Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its most recent form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
The estimated population is
The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy. Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka. The oblast has a heavy mix of agriculture and industry, with over 600 industrial locations. Importantly, seven rivers pass through the oblast.
Geography
The Sumy Oblast is situated in the northeastern part of Ukraine. It is situated on a border of two historical regions of Ukraine — Cossack Hetmanate (annexed by Russia in the 18th century as Little Russia, previously known as Severia) and Sloboda Ukraine. Elevation is 110–240m above sea level. The area of the oblast (23,800 km2), comprises about 3.95% of the total area of the country.
The oblast borders Bryansk Oblast (Russia) on the northeast, Belgorod Oblast and Kursk Oblast (Russia) on the east, Poltava Oblast on the southwest, Kharkiv Oblast on the south, and the Chernihiv Oblast on the west.
Seven main rivers flow through the oblast, with the Desna River the largest.
The Sumy Oblast contains 168 objects and territories of natural reserve. The oblast is rich in picturesque banks of numerous rivers, and sources of mineral waters. Major environmental problems are: soil erosion, pesticide pollution, air and water pollution. The city has a problem of garbage utilization. The only place for pesticide utilization in Ukraine is Shostka, Sumy region.
History
The region was created on the ukase of Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on 10 January 1939 as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The newly created Sumy Oblast included 12 former raions of Kharkiv Oblast, 17 former raions of Chernihiv Oblast, and 2 former raions of Poltava Oblast.
During World War II in 1941–43, it was occupied by Nazi Germany under administration of the German Wehrmacht. After the German forces were driven out, the Soviet Union regained control of the region under jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
In 1965 one of former Chernihiv Oblast raions (Talalaivka Raion) was returned to Chernihiv Oblast.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the Sumy Oblast was one of the first regions where Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed. Parts of the oblast came under Russian occupation during the invasion. On 4 April 2022 Governor of Sumy Oblast Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units. On 8 April 2022 Zhyvytskyi stated that all Russian troops had left Sumy Oblast.
Points of interest
The following historic-cultural sited were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine. Monument to mamonth (Kulishivka) Kruhliy dvir (Round court) Sofroniiv monastery
Administrative divisions
It comprises 5 raions (districts) that are further subdivided into 51 territorial hromadas (communities).
The following data incorporates the number of each type of administrative divisions of the Sumy Oblast:
Administrative Center – 1 (Sumy); Raions – 5; Hromadas – 51.
The local administration of the oblast is controlled by the Sumy Oblast council. The governor of the oblast (chairman of state regional administration) is appointed by the President of Ukraine.
Demographics
At the 2001 census, the ethnic groups within the Sumy Oblast were: 88.8% Ukrainians, 9.4% Russians.
Age structure
0-14 years: 12.7% (male 74,529/female 70,521) 15-64 years: 70.8% (male 386,250/female 422,077) 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 60,374/female 127,306) (2013 official)
Median age
total: 42.0 years
male: 38.6 years
female: 45.4 years (2013 official)
Economy
Industry
The main industrial activities of the oblast are: chemical mechanical engineering, pumping and energy mechanical engineering, agricultural machine-construction, instrument-making industry and radio electronics, technical equipment production for processing fields of agro-industrial complexes, mining and iron ore production industry, polygraph industry and medicine production, oil and gas processing, chemical production, film and photo material production (See: Svema), and chemical fertilizer production. In general, there are 273 large industry enterprises and 327 small industry enterprises.