Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast (, ; also referred to as "Cherkashchyna" ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Cherkasy. The current population of the oblast is ). Geography. With 20,900 km², the Cherkasy oblast is the 18th largest oblast of Ukraine, comprising about 3.5% of the area of the country. The south flowing Dnieper River with the hilly western bank and the plain eastern bank divides the oblast into two unequal parts. The larger western part belongs to the Dnieper Upland. The low-lying eastern part of the  oblast used to be subject to the frequent Dnieper flooding before the flow of the river became controlled by multiple dams of Hydroelectric Power Plants constructed along the river in the 20th century. The oblast extends for 245 km from south-west to north-east, and for 150 km from north to south. The northernmost point of the oblast is located is near the village of Kononivka in Zolotonosha Raion (district), the southernmost point near the village of Kolodyste in Zvenyhorodka Raion, the westernmost point near the village of Korytnya in Uman Raion, and the easternmost point near the village  of Stetsivka in Cherkasy Raion. The geometric centre of the oblast is located near the village Zhuravky of Horodyshche Raion. The oblast borders Kyiv Oblast to the north, Kirovohrad Oblast to the south, Poltava Oblast to the east, and Vinnytsia Oblast to the west. History. Cherkasy Oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on January 7, 1954. The oblast's territory was the major cities of Cherkasy, Smila and Uman, their corresponding "raions" (districts), as well as 30 former "raions" of the Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Kirovohrad and Poltava Oblasts. Archaeological discoveries, have shown that people have inhabited  the valley of the Dnieper ("Dnipro") River since the times immemorial. The oldest objects excavated on the territory of the region date back to the Stone Age – the Palaeolithic period. Administrative divisions. Since July 2020, Cherkasy Oblast is administratively subdivided into 4 "raions" (districts). There are a total of 16 cities, 15 urban-type settlements, and 824 villages. The following data incorporates the number of each type of administrative divisions of Cherkasy Oblast: The local administration of the oblast is controlled by the Cherkasy Oblast Rada. The governor of the oblast is the Cherkasy Oblast Rada speaker, appointed by the  President of Ukraine. Since July 2020, Cherkasy Oblast consists of four raions: The region has 16 populated places designated as cities (towns). The only one with the population over 100 thousands is Cherkasy. Uman and Smila are in the range between 80 and 90 thousands, and all others are below 30 thousands. Demographics. The current estimated population is 1,335,064 (as of 2006). According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, the oblast's population is almost equally divided between the urban and rural areas (53.7% and 46.3%, respectively). The demographic situation in this largely agricultural territory is somewhat complicated by population ageing . By ethnic composition, Ukrainians represent the overwhelming majority of the oblast's population (93.6%). Ethnic Russians are the distant second group of population (5.4%), and are concentrated mainly in the city of Cherkasy. The oblast is primarily Ukrainophone. Economy. The economy of the Cherkasy Oblast is largely dominated by agriculture. While the winter wheat and sugar beets are the main products grown in the oblast, barley, corn, tobacco and hemp are also grown. Cattle breeding is also important. The industry is mainly concentrated in Cherkasy, the oblast's capital and the largest city. A chemical industry was developed in the  city in late 1960s in addition to machine building, furniture making and agricultural processing. Nomenclature. Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (, 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: "Cherkasy" is the center of the "Cherkas’ka oblast’" (Cherkasy 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 Cherkasy Oblast , "Cherkashchyna". Education. There are 5 universities in the region: