View source for Chernivtsi Oblast

{{Short description|Oblast (region) of Ukraine}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->| name               = Chernivtsi Oblast
| native_name        = Чернівецька область
| official_name      = Chernivetska oblast<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Syvak|first1=Nina|last2=Ponomarenko|first2=Valerii|last3=Khodzinska|first3=Olha|last4=Lakeichuk|first4=Iryna|date=2011|editor-last=Veklych|editor-first=Lesia |title=Toponymic Guidelines for Map and Other Editors for International Use|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/Toponymic%20guidelines%20PDF/Ukraine/Verstka.pdf|page=20|access-date=2020-10-06|via=[[United Nations Statistics Division]]|publisher=Kartographia|location=Kyiv|isbn=978-966-475-839-7}}</ref>
| native_name_lang   = uk<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. -->
| other_name         = 
| nickname           = 
| settlement_type    = [[Oblasts of Ukraine|Oblast]]
| image_skyline      = 
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = Flag of Chernivtsi Oblast.svg
| flag_alt           = Flag of Chernivtsi Oblast
| image_shield       = Coat_of_Arms_of_Chernivtsi_Oblast.svg
| shield_alt         = Coat of arms of Chernivtsi Oblast
| image_map          = Chernivtsi in Ukraine.svg
| mapsize            = 275px
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|48.28|26.01|type:adm1st_region:UA|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{Flagu|Ukraine}}
| parts_type         = [[List of cities in Chernivtsi Oblast|Largest cities]]
| parts_style        = para
| p1                 = [[Chernivtsi]], [[Storozhynets]], [[Novodnistrovsk]]
| established_title  = Established
| established_date   = August 9, 1940
| seat_type          = [[Administrative centre|Administrative center]]
| seat               = [[Chernivtsi]]
| leader_party       = 
| leader_title       = [[Governor of Chernivtsi Oblast|Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Ruslan Zaparanyuk]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/4862022-43277|title=УКАЗ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА УКРАЇНИ No: 486/2022|language=uk|website=president.gov.ua|access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref>
| leader_title1      = [[Chernivtsi Oblast Council|Oblast council]]
| leader_name1       = 64 seats
| leader_title2      = Chairperson
| leader_name2       = Mykola Guytor (acting)
| unit_pref          = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 8097
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_percent = 
| area_rank          = [[List of Ukrainian oblasts and territories by area|Ranked 25th]]
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| population_footnotes = <ref name="ua2022estimate"/>
| population_total   = 890457 {{decrease}}
| population_rank    = [[List of Ukrainian oblasts and territories by population|Ranked 26th]]
| population_as_of   = 2022
| population_blank1_title = Annual growth
| population_blank1  = -0.4%
| population_density_km2 = auto
| demographics_type1 = GDP
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ukrstat.gov.ua/druk/publicat/kat_u/2023/05/zb_vrp_2021.xlsx|title=Валовии регіональнии продукт}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1 = Total
| demographics1_info1 = ₴ 55 billion<br />(€1.4 billion)
| demographics1_title2 = Per capita
| demographics1_info2 = ₴ 61,088<br />(€1,600)
|blank5_name_sec1= [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2022)
|blank5_info_sec1 = 0.722<ref>{{Cite web|title= Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab |url= https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/UKR/?levels=1+4&years=2022&interpolation=0&extrapolation=0 |website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en}}</ref><br />{{color|#0c0|high}}
| blank_name_sec1    = [[Raions of Ukraine|Raion]]s
| blank_info_sec1    = 11
| blank1_name_sec1   = [[List of cities in Chernivtsi Oblast|Cities]]
| blank1_info_sec1   = 11
| blank2_name_sec1   = 
| blank2_info_sec1   = 
| blank3_name_sec1   = [[List of urban-type settlements in Ukraine by subdivision#Chernivtsi Oblast|{{nowrap|Settlements}}]]
| blank3_info_sec1   = 8
| blank4_name_sec1   = Villages
| blank4_info_sec1   = 398
| timezone1          = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| utc_offset1        = +2
| timezone1_DST      = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST    = +3
| postal_code_type   = [[Ukrainian postal codes|Postal code]]
| postal_code        = 58-60xxx
| area_code_type     = [[Area code#Ukraine|Area code]]
| area_code          = [[Area code#Ukraine|+380-37]]
| iso_code           = [[ISO 3166-2:UA|UA-77]]
| registration_plate_type = [[Vehicle registration plates of Ukraine|Vehicle registration]]
| registration_plate = СЕ
| blank_name_sec2    = [[FIPS 10-4]]
| blank_info_sec2    = [[List of FIPS region codes (S-U)#UP: Ukraine|UP03]]
| blank1_name_sec2   = [[NUTS statistical regions of Ukraine]]
| blank1_info_sec2   = UA74
| website            = [https://bukoda.gov.ua bukoda.gov.ua]<br />[https://oblrada.cv.ua oblrada.cv.ua]
| footnotes          = 
}}
'''Chernivtsi Oblast''' ({{langx|uk|Чернівецька область|Chernivetska oblast}}), also referred to as '''Chernivechchyna''' ({{langx|uk|Чернівеччина|label=none}}), is an [[Oblasts of Ukraine|oblast]] (province) in western [[Ukraine]], consisting of the northern parts of the historical regions of [[Bukovina]] and [[Bessarabia]]. It has an international border with [[Romania]] and [[Moldova]]. The region spans {{convert|8,100|km2}}. The oblast is the smallest in Ukraine both [[List of Ukrainian oblasts and territories by area|by area]] [[List of Ukrainian oblasts and territories by population|and population.]] It has a population of {{Ua-pop-est2022|890,457|,}} and its administrative center is the city of [[Chernivtsi]].

In 1408, Chernivtsi was a town in [[Moldavia]] and the chief centre of the area known as Bukovina. Chernivtsi later passed to the Turks and then in 1774 to the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. After [[World War I]], it was ceded to Romania, and in 1940, the town was acquired by the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]].

The oblast has a large variety of landforms: the [[Carpathian Mountains]] and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the [[Dniester]] and [[Prut]] rivers.

== Geography ==
Chernivtsi Oblast covers an area of {{cvt|8,097|km2}}. It is the [[List of Ukrainian oblasts and territories by area|smallest oblast in Ukraine]], representing 1.3% of Ukrainian territory, and is only larger than the city of [[Kyiv]] itself.

In the oblast there are 75 rivers longer than 10 kilometers. The largest rivers are the [[Dniester]] (290&nbsp;km, in the Oblast), [[Prut]] (128&nbsp;km, in the Oblast) and [[Siret River|Siret]] (113&nbsp;km, in the Oblast).<ref name="ODA Geography">[http://oda.cv.ua/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=4&Itemid=42 About Oblast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503100557/http://oda.cv.ua/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=4&Itemid=42 |date=2008-05-03 }} Chernivtsi Oblast State Administration {{in lang|uk}}</ref>

The oblast covers three geographic zones: a [[forest steppe]] region between Prut and Dnister rivers, a [[foothill]] region between the [[Carpathian Mountains]] and Prut river, and a mountain region known as the [[Bukovina|Bukovinian]] part of the [[Carpathian Mountains]].<ref name="ODA Geography"/>

Chernivtsi Oblast is bordered by [[Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast]], [[Ternopil Oblast]], [[Khmelnytskyi Oblast]], [[Vinnytsia Oblast]], [[Romania]], and [[Moldova]]. Within the oblast the national border of Ukraine with Romania extends 226&nbsp;km, and with Moldova {{cvt|198|km}}.<ref name="ODA Geography"/>

==History==
Chernivtsi oblast was created on August 7, 1940, in the wake of the [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina]]. The oblast was organized out of the northeast part of [[Ținutul Suceava]] of [[Kingdom of Romania]], joining parts of three historical regions: northern half of [[Bukovina]], northern half of the [[Hotin County]] county of [[Bessarabia]], and [[Hertsa region]], which was part of the [[Dorohoi]] county (presently [[Botoșani County]]) of proper [[Moldavia]].

Archaeological sites in the region date back to 43,000–45,000 BC, with finds including a mammoth bone dwelling from the [[Middle Paleolithic]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archaeology.about.com/od/mterms/g/molodova.htm |title=Molodova I and V (Ukraine) |access-date=2011-12-04 |archive-date=2013-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203005437/http://archaeology.about.com/od/mterms/g/molodova.htm }}</ref> The [[Cucuteni-Trypillian culture]] flourished in the area. In the Middle Ages, the region was inhabited by East Slavic tribes [[White Croats]] and [[Tivertsi]].<ref name="EUH">{{cite encyclopedia |script-title=uk:ЧЕРНІВЕЦЬКА ОБЛАСТЬ |url=http://www.history.org.ua/?termin=Chernivetska_oblast |author=Верменич Я.В. |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Ukrainian History |year=2013 |publisher=[[Naukova Dumka]], [[NASU Institute of History of Ukraine]] |volume=10 |language=uk |isbn=978-966-00-1359-9 |quote={{lang|uk|У 9—11 ст. на території Ч.о. жили племена тиверців і хорватів. Із кінця 10 — в 11 ст. рівнинна частина сучасної області стала периферією Київської Русі, потім — Галицького князівства, а в 2-й пол. 14 ст. відійшла до Молдавського князівства (яке в 16 ст. стало васалом Османської імперії).}}}}</ref> From the end of the 10th century, it became a part of the [[Kievan Rus']], then [[Principality of Halych]], and in the mid-14th century of the [[Principality of Moldavia]] (which in the 16th century became a vassal of the [[Ottoman Empire]]).<ref name="EUH"/> In 1775, two counties of Moldavia, since then known as [[Bukovina]], were annexed by the [[Habsburg monarchy]] as part of the [[Austrian Empire]] and its final iteration [[Austria-Hungary]]. In 1812, one half of Moldavia, since then known as [[Bessarabia]], was annexed by the [[Russian Empire]]. [[Hertsa region]] remained in Moldavia until its union with [[Wallachia]] in 1859, a union which in 1881 became the [[Kingdom of Romania]]. In 1918 both provinces of [[Bukovina]] and [[Bessarabia]] united with the [[Kingdom of Romania]].

The [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|Soviet occupation]] began on June 28, 1940. In addition to Bessarabia, the USSR demanded Northern Bukovina as compensation for the occupation of Bessarabia by Romania from 1918 to 1940. Hertsa region was not included in the demands that the [[Soviet Union]] addressed to Romania, but was occupied at the same time. Most of the occupied territories were organized on August 2, 1940, as the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]], while the remainder, including the Chernivtsi Oblast, which was formed on August 7, 1940, were included in the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]].

[[File:Tschernowitz historical.PNG|thumb|right|350px|Historical regions outlined: '''red''': [[Northern Bukovina]], '''blue''': [[Hertsa region]], '''green''': [[Northern Bessarabia]]]]

Throughout 1940–1941 several tens of thousands of Bukovinians were deported to [[Siberia]] and [[Kazakhstan]], some 13,000 of them on June 13, 1941, alone. This and later deportations were primarily based on social class difference, it targeted intellectuals, people employed previously by the state, businessmen, clergymen, students, railworkers. In the winter and spring of 1941, the Soviet troops ([[NKVD]]) opened fire on many groups of locals trying to cross the border into Romania (for more, see: [[Lunca massacre]] and [[Fântâna Albă massacre]]). Between September 17 and November 17, 1940, by a mutual agreement between USSR and Germany, 43,641 "ethnic Germans" from the Chernivtsi region were moved to Germany, although the total ethnic German population was only 34,500, and of these some 3,500 did not go to Germany.

Beginning with 1941, when the region returned under the control of the [[Kingdom of Romania|Romanian administration]], the [[The Holocaust#Who was directly involved in the killings.3F|Jewish community of the area was largely destroyed]] by the deportations to [[ghetto]]s and [[Nazi concentration camps]], where about 60% died. About 60% of the Jewish deportees to Transnistria from the city of Chernivtsi in 1941 and 1942 died there.<ref>See "Chernovtsy, Ukraine" in Jewish Virtual Library, at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/chernovtsy.</ref> Despite the anti-Semitic policies of the [[Ion Antonescu]]'s government of Romania, the mayor of [[Chernivtsi|Cernăuți]], [[Traian Popovici]], now honored by [[Israel]]'s [[Yad Vashem]] memorial as one of the [[Righteous Among the Nations]], saved approximately 20,000 Jews.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

In 1944, when the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] troops returned to [[Bukovina]], many inhabitants fled to [[Romania]], and Soviet persecutions resumed. In demographic terms, these war-time and post-war-time factors changed the region's ethnic composition. Today the number of Jews, Germans and Poles is negligible, while the number of Romanians has decreased substantially.

[[Ruthenians|Ruthenian]] communities in Bukovina date back to at least 16th century. In 1775, [[Ukrainians]] ([[Ruthenians]]) represented some 8,000 out of a 75,000 population of [[Bukovina]]. By 1918, as a result of immigration of Ukrainian peasants from nearby villages in [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]] and [[Podolia]], there were over 200,000 Ukrainians, out of a total of 730,000. Most of Ukrainians settled in the northern parts of Bukovina. Their number was especially large in the area between the [[Dniester]] and [[Prut]] rivers, where they became a majority. A similar process occurred in Northern [[Bessarabia]]. Throughout the history of the region, there were no inter-ethnic clashes, while the city of [[Chernivtsi]] was known for its German-style architecture, for a highly cultivated society, and for ethnic tolerance. Small ethnic disputes were, however, present on occasion. In 1918, many Ukrainians in Bukovina wanted to join an independent Ukrainian state. After an initial period of free education in [[Ukrainian language]], in late 1920s Romanian authorities attempted to switch all education to the [[Romanian language]]. After 1944 Ukrainian anti-Soviet resistance rose up, Romanians and Ukrainians fought alongside against [[NKVD]].

Many Ukrainians in the south-western mountain area of the Chernivtsi region belong to the [[Hutsul]] ethnic sub-group, a sophisticated cultural community inhabiting an area in the [[Carpathian Mountains]] in both [[Ukraine]] and [[Romania]].

When the [[Soviet Union]] collapsed, Chernivtsi Oblast, then part of the Ukrainian SSR, became part of the newly independent (August 24, 1991) [[Ukraine]]. It has a Ukrainian ethnic majority. In the [[1991 Ukrainian independence referendum|referendum]] on December 1, 1991, 92% of the oblast's residents supported the independence of Ukraine, with wide support from both Ukrainians and Romanians.

== Subdivisions ==
{{main|Administrative divisions of Chernivtsi Oblast}}
[[File:Chernivtsi Oblast 2020 subdivisions.jpg|thumb|575px|Map of Chernivtsi Oblast]]

Since July 2020, Chernivtsi Oblast is administratively subdivided into 3 ''[[raions]]'' ([[district]]s). These are

*[[Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast|Chernivtsi Raion]];
*[[Dnistrovskyi Raion]];
*[[Vyzhnytsia Raion]].

At the locality level, the territory of the oblast is divided among 11 cities, 8 [[urban-type settlement]]s, and 252 communes.

===Urban settlements===
{{Largest cities
| country      = Chernivtsi Oblast
| list_by_pop  = 
| div_name     = 
| div_link     = Raions of Ukraine{{!}}Raion

| city_1 = Chernivtsi{{!}}Chernivtsi
| div_1 = Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast{{!}}Chernivtsi
| pop_1 = 263,287
| city_2 = Storozhynets{{!}}Storozhynets
| div_2 = Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast{{!}}Chernivtsi
| pop_2 = 14,506
| city_3 = Novodnistrovsk{{!}}Novodnistrovsk
| div_3 = Dnistrovskyi Raion{{!}}Dnistrovskyi
| pop_3 = 10,774
| city_4 = Krasnoilsk{{!}}Krasnoilsk
| div_4 = Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast{{!}}Chernivtsi
| pop_4 = 9,142
| city_5 = Khotyn{{!}}Khotyn
| div_5 = Dnistrovskyi Raion{{!}}Dnistrovskyi
| pop_5 = 9,692

| city_6 = Hlyboka{{!}}Hlyboka
| div_6 = Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast{{!}}Chernivtsi
| pop_6 = 9,800

| city_7 = Sokyriany{{!}}Sokyriany
| div_7 = Dnistrovskyi Raion{{!}}Dnistrovskyi
| pop_7 = 9,463

| city_8 = Zastavna{{!}}Zastavna
| div_8 = Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast{{!}}Chernivtsi
| pop_8 = 8,097

| city_9 = Berehomet{{!}}Berehomet
| div_9 = Vyzhnytsia Raion{{!}}Vyzhnytsia
| pop_9 = 7,706

| city_10 = Novoselytsia{{!}}Novoselytsia
| div_10 = Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast{{!}}Chernivtsi
| pop_10 = 7,764

}}

==Population and demographics==
[[File:Bucovina-ethnic.png|thumb|350px|Ethnic divisions in Chernivtsi Oblast at the end of the Soviet Period [https://web.archive.org/web/20120105083759/http://www.romanimea.com/pdf/Romanii%20_din_Bucovina_sud_maramures.pdf], with [[Ukrainians]], [[Romanians]], [[Russians]] and [[Jews|Jewish]] areas depicted in white, blue, red, and yellow respectively. Note that the [[Moldovans]], which represented 9% of the region's population according to the last Soviet census (1989),{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} are shown as Romanians.]]
[[File:EthnicChernivtsi 2001UkrCensus.png|thumb|350px|Ethnic division of the Chernivtsi Oblast according to the latest [[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 Ukrainian census results]]. Areas inhabited by [[Ukrainians]], [[Romanians]], [[Moldovans]], [[Russians]], and other ethnicities are depicted in yellow, blue, green, red, and white respectively. Circle sizes represent total population size in each area. Romanians and Moldovans form a single ethnic group.]]

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:left; width:25%; margin-left:10px; font-size:90%"
|+Largest settlements in the region
|-
!  style="text-align:left; background:#f5f5f5;"| <small>#</small> 
!  style="text-align:left; background:#f5f5f5;"| [[List of cities in Ukraine|City]]
!  style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"| Population
|- 
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"| 1 ||align=left | '''[[Chernivtsi]]''' || 240,621 (<small>2001</small>)
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"| 2 ||align=left | '''[[Storozhynets]]''' || 14,693 (<small>2001</small>)
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"| 3 ||align=left | '''[[Khotyn]]''' || 11,216 (<small>2001</small>) 
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"| 4 ||align=left | '''[[Novodnistrovsk]]''' || 10,342 (<small>2001</small>)
|-
|  style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"| 5 ||align=left | '''[[Sokyriany]]''' || 10,258 (<small>2001</small>)
|}

According to the latest [[2001 Ukrainian census|Ukrainian Census (2001)]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/Chernivtsi/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113170140/http://www.unibuc.ro/eBooks/istorie/istorie1918-1940/13-4.htm|title=2001 Ukrainian Census|archive-date=November 13, 2007}}</ref> [[Ukrainians]] represent 74.98% (689,056) of the population of Chernivtsi Oblast out of 919,028 inhabitants. Moreover, 12.46% (114,555) reported themselves as Romanians, 7.31% (67,225) as [[Moldovans]], and 4.12% (37,881) as [[Russians]]. The other nationalities, such as [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Belarusians]], and [[Jews]] sum up to 1.2%.<ref name="pop-stat.mashke.org">The Ukrainian census of 2001, ethnicity/nationality data by localities, at http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ukraine-ethnic2001.htm</ref> According to the 2001 census, the majority of the population of the Chernivtsi region was Ukrainian-speaking (75.57%), and there were also Romanian (18.64%) and Russian (5.27%) speakers.<ref>The Ukrainian census of 2001, language data by localities, at https://socialdata.org.ua/projects/mova-2001/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> In the last Soviet census of 1989, out of 940,801 inhabitants, 666,095 declared themselves Ukrainians (70.8%), 100,317 Romanians (10.66%), 84,519 Moldovans (8.98%), and 63,066 Russians (6.7%).<ref>Ion Popescu and Constantin Ungureanu, ''Romanii din Ucraina – intre trecut si viitor'', vol. 1 (''Romanii din Regiunea Cernauti''), Cernauti, 2005, p. 242.</ref> The decline in the number (from 84,519 to 67,225) and proportion of Moldovans (from 8.98% to 7.31%) was explained by a switch from a census Moldovan to a census Romanian ethnic identity, and has continued after the 2001 census.<ref name="auto">Ion Popescu and Constantin Ungureanu, ''Romanii din Ucraina – intre trecut si viitor'', vol. 1 (''Romanii din Regiunea Cernauti''), Cernauti, 2005, p. 242, 257, 259, 261.</ref> By contrast, the number of self-identified ethnic Romanians has increased and so has their proportion of the population of the oblast (from 10.66% to 12.46%), and the process has continued after the 2001 census.<ref name="auto"/>

A 2015 survey found that 86% of respondents ascribed to the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] church while 2% ascribed to [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholic]]. Another 5% was "unspecified Christian."<ref name="2015survey2">[http://infolight.org.ua/content/religiyni-vpodobannya-naselennya-ukrayiny "Religious preferences of the population of Ukraine". Sociology poll by] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709204810/http://infolight.org.ua/content/religiyni-vpodobannya-naselennya-ukrayiny |date=2017-07-09 }} [[Razumkov Centre]]<span>, </span>[[SOCIS]]<span>, </span>[[Sociological group "RATING"|Rating]] <span>and </span>[[Kyiv International Institute of Sociology|KIIS]] <span>about the religious situation in Ukraine (2015)</span>The survey sample was 25000 people, excluded Crimea, so 1000 people for oblast.</ref>

The use of separate categories for the [[Moldovans]] and Romanians, as well as for the Moldovan and Romanian languages in the Ukrainian census has been criticized by various Romanian organizations in Ukraine, including the Romanian Community of Ukraine Interregional Union.<ref name=RDSCJ>[http://noinu.rdscj.ro/article.php?articleID=146&document=3 Noi, NU! Revistă de atitudine şi cultură – Românii din Ucraina] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027141332/http://noinu.rdscj.ro/article.php?articleID=146&document=3 |date=October 27, 2007 }} {{in lang|ro}}</ref> Furthermore, it was alleged that individuals, especially, but not exclusively, in the Odessa region were threatened with dismissal from their jobs if they declared that they were "Romanians" rather than "Moldovans", and it was also claimed that the ethnicity of some individuals was listed arbitrarily by census-takers who did not even ask those individuals what their ethnicity was.<ref>George Coman, "SOS romanii din Ucraina!" ("SOS the Romanians of Ukraine"), in Ziua, March 4, 2003, originally accessed at http://www.ziua.ro/archive/2003/03/04/docs/5846.html, though the link is not currently working.</ref> Nevertheless, all census respondents had to write in their ethnicity (no predetermined set of choices existed), and could respond or not to any particular census question, or not answer any questions at all.<ref name=Censform>[http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/organization/ The Organization Order of the Population Census] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830230721/http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/organization/ |date=August 30, 2006 }} at the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine web-site.</ref>

According to Kateryna Sheshtakova, a professor at the Pomeranian University of Slutsk in Poland who did field research among 15 self-identified Romanians and self-identified Moldovans in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, 'Some Moldovans use both names of the mother tongue (Moldovan or Romanian) and accordingly declare two ethnic affiliations.'<ref>Kateryna Sheshtakova, "Ethnic Identity and Linguistic Practices of Romanians and Moldovans (On the Example of Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine), in ''Studia Humanistyczne AGH'', Tom 12/2, 2013, p. 65.</ref> Opinion polling from the Chernivtsi oblast, as well as the discussions of the delegates of the Meeting of the Leaders of the Romanophone Organizations from Ukraine of December 6, 1996, indicated that many of the self-identified Moldovans believed that the Moldovan and Romanian languages were identical.<ref>Ion Popescu and Constantin Ungureanu, ''Romanii din Ucraina – intre trecut si viitor'', vol. 1 (''Romanii din Regiunea Cernauti''), Cernauti, 2005, p. 230-231, 237–238 and passim. Popescu and Ungureanu noted that, while the leader of the Moldovans from the Odesa Oblast, Anatol Fetescu, the leader of the "Luceafarul" Society of Moldovans from Odesa, disagreed with the line that the Moldovan language should be called Romanian, the leaders of the Moldovan organizations from the Chernivtsi Oblast and five other specific oblasts agreed that the Moldovan language is, and should be called, Romanian. Previous similar congresses of the Romanian-speakers from 1992, both for the entire oblast, and by raion, from the region had unanimously supported the same position, including the president of the raion administration of the [[Novoselytsia Raion]], with a mostly Moldovan ethnic identity population, in 1992, Gheorghe Ciubrei and other leaders from the raion. See Popescu and Ungureanu, p. 237-238.</ref> Shestakova suggests that those self-identified Moldovans who see differences between Moldovan and Romanian tend to be from "the older generation".<ref>Kateryna Sheshtakova, "Ethnic Identity and Linguistic Practices of Romanians and Moldovans (On the Example of Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine), in ''Studia Humanistyczne AGH'', Tom 12/2, 2013, p. 72, second paragraph, first sentence.</ref> More information on the Romanian identity population and Moldovan identity population in Ukraine, including in the Chernivtsi oblast, and including detailed statistical data, may be found in the articles [[Romanians in Ukraine]], [[Moldovans in Ukraine]] and [[Moldovenism]].

According to the Romanian census of 1930, the territory of the future ''Chernivtsi Oblast'' had 805,642 inhabitants in that year, out of which 47.6% were [[Ukrainians]], and 28.2% were Romanians. The rest of the population was 88,772 [[Jews]], 46,946 [[Russians]] (among them an important community of [[Lipovan]]s), around 35,000 [[Germans]], 10,000 [[Polish people|Poles]], and 10,000 [[Hungarians]].<ref name=RDSCJ/>

During the inter-war period, [[Cernăuți County]] had a population of 306,975, of which 136,380 were Ukrainians, and 78,589 were [[Romanians]]. [[Storojineţ County]] had 77,382 Ukrainians and 57,595 [[Romanians]]. (The three other counties of [[Bukovina]], which remained in [[Romania]], had a total of 22,368 Ukrainians). The northern part of the [[Hotin County]] had approximately 70% Ukrainians and 25% [[Romanians]]. The Hertsa region, smaller by area and population, was virtually 100% [[Romanians|Romanian]].

Major demographic changes occurred during the [[Second World War]]. Immediate after the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] takeover of the region in 1940 the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] government deported or killed about 41,000 Romanians (''see [[Fântâna Albă massacre]]''), while at the same time further encouraging an influx of [[Ukrainians]] from the [[Ukrainian SSR]]. Most [[Polish people|Poles]] were deported by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] authorities, while most [[Germans]] forcibly returned to [[Germany]]. After the [[Kingdom of Romania]] took control of the region during the war (1941–1944), the [[The Holocaust#Who was directly involved in the killings?|Jewish community of the area was largely destroyed]] by the deportations to [[ghetto]]s and [[concentration camps]].

The languages of the population closely reflect the ethnic composition with over 90% within each of the major ethnic groups declaring their national language as the mother tongue.

{| border=1 cellpadding=4 frame=void rules=none style="border-collapse:collapse; border:0 none transparent; text-align:right;"
|+ '''National Structure of Chernivtsi Oblast ([[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 Census]])'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oblstat.cv.ukrtel.net/perepus/1/nsklad.html |title=2001 Census results |access-date=2006-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310231545/http://www.oblstat.cv.ukrtel.net/perepus/1/nsklad.html |archive-date=March 10, 2007 }} Statistics Committee of Chernivtsi Oblast</ref><ref name="pop-stat.mashke.org"/>
|- style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"
! style="text-align:left;" | [[Raion]]s/Cities
! Total 
! [[Ukrainians]]
! [[Russians]]
! [[Romanians]]
! [[Moldovans]]
! Other
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Hertsa Raion]]
| 32,316 || 1,616 || 299 || 29,554 || 756 || 91
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Hlyboka Raion]]
| 72,676 || 34,025 || 877 || 32,923 || 4,425 || 426
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Kelmentsi Raion]]
| 48,468 || 47,261 || 607 || 25 || 477 || 98
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Khotyn Raion]]
| 72,398 || 66,060 || 927 || 59 || 5,102 || 250
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Kitsman Raion]]
| 72,884 || 71,805 || 674 || 116 || 88 || 201
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Novoselytsia Raion]]
| 87,461 || 29,703 || 1,235 || 5,904 || 50,329 || 290
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Putyla Raion]]
| 25,352 || 25,182 || 98 || 19 || 20 || 33
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Sokyriany Raion]]
| 48,889 || 43,927 || 3,044 || 43 || 1,681 || 194
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Storozhynets Raion]]
| 95,295 || 56,786 || 1,367 || 35,095 || 307 || 1,740
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Vyzhnytsia Raion]]
| 59,993 || 58,924 || 631 || 196 || 58 || 184
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | [[Zastavna Raion]]
| 56,261 || 55,733 || 335 || 38 || 55 || 100
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | city of [[Chernivtsi]] 
| 236,691 || 189,021 || 26,733 || 10,553 || 3,829 || 6,555
|-
! style="text-align:left; font-weight:normal;" | city of [[Novodnistrovsk]]
| 10,344 || 9,013 || 1,054 || 30 || 98 || 149
|- style="border-top:1px solid #aaa;"
! style="text-align:left;" | Total
| 919,028 || 689,056 || 37,881 || 114,555 || 67,225 || 10,311
|}

===Age structure===
: ''0–14 years:'' 16.7% {{increase}} (male 77,507/female 73,270)
: ''15–64 years:'' 69.7% {{steady}} (male 304,793/female 325,677)
: ''65 years and over:'' 13.6% {{decrease}} (male 41,980/female 80,871) (2013 official)

===Median age===
: ''total:'' 36.9 years {{increase}}
: ''male:'' 34.5 years {{increase}}
: ''female:'' 39.4 years {{increase}} (2013 official)

==Attractions==
[[File:Xotin1.JPG|thumb|[[Khotyn Fortress]]]]
On the territory of the Chernivtsi region there are 836 archeological monuments (of which 18 have national meanings), 586 historical monuments (2 of them have national significance), 779 monuments of architecture and urban development (112 of them national significance), 42 monuments of monumental art.

*[[Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans]], [[List of World Heritage Sites in Ukraine|UNESCO World Heritage Site]]
*[[Khotyn Fortress]] State historical-architectural preserve
*[[House of Olha Kobylianska]]
*[[Caves of Oleksa Dovbush]]
* Chernivtsi architectural complex of [[Olha Kobylianska]] Street
* Several archaeological sites of the [[Trajan's Wall]]
* Church of the Nativity of The Most Holy Theotokos in Rukhotyn

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Universitat Czernowitz.jpg|[[Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans]] in [[Chernivtsi]]
File:Chernivtsi Teatr DSC 0903 73-101-0016.JPG|[[Olha Kobylianska Chernivtsi Drama Theatre|Chernivtsi Drama Theatre]]
File:73-250-0001 Khotyn Fortress RB 24.jpg|[[Khotyn Fortress]] complex
File:Водоспад на річці Виженка в урочищі Лужки.JPG|Luzhka Waterfall
File:Водоспад Бісків.jpg|Biskiv Waterfall
File:Чемернарський Нижній Гук.JPG|Chemernarskyi Nyzhnii Huk
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080430041208/http://www.oda.cv.ua/ Chernivtsi Oblast Administration] (official website) {{in lang|uk}}
*[http://www.oblrada.cv.ua Chernivtsi Oblast Council] (official website) {{in lang|uk}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080420214957/http://www.oblstat.cv.ukrtel.net/ Statistics Committee of Chernivtsi Oblast] {{in lang|uk}}

==See also==
*[[List of Canadian place names of Ukrainian origin]]

{{Chernivtsi Oblast}}
{{Administrative divisions of Ukraine}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chernivtsi Oblast| ]]
[[Category:Oblasts of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Bukovina]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1940]]
[[Category:1940 establishments in Ukraine]]