Zakarpattia Oblast

**Zakarpattia Oblast** (, translit. ; , translit. ; ; ; also referred to as the **Transcarpathian Oblast**, **Transcarpathia**, **Zakarpattya**, or historically **Subcarpathian Rus**) is an administrative oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod. Other major cities within the oblast include Mukachevo, Khust, Berehove and Chop which is home to railroad transport infrastructure.

Zakarpattia Oblast was formally established on January 22, 1946 after the incorporation of Subcarpathian Rus lands to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Ukrainian independence referendum held in 1991, Zakarpattia Oblast voters were given a separate option on whether or not they favored  autonomy for the region. Although a large majority favored autonomy, it was not granted. It is the only Ukrainian oblast to have boundaries with four countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, part of which are within Zakarpattia Oblast, were recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

The largest rivers that flow through the oblast include the Tysa, Borzhava, and the Tereblia. The region's climate is moderate and continental

 (1918).]]

During the World War II German occupation of Czechoslovakia, the southern part of the region was awarded to Hungary under the First Vienna Award in 1938.  The remaining portion was constituted as an autonomous region of the short-lived Second Czecho-Slovak Republic. After the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia on March 15, 1939 and the Slovak declaration of an independent state, Ruthenia declared its independence (Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine) but it was immediately occupied and later annexed by Hungary.

During the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, almost the entire Jewish population was deported; few survived the Holocaust. When the Soviet Army crossed the pre-1938 borders of Czechoslovakia in 1944, Soviet authorities refused to allow Czechoslovak governmental officials to resume control over the region, and in June 1945, President Edvard Beneš formally signed a treaty ceding the area to the Soviet Union. It was then incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR. About 78% of the oblast's population voted in favor of autonomy, however, it was not granted. but after Czechoslovakia's dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993, these ideas have been rendered largely moot.

On October 25, 2008, delegates to the Congress Of Carpathian Ruthenians declared the formation of the Republic of Carpathian Ruthenia.  The prosecutor’s office of Zakarpattia region has filed a case against Russian Orthodox Church priest Dmytro Sidor and Yevhen Zhupan, an Our Ukraine deputy of the Zakarpattia regional council and chairman of the People’s Council of Ruthenians, on charges of encroaching on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine.

## Politics
Zakarpattia Oblast's local administration is controlled by the Zakarpattia Oblast Council (*rada*). The Chairman of the Council is Mykhailo Kichkovskyi, elected from the People's Union "Our Ukraine" party. Kichkovsky holds this position since his election in April 2006.

The Zakarpattia Oblast Rada consists of a total of 90 deputies.

* Administrative Center — 1 (Uzhhorod);
* Raions — 13;
* City raions — 0;
* Settlements — 609, including:
** Villages — 579;
** Cities/Towns — 30, including:
*** Urban-type settlements — 19;
*** Cities — 11, including:
**** Cities of oblast' subordinance — 5;
**** Cities of raion subordinance — 6;
* Selsovets — 307.

### Raions
There are 13 raions (districts) in the oblast:

# Berehivskyi Raion
# Irshavskyi Raion
# Khustskyi Raion
# Mizhhirskyi Raion
# Mukachivskyi Raion
# Perechynskyi Raion
# Rakhivskyi Raion
# Svaliavskyi Raion
# Tiachivskyi Raion
# Uzhhorodskyi Raion
# Velykobereznianskyi Raion
# Volovetskyi Raion
# Vynohradivskyi Raion

### Cities
Largest cities and towns in the province are (with population figures in 2007):

* Uzhhorod (118,231)
* Mukachevo (81,344)
* Khust (27,506)
* Berehove (25,288)
* Vynohradiv (24,366)
* Svaliava (16,217)
* Rakhiv (14,416)
* Tiachiv (9,256)
* Mizhhiria (9,133)
* Irshava (9,000)
* Velykyy Bychkiv (8,920)
* Solotvyno (8,774)
* Dubove (8,745)
* Velyki Luchky (8,540)
* Chop (8,436)
* Ilnytsia (8,420)
* Bushtyno (8,091)

## Demographics
According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, the population of Zakarpattia Oblast is 1,254,614. The current estimated population is 1.2 million people (as of 2004).

Although ethnic Ukrainians are in majority here (80.5%), other ethnic groups are relatively numerous in Zakarpattia. The largest of these are Hungarians (12.1%), Romanians (2.6%), Russians (2.5%), Roma (1.1%), Slovaks (0.5%) and Germans (0.3%).

Their languages and culture are respected by the provision of education, clubs, etc. in their respective languages. Those who recognize Ukrainian as their native language total 81.0% of the population, Hungarian — 12.7%, Russian — 2.9%, Romanian — 2.6%, Residents in seven of Mukachivskyi Raion's villages have the option to learn the Hungarian language in a school or home school environment.

Zakarpattia is home to approximately 14,000 ethnic Roma (otherwise known as Gypsies), the largest population of Roma in Ukraine. The first Hungarian College in Ukraine is in Berehovo, the II. Rákoczi Ferenc College.

## Economy
 in the town of Solotvyno.]]

Zakarpattia Oblast's economy depends mostly on trans-border trade, vinery and forestry. The oblast is also home to a special economic zone.

The oblast's main industry includes woodworking. Other industries include food, light industry, and mechanical engineering. Segment of foodstuffs in the structure of ware production of national consumption is 45%. The total number of large industrial organisations is 319, compared to 733 small industrial organisations.

The most common crops grown within the region include cereals, potatoes and other vegetables. In 1999, the total amount of grain produced was 175,800 tons, of sunflower seeds — 1,300 tons, and potatoes — 378,200 tons. The region also produced 76,100 tons of meat, 363,400 tons of milk and 241,900,000 eggs. The total amount of registered farms in the region was 1,400 in 1999.

## References
## Other websites

* carpathia.gov.ua  — Official website of Zakarpattia Oblast Administration
* Verkhovna Rada website  — Zakarpattia Oblast data
* Photos and infrastructure objects of Zakarpattia on interactive map (Ukrainian Navigational Portal) 
* Zakarpattia Early & Recent History, and Photos 
* all.zakarpattya.net  — All about Zakarpattia
* mukachevo.net — Zakarpattia Oblast informational portal
* map.meta.ua — Digital map of Zakarpattia Oblast
* Zakarpattia Oblast - photographs