center]] || {{convert|8568.4|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 275,119 |- | [[Starokonstantinovsky Uyezd|Starokonstantinovsky]] || Староконстантиновскій || [[Starokostiantyniv|Starokostiantinov]] || [[File:Strkon r.png|42px|center]] || {{convert|2560.4|km2|sqmi|disp=br()|abbr=on}} || 211,768 |}

== Demographics == ===Language=== [[File:1897 Gov Volyn ethno.jpg|thumb|280px|{{center|Imperial census of 1897.}}]] According to the [[Russian Empire Census]] on {{OldStyleDate|28 January|15 January|1897}}, the Volhynian Governorate had a population of 2,982,482, including 1,502,803 men and 1,486,679 women. The majority of the population indicated Ukrainian{{efn|name=Russians|Prior to 1918, the Imperial Russian government classified [[Russians]] as the Great Russians, [[Ukrainians]] as the Little Russians, and [[Belarusians]] as the White Russians.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Kiev: A Portrait, 1800–1917 |last=Hamm |first=Michael F. |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4008-5151-5 |pages=83}}</ref> Also, the [[Belarusian Democratic Republic]] which the White Russians identified themselves as "Belarusian".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction |last=Fortson IV |first=Benjamin W. |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4443-5968-8 |pages=429 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bSxHgej4tKMC&pg=PA429}}</ref>}} to be their mother tongue, with significant [[Jewish languages|Jewish]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[German language|German]], and [[Russian language|Russian]] speaking minorities.<ref name="demoscope" />

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Linguistic composition of the Volhynian Governorate in 1897<ref name="demoscope">{{Cite web |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=229 |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=www.demoscope.ru |language=ru |script-title=ru:Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. |trans-title=The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897}}</ref> |- ! Language !! Native speakers !! Percentage |- | [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]{{efn|name=Russians}} || align="right" |2,095,537 || align="right" |70.26 |- | [[Yiddish language|Jewish]] || align="right" |394,774 || align="right" |13.24 |- | [[Polish language|Polish]] || align="right" |184,161 || align="right" |6.17 |- | [[German language|German]] || align="right" |171,331 || align="right" |5.74 |- | [[Russian language|Russian]]{{efn|name=Russians}} || align="right" |104,889 || align="right" |3.52 |- | [[Czech language|Czech]] || align="right" |27,670 || align="right" |0.93 |- | [[Tatar language|Tatar]] || align="right" |3,817 || align="right" |0.13 |- | [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]{{efn|name=Russians}} || align="right" |3,794 || align="right" |0.13 |- | [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]] || align="right" |983 || align="right" |0.03 |- | [[Mordvins|Mordovian]] || align="right" |375 || align="right" |0.01 |- | [[Romanian language|Romanian]] || align="right" |314 || align="right" |0.01 |- | [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]] || align="right" |308 || align="right" |0.01 |- | [[Romani language|Gypsi]] || align="right" |286 || align="right" |0.01 |- | [[French language|French]] || align="right" |154 || align="right" |0.00 |- | [[Mari people|Cheremis]] || align="right" |143 || align="right" |0.00 |- | [[Latvian language|Latvian]] || align="right" |113 || align="right" |0.00 |- | [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] || align="right" |103 || align="right" |0.00 |- | [[Udmurt people|Votyak]] || align="right" |102 || align="right" |0.00 |- | Not-specified || align="right" |97 || align="right" |0.00 |- | Others || align="right" |531 || align="right" |0.01 |- ! Total !! 2,982,482 !! 100.00 |}

===Religion=== *By the Imperial census of 1897.<ref>[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_rel_97.php?reg=31 Religion Statistics of 1897] {{in lang|ru}}</ref> In '''bold''' are religions with more members than the [[Eastern Orthodox]]. {| align="center" class="wikitable plainlinks TablePager" |+ ! |Religion ! |Number ! |percentage (%) ! |males ! |females |----- |[[Eastern Orthodox]] |2,106,521 |70.46 | | |----- |[[Judaism]] |395,782 |13.24 | | |----- |Roman Catholics |298,110 |9.97 | | |----- |[[Lutherans]] |163,990 |5.49 | | |----- |[[Baptists]] |10 375 |0.35 | | |----- |Other<ref>Religions, number of believers which in all gubernia were less than 10000</ref> ([[Old Believers]], [[Muslims|Magometians]]) |14 704 |0.49 | | |+ |}

== Notes == {{Notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Governorates of Ukraine 1917-1921}} {{Ukrainian historical regions}} {{Okruhas of Ukraine}} {{Subdivisions of the Russian Empire}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:Volhynian Governorate]] [[Category:Governorates of the Russian Empire]] [[Category:History of Volhynia]] [[Category:1790s establishments in the Russian Empire]] [[Category:Governorates of Ukraine]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1925]]