| Kiev Governorate | |
| Native Name: | Киевская губерния |
| Native Name Lang: | ru |
| Settlement Type: | Governorate |
| Mapsize: | 225px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Russian Empire |
| Subdivision Type1: | Krai |
| Subdivision Name1: | Southwestern |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1802 |
| Extinct Title: | Abolished |
| Extinct Date: | 1925 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Kiev |
| Area Total Km2: | 50957 |
| Population As Of: | 1897 |
| Population Total: | 3,559,229 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Urban: | 12.90% |
| Population Rural: | 87.10% |
| Total Type: | Total |
Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It included the territory of the right-bank Ukraine and was formed after a division of the Kiev Viceroyalty into Kiev and Little Russia Governorates in 1796. Its capital was in Kiev. By the early 20th century, it consisted of 12 uyezds, 12 cities, 111 miasteczkos and 7344 other settlements. After the October Revolution, it became part of the administrative division of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1923 it was divided into several okrugs and on 6 June 1925 it was abolished by the Soviet administrative reforms.[1] [2]
Kiev Governorate on the right bank of Dnieper was officially established by Emperor Paul I's edict of November 30, 1796. However it was not until 1800 when the first governor was appointed. Prior to such, the territory was governed by the Kiev Viceroy Vasiliy Krasno-Milashevich (in 1796 –1800).
Three existing Left-bank Ukraine viceroyalties were merged into one Little Russia Governorate centered on Chernigov, while the Kiev Governorate now centered on Right-bank Ukraine. With Kiev still the capital, the governorate included the right-bank parts of the former Kiev Viceroyalty merged with territories of the former Kiev[3] and Bracław Voivodeships which were gained by the Russian Empire from the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (the lands of the Polish Crown province).[4] The edict took effect on August 29, 1797, bringing the total number of uyezds to twelve.
On January 22, 1832, the Kiev Governorate, along with the Volhynia and the Podolia Governorates formed the Kiev Governorate General, also known as the Southwestern Krai.[5] At the time, Vasily Levashov was appointed the Military Governor of Kiev as well as the General Governor of Podolia and Volhynia. In 1845, the population of the Governorate was 1,704,661.
At the turn of the 20th century, the governorate included twelve uyezds named by their centers: Berdychiv, Cherkasy, Chyhyryn, Kaniv, Kiev, Lipovets, Radomyshl, Skvyra, Tarashcha, Uman, Vasylkiv and Zvenyhorodka.
By the 1897 Russian Census, there were 3,559,229 people in the guberniya making it the most populous one in all of the Russian Empire.[6] Most of the population was rural. There were 459,253 people living in cities, including about 248,000 in Kiev. According to individuals' mother tongue, the census classified the respondents as follows: 2,819,145 Malorossy (Ukrainians) representing 79.2% of the population, 430,489 Jews representing 12.1% of the population, 209,427 Velikorossy (Russians) representing 5.9% of the population, and 68,791 Poles representing 1.9% of the population.[7] By faith, 2,983,736 census respondents were Orthodox Christians, 433,728 were Jews and 106,733 were of the Roman Catholic Church.[8]
The estimated population in 1906 was 4,206,100.[9]
Kiev Governorate remained a constituent unit of the larger Governorate General with Kiev being the capital of both well into the 20th century. In 1915, the General Governorate was disbanded while the guberniya continued to exist.
Kiev Governorate consisted of 12 uyezds (their administrative centres in brackets):
| County Town | Arms of County Town | Area | Population (1897 census) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian Cyrillic | ||||||
| Бердичевский | 3361.7disp=brNaNdisp=br | 279,695 | ||||
| Васильковский | 4508.6disp=brNaNdisp=br | 315,823 | ||||
| Звенигородский | 3293.3disp=brNaNdisp=br | 274,704 | ||||
| Каневский | 3264.6disp=brNaNdisp=br | 268,860 | ||||
| Киевский | 5642.5disp=brNaNdisp=br | 541,483 | ||||
| Липовецкий | 2891.3disp=brNaNdisp=br | 211,825 | ||||
| Радомысльский | 9592.7disp=brNaNdisp=br | 315,629 | ||||
| Сквирский | 3721.5disp=brNaNdisp=br | 251,257 | ||||
| Таращанский | 3339.4disp=brNaNdisp=br | 245,752 | ||||
| Уманский | 4295.2disp=brNaNdisp=br | 320,744 | ||||
| Черкасский | 3599.6disp=brNaNdisp=br | 307,542 | ||||
| Чигиринский | 3273.8disp=brNaNdisp=br | 225,915 | ||||
Russian Empire Census of 1897[10]
In the times after the Russian revolution in 1917–1921, the lands of the Kiev Governorate switched hands on several occasions. After the last Imperial governor (who ruled until March 6, 1917) fell from power, the local leaders were appointed by competing authorities. At times, the Governorate appointed by the Central Rada and the Governorate appointed by the Communists both claimed sole authority over the Governorate, while some of the short-lived ruling regimes of the territory did not establish any particular administrative subdivision.[11]
The Soviet Ukrainian authority re-established the Governorate, whose leading post was titled the Chairman of the Governorate's Revolutionary Committee (revkom) or of the Executive Committee (ispolkom).
In the course of the Soviet administrative reform of 1923–1929 the Kiev Governorate of the Ukrainian SSR was transformed into six okruhas in 1923. In 1932, the Kyiv Okruha was transformed into an oblast.
as Governing Commissioners
as Governing Elders
See also: Kiev Gubernatorial Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.