Governor

Governor (hubernator). The ruler of a gubernia in Russia appointed by the tsar, usually from amongst the nobility. At the beginning of the 19th century, some gubernias (eg, Kyiv gubernia, Podilia gubernia, and Little Russia gubernia) had military governors; this position also existed in certain ports (eg, Mykolaiv) and in the Kuban and other Cossack territories. The governor was responsible for the judicial system, police, finances, and general administration of the gubernia, and supervised the autonomous zemstvos. He was accountable to the minister of internal affairs, although some governors were supervised by a governor-general. The nature of the position changed constantly, depending on the needs of the state and the personalities of the individuals involved. After the Revolution of 1917, the gubernias were ruled by gubernial commissioners during the period of the Central Rada and by gubernial elders (starosty) during the Hetman government. Several governors were appointed when the Russian army occupied Galicia and Bukovyna during the First World War.

The head of autonomous Subcarpathian Ruthenia (1920–38) was also called a governor and was appointed by the president of Czechoslovakia. This was mostly a figurehead position, as his authority was limited by the central government and real power was in the hands of a Czech vice-governor.

In post-Soviet Ukraine, the heads of oblast administrations, who are appointed by the country's president, have been popularly referred to as governors, but that is not their official title.