Spanning 20,900 square kilometres (8,100 sq mi), 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.
Archaeological discoveries have shown that people have inhabited the valley of the Dnieper River since time immemorial. The oldest objects excavated on the territory of the region date back to the Stone Age – the Palaeolithic period.
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.
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).[6] The demographic situation in this largely agricultural territory is somewhat complicated by population ageing.[7]
By ethnic composition, Ukrainians represent the overwhelming majority of the oblast's population (73.6%).[8] Ethnic Russians are the second group of population (25.4%), and are concentrated mainly in the city of Cherkasy.
Age structure
0-14 years: 13.4% (male 87,557/female 82,340)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 417,426/female 457,390)
65 years and over: 17.5% (male 72,835/female 147,711) (2013 official)
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.
Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers" (Ukrainian: обласний центр, romanized: oblasnyi tsentr). The name of each oblast is a relativeadjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Cherkasy is the center of the Cherkaska 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.
(1972) Історіа міст і сіл Української CCP - Черкаська область (History of Towns and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR - Cherkasy Oblast), Kyiv. (in Ukrainian)
Ukraine
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