Byshiv District of Kyiv Region in the 1920s: Population Size and Ethnic Composition

The study of ethno-demographic processes in Ukraine is important in modern Ukrainian ethnology. Statistical materials on the number and ethnic composition of the population, in particular, the 1926 census data, form an important source for researching ethno-demographic processes in the 1920s in the Kyiv region, including the Byshiv district. Since the early 1930s these unique statistical materials have been in ‘special storage’ and are not available for scientists, and a ban on their publication remained in place until the dissolution of the USSR. It is calculated and the tables are prepared on the number and ethnic composition of the population of the Byshiv district after the data of the 1926 and 2001 censuses. Byshiv district, as a separate administrative-territorial unit, has existed from March, 1923 to March, 1959. The territory of the former Byshiv district has been a part of the Makariv district of Kyiv region. In 1926 the Byshiv district has included 20 village districts, and the settlement network consisted of 108 settlements. The Byshiv district has been characterized by the ethnic homogeneity of the population, absolute dominance of Ukrainians on its territory, with a few representatives of ethnic minorities settled dispersedly. Quite a significant reduction of the population of the Byshiv district (by 2.5 times) has taken place during the 1926 and 2001, despite the fact that it is located at a short distance from Kyiv. This decline would have been even more significant if there had been no evacuation of the population from the exclusion zone after the Chernobyl accident to the Byshiv district.