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Overview of Poltava OblastPoltava oblast occupies the area of 28.8 thousand sq. km. (4.8% of all Ukraine) and borders on Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts in the north, Kharkiv oblast in the east, Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad oblasts in the south, Kyiv and Cherkasy oblasts in the west. The population of Poltava oblast is about 1.68 mln. people (as of January 1, 2000), which is 3.4% of Ukrainian population. The average density of population is 58 people per sq. km. Poltava oblast was established as the administrative and economic territory unit on September 22, 1937. |
Poltava oblast is situated in a forest-steppe area. Forests occupy 7.4% of its territory; the soils are mainly black.
There are 62 rivers flowing across the oblast's territory. Their total length is 5453 km. The main waterway is the Dnieper. All the rivers (the biggest ones are the Vorskla, the Sula, the Psel, the Oril) are its left tributaries. In the south and southwest the oblast is washed by the water of Kremenchuk and Dniprodzerzhynsk reservoirs. There are a lot of artificial lakes and ponds whose total area is 21 thousand hectares.
The center of the oblast is Poltava. Its population is 312.8 thousand people.
The biggest cities are: Kremenchuk - 238.7 thousand people, Lubny - 59.6 thousand people, Komsomolsk - 54.5 thousand people, and Mirhorod - 46.6 thousand people.
1.2 Climate and information which is important for agriculture.
The latitude of the oblast is fifty degrees north. The ratio between day and night is 16:8 hours in summer and 8:16 hours in winter. The meridian altitude of the sun is 69-16" in summer and 23-15" in winter.
The oblast's climate is temperate and continental. The flow of annual temperatures is stable. Fluctuation in temperature does not influence the nature of the oblast's climate. The average temperature of July ranges from +20° Centigrade (68° F) to +21.7° C (71° F), of January - from -5.5° C (22.1° F) to -7.6° C (18.3° F). The intensity of temperature decrease in autumn is smaller than its increase in spring. The absolute maximum of the temperature over the most part of the oblast's territory is about +35° C (95° F), and the absolute minimum is -35° C (-31° F). The period when the temperature is above +10° C (50° F) lasts 157 to 172 days. The vegetative period is 158-210 days.
The temperature conditions change for winter ones usually in November.
The annual precipitation in the oblast is 430-500 mm. The maximum of it falls in summer (June, July), the minimum - in winter (January, February). A stable snow cover is forming from the middle of November to the beginning of December and remains there till the middle of March. The highest snow layer is in February (20-30 cm. (8-12 in.) In summer, usually after 3 p.m., there is a thunderstorm. It takes about 2 hours. Whenever it hails the temperature decreases by 6° -8° C. The first autumn frosts come in the beginning of October. In spring they can last till the end of May.
Continental hot and dry winds can blow over the oblast's territory from May to September. Their maximum is in the August. The period when hot winds blow is about 25-30 days. In the past few years a very dry climate was dominant in the oblast. Droughts occur every 2-3 years.
Poltava oblast's soils are very fertile. They consist mainly of black soils (chernozem). The content of humus is 3-5%. Alkali soils are concentrated in the river mouths. The qualitative index of soil in the Poltava oblast is 72 (for comparison, average for Ukraine - 69, Lviv oblast - 43, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast - 42). In Poltavsky, Reshetilivsky, Novosanzharsky, and Chutivsky districts this index is 71, 70, 72, and 76 accordingly.
1. 3 The administrative structure of Poltava oblast
Administratively, the region is divided into 25 rayons:
1. Velykobahachansky
2. Gadyatsky
3. Globinsky
4. Hrebinkivsky
5. Dykansky
6. Zinkivsky
7. Karlivsky
8. Kobelyatsky
9. Kozelschynsky
10. Kotelevsky
11. Kremenchutsky
12. Lokhvytsky
13. Lubensky
14. Mashivsky
15. Myrhorodsky
16. Novosanzharsky
17. Orzhytsky
18. Pyryatynsky
19. Poltavsky
20. Reshetylivsky
21. Semenivsky
22. Khorolsky
23. Chornukhynsky
24. Chutivsky
25. Shyshatsky
2. The advantages of the region's location2.1 The favorable geographical position of Poltava oblast
Poltava oblast, like the other Ukrainian regions, is very interested in foreign investment. It is distinguished by its favorable geographical position. The plain territory, temperate climate, fertile black soils, and lots of mineral resources make good prerequisites for rapid economic growth.
The dense and ramified system of roads and railways creates the necessary infrastructure for the intense economic relations of Poltava with Kyiv and the other important Ukrainian (Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia) and foreign economic centers. Kyiv and Poltava are connected by European highway (E40), which runs from Europe to Russia. According to official data, the Chernobyl catastrophe did not affect Poltava oblast. Nowadays it is the recreational zone for the people of the East of Ukraine who suffered from this ecological disaster.
2.2 Economic potential
One fifth of all Ukrainian oil and one third of its natural gas is from Poltava oblast. Rich deposits of iron ore create the good basis for mining industry in Komsomolsk. Also this region has the large deposits of minerals for the production of bricks and other construction materials. Myrhorod mineral water is loved by all Ukrainians. Agricultural products are marketed not only in Ukraine but also are exported abroad. The oblast has a potential for placing of various industries on its territory. Today the oblast produces 4.8% of all the Ukrainian industrial production and 5% of the agricultural one. Some of the oblast's industries rank the best in Ukraine. Thus, for example, about 95% of all the lorries produced in Ukraine are from here (Kremenchuk Automobile Plant - KrAZ); besides that, this region produces 19% of all the electric motors and 99% of all the gas-discharge lamps in Ukraine.
2.3 Industry
The main orientation in the economic structure is industry. In the oblast there are 382 businesses of various legal statuses where 132 thousand people are employed.
The main branches of industry are: fuel industry (65.1% of the industrial output of Ukraine), natural gas extracting (39.2%), motor-car construction (11.5%), diamond tools production (94.1%), gas-discharge lamps production (99%).
More than 3 thousand kinds of industrial products are made in the oblast. These are: automobiles (KrAZ), railway freight car, electric motors, gas-discharge lamps, diamond tools, machinery for metalworking, processing equipment for light and food industries, china, shoes, knitted wear, etc.
The ore mining and oil and gas industries are developing rapidly.
2.4 Transportation and communications
The important factor of the production activity of a region is transportation infrastructure represented by railway, highway, river and air kinds of transportation. The total length of the railways in the oblast is 853 km. Several main railways pass through the oblast's territory: Moscow-Odesa, Kremenchuk-Poltava-Kyiv, Kremenchuk-Gomel.
The highways system is also well developed. The total length of the roads is 10,450 km. Among them are: Kyiv-Kharkiv, Poltava-Kremenchuk etc.
Transit by the Dnieper plays a very important role. The Kremenchuk river port provides services passenger and freight ships.
Poltava airport is able to receive civil airplanes of all types. Poltava oblast also has a developed system of gas pipelines ("Spilka", "Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod", "Shebelinka-Poltava-Kyiv") and oil ones ("Druzhba", "Kremenchuk-Kirovohrad", "Kremenchuk-Kherson", "Kremenchuk-Brovary").
2.5 The main production centers of the oblast: Kremenchuk and Poltava
Kremenchuk and Poltava are the cities where about 70% of all the oblast's production is concentrated. Kremenchuk is the center of machine-building, energy and fuel industries. Poltava is characterized by machinery production, production of construction materials, food and light industries.
For the subsequent social and economic development of the region it is necessary to assist the development the following industries: machine-building, metal-working, electrotechnical industry, instrument-making, oil-refining, and food industry.
It is very important to introduce environment-friendly technologies into industry.
To achieve the above-mentioned economic objectives, the oblast's government worked out a number of programs which have been partially implemented. These are: the Program of Business Development Assistance, the Program of Fuel Industries Development, the Program of the Optimal Usage of Energy Resources, the Program of Agriculture Development, the Investments Programs.
2.6 The important role of agriculture in the oblast
Agriculture is the basis of agroindustry in the region. It is characterized by developed production of grain, milk, and industrial crops. All the farms are reformed and privatized. There are 625 agricultural businesses and 1311 farms in the oblast. 2,186,200 hectares of land are used for agriculture. The soils are mainly black (90% of the oblast).
The Poltava oblast accounts for 5.1% of the Ukrainian agricultural output. The agricultural structure is as follows: plant-growing - 63.2%, cattle-breeding - 36.8%
Poltava oblast has one of the biggest pedigree cattle-breeding pools in Ukraine. The oblast's pedigree horse-breeding is also developing. The horses of Dibrovsky and Myrhorodsky rayons are well-known abroad for their achievements.
The scientists of Poltava Institute of Agriculture produced a new sort of wheat, whose parameters and characteristics are higher than the ones of the traditional sorts.
2.7 Banking
Almost all the Ukrainian banks of various legal statuses are presented in Poltava. These are: "Privatbank" - one of the most important private financial institutions which is constantly expanding, "Poltava bank" which has a subsidiary in Kyiv, "Oshyadbank" and agrobank "Ukraina" which are represented in all the significant settlements of the oblast. These banks are closely co-operating with European and US banks.
2.8 Foreign trade of the oblast
The foreign trade turnover of goods and services in 1999 was USD 774.95 million. The export sales of goods and services were USD 490.33 million. The import sales of goods and services were USD 284.62 million. The balance came up to USD 205.71 million.
The largest exports were to: Belgium (23.5% of the oblast's exports), Russia Federation(15.0%), Austria (13.5%), Poland (7.0%), Belarus (4.9%), Germany (3.8%), and Turkey (3.6%). The imports of goods and services were from: Russia (52.3% of the imports to the oblast), Germany (11.2%), Kazakhstan (9.0%), Italy (4.1%), Japan (3.0%), and France (2.5%).
The exports of mineral products are increasing. In 1999, 52% of all the exported goods were mineral products. The main exported products are: transport (11.4%), base metals and the products made of them (6.9%), machinery and instruments (6.4%), phytogenic products (5.5%), foods (4.4%), and textiles and textile goods (4.0%).
The main imported products are: mineral products (mainly oil (50.53%)), machinery and instruments (11.73%), means of transportation (7.57%), textiles and textile goods(5.71%), foods (5.15%), chemical products (4.78%), plastic and synthetic rubber (3.48%).
2.9 Foreign investments
The total amount of all the foreign investments in Poltava oblast (as of January 1, 2000) is USD 207.4 million.
The increase of investments was as follows: 1995 – USD 2.5 million, 1996 – USD 7.6 million, 1997 – USD 15.8 million, 1998 – USD 48.7 million, 1999 – USD 121.7 million.
The largest investors are: Russia (64.6% of all the foreign investments), Italy (11.4%), Great Britain (7.9%), and Cyprus (5.7%).
The sectors the most attractive for investment were and are: fuel industry (71.6% of all the investments), machine-building and metal-working (17.3%), and food industry (4.8%).
The problem of attracting foreign investment into the oblast’s economy for its structural transformation is considered to be one of our most important problems.
Another way to attract foreign investments for business development is taking part in international technical assistance programs such as "TRANSFORM" which is provided by the German government.
The well-known "Sorochinsky Yarmarok" (Sorochyntsi Fair")which became national last year attracts not only Ukrainian businessmen, but also foreign ones. In 1999, several Moldavian enterprises participated in it. About 50 representatives of foreign embassies accredited in Ukraine visited the fair as guests.
3. Historical and cultural excursus
The historical and cultural heritage of Poltava oblast is very rich. Brilliant writer Mykola Gogol, philosopher Grygory Skovoroda and the classical author of Ukrainian literature Ivan Kotlyarevski were born, lived and worked here. This land inspired Panas Myrny, David Guramishvili (a classical author of Georgian literature), Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka and Evhen Hrebinka to create their masterpieces.
The family that later gave to the world the outstanding composer Pyotr Chaikovsky originated here. The following great figures came from Poltava oblast: the founder of Ukrainian classical music Mykola Lysenko, composers Georgy and Platon Mayboroda, Oleksandr Bilash, People's artists of Ukraine Raisa Kyrychenko, Diana Petrynenko, mathematician Mykola Ostrogradsky, surgeon Mykola Sklifosovsky, painters Hrygory Myasoyedov and Mykola Yaroshenko, writers Oles Honchar, Borys Oliynyk, Vasyl Symonenko, Pavlo Zagrebelny.
One of the founders of the space development theory, Yuri Kondratyuk, rockets constructor Georgy Pobedonostsev, tanks constructor Mykola Dukhov, academician and selectionist Vasyl Remeslo, and astronaut Georgy Beregovy were also born here.