Odessa Oblast

Odessa Oblast (Одеська область, Odes’ka oblast’; also Odeshchyna (Одещина)) is an oblast or province of southwestern Ukraine located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative center is the city of Odessa.

History
The evidence of the earliest inhabitants in this area comes from the settlements and burial grounds of the Neolithic Gumelniţa, Cucuteni-Trypillian and Usatovo cultures, as well as tumuli and hoards of the Bronze Age Proto-Indo-Europeans. In the 1st millennium B.C. the Milesian Greeks built colonies along the North Black Sea Coast, including the towns of Olbia, Tyras, Niconium, Panticapaeum, and Chersonesus. The Greeks left behind painted vessels, ceramics, sculptures, inscriptions, arts and crafts that indicate the prosperity of their ancient civilisation.

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 1st millennium A.D. the Sarmatians displaced the Scythians. In the 3rd–4th 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 9th century they were united into a state with Kiev as a centre. The Khazars, Polovtsy, Pechenegs were the Slavs' neighbours during the different times. The period of the 9th–14th centuries is reflected by the materials from the settlements and cities of Kievan Rus', Belgorod, Caffa-Theodosia, Berezan Island.

Since the modern history period it was known as the Dnieper Provice (Ozu Eyalet) ruled by the Ottoman Empire and was unofficially known as the Khanate of Ukraine. In Russian historiography it was referred to as the Ochakov Oblast. The territory of the Odessa oblast was passed to Russia during the Russian southern expansion towards the Black Sea at the end of 18th century. Since then Russians heavily colonized the area establishing new cities and ports. In less than a hundred years the city of Odessa grew from a small fortress to the biggest metropolis of the New Russia.

After the World War I and February Revolution the area became part of the Ukrainian People's Republic, but soon it was lost first to the Russian Volunteer Army and then the Russian Red Army. By 1920 the territory of Odessa Oblast was secured by the Soviet authorities and became part of the Ukrainian SSR. The oblast was created on 27 February 1932 from five districts: Odessa Okruha, Pervomaisk Okruha, Kirovohrad Okruha, Mykolaiv Okruha, and Kherson Okruha. Before the World War II in 1937 eastern portions of the Odessa Oblast were split to create the Mykolaiv Oblast. During the World War II it was occupied by Romania as the Transnistria Province. After the war it was reestablished with its pre-war borders. Odessa Oblast was expanded in 1954 by absorbing Izmail Oblast (formerly known as Budjak region of Bessarabia).

Geography
The country's largest oblast by area, it occupies an area of around 33,300 km2. 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.

Points of interest

 * Odessa Opera
 * Akkerman fortress
 * Potemkin Stairs

Economy


Significant branches of the oblast's economy are:
 * oil refining & chemicals processing
 * transportation (important sea and river ports, oil pipelines and railway);
 * viticulture and other forms of agriculture, notably the growing of wheat, maize, barley, sunflowers and sugar beets.

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 Romanian (5.0%) minorities reside in the province. It has the highest proportion of Jews of any oblast in Ukraine (although smaller than the Autonomous City of Kiev) and there is a small Greek community in the city of Odessa.

Bulgarians and Moldovans / Romanians represent 21% and 13% respectively, of the population in the region of Budjak, within Odessa oblast.

Age structure

 * 0-14 years: 15.5% (male 188,937/female 179,536)
 * 15-64 years: 70.7% (male 812,411/female 867,706)
 * 65 years and over: 14.0% (male 116,702/female 218,808) (2013 official)

Median age

 * total: 38.4 years
 * male: 35.4 years
 * female: 41.5 years (2013 official)

Subdivisions


The Odessa Oblast is administratively subdivided into 26 raions (districts), as well as 7 misto / mis'krada (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" (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: 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. In Romanian, it is known as Regiunea Odesa, and in Greek, as Οδησσός.