Kyiv oblast is a historical region in central Ukraine, in the middle
of the Dnieper region. Includes the city of Kyiv and most of the Kyiv
region, with the exception of the northern regions.
The Kiev
region has been the political center of the country since princely
times. The geographical and political core of Ukraine, the historical
center of the Dnevnerussky state. Kiev region in the west borders on
Podolia, in the north - on Ukrainian Polissya, in the northeast - on
Chernihiv region, in the south and southeast - on Cherkasy region, and
in the east - on Poltava region.
Kyiv stands on the high right bank and
the low left bank of the Dnipro, the political and cultural capital of
Ukraine and the historic center of Kyivan Rus. Saint Sophia Cathedral
and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra preserve eleventh-century mosaics, cave
monasteries, and golden domes, while Podil, Andriivskyi Descent, and
Khreshchatyk carry the merchant, baroque, and nineteenth-century layers
of the city. Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the Motherland Monument, and the
river parks mark the modern civic landscape, and day trips radiate
easily toward the monasteries, reservoirs, and small towns of Kyiv
Oblast.
Bila Tserkva, the White Church, lies about 80 kilometers
south of Kyiv on the Ros River, on a site first fortified in 1032 under
Yaroslav the Wise as a southern outpost of Rus. The name comes from the
white-walled church that once marked the settlement, later a Polish
starosta seat, a Cossack regimental town, and the Branicki family
estate. Its calling card is the Oleksandria Arboretum, laid out from
1793 as a landscape park of ponds, colonnades, the Echo colonnade,
romantic ruins, and old oaks along the Ros. The local history museum,
the Church of Saint John the Baptist, and the Ros embankment fill out a
full day between the capital and the southern district.
Bohuslav sits
farther up the Ros, a small historic town whose granite banks and rapids
form one of the most dramatic stretches of the river in Kyiv Oblast.
Cossack-era memory, wooden and masonry churches, and the birthplace of
the writer Ivan Nechui-Levytsky give the center its character, while the
landscape park and canyon walks draw visitors who want rock, pine, and
moving water rather than a large city. It pairs naturally with Bila
Tserkva, roughly 60 kilometers away, as a quieter Ros valley stop.
Boryspil, about 35 kilometers east of central Kyiv, is best known as the
home of Ukraine’s main international airport, though the town itself is
older than the airfield and sits on the old road toward Pereiaslav and
the Left Bank. Markets, modest Orthodox churches, and low-rise streets
make it a practical overnight base when flights resume, and the
surrounding district includes the birthplace area of Pavlo Chubynsky,
author of the text of the Ukrainian national anthem. Beyond the
terminals, the appeal is everyday Kyiv-region life and short drives to
the Trubizh and the Dnipro meadows.
Boyarka lies in the pine belt
southwest of Kyiv, long favored as a dacha and forest suburb rather than
a monument city. Taras Shevchenko walked and drew here, and the Boyarka
oaks he described remain part of the local memory, alongside the railway
station that tied the town to the capital. Forest trails, sandy
clearings, and a compact center suit a half-day escape when the goal is
shade and quiet rather than museums.
Brovary stands just east of
Kyiv, across the Dnipro bridges, and takes its name from the breweries,
brovary, that once worked its wells and roads. It grew from a roadside
settlement into a large satellite city of industry, housing, and
commuter rail, with the Holy Trinity Church and city parks as the main
pauses in an otherwise working urban fabric. For travelers it is less a
destination than a Left Bank gateway, useful for reaching Boryspil, the
eastern highways, and the open country toward Yahotyn.
Vyshhorod, a
short ride north of Kyiv, is one of the oldest towns in the region,
mentioned in 946 as the high-town residence of Princess Olha above the
Dnipro. The old hill still overlooks the river, now widened into the
Kyiv Reservoir, the so-called Kyiv Sea, behind the hydroelectric dam.
Mezhyhiria, forest parks, and the reservoir shore sit within the same
district, so the town works as both an early Rus site and a base for
water and woodland walks on the northern edge of the capital.
Pereiaslav, on the Trubizh near its meeting with the Dnipro basin, is
the museum town of Kyiv Oblast. The 1654 Pereiaslav Council, when Bohdan
Khmelnytsky’s officers swore allegiance to the Muscovite tsar, fixed its
name in wider history, but the reason to stay is the national
historical-ethnographic reserve, an open-air gathering of wooden
churches, peasant houses, and specialist museums of folk life, Cossack
material, and local crafts. Cobbled streets, the riverbank, and a dense
cluster of small collections reward a slow day or an overnight stop from
Kyiv.
Slavutych was planned and built in 1986-1988 on the left bank
of the Dnipro as a new home for workers evacuated from Prypiat after the
Chornobyl disaster. Districts were laid out by teams from different
Soviet republics, so the housing blocks shift in style from street to
street, and the town remains the civilian gateway toward the exclusion
zone. It is a rare example of a late Soviet new town whose entire origin
is tied to one industrial catastrophe, quiet, green, and inseparable
from the history just to the west.
Fastiv is a railway junction
southwest of Kyiv on the Unava River, shaped more by trains and
workshops than by princely ruins. The Catholic Church of the Exaltation
of the Holy Cross, the local history museum, and the central park give
the grid of streets a few clear landmarks, and the line onward to Bila
Tserkva makes it an easy link in a Ros valley route. It suits travelers
who want a working Ukrainian town, lower costs than the capital, and a
practical stop between Kyiv and the southern district.
Yahotyn lies
east of Kyiv on the Supii, a former estate town of the Repnin princes
whose palace park and tree-lined approaches still frame the center.
Nikolai Gogol was a guest of the Repnins here, and the connection is
part of local memory alongside sugar-industry streets and a modest set
of churches and memorials. It is a short countryside detour from the
Boryspil road, best for park walks, small-town architecture, and the
flat Left Bank landscape between the capital and the Poltava border.
There are many architectural and historical monuments and cultural
monuments on the territory of the Kyiv region. Kyiv is especially rich
in them - the most ancient city, the center of Kievan Rus. The remains
of city fortifications have been preserved here - the Golden Gate (XI
century), St. Sophia Cathedral (founded in 1017-1037) - the main public
and religious building [metropolitan church] of Kievan Rus, the ensemble
of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (founded in the middle of the XI century,
from 1926 historical and cultural museum-reserve), the Churches of the
Savior on Berestov (1113-1125) and Kirillovskaya (XII century), the
monumental churches of St. Nicholas Prityska (Nikolsko-Pritiska) and
Ilyinskaya (XVII century); the XVII-XVIII centuries include buildings
mainly in the Ukrainian baroque style - the ensembles of Sophia ("Sofia
Kievskaya", founded by P. Mohyla), Vydubetsky (XI-XVIII centuries) and
Frolovsky (Pritisko-Nikolskaya St., 5) monasteries, Intercession (in
Bekhterevsky Lane, 15) and St. Andrew's Church (1749-1753), Mariinsky
(1747-1755) and Klovsky Palaces, the Great Bell Tower of the
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (1745), Gate of Zaborovsky in Kiev [urochist
(ceremonial) gates of the St. Sophia Monastery], Collegium ( 1753-1757)
in Pereyaslav and others.
At the end of the 18th - 1st half of
the 19th century, large civilized buildings were built in cities in the
style of classicism (shopping malls on the Market Square (1809-1814),
warehouses, a post office (an ensemble of structures, 1825-1831), the
Winter Palace (1796), a house "public meetings" (House of the Nobility)
and the building of the gymnasium in the White Church; the Institute of
Noble Maidens and the University in Kiev and others, in rural areas -
landowner's palaces with parks; the famous dendrological park
"Alexandria" was created near the White Church (architect Myuffo and
Dominique Botani, as well as A. Enns; there is a museum of the
arboretum).
There are many monuments in the capital city,
including Prince Vladimir (1853), Princess Olga (1911, restored 1996)
and Bohdan Khmelnitsky (1881-1888), Magdeburg Law (1802-1808); on the
territory of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (near the Refectory
Church) the body of P. A. Stolypin rests, and also (in the lower part of
the Lavra, near the near and far caves) the relics of the chronicler
Nestor, the healer Agapit, monk Ilia Pechersky are buried.
Also
interesting are the modern architecture of the 20th century (Palaces of
Sports (1958-60) and Pioneers (Kiev Palace of Children and Youth), the
airport terminal in Boryspil; Palace of Culture "Ukraine" (1970,
reconstructed 1997-98) and others) and museums of Kiev - Ukrainian House
(exhibition center, palace of arts), historical, Ukrainian fine arts
(national art museum), Western and Eastern art (Museum of Arts named
after Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko), history of medicine (B. Khmelnytsky
Street, 37), museum-pharmacy, folk architecture and life (Pirogovo, 150
hectares; 1969) and others (more than 15 museums in total).
In
Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky, excavations uncovered the remains of buildings
of the 11th-12th centuries (the Bishop's Palace, the Church of Michael
and others), the St. Michael's Church (1646-1666, erected on the ruins
of the St. Michael's Church (1090)) and the ensemble of the Ascension
Monastery (1695-1700) have been preserved; there are museums -
historical, memorial Ukrainian philosopher, poet and teacher of the
XVIII century G.S. Skovoroda, folk architecture and life (about 20
museums); there is also a local history museum in Belaya Tserkov (since
1924).
The Regional Drama Theater named after P.K. Saksagansky
(1933) functions in the White Church; house of organ and chamber music.
In one of the oldest Russian cities, Vasilkov, there is the Cathedral of
St. Anthony and Theodosius (1756-1758) and the Nicholas Church (1792).
In Fastov there is a museum of beer.
Archaeological excavations
(the first half of the 20th century) in Vyshgorod discovered a citadel
and a craft and trade settlement "Olzhin Grad", where a part of an old
street with the remains of ground and semi-earth dwellings of
metalworking and pottery workshops, the remains of fortifications,
tools, dishes, jewelry, the foundation of Borisoglebskaya churches and
other finds belonging to the 10th-13th centuries (Old Russian settlement
of the 9th-13th centuries). In the vicinity of Vyshgorod, there was the
Mezhigorsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery (988-1930s).
Near
with. Trypillya revealed settlements (parking) of the Stone Age, near
the village. Trakhtemirova - settlement of the Scythian period; in the
Boryspil region, in the village of Sofiyivka, there is the Sofiyivsky
burial ground (of the late stage of the Trypillia culture) and others.
In the Kiev region, there was a specific folk icon-painting style,
formed under the influence of the old icon-painting tradition of the
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Saints were depicted against a dark purple or black
background in dark-colored decoration with dark blue, dark green or even
black halos, outlined by a dotted dotted white outline. The collection
of domestic icons of the Kiev region is part of the exposition of the
Museum of Ukrainian domestic icons in the historical and cultural
complex "Radomysl Castle"
In Kyiv, it is predominantly Russian (but Ukrainian is recognized by everyone as the only official one), in the suburbs 50/50, the rest of the region is Ukrainian-speaking.
The main highways of the country start in Kiev: M-01 / E95 Kiev - St. Petersburg, M-03 Kiev - Kharkov, M-05 Kiev - Odessa, M-06 Kiev - Uzhgorod - Hungary, M-07 Kiev - Kovel - Lublin.
The area is 28,121 km². Population - 1,722,875 people (July 1, 2013), including urban population - 1,066,812 people (61.92%), rural - 656,063 people (38.08%). The center is the city of Kyiv (not part of the region), the capital of Ukraine (a city with a special status).
It is located in the middle reaches of the Dnieper, mostly on its
right bank. The northern part of the region is located on the Polissya
lowland. The eastern (left-bank) part is on the Dnieper lowland
(absolute heights are 100–140 m above sea level within the boundaries of
the region). Central and southwestern - on the gently undulating Dnieper
Upland, indented by river valleys and ravines (up to 273 m above sea
level).
The entire territory of the region belongs to the Dnieper
basin, which is the most important water artery of the region. Within
the region, the Dnieper flows for 246 km and has the following largest
tributaries: the Pripyat (with a tributary of the Uzh, or Usha),
Teterev, Irpen, Stugna, Ros (right), Desna, Trubezh, Supoy (left). Ros
and Supoy flow into the Dnieper outside the region. In total, there are
177 rivers in the region. There are few lakes, they are concentrated
mainly in the north. On the territory of the region there is a large
part of the upper reservoir of the Dnieper cascade - the Kiev (“Kiev
Sea”, as it is often called (1964-1966); length 110 km, width up to 12
km, area - 922 km²; average depth up to 4 m (the greatest - 14.5 m),
total volume - 3.73 thousand km³), as well as the Kanev reservoir
(1978). In total, there are 13 reservoirs, over 2000 ponds, almost 750
small lakes in the region.
The soil and climatic conditions of
the region are favorable for growing winter wheat, sugar beets, corn,
vegetables and other agricultural crops, as well as orchards and
berries. For the successes achieved in the development of agriculture,
the Kiev region was awarded the Order of Lenin on February 26, 1958.
The northern part of the Kyiv region lies within the zone of mixed
forests (Ukrainian Polissya; Polissya lowland, 183 m), most of it is in
the forest-steppe. The natural vegetation of the northern part of the
region is represented by large tracts of coniferous and mixed forests
(forests are widespread mainly from pine with an admixture of birch and
oak, as well as alder, etc.), forb-grass meadows and wetlands; the
southern part - broad-leaved forests (small forests of oak, hornbeam,
linden), shrubs and meadows.
In the Kyiv region there are state
farms: Yagotinsky hunting - waterfowl and marsh wild birds; Belozerskoye
(now Beloozersky NNP, Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky district, Kanev reservoir)
- hares, roe deer, wild pigs, badgers, martens, beavers, marsh and
waterfowl wild birds; Sukholesskoye (Belotserkovsky and Rakytnyansky
districts) - hares, roe deer, fallow deer, badgers; Dnieper-Teterevskoe
State Protected Forest and Hunting Enterprise, Zalessky Protected Forest
Hunting Enterprise (nowadays Zalesye (national park)), etc.; sanctuaries
- Zhornovsky, Dzvonkovsky, Dneprovsko-Desnyansky (Verkhnedubechansky
hunting economy; Pirnovo), state. reserve Zhukov Khutor (near Vorzel);
numerous state protected natural boundaries. On the territory of the
region (mostly in Polissya) there are also: elk, wolf, fox, hares,
squirrels, ground squirrel, hamster, field and forest mice, etc.
The natural reserve fund of the city of Kiev and the urban green zone:
of national importance - the reserve Lesniki (1110.2 ha; NNP
"Goloseevsky" (whose total [for the latter] in 2001 - 6165 ha),
Koncha-Zaspovskoye forestry), Romanovskoe swamp (30 ha; Svyatoshinsky
LPH, outskirts of the city of Irpin); of local importance - Koncha-Zaspa
(landscape - waterfowl and marsh wild birds), Dachnoye, Zhukov Island
(landscape, 361 hectares; total area of the island is 530 hectares),
Olzhin and Kozachi Islands (470 hectares), Birch Guy, Belaya Dibrova,
Rybnoe (all three - Darnitsky LPH), lake. Verbnoe (Obolon), the tract
Bobrovnya (Island of Muromets, Muromets Park), Mezhyhirskoe
(Svyatoshinsky LPH of the GKO "Kievzelenstroy", Mezhygorskoe Forest);
Pushcha-Voditsky Forest Park (360 ha; total area of the forest is
approx. 8 thousand ha).
The climate is temperate continental, with mild winters and warm summers. The average January temperature in the north of the region is −6 °C, in the southwest −5 °C; July +17 and +19 °C respectively; absolute minimum temperatures reach -34, -36 °C; absolute maximums - +39, +40 °C. The average annual air temperature in the north of the region is +6.5 °C, in the south +7.5 °C. The average annual precipitation is about 550 mm (in the north of the region 600 mm, in the south - 500 mm per year), the maximum is in summer. The period with temperatures of +10 °C is over 155-175 days.
Historical area - Kiev region, in a broader sense - Naddnipryansk
region.
The Kiev Voivodeship was formed in 1471 as part of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and since 1569 as part of the Lesser Poland
Province of the Kingdom of Poland. Liquidated in 1793 as a result of the
second division of the Commonwealth.
The Kiev province existed
(with interruptions) from 1708 to 1925.
The Kiev region was
formed on February 27, 1932 as part of the Ukrainian SSR, one of the
first five regions of the republic. The city of Kyiv became the
administrative center of the region.
On October 15, 1932, the
Chernihiv region was formed from the eastern regions of the region.
On September 22, 1937, the Zhytomyr region was formed from the
western regions of the region.
On January 7, 1954, the Cherkasy
region was formed from the southern regions of the region, and the Kiev
region acquired modern borders.
From February 24 to April 2,
2022, the northern part of the region was occupied by Russia during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Industries that determine scientific and technological progress (machine building and metalworking, including instrumentation, electronics, electric power, powder metallurgy, chemistry and petrochemistry) are developing rapidly, as well as new areas of production - microbiological and cardboard and paper. In the village of Proliski, on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv, the Boryspil Bus Plant operates. The plant produces 1700 buses per year of various modifications. The plant is actively cooperating with the Etalon Research Institute of Automotive Industry.
Resort resources of the Kyiv region. along with a mild climate
conducive to climatotherapy, there are mineral waters brought to the
surface by drilling. Radon waters of low salinity and different chemical
composition (sulfate-chloride calcium-sodium, hydrocarbonate
magnesium-calcium), found in a number of districts of the region - near
the city of Mironovka (resort health resort area; hydropathic in
Mironovka), and in the village of Vladislavovka Mironovsky district, in
the resort of Belaya Tserkov, in the resort area of Koncha-Zaspa. Near
the city of Brovary, sodium chloride waters have been brought to the
surface (in the region there are numerous children's health camps
(schoolchildren's holiday camps), including those based on springs - in
particular "Zhuravochka" in Brovary).
Bottling of a number of
mines is carried out. water in bottles as table water under the names
"Kievskaya" (bicarbonate calcium-magnesium low mineralization, used
mainly as a table drink and for metabolic disorders), "Borispolskaya",
"Chernobyl" (in the recent past), "Resort", "Berezanskaya", as well as
"Obolonskaya" ("Obolon"), "Calypso" ("Orlan"), "Sofia Kievskaya"
("Rosinka"), and others. The resort and healing resources are
supplemented by peat mud, the deposits of which are available in the
north Kiev. areas (floodplains of the Desna, Pripyat, Zdvizh rivers).
The resorts are Belaya Tserkov, Mironovka, Boyarka, Vorzel (there is
a House of Composers' Creativity; a pump-room with min. water),
Pushcha-Voditsa; there are a number of resort areas: Koncha-Zaspa,
Svyatoshino, Irpin (famous for the Writers' Creativity House), Bucha
(some long-distance passenger trains also stop at Bucha station),
Klavdievo-Tarasovo (including a (children's) camp near the village of
Poroskoten, near Bald Mountain), Pirnovo (recreation centers on the
Desna and Dnieper (Kiev Sea)), Lyutezh, Feofaniya health resort;
34
sanatoriums (5200 places), including 3 trade unions (1420 places); 16
rest houses, numerous boarding houses and recreation centers belonging
to various institutions and departments (Potievka (on the outskirts of
Fastov), Plesetskoye, Kovalevka, Kotsyubinskoye, and others - promising
resort (resort-recreational) areas). In Kyiv there is an office (branch)
of the Mirgorod resort.