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Budjak

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Budjak, Budzhak, or Buchak (Ukrainian: Буджак [Budžak], Romanian: Bugeac, Turkish: Bucak) is the southern part of Bessarabia, now part of Odesa region of Ukraine.

History

In the antiquity, it was inhabited by Dacians, Scythians, Celts, and on the shores, by Greeks.

In the IX and XII centuries the region passed under the control of Kievan Rus' and Galicia-Volhynia. The Genoese also build some fortresses on the Black Sea coast or on the Danube, while Tatars also inhabited this region before moving to Dobruja and Turkey. The territory was incorporated in the Principality of Moldova in 1392, by Alexander the Good. In 1484, Stephen the Great was forced to surrender the towns and forts in modern-day Bugeac to the Ottoman Empire.

The name of the region was given during the Ottoman rule, the Turkish word "Bucak" meaning "corner." Nevertheless, Bugeac back then was much smaller in size and only comprized an administrative subdivision in the interior region or flatland region of the modern-day Bugeac, which the Ottomans unofficially called " Bessarabia", in honour of the Romanian prince Basarab I, who previously explored the region. Officially however, the region was not a province by itself, rather part of Özi or Silistre province.

In 1812, the Russians managed to extract Bessarabia from the Ottomans. In the process, they misled other European powers by making them think that Bessarabia included all land east of the Prut River and as a consequence Russia managed to annex parts of the Principality of Moldova as well.

In essence, this is how the name Bessarabia now applies not only to the original southern region but to the entire eastern half of Moldova. The politically corect term however for Bugeac would in fact be Bessarabia, while what we now understand as the historical Russian province of Bessarabia is in fact nothing else but Eastern Moldova.

After WWI, Bessarabia was joined with Romania and therefore so did the Bugeac, but the Soviet Union occupied it during WWII, and after its fall, it became part of Ukraine.

Budjak was traditionally part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia from 1392-1484, and a significant Romanian population still inhabits the area. The region only passed under Ukrainian control during the era of Stalin, as it was part of the designated Soviet sphere of influence under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. There have been major movements on the part of Romanian nationalists to restore this region to Romanian control, due to its historic roots as a Romanian land, and due to the illegality of the Molotov-Ribbentrop accord.

Demographics

According to the 2001 Ukrainian census the population of the Budjak numbers 617,200 people. Large minorites of about 129,000 Bulgarians (21%), 124,500 Russians (20%) and 78,300 Romanians (13%) live there alongside a Ukrainian plurality of 248,000 (40%). Bulgarians are the biggest ethnic group in Artsyz (39%), Bolhrad (61%) and Tarutyne (38%) rayons, Russians in the city of Izmail (44%) and Romanians in Reni (49%) rayon. In the Izmail rayon 29% of the population is Ukrainian, 28% Romanian and 26% Bulgarian. It is notable, that in the Izmail rayon, the Romanian population increased by one percent since 1989, whereas the number of Ukrainian and Bulgarians is slowly decreasing. Other rayons have an Ukrainian majority.

Districts (Raions)

Total population of the raions: 481,000 people.

Cities in Bugeac

Total population of the cities: 136,200 people.

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