Zhytomyr Oblast (), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna () is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately . History The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937, out of territories of Vinnytsia and Kyiv oblasts as well as two border okrugs of Kyiv Oblast – Korosten Okrug and Novohrad-Volynsky Okrug. The oblast covers territories of the historic regions of Polesia, Volhynia, and Podolia, which are reflected on the oblast's coat of arms. Before the 18th century bigger half of the oblast belonged to the Kyiv Voivodeship (), while smaller western half around the city of Zviahel belonged to the Volyn Voivodeship. Following the treaty of Andrusovo, the city of Zhytomyr () continued to act as an administrative center of the Kyiv Voivodeship. Following the second partition of Poland, on the newly annexed territory was formed oversized Izyaslav Vice-royalty (Russian: ) which included former Polish territories in Volhynia, Podolia, and Kyiv land and centered in Izyaslav. However a couple of years later the Russian Empire annexed more territories of the Polish Kingdom during the third partition of Poland contributing to the complete disappearance of the Polish statehood. The Izyaslav Vice-royalty was reformed and the territory of today's Zhytomyr Oblast predominantly ended up in the Russian Volhynian Governorate and the city of Zviahel which was renamed as Novohrad-Volynskyi (Russian: ) became its administrative center. Later the administrative center was transferred to the bigger city of Zhytomyr (Russian: ). During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian troops partly occupied the region. They were completely repulsed when the (where Russian forces had been dug in from the opening of the offensive in late February 2022) was declared liberated on 4 April 2022. Geography The total area of Zhytomyr Oblast is . Among the points of interest it is important to mention the following sites that were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine: Church of Saint Basil the Great (Ovruch) Stone village state preserve Korolev Memorial Astronautical Museum The Museum of Ukrainian home icons, which is the only one in Europe, is situated in Zhytomyr Oblast. It is located in Radomyshl, a small town, about away from Kyiv. The museum is the part of the Radomysl Castle historical and cultural complex. It was founded by Olga Bogomolets. Population The current estimated