Chernihiv Oblast Facts & Figures

Chernihiv Oblast

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Geographical Information

Territory 31,900 sq. km
Population 1,032,000

The Chernihiv region as an administrative economic territory unit was formed on October 15, 1932. Its area makes 5% of the Republic territory and is one of the largest in Ukraine. The region is distributed in the north of Ukraine, on the middle Dnieper left bank, in the Desna basin.

The Chernihiv region lies within geographical zones of mixed forests and forest steppe; the forests cover 20% of the Territory. Pine (73%), oak, birch, aspen, poplar, and hornbeam forests prevail in the northern region. Oaks (44.4%), conifers (pine, spruce 38.4%) have a great share of its southern forests.

Soddy podzolic soils in the region to the north and podzolized and leached chernozems in the south in combination with mild climate are favorable for agriculture.

The water network of the Chernihiv region includes 1200 rivers 8 thou. km long in total. They belong to the basin of the Dnieper running along the region's western border. The Desna with the Seim, Oster and Snov as its tributaries, is the major river. The Udai river runs in the south. There are 1800 lakes, ponds, and reservoirs in the region, their water surface making about 0.3% of the region's area. Considerable territory is occupied by flood plain meadows.

The uniqueness of economic geographical position of the region is determined by its location on the border of three states: Ukraine, Russia (199 km of the state frontier) and Belarus' (227 km of the state frontier), by its proximity to Kyiv, the capital and great industrial Centre, and its well developed transport system.

The region's territory is crossed by main railway lines, highways of international significance, and well developed air and river transport.

The region's population is rather evenly distributed throughout the territory. Its mean density is 41.4 persons per sq. km. The central and southern districts are populated most densely. In spite of the complicated demographic situation, a positive tendency in the growth of the age category of 15 to 49 has been observed in the recent years and in 1997 this category made up 45%.

As to its administrative division the region includes 22 districts and cities of regional subordination, 12 towns, 30 settlements, and 1505 villages.

The Chernihiv region is one of the richest regions of Ukraine with considerable tourist and recreation potential.

The territories having potential for recreation make up 655 thou. ha., above 20% of the region's territory. The greatest areas of recreation lands lie in the Kozelets, Chernihiv, and Novhorod-Siversky regions. Favorable climate conditions, diversity of flora and fauna, availability of 585 nature reserves, 18 of them being those of the state significance, make the region territory rather attractive both for the short term and long term kinds of rest. The Trostyanets dendropark and a zoo in the town of Men', where representatives of the world biota have been collected, occupy a special place among the nature protecting objects.

Mineral waters as well as bischofite which may be also widely used as a balneological means, belong to the therapeutic resources of the region.

The great number of various mineral raw materials are concentrated in the bowels of the Chernihiv region.

Of the 150 already explored deposits of minerals, all are being worked. The raw mineral base is chiefly represented by two main groups: the fuel power (oil, gas, condensate, turf) and construction ones.

The reserve of high quality glass sands (the Ripky district) and oil are of general state importance. The region's share in oil production composes about 15% today. Oil condensate deposits are concentrated in the Ichnya, Pryluky, Varva, and Talalaivka districts and are included in the composition of the Dnieper-Donets oil gas bearing region. A unique deposit of bischofite has been surveyed in the territory of the Ichnya district.

The most significant deposits of turf are available in the Ripky (in particular Zamglai, Irvantsi deposits) and Chernihiv (Smolyn) districts.

As to building raw materials, besides the glass sands, the deposits of chalk in Novgorod-Siversky district and raw materials of brick production all over the region are of the greatest industrial significance.

There are about 15 deposits of clays fit for production of slate and facing tile, pottery, and ceramics.

Mineral water sources are also available in the Mena, Shchors, and Chernihiv districts.

Industry

Industry here provides above 70% of the overall national production of wool fabric and wallpaper, and 30% of chemical fibers and wires. It is the only region in Ukraine which produces cord fabric, fire engines, protein casing, and certain kinds of equipment for APK branches.

The food (40.4%), fuel (15.4%), machine engineering (11.1%), and light (19.1%) industries are those of priority in the industrial structure. The forestry, woodworking and pulp and paper, power, chemical and oil/chemical industries are also of considerable significance.

There are 302 operating industrial enterprises including 19% state, 79% collective, and 20% private ownership.

The food industry in the region is represented by 849 enterprises and production units, including 113 meat producing, 47 fruit/vegetable, 5 sugar, 32 butter fat, and 14 butter and cheese and diary producing plants. The food industry enterprises produce about 5 % of agricultural products in Ukraine, including 2% of sugar, 5% of meat, 6.5% of butter, 2.8% of fat cheese, 2.8% of canned fruit and vegetables, 30% of meal, and 25% of cigarettes. The Pryluky plant "Bilkozyn" is the only stock company in Ukraine, producing bilkozyn casing for sausages.

The Pryluky lease enterprise "Pozhmashina" is the only plant in Ukraine producing fire engines and it occupies a special place among the enterprises of the machine building complex of the region. It is expected to produce 4000 fire engines of various modifications which had been favored by the work on modernization of their production together with the Austrian firm "Rosenbauer", a leading supplier of fire engines to the world market.

The plant "Silmash" in the town of Nizhin is a monopolist in producing equipment for poultry farming.

The stock company "Khimvolokno" is the most powerful enterprise in Ukraine producing cord fabric, chemical fiber and threads.

The forestry, woodworking and pulp and paper branch of industry, besides furniture factories and 11 logging enterprises, is presented by the Koryukiv nonprinting paper factory producing 70% of the total amount of wallpaper manufactured in Ukraine.

Agriculture

The region possesses considerable agriculture potential and is one of the most developed agrarian regions in Ukraine: its lands occupy 2114 thou. ha. It is characterized as the region of intensive agriculture with a large share of technical cultures. The agricultural specialization is distinctly expressed in the territory's zones: the potato and flax growing (together with cereals) is most developed in Polissia, the growing of cereals and sugar beets, in the forest steppe zone. Cattle breeding has an important share in agriculture.

The region possesses 4.7% of total sown area in the republic: they grow 7.1% of the general republican amount of potatoes (3d place), 39% of flax fiber (1st place), and 4.7-4.9% of meat and milk (7th place).

Collective (615) and mutual production (16) enterprises are engaged in agriculture in the region. Besides collective farms, 567 private farms have been registered.

The local agriculture almost completely (with the exception of oils and fish) provides for the region's population needs in food products and most of its units have considerable potential for export.

Transport and Communications

The Chernihiv region possesses a developed transport system including the railway, motor, river, and pipeline networks. The strategic significance of the transport system is determined by the specific geographical position of the region, whose road links link the markets of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus'.

The system of motor roads links all the region's settlements. Their total length is 7.0 thou. kilometers, including those with hard pavement (6.3 thou. km). The region's territory is crossed by some motor roads of national importance such as: Odessa-Kyiv-St.Petersburg and Kyiv-Moscow.

The rail network (total length about 892 km) links Chernihiv and other railway junctions (Bakhmach, Nizhin, Pryluky, Shchors) with the main regions of Ukraine and CIS countries. A considerable share of its traffic carries cargo.

Chernihiv also has a regional airport.

The gas main Dashava-Moscow and oil pipeline Hnidyntsi-Kremenchuk cross the region's territory.

History and Culture

The region is extremely famous for its large number of brilliant relics and monuments of history and architecture of the 11-12th and 17-19th centuries. Above 200 of them are of world significance and evidence of the outstanding part and place of the Chernihiv Principality in formation of Kyiv Rus as the first Slavonic State. The Spas Cathedral (the 11th cent.), St. Borys and Glib Cathedral (12th. cent.), the Assumption Cathedral of Yelest Cloister (the 12th cent.) Antoniy's caves and Illinian Church (the 11-12th. cent.), the St. Friday Church (the 12th cent.) in Chernihiv, St. Yuriy Chapel in Oster (the 10th cent.) are the most valuable monuments of the Pre-Mongolian period; they are unique and rank with the most outstanding creations of world art. Here also belong the later complexes of cultural purpose such as: the Yelets and St. Trinity Illinian cloisters in Chernihiv, the Gustynian Cloister in the village of Gustynya of the Pryluky district, the Spas-Transfiguration Cloister in N.-Siverskyi, and Christmas Cathedral in Kozelets.

Such palace ensembles as Tarnovsky's estate in the village of Kachanivka of the Ichnya district (the 19th. century), and Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky's estate in the village of Vyshenky of the Korop district; a palace of Count Rozumovsky, the last Ukrainian Hetman, in the settlement of Baturyn is a true classical masterpiece of great art value.

Historical and architectural complexes of the cities of Chernihiv and N.-Siversky, Complex "Trostyanets" including the Trostyanets, Kachanivka (Ichnya district), and Sokyryntsi (Sribne district) dendroparks are most promising for tourism development.

Foreign Economic Relations

The region's geographic position on the border of three states (Ukraine, Russia and Belarus'), its rich natural resources, a branched network of motor roads, railways and waterways, the immediate proximity of the capital region, political stability, and relatively low extent of risk, the considerable industrial and scientific and technical potential of the region, the export orientation of the economy and availability of relatively inexpensive labor force, the access to the markets of Ukraine and CIS countries, and a developed banking system - all make the Chernihiv region rather attractive for foreign investments.

Foreign investors have already contributed more than $32 millions to the development of the region's economy. Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Belgium, and Netherlands are among the major country investors. The investments are distributed among the branches of the economy as follows: food industry 86.4%, communication 7.6%, and home trade 2.1%.

The basic investment demands of the region's economy are needed for reconstruction of processing plants aimed at thorough processing of raw materials. These are the enterprises of meat processing, a number of sugar houses, the introduction of new methods of flax fiber processing based on its cottonization, development of the production of packaging products to meet the requirements of interregional production, technical requirements of certain plants of the stock company "Cheksil", the largest producer of wool and half wool, coat, suit, and dress fabrics in Ukraine. The region also needs the construction of a plant for production of structural and motor glass and glass containers, which will meet the needs of not only the region's customers but also the whole Polissia district.

The region is an important supplier to the all Ukrainian wood markets: 11 lumber mills and 6 furniture factories are distributed in its territory. They work on imported raw materials. So the construction of wood particle board plants as well as the introduction of progressive methods of processing of raw waste lumber by pressing to develop production of new facing materials is a significant priority.

The above information was obtained from a CD-ROM entitled "Ukraine - A look to the 21st Century" published by the Regional Business Assistance Center (RBAC), Kharkiv. Copies of the complete CD-ROM can be obtained from either CEI or RBAC.