Voronezh Governorate

First Azov Governorate

Azov Governorate, together with seven other governorates, was established on December 29 [O.S. December 18], 1708, by Tsar Peter the Great's edict. As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Azov Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities. The governorate bordered Kiev Governorate in the west, Moscow Governorate in the north, and Kazan Governorate in the east. The areas south of the governorate were controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and the southern border was not defined.

Formally, Azov was the seat of the governorate, but in practice, the seat of the governor was located in Tambov until 1715 and in Voronezh after 1715. In 1725, the governorate was renamed Voronezh Governorate.

At the time of establishment, the following seventy-eight towns were included in Azov Governorate,

Andreyevy Lozy;

Atemar;

Azov;

Balykleya;

Belokolodskoy;

Belskoy;

Bishkin;

Bityug;

Bityutskiya syola;

Borisoglebskoy na Khopre;

Chern;

Chernavskoy;

Chernyavsk;

Chudnoye;

Chuguyev;

Dobroye Gorodishche;

Donkov;

Dvurechnoye;

Dyomshinsk;

Gorokhovodka;

Insara;

Inzarskoy;

Izyum;

Kamenka;

Kerenesk;

Korotoyak;

Kostyansk;

Kozlov;

Krasnaya Sloboda;

Kupchinka;

Liman;

Lebedyan;

Martovitsa;

Mayatskoy;

Miyus;

Nikonovskoy u Kalanchey;

Nizhny Lomov;

Norovchatovskoye Gorodishche;

Novopavlovskoy;

Novy Oskol;

Olshansk;

Orlov;

Ostrogozhskoy;

Ostropolye;

Palatov;

Pavlovskoy;

Pechenega;

Petrovskoy na Medveditse;

Potishskoy;

Romanov-v-Stepi;

Ryaskoy;

Sapozhok;

Saransk;

Savinskoy;

Senkovskoy;

Sergiyevskoy u Kalanchey;

Shatskoy;

Shechkeevskoy;

Skopin;

Sokolsk;

Tambov;

Tor;

Troitskoy on Tagan Rog;

Talitsa;

Tsaryov-Borisov;

Topoli;

Troitskoy Ostrog;

Uryv;

Userd;

Usman;

Valuyki;

Verkhososensk;

Verkhny Lomov;

Voronezh;

Yefremov;

Yelets;

Zemlyanesk;

Zmiyev.

In 1711, the town of Azov was ceded to Turkey, but the governorate was not renamed.

In terms of the modern political division, Azov Governorate comprised the areas of what is currently Rostov Oblast, Voronezh Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Tambov Oblast, and parts of Kursk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast, Tula Oblast, Oryol Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, Penza Oblast, Saratov Oblast, and the Republic of Mordovia, as well as eastern areas of Ukraine, including parts of Kharkiv, Donetsk Oblast, and Luhansk Oblast.

On June 9 [O.S. May 29], 1719, the governorate was divided into provinces: Bakhmut (with the center in Bakhmut), Shatsk, Tambov, Voronezh, and Yelets. The uyezds were transformed into districts.

In 1725, Azov Governorate was renamed into Voronezh Governorate.

Governors

The administration of the governorate was performed by a governor. The governors of First Azov Governorate were

1711–1719 Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin, Governor general;

1717–1720 Stepan Andreyevich Kolychev, acting governor;

1721–1725 Pyotr Vasilyevich Izmaylov, governor;

1725 Grigory Petrovich Chernyshyov, governor.

Before 1779

By that time, the governorate was divided into five provinces, defined as sets of the towns. The following towns were a part of Voronezh Governorate,

Bakhmut Province (with the center in Bakhmut),

Bakhmut;

Borovskoy;

Krasnyansky;

Novy Aydar;

Raygorodok;

Stary Aydar;

Sukharev;

Yampol.

Shatsk Province (Shatsk),

Kadom;

Kasimov;

Kerensk;

Krasnaya Sloboda;

Narovchatov;

Shatsk;

Temnikov;

Troitskoy Ostrog;

Yelatma;

Zalessky Stan;

Tambov Province (Tambov),

Borisoglebsk;

Dobry;

Insar;

Verkhny Lomov;

Kozlov;

Nizhny Lomov;

Ryazhsk;

After 1796

In 1796, by Decree of Tsar Pavel I, Voronezh Viceroyalty was abolished, and Voronezh Governorate was established. It consisted of nine uyezds, Biryuchensky, Bobrovsky, Korotoyaksky, Nizhnedevitsky, Pavlovsky, Valuysky, Voronezhsky, Zadonsky, and Zemlyansky.

In 1802, Bogucharsky, Ostrogozhsky, and Starobelsky Uyezds of Slobodsko-Ukrainian Governorate and Novokhopyorsky Uyezd of Saratov Governorate were transferred to Voronezh Governorate. In 1824, Starobelsky Uyezd was returned to Slobodsko-Ukrainian Governorate.

In 1923, after a series of reforms, Voronezh Governorate consisted of twelve uyezds: Bobrovsky, Bogucharsky, Kalacheyevsky, Nizhnedevitsky, Novokhopyorsky, Ostrogozhsky, Pavlovsky, Rossoshansky, Usmansky, Valuysky, Voronezhsky, and Zadonsky. In 1924, Zadonsky, Kalacheyevsky, and Pavlovsky Uyezds were abolished.

On 14 May 1928 Voronezh Governorate was abolished, and its area was included into newly established Central Black Earth Oblast.

Governors

The administration of the governorate was performed by a governor. The governors of Voronezh Governorate were

1726 Grigory Petrovich Chernyshyov;

1726–1727 Ivan Mikhaylovich Likharev;

1728 Ivan Vasilyevich Strekalov;

1727–1728 Ivan Petrovich Izmaylov;

1728–1734 Yegor Ivanovich Pashkov;

1734–1735 Alexey Antonovich Myakinin;

1736–1740? Vasily Yakovlevich Levashov, governor general;

1740–1741 Grigory Alexeyevich Urusov;

1741–1744 Vasily Mikhaylovich Guryev;

1747–1760 Alexey Mikhaylovich Pushkin;

1760 Ivan Rodionovich Koshelev, acting governor;

1761–1763 Fyodor Yakovlevich Zhilin;

1763–1764 Grigory Prokopyevich Tolstoy;

1764–1766 Alexander Petrovich Lachinov;

1766–1773 Alexey Mikhaylovich Maslov;

1773–1775 Nikolay Lavrentyevich Shetnev;

1775–1779 Ivan Alexeyevich Potapov;

1797–1800 Alexander Borisovich Sontsov;

Demographics

Language

Population by mother tongue according to the Imperial census of 1897.