RIVNE

formerly Rovno, city and administrative centre of Rivne oblast (province), Ukraine, on the small Ustye River. First mentioned in 1282, Rivne was long a minor Polish settlement. In 1795 it passed to Russia and in 1797 was made a town. Growth began at the end of the 19th century when the town became an important rail junction. It reverted to Poland between 1920 and 1939. Its industries, previously of minor significance, developed greatly in the 1960s with the growth of the chemical and machine-building industries. The city, the population of which doubled over the 1960s, has a branch of Kiev University and teacher-training and water-engineering institutes. Pop. (1991 est.) 239,300. formerly Rovno oblast (province), northwestern Ukraine. The northern part of the oblast is part of the great lowland of the Pripet Marshes, the terrain of which is flat, with extensive reed and grass marshes. Some of these marshes have been reclaimed for the cultivation of rye, flax, and potatoes. Drier areas are mostly forested, mainly by oak, pine, and hornbeam. Timber working is economically significant, but in general the north is thinly inhabited. The southern part of the oblast lies on the Volyn-Podolsk Upland, with a steep scarp face overlooking Pripet Marshes. The rolling hills are greatly dissected by river valleys and erosion gullies. Most of the forest-steppe vegetation has been cleared for the cultivation of grains and sugar beets. Rivne's communities, apart from Rivne, the administrative centre, are all small centres engaged chiefly in processing local agricultural produce. Area 7,800 square miles (20,100 square km). Pop. (1991) 1,181,600.