Podolia Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Southwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. It bordered Volhynian Governorate to the north, Kiev Governorate to the east, Kherson Governorate to the southeast, Bessarabia Governorate to the south, and Austria to the west. Its administrative centre was Kamenets-Podolsky (Kamianets-Podilskyi), which later moved to Vinnitsa (Vinnytsia). The governorate covered areas of Ukraine's partially Khmelnytskyi and most of Vinnytsia Oblasts, along with the fractionally recognised state of Transnistria. It was created from the Second Partition of Poland, which was formed from the former Polish Bracław and Podole voivodeships, which are part of the Southwestern Krai along with Volhynia and Kiev. Its capital was located in Kamenets-Podolsky, which later moved to Vinnitsa. The governorate still existed until the administrative reforms of the Ukrainian SSR, which dissolved it into five okruhas.

History

The Government of Podolia was established right after the Second Partition of Poland in place of the former Podole and Bracław Voivodeships in 1793.

Location

The Podolia Governorate occupied the southwestern frontier of the former Russian empire, bordering Austria-Hungary, and had an area of about 42,000 km2. The administrative centre was Kamenets-Podolskiy until 1914 when it moved to Vinnytsia. Podolia Governorate was one of the three governorates of the Southwestern Krai administration. In 1917 it was recognized by the Russian Provisional Government to be governed by the General Secretariat of Ukraine as the representative of the Russian Provisional Government in the region.

Administrative division

Uyezd subdivision

Until 1918 the governorate consisted of 12 uyezds (counties):

Okruha subdivision

On 12 April 1923 all uyezds (counties) were transformed into okruhas (counties), while volosts (districts) – into raions (districts). Okruhas served as a subdivision of government until it was abolished on 1 August 1925. Together with the government of Podilia, the Haisyn okruha was dissolved as well. Some territory of Tulchyn okruha were included into the newly formed Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Principal cities

Russian Census of 1897:

Smaller cities

Language

According to the Russian Empire Census on 28 January 1897, the Podolia Governorate had a population of 3,018,299, including 1,505,940 men and 1,512,359 women. The majority of the population indicated Little Russian to be their mother tongue, with a significant Jewish speaking minority.