| Native Name: | Чернігівська губернія |
| Conventional Long Name: | Chernihiv Governorate |
| Common Name: | Chernihiv |
| Subdivision: | Governorate |
| Nation: | the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian SSR |
| Year Start: | 1918 |
| Date Start: | 27 February |
| Year End: | 1925 |
| Date End: | 1 August |
| P1: | Chernigov Governorate |
| Flag P1: | Черниговская губ МВД Бенке.jpg |
| P2: | Mogilev Governorate |
| Flag P2: | Могилевская губ МВД Бенке.jpg |
| P3: | Kursk Governorate |
| Flag P3: | Coat of Arms of Kursk gubernia (Russian empire).png |
| S1: | Hlukhiv Okruha |
| S2: | Konotop Okruha |
| S3: | Nizhyn Okruha |
| S4: | Chernihiv Okruha |
| Capital: | Chernihiv |
| Political Subdiv: | counties: 18 (1918–1919) 11 (1919–1923) okruhas: 5 (1923–1925) |
| Stat Pop1: | 2298000 |
| Stat Area1: | 52396 |
| Stat Year1: | (1897) |
| Today: | Chernihiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast Bryansk Oblast Kursk Oblast Gomel Region |
| Native Name: | Черниговская губерния |
| Conventional Long Name: | Chernigov Governorate |
| Common Name: | Chernigov |
| Subdivision: | Governorate |
| Nation: | the Russian Empire (1802–1917), and the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1918) |
| Year Start: | 1802 |
| Year End: | 1918 |
| Date Start: | 27 February |
| Date End: | 1 August |
| P1: | Little Russia Governorate (1796–1802) |
| S1: | Chernihiv Governorate |
| Image Map Caption: | Location in the Russian Empire |
| Capital: | Chernihiv |
| Political Subdiv: | uezds: 15 |
| Stat Pop1: | 2,298,000 |
| Stat Area1: | 52,396 |
| Stat Year1: | (1897) |
| Today: | Chernihiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast Bryansk Oblast |
Chernihiv Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit of the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian SSR, existing from 1918 to 1925. It was inherited from the Russian system of territorial subdivisions that existed prior to World War I. Specifically, Chernigov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire. It included the territory of the left-bank Ukraine and was officially created in 1802 from Malorossiya Governorate with its capital in Chernigov (Chernihiv). Little Russia Governorate was transformed into the General Government of Little Russia and consisted of Chernigov Governorate, Poltava Governorate, and later Kharkov Governorate.
Chernigov Governorate borders are roughly consistent with the modern Chernihiv Oblast, but also included a large section of Sumy Oblast and smaller sections of the Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine, in addition to most of the Bryansk Oblast of Russia.
When part of the Russian Empire, the governorate consisted of 15 uyezds (their administrative centres in brackets):
Of these, 11 were in territory inhabited by Ukrainians: Borzna, Hlukhiv, Horodnia, Kozelets, Konotop, Krolovets, Nizhyn, Novhorod-Siverksyi, Oster, Sosnytsia, and Chernihiv.
Chernigov Governorate covered a total area of 52,396 km², and had a population of 2,298,000, according to the 1897 Russian Empire census. In 1914, the population was 2,340,000. In 1918 it became part of Ukraine and transformed into Chernihiv Governorate.
As part of the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian SSR, the governorate consisted of 18 counties (povits):
In 1919, the northern Mhlyn, Novozybkiv, Starodub, and Surazh counties, with their mixed Ukrainian–Belarusian–Russian population, were transferred from Ukraine to the newly established Gomel Governorate of the Russian republic.[2]
In 1925, the governorate’s territory was redistributed among Hlukhiv, Konotop, Nizhyn, and Chernihiv districts (okruhas).
At the times of the Russian Census of 1897:
At the time of the Imperial census of 1897.[3] In bold are languages spoken by more people than the state language.
| Number ! | percentage (%) ! | males ! | females | ----- | Ukrainian | 66.41 | ----- | 21.58 | ----- | 6.59 | ----- | 4.95 | ----- | German | 0.23 | ----- | 0.14 | ----- | Persons that didn't name their native language | 74 | >0.01 | 32 | 42 | ----- | Other[4] | >0.01 | 638 | ----- | Total | 100 | + |