Sumy Oblast

Sumy Oblast (Ukrainian: Сумська область, translit. Sums’ka oblast; also referred to as Sumshchyna – Ukrainian: Сумщина) is an oblast (province) in the northeastern part of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy.

Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka.

As of 1 May 2004, the population is 1,255,866, which includes 886,100 urban and 483,700 rural residents.

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 the Bryansk Oblast (Russia) on the northeast, the Kursk Oblast (Russia) on the east, the Poltava on the southwest, the Kharkiv Oblasts on the south, and the Chernihiv Oblast on the west.

Sumy

Sumy (Ukrainian: Суми [ˈsumɪ], Russian: Сумы) is a city in north-eastern Ukraine, and the capital of the Sumy Oblast (region). As of 2015, the city's population is 269,000. Private planes are served by Sumy Airport.

History

Sumy was founded in 1652 at the bank of the Psel River (a left tributary of the Dnieper) as a Cossack fortress. It was intended to protect Sloboda Ukraine from the Crimean Tatar attacks. After their attacks ceased and the territory was incorporated into the Russian Empire, Sumy evolved into an important economical centre, mainly focusing on sugar industry.

During the German occupation of Ukraine during World War II (1941 – 1944), Sumy sustained heavy damage. Sumy itself was occupied from October 10, 1941 to September 2, 1943. After the war, the destroyed parts of the city were built anew. Sumy has been a twin town of Celle, Germany since January 17, 1990.

The city formerly was divided into two urban raions (districts), Zarichny and Kovpakovsky, as well as 13 micro-raions. The first were dissolved in 2006.