Volyn Oblast

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Volynska Oblast Волинська область
Population Total (2004) Density	1,047,169 52/km²
Area	20,200 km²
Raions	16
Cities	11
City districts	-
Urban localities	22
Villages	1,053

Volyn Oblast (Ukrainian: Волинська область, translit. Volyns’ka oblast’; also referred to as Volyn’) is an oblast (province) in north-western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Lutsk. Kovel is the westernmost town and the last station in Ukraine of the rail line running 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 Halych-Volynia, one of Kievan Rus successor states. In the 1400s, the area came under the control of neighbouring Lithuania, in 1569 passing over to Poland and then in 1795, until World War I, to the Russian Empire where it was a part of the Volynskaya Guberniya.

In this province communities of Ukrainians (Orthodox, and up to 1830s Greek Catholic), Jews, Poles (Roman Catholics) as well as smaller groups of Czechs and Germans lived together in a peaceful manner. In Krzemieniec there was a Polish language post-secondary school named Liceum Krzemienieckie. It was closed by the Russian government in 1830.

After World War I, the area was assigned to Poland as the Wolhynian Voivodship. The Polish government did not keep its promises of local autonomy. In contract to the situation in the Eastern Galicia, the Polish authorities actively promoted Ukrainian organizations. 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 Poland allowed them to bypass Soviet collectivization and other repressions.

In the prelude to World War II, Volyn was annexed by the Soviet Union as part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Although many Ukrainians rejoiced the "reunification", the Polish minority suffered, especially the retired Polish officers and intlligentsia which were deported to eastern Soviet Union; not all survived that ordeal.

In 1941, the Volyn was invaded by the Nazi Germany's operation Barbarossa. Nazis completed their holocaust of the Jews of Volhynia in late 1942.

The majority of Ukrainians joined the partisan movement and for the next three years they bravely fought the Nazi occupiers. They were involved in the Rail War campaign against German supply lines and were known for their efficiency in gathering intelligence and for sabotage. The region formed the basis of several networks and many members of the local population served with the partisans. The Poles in the area became part of the Polish Home Army, which often undertook operations with the partisan movement.

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