Kharkiv Oblast

{{See also|Romanization of Ukrainian}}

Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially called "oblast centers" ({{langx|uk|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: Kharkiv is the center of the Kharkivs’ka oblast’ (Kharkiv 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 Kharkiv Oblast, Kharkivshchyna.

The oblast borders Russia (Belgorod Oblast) to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the southeast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the southwest, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the northwest.

The northern and central parts are part of historic Sloboda Ukraine, and the southern part is part of historic Zaporizhzhia.

{{further|Sloboda Ukraine#History}}

File:HolodomorKharkiv 1933 Wienerberger.jpg in Kharkiv, 1933]]

During the Soviet administrative reform of 1923–1929, the Kharkov Governorate was abolished in 1925 leaving its five okruhas: Okhtyrka (originally Bohodukhiv), Izium, Kupiansk, Sumy, and Kharkiv. Introduced in the Soviet Union in 1923, a similar subdivisions existed in Ukraine back in 1918. In 1930 all okruhas were also abolished with raions becoming the first level of subdivision of Ukraine until 1932.

The modern Kharkiv Oblast was established on 27 February 1932. In the summer of 1932, some parts of the oblast were included in the newly created Donetsk Oblast originally centered in Artemivsk (later in Stalino). Then in the fall, some territories of the Kharkiv Oblast were used in the creation of Chernihiv Oblast. More territories became part of Poltava Oblast in fall of 1937 and Sumy Oblast in winter of 1939.

During the Holodomor the population of the Kharkiv Oblast together with Kyiv Oblast suffered the most. During World War II, it was the site of large Soviet massacres of Poles (Piatykhatky) and German massacres of Jews (Drobytsky Yar). The region saw major fighting during World War II in several Battles of Kharkov between 1941 and 1943.

During the 1991 referendum, 86.33% of votes in Kharkiv Oblast were in favor of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. A survey conducted in December 2014 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found 4.2% of the oblast's population supported their region joining Russia, 71.5% did not support the idea, and the rest were undecided or did not respond.{{cite news |url= http://dt.ua/UKRAINE/lishe-3-ukrayinciv-hochut-priyednannya-yih-oblasti-do-rosiyi-160641_.html |script-title=uk:Лише 3% українців хочуть приєднання їх області до Росії |language= uk |trans-title= Only 3% of Ukrainians want their region to become part of Russia |work= Dzerkalo Tyzhnia |date= 3 January 2015 }}

Following the Euromaidan, there was pro-Russian unrest in the region, and central government buildings were taken over by separatists in a failed attempt to create a separatist 'Kharkov's People's Republic'.{{Cite web |last=Piechal |first=Tomasz |date=2015-06-09 |title=The Kharkiv oblast: a fragile stability |url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2015-06-09/kharkiv-oblast-a-fragile-stability |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=OSW Centre for Eastern Studies |language=en}} The region also became a very popular destination for refugees from the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast regions.

As part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military launched a major military offensive in the region, which resulted in the occupation of parts of the oblast. By late August, about one third of the territory of Kharkiv Oblast was occupied including Izium and Kupiansk. In July 2022, the Donetsk People's Republic signed a memorandum to "liberate Kharkiv from Ukraine".{{cite news|title=Donetsk People's Republic signs first memorandum to "liberate Kharkiv from Ukraine"|date=July 2022|author=Joshua Manning|newspaper=Euro Weekly News |publisher=Euronews|url=https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/07/21/breaking-news-donetsk-peoples-republic-signs-first-memorandum-to-liberate-kharkiv-from-ukraine/}}

In early September 2022, the Ukrainian military commenced a counteroffensive in the region. Several settlements in the region were recaptured from Russian control.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-10 |title=Ukraine-Russia war: Russian forces 'taken by surprise' as Ukrainian counter-offensive advances 50km, says UK – live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/sep/10/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates-live-news-putin-zelenskiy |access-date=2022-09-10 |website=the Guardian |language=en}} By 10 September 2022, Ukraine had recaptured Kupiansk and Izium. On 11 September, Russia had retreated from many of the settlements it previously occupied in the oblast {{Cite web |last=Анисимова |first=Ольга |date=2022-09-11 |title=Минобороны РФ опубликовало карту фронта в Харьковской области |url=https://rus-bel.online/novosti/armiya/minoborony-rf-opublikovalo-kartu-fronta-v-harkovskoj-oblasti/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=RB Новости |language=ru-RU}} and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a formal withdrawal of Russian forces from most of Kharkiv Oblast stating that an "operation to curtail and transfer troops" was underway."{{cite news |title=Russian defense ministry shows retreat from most of Kharkiv region |url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2022/09/11/russian-defense-ministry-shows-retreat-from-most-of-kharkiv-region |work=Meduza |date=11 September 2022 |access-date=11 September 2022 }}[https://charter97.org/en/news/2022/9/11/515204/ Russian Defence Ministry Showed Map Of New Frontline In Kharkiv Region], Хартии'97, 11 September 2022. By 12 September 2022, as the Russian front lines in Kharkiv Oblast continued to collapse, Ukrainian forces had managed to push back to the northeastern border with Russia in some areas of the region.{{Cite web |title=Ukraine reclaims more territory, reports capturing many POWs |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-initiative-claims-reached-russian-border-89736000 |access-date=2022-09-12 |website=ABC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Kaonga |first=Gerrard |date=2022-09-12 |title=Ukraine soldiers reach Russian border after driving enemy back, video shows |url=https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-russia-retreat-russia-border-soldier-latest-update-conflict-1741910 |access-date=2022-09-12 |website=Newsweek |language=en}} By 3 October 2022, Russian forces had almost completely withdrawn from Kharkiv Oblast.{{cite news | url=https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/10/03/russian-controlled-settlements-liberated-kharkiv-ukraine/ | title=Five Russian-controlled settlements around Kharkiv reportedly liberated by Ukraine | newspaper=Euro Weekly News | date=3 October 2022 | last1=Roscoe | first1=Matthew }}{{cite web | url=https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-armed-forces-liberate-village-131902374.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAK9guLazBDdKFs94jiLkLDQENiO2DQhWCp1GcyLi5gnbjIvM0d4skDfv7-cjtPegi52541TVd67NVzHC7K7FTWpmlS7t84S-1Z1yZr6xTfKWdx_HrcthPn8kALjpk6JXeK8YEtAOZ1LWhsJBxF05Fqze6bX1rkJIALlp3MWb3zWr | title=Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate village of Borova in Kharkiv Oblast | date=3 October 2022 }} As of 2023, fighting continues in the easternmost parts of the oblast in the Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna line.{{Cite news |date=2023-02-28 |title=Ukraine's northeastern front could decide new battle lines |language=en |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-feb-28-fe78797198d506ced10b207e9db85350 |access-date=2023-08-10|first=Samya|last=Kullab}} In May 2024, Russia launched a renewed offensive in northern Kharkiv Oblast, however the frontline stabilised shortly after and has remained at a halt since, with only marginal advances reported.{{cite web |date=16 June 2024 |title=Russian soldier says army suffering heavy losses in Kharkiv offensive |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/16/russian-soldier-says-army-suffering-heavy-losses-in-kharkiv-offensive |website=The Guardian}} In late 2024, amidst a Russian offensive in Donetsk Oblast and a Ukrainian offensive into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Russian forces started new offensive operations in eastern Kharkiv Oblast, with the aim of recrossing the Oskil river and capturing Kupiansk.{{cite web |date=5 February 2025 |title=A Russian Tank Army Is Poised To Attack Kupyansk—But First It Needs To Cross The Oskil River |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2025/02/05/a-russian-tank-army-is-poised-to-attack-kupyansk-but-first-it-needs-to-cross-the-oskil-river/ |website=Forbes}}

File:Kharkiv oblast detail map.png

File:Успенський собор взимку, аерофото.jpg]]

{{historical populations|1970|2826122|1979|3055655|1989|3195046|2001|2914212|2011|2755108|2022|2598961|align=right|cols=1|source={{cite web|title=Division of Ukraine|url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ukraine-division.htm}}{{cite web|title=Ukraine: Provinces and Major Cities|url=https://citypopulation.de/en/ukraine/cities/}}}}Its population in 2001 was 2,895,800 million (1,328,900 males (45.9%) and 1,566,900 females (54.1%)).

At the 2001 census, the ethnic groups within the Kharkiv Oblast were:

• Ukrainians – 70.7%
• Russians – 25.6%
• Belarusians – 0.5%
• Jews – 0.4%
• Armenians – 0.4%
• Azeris – 0.2%
• Georgians – 0.15%
• Tatars – 0.14%
• Others – 2.1%

Groups by native language:

• Ukrainian – 53.8%
• Russian – 44.3%
• Other languages – 1.9%

: 0–14 years: 12.6% {{increase}} (male 177,464/female 167,321)

: 15–64 years: 72.2% {{decrease}} (male 945,695/female 1,024,841)

: 65 years and over: 15.2% {{steady}} (male 135,737/female 277,725) (2013 official)

: total: 40.5 years {{increase}}

: male: 36.9 years {{steady}}

: female: 44.1 years {{increase}} (2013 official)

File:Blagoveschensky Cathedral - 01.jpg is one of the tallest Orthodox churches in the world. It was completed on 2 October 1888.]]

In 2007, there were 700 religious associations in the Kharkiv Oblast, including:

• 265 – Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
• 116 – Baptists
• 83 – Jehovah's Witnesses
• 39 – Seventh-day Adventists Church
• 34 – Christians of the Evangelical Faith
• 25 – Pentecostals
• 13 – Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate (now Orthodox Church of Ukraine)
• 12 – Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (now Orthodox Church of Ukraine)
• 9 – Judaism
• 6 – Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
• 6 – Roman Catholic Church

Ranked by population, the oblast's 12 largest municipalities are:

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}

1. 20px Kharkiv (1,421,125)
2. 20px Lozova (53,126)
3. 20px Izium (44,979)
4. 20px Chuhuiv (31,018)
5. 20px Zlatopil (28,510)
6. 20px Kupiansk (26,627)
7. 20px Balakliia (26,334)
8. 20px Merefa (21,202)
9. 20px Liubotyn (20,001)
10. 20px Berestyn (19,674)
11. 20px Vovchansk (17,459)
12. 20px Derhachi (17,139)

{{Div col end}}

{{clear}}

{{main|Administrative divisions of Kharkiv Oblast}}

File:Майдан Свободи у Харкові 2.jpg

Kharkiv Oblast is administratively subdivided into seven raions. Prior to the 2020 administrative reform, there were 25 raions, and also seven cities (municipalities) that were directly subordinate to the oblast government (Chuhuiv, Izium, Kupiansk, Liubotyn, Lozova, Pervomaiskyi, and the administrative center of the oblast, Kharkiv).

{{Further|List of villages in Kharkiv Oblast}}

File:Kharkiv Oblast 2020 subdivisions.jpg

File:Frunzens'kyi District, Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine - panoramio (37).jpg plant.]]

The Kharkiv oblast has a primarily industrial economy, including engineering, metallurgy, manufacturing, production of chemicals and food processing. It also has an important agricultural sector with 19,000 square kilometres of arable land (comprising 5.9% of the total arable lands of Ukraine). Agricultural production grew substantially in 2015.{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.sq.com.ua/rus/news/vlast/13.02.2016/selskoe_hozyajstvo/ Agriculture in 2015: results] SQ News (13 February 2016)

Also in Kharkiv is the airplane plant for space controlling systems. It is a major center for all branches of engineering, from large-scale manufacture to microelectronics. Also situated in Kharkiv Oblast is a gas field, which is one of the biggest in Ukraine.

File:81-718.jpg]]

The Kharkiv Oblast has an undeveloped transport network, 60% of the total transportation falls on the part of the rail transport. At the end of 2020, the operational life of the salivary lines of the gas station on the territory of the Kharkiv region was 1520 km.{{Cite web |title=День залізничника |url=http://kh.ukrstat.gov.ua/download/press/2021/press_zaliznychnykW.pdf |publisher=Головне управління статистики у Харківській області}}

Kharkiv Salvage University serves 10 million passengers on the river, road transport, sedation, buses - about 12 million. The largest salvage stations are Izium, Kupiansk, Liubotyn, Lozova.

In the Kharkiv Oblast, in 2019, 31.4878 million passengers traveled through travel transport services, or 96.5% of the total in 2018.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Підсумки роботи транспорту Харківської області у 2019 році |url=http://kh.ukrstat.gov.ua/download/express/2020/express_01_06.zip |accessdate= |website= |publisher=Головне управління статистики у Харківській області |language=}}

The most important highways that pass through the region: Kharkiv-Moscow, Kharkiv-Simferopol, Kharkiv-Rostov-on-Don, Kharkiv-Poltava. The total length of highways in the past is more than 9.7 thousand km, of which 97.5% are on hard surfaces.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Головне управління статистики у Харківській області |url=http://kh.ukrstat.gov.ua/download/press/Press_autoW.pdf |accessdate= |website= |publisher= |language=}} The length of the autoshlyakh of the sovereign venue in the Kharkiv Oblast is 2343.9 km, including 617.4 km - the MITERNINI, 108.2 km - National Monalni, 639.1 km - regions, 979.2 km - Teritorialne. On highways of national importance in the region there are 242 bridges with a total length of 1316.3 linear meters. m.{{Cite web |title=Перелік державних автомобільних доріг Харківської області |url=https://kh.ukravtodor.gov.ua/pro_sluzhbu/perelik_derzhavnykh_avtomobilnykh_dorih_kharkivskoi_oblasti.html |accessdate=2021-01-26 |website=kh.ukravtodor.gov.ua |language=uk |archive-date=2021-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226223123/https://kh.ukravtodor.gov.ua/pro_sluzhbu/perelik_derzhavnykh_avtomobilnykh_dorih_kharkivskoi_oblasti.html |url-status=dead }}

Kharkiv airport serves domestic and international airlines, mainly engaged in passenger transportation.[http://www.kharkov.ua/region/region.htm Харківська область] {{in lang|ru}}

The following sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

• Derzhprom Building
• Pokrov monastery (Kharkiv)
• Skovoroda museum

File:Стадион ОСК Металлист (21299283693).jpg]]

It has a regional federation within the Ukrainian Bandy and Rink bandy Federation.{{cite web | url=http://www.ukrbandy.org.ua/about_en.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223045433/http://www.ukrbandy.org.ua/about_en.html | archive-date=23 February 2014 | title=Ukrainian bandy and rink-bandy federation. About Federation }}

File:Будинок проектів, Харків DJI 0046.jpg]]

File:KharkovRadioInstituteWinter.jpg]]

{{Main list|List of universities in Ukraine}}

In 2020, 104,900 people aged 15-70 worked in the education sector of the Kharkiv region, or 8.7% of the total number of people employed in the region's economy.{{Cite web |title=До Дня працівників освіти, Дня Вчителя |url=http://kh.ukrstat.gov.ua/download/press/2021/4Den_osvit_2021_site.pdf |publisher=Головне управління статистики Харківської області}}

At the end of 2020, there were 753 preschool education institutions in the region (11 more institutions compared to 2019), designed for 79.7 thousand places. The number of their pupils was 74,100 children (3,400 less than in 2019).{{Cite web |title=Заклади дошкільної освіти Харківської області у 2020 році |url=http://kh.ukrstat.gov.ua/download/press/2021/presЗДО_20-w.pdf |publisher=Головне управління статистики у Харківській області}}

At the beginning of the 2020/21 academic year, there were 734 institutions of general secondary education in Kharkiv region, 258,800 students studied in them and 22,700 teachers (including part-time teachers) worked in them. In 2020, 14,300 graduates received a certificate of complete general secondary education.{{Cite web |title=Заклади загальної середньої та професійної (професійно-технічної) освіти Харківської області у 2020 р. |url=http://kh.ukrstat.gov.ua/download/press/2021/pres_ЗСПО_20W.pdf |publisher=Головне управління статистики у Харківській області}}

At the end of 2020, there were 39 institutions of professional (vocational and technical) education in the region, in which 13,700 people studied.

At the beginning of the 2020/21 academic year, there were 55 institutions of higher education in the region, and 124,200 people studied in them. In 2020, higher education institutions of the region accepted 29,800 people to study, and graduated 44,000 specialists. Postgraduate students were trained by 55 institutions of higher education and scientific institutions, in which 3,400 postgraduate students received their education. 5.6 thousand people obtained professional preliminary education in 8 educational institutions. More than 19,000 scientific, scientific-pedagogical and pedagogical workers worked in institutions of higher and professional pre-higher education.{{Cite web |title=Заклади вищої та фахової передвищої освіти Харківської області у 2020 р. |url=http://kh.ukrstat.gov.ua/download/press/2021/pres_ЗВО_20-w.pdf |publisher=Головне управління статистики у Харківській області}}

• Hryhorii Skovoroda – Ukrainian philosopher (1722–1794)
• Ilya Repin – Russian realist painter (1844–1930)
• Élie Metchnikoff – Russian immunologist (1845–1916)
• Alexander Potebnja – Russian-Ukrainian philosopher, linguist and panslavist activist
• George Shevelov – Ukrainian-American linguist (1908–2002)
• Dmytro Bahalii – Ukrainian historian
• Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko – Ukrainian writer, journalist, and playwright (1778–1843)
• Arkady Averchenko – Russian playwright and satirist
• Anton Makarenko – Soviet educator, social worker and writer
• Vasily Karazin – Ukrainian scientist
• Lyudmila Gurchenko – Soviet and Russian actress, singer (1935–2011)

File:Будинок держпромисловості, Харків DJI 0068.jpg|Derzhprom, Kharkiv

File:Покровський собор на території Харківського Покровського монастиря, вул. Університетська, 8 8.jpg|Intercession Cathedral, Kharkiv

File:Annunciation Cathedral, Kharkiv P1500719.jpg|Annunciation Cathedral, Kharkiv

File:Церква Вознесіння (Ізюм).JPG|Ascension Cathedral, Izium

File:Палацо-парковий ансамбль (Садиба) Шарівка.jpg|Sharivka Palace and Park Ensemble

File:Chimney and two hiperboloide cooling towers on Kharkov-CN.jpg|Kharkiv TEC-5, Pisochyn

File:Donec near Mokhnach.jpg|View of Siverskyi Donets

File:Осенний пейзаж - panoramio (4).jpg|Autumn landscape, Kharkiv

File:Стадион ОСК Металлист (21299283693).jpg|OSK Metalist Stadium

File:Харківська область аверс.jpg|Jubilee coin of the NBU dedicated to the Kharkiv Oblast (obverse)

File:Харківська область реверс.jpg|Jubilee coin of the NBU dedicated to the Kharkiv Oblast (reverse)

File:Stamp of Ukraine s396.jpg|Stamp for the anniversary of the Kharkiv Oblast, 2001

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.ukrainebiz.com/Articles/KharkivFacts.htm Kharkiv Oblast Facts & Figures]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060619114620/http://kts.8m.com/statisti.htm Kharkiv Oblast statistics]
• [http://uamaps.com/ukraine-map/kharkovskaya/ Maps of Kharkiv oblast Cities, Towns and Villages]
• [http://www.gorod.kharkov.ua/secart3123.html About Kharkiv Oblast]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080612200845/http://www.catalogue.biz.ua/eng/guides/guide_index/1/21/ Post codes directory of Kharkiv Oblast]

{{Kharkiv Oblast}}

{{Administrative divisions of Ukraine}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Oblasts of Ukraine

Category:States and territories established in 1932

Category:1932 establishments in Ukraine