Volyn region
\n| Volyn Region |
|---|
\n |
\n| Name in Ukrainian |
|---|
\n| Capital | Lutsk |
\n| Established | 1939 |
\nPopulation \n
- Total \n
- Density\n
- Urban | \n\n
\n
/km²\n
> % |
\n| Area | kmē |
\n| Districts | 15 |
\n| Cities | |
\n| Settlements | |
\n| Villages | |
\n
Volyn Region, Volynia or the
Volynskaya Oblast is the most northwestern administrative district of present-day
Ukraine bordering
Belarus to the north and
Poland to the west. The capital of the oblast is
Lutsk (Luck).
Kovil (Kovel, Kowel) is the most westernly town and terminus of the Ukrainian rail line that runs from
Warsaw through to
Kiev.
History of Volyn region
See also: Volhynia
Volyn was once part of
Kievan Rus' before becoming an independent local principality and an integral part of the early Ukrainian state of
Halych-Volynia. In the
1400s, the area came under the control of neighboring
Lithuania, in
1569 passing over to
Poland and then in
1795, until
World War I, the
Russian Empire where it was called the
Volynskaya Guberniya.
In Krzemieniec there was a Polish language post-secondary school named
Liceum Krzemienieckie. It was closed by the Russian government in
1830. In this province communities of
Ukrainians (
Greek Catholic and
Orthodox), Jews, Poles (
Roman Catholics) as well as smaller groups of
Czechs and
Germans lived together in a peaceful manner.
\nAfter
World War I, the area was assigned to Poland as
Wolhynian Voivodship. In contract to the situation in the Eastern
Galicia, the Polish government actively promoted Ukrainian organisations. However, in the course of converting the large
latifundia estates owned by Polish nobles into farms former soldiers, mostly ethnic Poles, had priority. This was the key factor in dissatisfaction of the Ukrainian population, despite the fact, that Polish rule saved them from Soviet attrocities, including Soviet collectivization.
During
World War II, Volyn was invaded by the
Soviet Union and annexed subsequently to
Nazi-Soviet pact. As in other Polish provinces the Soviets massacred retired Polish officers and the Polish intelligentsia and then followed waves of deportations to the eastern part of Soviet Union, mostly of Poles. Before the Nazi capture of the province, Soviets also massacred people waiting for deportation (see: prisoners massacre).
The Nazi's completed their "
holocaust" of the
Jews of Volhynia in late
1942. Unlike Poles that were treated as enemies the Nazis had an ambivalent feeling towards Ukrainian guerillas who were known as UPA, Ukrainska Povstanska Armia (Ukrainian Insurrection Army)) which was started in this region and then spread to other regions of Ukraine. The UPA fought sporadically with the Nazis and with Soviet partisants. The UPA held that an ethnically pure Volhynia after the genocide of Jews also meant elimination of Poles (see
Massacres of Poles in Volhynia). In course of the actions of the UPA the majority of the Polish population of the region was murdered. This also completed holocaust of Jews that had been hidden in the local Polish villages.
In January
1944 the Red Army re-entered Volhynia. The Polish
Home Army founded the
27th Infantry Division to fight Germans together with Soviets. However, the unit was abandoned and partially destroyed by the Nazi army. The rest of this Division was demobilised by the Red Army due to fact, that the unit obeyed Polish government.
In the immediate aftermath of
World War II the Polish-Soviet border was redrawn based on
Curzon line. The Poles who remained in the region were transferred to the
Regained Territories.
The region was re-united with the rest of Ukraine by a unilateral decision \nof the Soviet authorities.
External link
Category:Regions of Ukraine
