VOLHYNIA, a province of Poland, having on the north the province of Polesie, on the west Lublin, on the south Tarnopol provinces, and on the east Russia. It is only half the old region of Volhynia, which, after belonging in turn to Russia, Poland and Russia again, has now been divided between the two. Area, 11,693 sq. miles. Pop. (1931) 2,081,501, of whom most are Ruthenians or Ukrainians, 16.5% Poles, about 15% Jews and other nationalities, so that Polish Volhynia, like Russian Volhynia, is almost entirely an Ukrainian country. It is thickly populated in
most parts and has always been covered with large estates owned by Polish landowners, many of whom were descended from Rus sian and Lithuanian princes. It is a plain, washed by the Bug and the tributaries of the Prypet, viz., the Turija, Stochod, Styr, Goryn and Slucz, flowing north from the southern uplands. The north is part of the Polesian forest area, the rest is fertile soil. The chief towns are Luck, Ostr6g, Rowno, Dubno, Kowel and Krzemieniec.