Izmail Oblast

Izmail Oblast (Ukrainian: Ізмаїльська область, romanized: Izmailska oblast; Romanian: Regiunea Ismail) (7 August 1940 — 15 February 1954) was an oblast in the Ukrainian SSR, roughly corresponding to the historical region of Budjak in southern Bessarabia. It had a territory of 12,400 km2 (4,800 sq mi). The region had a multi-ethnic population consisting of Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Russians, Moldovans, and Gagauz. First mentions of the name of the region are found in documents from 16th century CE. The region was with the Russian Empire briefly before the Ottomans took control of it in the 17th century CE. Russians recaptured it in 1809 and it became an autonomous territory within the Ottoman Empire following the Crimean War (1853-1856). The area was under Russian occupation from 1877 to 1917, and was occupied by Romania after the First World War. The Soviet Union re-took control of it after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact before the Second World War in 1939-40. The region was organized as a separate oblast known as Akkerman oblast on 7 August 1940 after the city of Akkerman. It was renamed later in 1940 to Izmail oblast, and the capital was moved to the city of Izmail. It was absorbed into the Odesa Oblast in February 1954. The region became part of the independent state of Ukraine, following the dissolution of Soviet Union in the 1990s.