Kiev Voivodeship

The Kiev Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1471 until 1569 and of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1793 as part of Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown.

It was the biggest voivodeship of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, covering, among others, land of Zaporizhian Cossacks. Under the order of King Casimir Jagiellon, it had replaced the former Principality of Kiev, ruled by Lithuanian princes, from two families (House of Algirdas and Olshansky family). Its first administrative center was Kiev, but when the city was given to Imperial Russia in 1667 by Treaty of Andrusovo, the capital moved to Zhytomyr (Żytomierz), where it remained until 1793.

Municipal government

Voivodeship Governor (Voivode) seat

• Berdychiv

Regional council (sejmik generalny) for all Ruthenian lands

• Sudova Vyshnia

Regional council (sejmik poselski i deputacki) seats

• Kiev
• Ovruch
• Zhytomyr

Administrative division

• Kiev County (Powiat kijowski), Kiev
• Ovruch County (Powiat owrócki), Ovruch
• Zhytomyr County (Powiat żytomierski), Zhytomyr

Voivodes of Kiev

In the 15th-16th centuries, all of the voivodes were of Lithuanian or Ruthenian origin. From the beginning of the 17th century, the voivodes of Polish origin, along with Ruthenian, were chosen for the office.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania......

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