Description: On January 15, 1937 there were the following regions divided into 525 rural and urban raions (including the ones that formed the border districts):
Region / область Seat / центр Raions
1 Moldavian ASSR / Молдавська Tiraspol / Тираспіль 14
2 Chernihiv / Чернігівська Chernihiv / Чернігів 56
3 Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровська Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровське 64
4 Donetsk / Донецька Stalino / Сталіне 56
5 Kharkiv / Харківська Kharkiv / Харків 87
6 Kyiv (Kiev) / Київська Kyiv (Kiev) / Київ 94
7 Odesa (Odessa) / Одеська Odesa (Odessa) / Одеса 74
8 Vinnytsia / Вінницька Vinnytsia / Вінниця 80
On 30 January 1937, the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic adopted its new constitution that restated its official name as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic that was retained until its declaration of independence on August 24, 1991. Correspondently, the name of the Moldavian autonomy was amended to the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR). From June 1934 till September 1937 the number of raions substantially increased but the number and the boundaries of the regions remained the same. Besides, in 1935 seven districts were recreated on the western border of the UkrSSR with Poland and Romania (four as part of Vinnytsia and three as part of Kyiv regions) but were subsequently abolished in 1937. In January 1937 there were the following districts further divided into 73 rural and urban raions:
Region / область Seat / центр Raions
1 Kamianets / Камʼянецька Kamianets / Камʼянець 9
2 Korosten / Коростенська Korosten / Коростень 9
3 Mohyliv / Могилівська Mohyliv / Могилів 6
4 Novohrad-Volyn. / Новоград-Волинська Novohrad-Volyn. / Новоград-Вол. 5
5 Proskuriv / Проскурівська Proskuriv / Проскурів 9
6 Shepetivka / Шепетівська Shepetivka / Шепетівка 10
7 Starobilsk / Старобільська Starobilsk / Старобільськ 18
8 Zhytomyr / Житомирська Zhytomyr / Житомир 7
Description: No major administrative changes happened between December 1933 and May 1934; just few raion boundaries adjustments in the Donbas and a minor boundary change between Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions. However, on June 23, 1934 the capital of UkrSSR was moved from Kharkiv to Kyiv (Kiev). On May 30, 1934 there were the following regions divided into 393 rural and urban raions:
Region / область Seat / центр Raions
1 Moldavian ASSR / Молдавська Tiraspol / Тираспіль 11
2 Chernihiv / Чернігівська Chernihiv / Чернігів 36
3 Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровська Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровське 43
4 Donetsk / Донецька Stalino / Сталіне 43
5 Kharkiv / Харківська Kharkiv / Харків 64
6 Kyiv (Kiev) / Київська Kyiv (Kiev) / Київ 76
7 Odesa (Odessa) / Одеська Odesa (Odessa) / Одеса 54
8 Vinnytsia / Вінницька Vinnytsia / Вінниця 66
Description: Between April and December of 1933 the number of raions marginally increased and their number within four of the regions somewhat changed as well but no major reshuffling occurred. However, the system of place-name spelling changed due to abandoning of the 1928 Kharkiv orthography principles and the indigenization at large and reverting to policies of Russification. On November 17, 1933 Starobilsk district was recreated on the border with Russian SFSR encompassing the agrarian raions of the otherwise largely industrial Donetsk region. On December 15, 1933 there were the following regions divided into 393 rural and urban raions:
Region / область Seat / центр Raions
1 Moldavian ASSR / Молдавська Tiraspol / Тираспіль 11
2 Chernihiv / Чернігівська Chernihiv / Чернігів 36
3 Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровська Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровське 43
4 Donetsk / Донецька Stalino / Сталіне 43
5 Kharkiv / Харківська Kharkiv / Харків 64
6 Kyiv (Kiev) / Київська Kyiv (Kiev) / Київ 76
7 Odesa (Odessa) / Одеська Odesa (Odessa) / Одеса 54
8 Vinnytsia / Вінницька Vinnytsia / Вінниця 66
Description: By April 1933 there were few minor changes in names and the composition of raions – their number slightly increased – but the number and the boundaries of the regions remained unchanged from October 1932 until September 1937. On April 1, 1933 there were the following regions divided into 392 rural and urban raions:
Region / область Seat / центр Raions
1 Moldavian ASSR / Молдавська Tiraspol / Тираспіль 11
2 Chernihiv / Чернігівська Chernihiv / Чернігів 36
3 Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровська Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровське 50
4 Donetsk / Донецька Stalino / Сталіне 39
5 Kharkiv / Харківська Kharkiv / Харків 64
6 Kyiv (Kiev) / Київська Kyiv (Kiev) / Київ 76
7 Odesa (Odessa) / Одеська Odesa (Odessa) / Одеса 52
8 Vinnytsia / Вінницька Vinnytsia / Вінниця 64
Description: In addition to the regions established in February 1932, two more regions were created the same year – Donetsk (July 2) and Chernihiv (October 15) – out of raions of the neighboring regions and the centrally administrated raions of the Donbas. Boundaries and the number of raions in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Vinnytsia regions, therefore, changed correspondingly. On October 25, 1932 there were the following regions still divided into 386 rural and urban raions:
Region / область Seat / центр Raions
1 Moldavian ASSR / Молдавська Tiraspol / Тираспіль 11
2 Chernihiv / Чернігівська Chernihiv / Чернігів 36
3 Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровська Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровське 49
4 Donetsk / Донецька Stalino / Сталіне 35
5 Kharkiv / Харківська Kharkiv / Харків 64
6 Kyiv (Kiev) / Київська Kyiv (Kiev) / Київ 76
7 Odesa (Odessa) / Одеська Odesa (Odessa) / Одеса 51
8 Vinnytsia / Вінницька Vinnytsia / Вінниця 64
Description: On September 15, 1930 a new administrative reform abolished the district tier system completely but retained the division into 484 (at the time) rural raions and introduced a new type of urban raion – 18 cities with the same administrative status as rural raions. But the system of raions proved difficult to administer, and on February 27, 1932 the raions were regrouped into five regions in addition to the still remaining Moldavian autonomy (on June 29, 1929 its capital was moved to Tiraspol). Besides, 17 raions of both types forming the Donbas (the Donets coal basin), although de-jure directly subordinated to the UkrSSR government in Kharkiv, became de-facto administrated by the USSR government in Moscow (!). On March 20, 1932 there were the following regions divided into 386 rural and urban raions:
Region / область Seat / центр Raions
1 Moldavian ASSR / Молдавська Tiraspol / Тираспіль 11
2 Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровська Dnipropetrovsk / Дніпропетровське 54
3 Kharkiv / Харківська Kharkiv / Харків 82
4 Kyiv (Kiev) / Київська Kyiv (Kiev) / Київ 100
5 Odesa (Odessa) / Одеська Odesa (Odessa) / Одеса 51
6 Vinnytsia / Вінницька Vinnytsia / Вінниця 71
7 Donbas / Донецька Moscow / Москва (de-facto) 17
Description: From 23 March 1920 till 16 October 1922 the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic consisted of 12 governorates divided into 102 counties that included 1989 fiefs (volosts); in January 1922 they were:
Governorate / губернія Seat / центр Counties / повіти
1 Chernihiv / Чернігівська Chernihiv / Чернігів 12
2 Donetsk / Донецька Bakhmut / Бахмут 10
3 Katerynoslav / Катеринославська Katerynoslav / Катеринослав 6
4 Kharkiv / Харківська Kharkiv / Харків 11
5 Kremenchuk / Кременчуцька Kremenchuk / Кременчук 6
6 Kyiv (Kiev) / Київська Kyiv (Kiev) / Київ 12
7 Mykolaiv / Миколаївська Mykolaiv / Миколаїв 4
8 Odesa (Odessa) / Одеська Odesa (Odessa) / Одеса 5
9 Podillia / Подільська Vinnytsia / Вінниця 12
10 Poltava / Полтавська Poltava / Полтава 11
11 Volynia / Волинська Zhytomyr / Житомир 7
12 Zaporizhzhia / Запорізька Zaporizhzhia / Запоріжжя 6
From 16 October 1922 till 12 April 1923 the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (UkrSSR) consisted of 9 governorates still divided into 102 counties; Kremenchuk, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia governorates were abolished. On 7 March 1924 the autonomous Moldavian region (oblast) was created as part of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, which on 12 October 1924 was reorganized into the Autonomous Moldavian Socialist Soviet Republic (AMSSR), still a part of the UkrSSR. On July 13, 1923 Kharkiv was officially designated as the capital of the UkrSSR, prior to that its capital de-facto was in either Kharkiv or Kyiv (Kiev) depending on where the government was holding its sessions.