Kherson and Taurida Governorates

The history of the formation of governorates in the south of Ukraine.

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At the end of the 18th century, the Russian Empire annexed the Ukrainian lands of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (Zaporozhian Host) and the Crimean Khanate. From these territories, mainly, a huge Novorossiysk Governorate was formed, which in October 1802 was divided into three governorates: Katerynoslav, Mykolaiv, and Taurida.

On May 15, 1803, the Mykolaiv Governorate was renamed Kherson Governorate with its center in Kherson. With partial changes, this territorial-administrative division existed for over a hundred years. The Kherson Governorate included the spaces from the Dnipro to the Dniester and from the Ukrainian Forest-Steppe to the Black Sea.

Map of the Taurida Governorate. 1822.

The Taurida Governorate, with its center in Simferopol, included the Crimean Peninsula and part of the mainland lands from the Left Bank of the Dnipro to the coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The modern Kherson Oblast entirely includes the territory of the former Dniprovskyi district and part of the Melitopol district of the Taurida Governorate. That is why they are traditionally called Northern Taurida, the Taurida Land.

The geographical neighborhood of the two southern governorates has long determined the commonality of historical events they experienced, close economic relations, and the proximity of cultural and spiritual life.