Volyn Oblast

**Volyn Oblast**  (, translit. *Volyns’ka oblast’*; an aw referred tae as **Volyn’**) is an oblast (province) in north-wastren Ukraine. Its admeenistrative center is Lutsk. Kovel is the wastmaist toun an the last station in Ukraine o the rail line runnin frae Kiev tae Warsaw.

## History
:*See an aw: [[Volhynie]] for earlier history*

Volyn wis ance pairt o Kievan Rus' afore becomin an independent local principality an an integral pairt o the Halych-Volynie, ane o Kievan Rus' successor states. In the 15t century, the aurie came unner the control o neighbourin Grand Duchy o Lithuanie, in 1569 passin ower tae Poland an then in 1795, until Warld War I, tae the Roushie Empire whaur it wis a pairt o the *Volynskaya [[Guberniya]]*. In the interwar period maist o the territory, organizit as Wołyń Voivodeship wis unner Pols control.

In 1939 when follaeing the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact Poland wis invadit an dividit bi Nazi Germany an the Soviet Union, Volyn jynt the Soviet Ukraine, an on December 4, 1939 the oblast wis organizit.

Mony Ukrainians rejoicit at the "reunification", but the Pols minority suffered a cruel fate. Thoosans o Poles, especially retired Pols officers an intelligentsia wur deportit tae Siberie an ither auries in the deths o the Soviet Union. A heich proportion o thir deportees dee'd in the extreme conditions o Soviet labour camps an maist wur niver able tae return tae Volyn again.

In 1941 Volyn alang wi the Soviet Union wis invadit bi the Nazi Germany's Barbarossa Offensive. Nazis completit thair holocaust o the Jews o Volhynie in late 1942.

Pairtisan activity stairtit in Volyn in 1941, suin efter German occupation. Pairtisans wur involvit in the Rail War campaign against German supply lines an wur kent for thair efficiency in gatherin intelligence an for sabotage. The region formit the basis o several netwirks an mony members o the local population servit wi the partisans. The Poles in the aurie became pairt o the Pols Hame Airmy, which aften unnerteuk operations wi the pairtisan muivement.

The Ukrainian Insurgent Airmy (UPA) began operatin in the region in 1942 an then spread tae ither regions o Ukraine. UPA units focht the German Airmy, Pols Hame Airmy, then the Soviets for mony years efter Warld War II. Unner the false promise o an independent Ukraine, UPA supportit bi Nazi Germany began tae target ethnic minorities (Poles, Jews, Roushie, amang ithers) for liquidation. Some 30,000 tae 60,000 Poles (Pols soorces gae even heicher figurs) an aroond 2,000 or mair Ukrainians war killed in retaliation (see Massacres of Poles in Volhynia).

In Januar 1944 the Red Airmy recaptured the territory frae the Nazis.

In the immediate eftermath o Warld War II the Pols-Soviet mairch wis redrawn based on the Curzon line. Volyn, alang wi the neighbourin provinces became an integral pairt o the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Maist Poles who remained in the eastren region wur transferred tae the Recovered Territories o wastren Poland (the umwhile eastmaist provinces o Germany) whose German population haed been expelled. Some o the Ukrainians on the wastren side, notably aroond the ceety o Kholm (Chełm in Pols), wur an aw alloued tae muive tae Ukraine.

The aurie unnerwent rapid industrialisation includin the construction o the Lutskiy Avtomobilnyi Zavod. Nivertheless the aurie remains ane o the maist landwart throuoot the umwhile Soviet Union.  It currently ranks amangst Ukraine's poorest auries, likely due tae a lack o investment an a declinin infrastructur. Some o its launds are on the edge o the aurie affectit bi the Chernobyl disaster.

## Historical Steids
The follaein historical-cultural steids wur nominatit for the Seiven Wonders o Ukraine.
* Upper Castle
* Volodymyr-Volynsky historical-cultural complex
* Villa-museum o Lesia Ukrainka
* Paintin o the Holm's Virgin Mary

## Politics
;Umwhile Chairmen o Oblast Cooncil
* - 2006 Vasyl Dmytruk Lytvyn's Bloc
* 2006 - Anatoliy Hrytsiuk

## Subdiveesions

The Volyn Oblast is admeenistratively subdividit intae 16 raions (destricts), as well as 4 ceeties (municipalities) which are directly subordinate tae the oblast govrenment: Kovel, Novovolynsk, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, an the administrative centre o the oblast, Lutsk.

## References

## Freemit airtins
* Lutsk ceety cooncil  
* Volyn Oblast State Admeenistration 
* Volyn Region (Newspaper)  
* Pictur album