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Zakarpattia Oblast

Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian: Закарпатська область), also referred to as simply Zakarpattia (Закарпаття; Hungarian: Kárpátalja) or Transcarpathia in English, is an oblast in west Ukraine, mostly coterminous with the historical region of Carpathian Ruthenia. Its administrative centre is the city of Uzhhorod. Other major cities within the oblast include Mukachevo, Khust, Berehove, and Chop, the last of which is home to railroad transport infrastructure.

Zakarpattia Oblast was established on 22 January 1946, after Czechoslovakia gave up its claim to the territory of Subcarpathian Ruthenia (Podkarpatská Rus) under a treaty between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. The territory of Subcarpathian Ruthenia was then taken over by the USSR and became part of the Ukrainian SSR.

During the Ukrainian independence referendum held in 1991, Zakarpatska Oblast voters were given a separate option on whether or not they favoured autonomy for the region. Although a large majority favoured autonomy, it was not granted. However, this referendum was about self-government status, not about autonomy (like in Crimea).

Situated in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine, except the southwestern Hungarian-populated region that belongs to the Hungarian plain, Zakarpattia Oblast is the only Ukrainian administrative division which borders upon four countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. As the Carpathians are an important tourist and travel destination (housing many ski and spa resorts), they play a major part in the oblast's economy.

With a land area of almost 13000 km2, the oblast is ranked 23rd by area and 15th by population as according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, the population of Zakarpatska Oblast was 1,254,614. The current population is This total includes people of many different nationalities of which Hungarians, Romanians, and Rusyns constitute significant minorities in some of the province's cities, while in others, they form the majority of the population (as in the case of Berehove).

Name
The oblast is also referred to as the Transcarpathian Oblast, Transcarpathia, Zakarpattia (Закарпаття), or historically as Subcarpathian Rus'. In other languages the oblast is named:
 * Kárpátalja, literally: "Base of the Carpathians"
 * Slovak and Zakarpatská oblast; Podkarpatská Rus
 * Obwód zakarpacki
 * Regiunea Transcarpatia
 * Закарпатская область, translit.
 * Ukrainian and Rusyn: Закарпатська область

While the name Transcarpathia is a translation of the Ukrainian version of the name, the Hungarian name translates as Subcarpathia, following the Hungarian language logic "feet of the mountains", naming a territory after its geographic location at the lower section of a mountain range. (Following the same language pattern that applies to the name of the sub-Alpine territory in Western Hungary, Alpokalja)

Generally, the Transcarpathia name and its versions reflect the East Slavic language logic, while some Western languages follow the same logic as the Hungarian:
 * Subcarpathia, Subcarpathian Rus', Subcarpathian Ruthenia, Sub-Carpathian Ukraine
 * Ukraine Subcarpathique

Other Western languages follow their own logic in creating a name for the region:

The coat of arms of Zakarpattia was originally created in the end of the 1920’s in the then Czechoslovakia.

Geography

The Zakarpattia Oblast has a total area of 12800 km2 and is located on southwestern slopes and foothills of the Carpathian Mountains covering around 80% of area in the region. The rest of the region is covered by the Transcarpathian Lowland which is part of the Pannonian plain. Zakarpattia is the only Ukrainian oblast to have boundaries with four countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. On the West it borders the Prešov and Košice Regions of Slovakia and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Counties of Hungary, on the South—the Satu Mare and Maramureș Counties of Romania, on the East and Northeast—Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, and on the North—Lviv Oblast and the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of Poland.

The Zakarpattia Oblast mostly consists of mountains and small hills covered with deciduous and coniferous forests, as well as alpine meadows. Mountains cover about 80% of the oblast's area, and cross from North-West to South-East. The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians, part of which are located within Zakarpattia Oblast, were recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

The largest rivers that flow through the oblast include the Tysa, Borzhava, and the Tereblia. A high altitude lake is located in Rakhiv Raion, which is the highest in the region. It is called Nesamovyte. The lake is located in the Hoverla preserve on the slopes of Turkul mountain. The lake's area is 3000 m2 and it is located 1750 m above sea level.

The region's climate is moderate and continental with about 700 - 1000 mm of rainfall per year. The average temperature in summer is +21 °С (70 °F) and −4 °С (25 °F) in winter. With an elevation of 2061 m above sea level, Hoverla, part of the Chornohora mountain range, is the highest point in the oblast. The lowest point, 101 m above sea level, is located in the village of Ruski Heyevtsi (Oroszgejőc in Hungarian) in the Uzhhorodskyi Raion.

Four of the oblast's historical-cultural sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine competition in 2007: Palanok Castle, Museum upon the Chorna River, Mykhailiv Orthodox Church, and the Nevytsky Castle.

History
According to the Chronicon Pictum, the earliest state established in Zakarpattia was Ungvari in 677 AD. The name Ungvar derives from a migration of the Onogurs of Poltava who were ruled by the northern Kubiar sons of Kubrat. The Onogur tribes entered Etelköz through the Verecke Pass. Some of Ungvari's Kubiars under Khan-Tuvan eventually joined the Rus' to form Rus' Khaganate. In the late 9th century Ungvari's ruling Árpád dynasty began to fulfil their ambitions for the Carpathian basin where by 895 they had relocated to rule over the Magyars.

According to the Gesta Hungarorum, as Prince Álmos entered on the castle of Hung and there he appointed his son Árpád as the primary ruler, hence he was called of the leader of Hungvária, while all of his valiant soldiers as Hungvárus, so since then all the Magyars have been known by this name internationally.

In 895 the Hungarian tribes entered the Carpathian Basin from here through the Verecke pass, and the lands of Transcarpathia were influenced by the Principality of Hungary since 895, which transformed the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In Transcarpathia, the Voivodeship of Maramureș, granted to a small Romanian nobility, was established in 1343. The region was reorganized into the Máramaros County in 1402.

Since 1867, it was part of the Hungarian side of Austria-Hungary until the latter's demise at the end of World War I. It approximately consisted of four Hungarian counties (comitatus): Bereg, Ung, Ugocsa and Maramaros. This region was briefly part of the short-lived West Ukrainian National Republic in 1918. The region was occupied by Romania by the end of that year, mostly the eastern portion such as Rakhiv and Khust. It was later recaptured by the Hungarian Soviet Republic in the summer of 1919. Finally, after the Treaty of Trianon of 1920 it became part of Czechoslovakia with a supposedly equal level of autonomy as the Slovak lands and Bohemia-Moravia-Czech Silesia (Czech lands). The province has a unique footnote in history as the only region in the former Czechoslovakia to have had an American governor: its first governor was Gregory Zhatkovich, an American citizen who had earlier emigrated from the region and represented the Rusyn community in the U.S. Zhatkovich was appointed governor by Czechoslovakia's first president, T. G. Masaryk in 1920, and served for about one year until he resigned over differences regarding the region's autonomy. In 1928, it adopted the name of Subcarpathian Rus' (Podkarpatská Rus). Nevertheless, such autonomy was granted as late as in 1938, after detrimental events of the Munich Conference; until then this land was administered directly from Prague by the government-appointed provincial presidents (zemští prezidenti) and/or elected governors (guvernéři).

Following the Munich Agreement, the southern part of the region was awarded to Hungary under the First Vienna Award in 1938. The remaining portion was constituted as an autonomous region of the short-lived Second Czechoslovak Republic. After the Slovak declaration of an independent state on 14 March, the next day Carpatho-Ukraine was proclaimed as an independent republic but was immediately occupied and annexed by Hungary, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed a day after. Voloshyn asked support for recognition in advance from Hitler, but received no answer. The state is known as 'the one-day republic' because it did not exist more than one day. The military operations and the occupation of Carpatho-Ukraine was finished by the Hungarian troops on March 18.

The Hungarian invasion was followed by a few weeks of terror in which more than 27,000 people were shot dead without trial and investigation. Over 75,000 Ukrainians decided to seek asylum in the Soviet Union; of those almost 60,000 died in Gulag prison-camps. Others joined the Czechoslovak Army.

The major Jewish communities of the region had existed in Mukachevo, Ungvar, and Khust. During the German occupation of Hungary (March–December 1944), almost the entire Jewish population was deported; few survived the Holocaust.

In October 1944, the region was occupied by the Red Army. On 26 November 1944, the First Congress of People's Committees of Zakarpattia Ukraine took place in Mukachevo, and sham elections were organized on 10–25 November 1944. On 29 June 1945, Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš, seeking to postpone the inevitable incorporation of Czechoslovakia into the Soviet Bloc, signed a treaty formally ceding the area to the Soviet Union, and the next month it was united with the Ukrainian SSR through the "Manifest for unification with Soviet Ukraine" that was accepted by the 1st Congress of People's Committees of Sub-Carpathian Ukraine without any knowledge or approval of the common people. It was then annexed into the Soviet Union as Zakarpattia Oblast.

Zakarpattia in the Soviet Union
Between 1945 and 1947, the new Soviet authorities fortified the new borders, and in July 1947 declared Transcarpathia as "restricted zone of the highest level", with checkpoints on the mountain passes connecting the region to mainland Ukraine.

In December 1944, the National Council of Transcarpatho-Ukraine set up a special people's tribunal in Uzhgorod to try and condemn all collaborationists with the previous governments – both Hungary and Carpatho-Ukraine. The court was allowed to hand down either 10 years of forced labour, or death penalty. Several Ruthenian leaders, including Andrej Bródy and Štefan Fencik, were condemned and executed in May 1946. Avgustyn Voloshyn also died in prison. The extent of the repression showed to many Carpatho-Ruthenian activists that it was not possible to find an accommodation with the coming Soviet regime as it had been with all previous ones.

After breaking the Greek Catholic Church in Eastern Galicia in 1946, Soviet authorities pushed for the return to Orthodoxy of Greek-Catholic parishes in Transcarpathia too, including by engineering the accident and death of recalcitrant bishop Theodore Romzha on 1 November 1947. In January 1949, the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo was declared illegal; remaining priests and nuns were arrested, and church properties were nationalised and parcelled for public use or lent to the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) as the only accepted religious authority in the region.

Cultural institutions were also forbidden, including the russophile Dukhnovych Society, the ukrainophile Prosvita, and the Subcarpathian Scholarly Society. New books and publications were circulated, including the Zakarpatsk'a Pravda (130,000 copies). The Uzhhorod National University was opened in 1945. Over 816 cinemas were open by 1967 to insure the indoctrination of the population with Marxist-Leninist propaganda. The Ukrainian language was the first language of instruction in schools throughout the region, followed by Russian, which was extensively used at the university level. Most new generations had a passive knowledge of the Rusyn language, but no knowledge about local culture. XIX-century Rusyn intellectuals were labelled as "members of the reactionary class and instruments of Vatican obscurantism". The Rusyn anthem and hymn were banned from public performance. Carpatho-Rusyn folk culture and songs, which were promoted, were presented as part of Transcarpathian regional culture as a local variant of Ukrainian culture.

As early as 1924, the Comintern had declared all East Slavic inhabitants of Czechoslovakia (Rusyns, Carpatho-Russians, Rusnaks) to be Ukrainians. As of the 1946 census, all Rusyns were recorded as Ukrainians; anyone clinging to the old label was considered a separatist and a potential counter-revolutionary.

Already in February 1945, the National Council proceeded to confiscate 53,000 hectares of land from big landowners and redistribute it to 54,000 peasant households (37% of the population). Forced collectivisation of land started in 1946; around 2,000 peasants were arrested during protests in 1948–49 and sent for forced labour in the Gulag. Collectivisation, including of mountain shepherds, was completed by May 1950. Central planning decisions set Transcarpathia to become a "land of orchards and vineyards" between 1955 and 1965, planting 98,000 hectares with little results. Attempts to cultivate tea and citrus also failed due to climate. Most vineyards were uprooted twenty years later, during Mikhail Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign in 1985–87.

The Soviet period also meant the upscaling of industrialisation in Transcarpathia. State-owned lumber mills, chemical and food-processing plants widened, with Mukachevo's tobacco factory and Solotvyno's salt works as the biggest ones, providing steady employment to the residents of the region, beyond the traditional subsistence agriculture. And while traditional labour migration routes to the fields of Hungary or the factories of the Nort-West United States were now closed, Carpathian Ruthens and Romanians could now move for seasonal work in Russia's North and East.

The inhabitants of the oblast grew steadily in the Soviet period, from 776,000 in 1946 to over 1,2 million in 1989. Uzhgorod increased its residents five-fold, from 26,000 to 117,000, and Mukachevo likewise from 26,600 to 84,000. This population increase also reflected demographic changes. The arrival of the Red Army meant the departure of 5,100 Magyars and 2,500 Germans, while the 15–20,000 Jews survivors of the Holocaust also decided to move out before the borders were sealed. By 1945, around 30,000 Hungarians and Germans had been interned and sent for labour camps in Eastern Ukraine and Siberia; while amnestied in 1955, around 5,000 did not come back. In January 1946, 2,000 more Germans were deported. In return, a large number of Ukrainians and Russians moved to Transcarpathia, where they found jobs in the industry, the military, or the civilian administration. By 1989, around 170,000 Ukrainians (mainly from nearby Galizia) and 49,000 Russians were living in Transcarpathia, mainly in new residential blocks in the main towns of Uzhgorod and Mukachevo, where the dominant language had soon turned from Hungarian and Yiddish to Russian. They kept being considered newcomers (novoprybuli) due to their disconnect from the Rusyn- and Hungarian-speaking countryside.

Zakarpattia in independent Ukraine
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine held an independence referendum in which the residents of Zakarpattia were asked about the Zakarpattia Oblast Council's proposal for self-rule. About 78% of the oblast's population voted in favour of autonomy; however, it was not granted.

At the first Presidential elections in Ukraine in 1991, voters from Transcarpathia supported Leonid Kravchuk by 58%. At the 1994 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Transcarpathia elected 9 independent MPs over 11 to the Rada. The same year, voters in the region supported the incumbent Leonid Kravchuk over Leonid Kuchma by 70.5% At the 1998 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Transcarpathia turned out to be one of the strongholds (together with Kyiv and L'viv) of Viktor Medvedchuk's Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united), which back then ran on a moderate Ukrainian nationalist ideology. One year later, at the Presidential elections, Transcarpathian voters supported the re-election of Leonid Kuchma by 85%.

At the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election, voters from Transcapathia supported the Our Ukraine Bloc, in line with voters from all Western Ukraine. At the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, Transcarpathians voted in majority for Viktor Yushchenko. At the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election, voters from Transcapathia supported the Our Ukraine Bloc and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, in line with voters in Ciscarpatian East Galizia. At the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc linked with former President Viktor Yushchenko won in most of the region, while the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc came out first in Uzhhorod and its raion.

On 7 March 2007, the Zakarpattia Oblast Council recognized the Rusyn ethnicity.

On October 25, 2008, 100 delegates to the Congress of Carpathian Ruthenians declared the formation of the "Republic of Carpathian Ruthenia". The prosecutor's office of Zakarpattia region filed a case against priest Dymytrii Sydor and Yevhen Zhupan (members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in Ukraine and in close relations with the Russkiy Mir Foundation), an Our Ukraine deputy of the Zakarpattia regional council and chairman of the People's Council of Ruthenians, on charges of encroaching on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine. On May 1, 2009, National Union Svoboda blocked the holding of the third European congress of the Carpathian Ruthenians, a pro-Russian entity.

At the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, Yulia Tymoshenko won in most raions of Transcarpathia save for Mukachevo, Berehove and Vynohradiv, where Viktor Yanukovych gained a majority.

In the 2010 and 2015 local elections, the United Centre won majorities in Transcarpathia. The 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election saw both the United Centre and the Party of Regions win districts in Transcarpathia.

In the 2014 presidential election, Transcarpathia helped elect Petro Poroshenko as president of Ukraine. Turnout in the east of the region was among the lowest in Ukraine, below 40%, while it reached 65% in its west. At the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, electoral results in Transcarpathia saw districts being won by Arseniy Yatsenyuk's People's Front and by the Petro Poroshenko Bloc.

Ukraine's 2017 education law makes Ukrainian the required language of study in state schools. Since 2017, relations between Ukraine and Hungary rapidly deteriorated over the issue of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Transcaparthian voters supported Volodymyr Zelensky for president of Ukraine at the 2019 elections.

At the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, president Zelensky's Servant of the People party won a plurality in Transcarpathia. Electoral turnout in the region was the lowest in the country (<42.5%)

Politics
Zakarpattia Oblast's local administration is controlled by the Zakarpattia Oblast Council (rada).

The oblast's governor is appointed by the President of Ukraine.

2020
Distribution of seats after the 2020 Ukrainian local elections 12 Native Zakarpattia

11 Servant of the People

8 Fatherland

8 Party of Hungarians

7 Andriy Baloha's Team

6 European Solidarity

6 For the Future

6 Opposition Platform — For Life

Election date was 25 October 2020

2015
Distribution of seats after the 2015 Ukrainian local elections 19 United Centre

15 Solidarity

11 Revival

8 Party of Hungarians

7 Fatherland

4 Opposition Bloc

Election date was 25 October 2015

Administrative divisions
[[File:Historical Counties in Zakarpattia.GIF|thumb|250px|Historical regions in Zakarpattia Oblast:

On 18 July 2020, the number of raions (districts) was reduced to six.

Zakarpattia Oblast was previously subdivided into 13 raions (districts), as well as 5 cities (municipalities) which are directly subordinate to the oblast government: Berehove, Chop, Khust, Mukachevo, and the administrative centre of the oblast, Uzhhorod. There are a total of 7 cities, 19 towns, and more than 579 villages.

Zakarpattia Oblast incorporates four unofficial geographic-historic regions (counties): Ung, Bereg, Ugocsa and Northern Maramureș. There is a project for a reform of the current administrative division of the Oblast

The oblast (region) was divided into 13 raions and five cities of regional importance including the administrative centre Uzhhorod. Administrative centres of raions may be located within a city of regional importance, while such city is not technically a part of the raion. A city of regional significance may consist of an individual populated place or be complex of several settlements (the city proper and suburbs) which are governed by own radas (councils).

Further, each raion is divided into radas (councils). Cities and towns (urban-type settlements) all have own individual councils, while villages and rural settlements may be formed into multiple settlements councils or an individual village council. All cities are either of regional importance or of district importance.

Raions after 2020

 * 1) Berehove (Берегівський район), the center is in the town of Berehove
 * 2) Khust (Хустський район), the center is in the town of Khust
 * 3) Mukachevo (Мукачівський район), the center is in the town of Mukachevo
 * 4) Rakhiv (Рахівський район), the center is in the town of Rakhiv
 * 5) Tiachiv (Тячівський район), the center is in the town of Tiachiv
 * 6) Uzhhorod (Ужгородський район), the center is in the city of Uzhhorod

Raions before 2020
There were 13 raions (districts) in the oblast until 2020:

• # Berehove Raion (54,062) w/o Berehove city

• # Irshava Raion (100,905)

• # Khust Raion (96,960) w/o Khust city

• # Mizhhiria Raion (49,890)

• # Mukachevo Raion (101.443) w/o Mukacheve city

• # Perechyn Raion (32,026)

• # Rakhiv Raion (90,945)

• # Svaliava Raion (54,869)

• # Tiachiv Raion (171,850)

• # Uzhhorod Raion (74,399) w/o Uzhhorod city and Chop city

• # Velykyi Bereznyi Raion (28,211)

• # Volovets Raion (25,474)

• # Vynohradiv Raion (117,957)

Urban settlements

 * former regional municipalities

Cities of regional significance

 * Uzhhorod (116,400)
 * Mukachevo (93,738)
 * Khust (31,083)
 * Berehove (Beregszász) (24,274)
 * Chop (Csap) (8,436)

Other urban settlements
• Vynohradiv (Nagyszőlős) (27,600)

• Rakhiv (Rahó) (17,000)

• Svaliava (16,217)

• Tiachiv (Técső) (9,256)

• Mizhhiria (9,133)

• Irshava (9,000)

• Velykyy Bychkiv (8,920)

• Solotvyno (Slatina, Aknaszlatina) (8,774)

• Dubove (8,745)

• Velyki Luchky (8,540)

• Ilnytsia (8,420)

• Bushtyno (8,091)

Demographics
Etnos0.gif (incl. Rusyns)}} {{legend|#90EE90|Hungarians}} {{legend|#FBEC5D|Romanians}} {{legend|#4682B4|mixed Ukrainians (incl. Rusyns) }}

Note: The Roma are not represented in the map.]] According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, the population of Zakarpattia Oblast is 1,254,614. The current estimated population is. With the comparison of the last official Soviet Census of 1989 the total population grew by 0.7%.

Ukrainians and the 2001 Ukrainian Census, does not recognise ethnic Rusyns as a separate nationality, instead categorizing them as a subgroup of Ukrainians. Rusyns and the Rusyn language are thus included in the category of Ukrainians and Ukrainian language group are in the majority (80.5%), other ethnic groups are relatively numerous in Zakarpattia. The largest of these are Hungarians (12.1%), Romanians (2.6%), Russians (2.5%), Roma (1.1%), Slovaks (0.5%) and Germans (0.3%). Most Romanians in Ukraine live in Northern Maramureș, but there is also a small Romanian community living outside of this region, referred to in Romanian as volohi. The Ukrainian government does not recognize the Rusyn people living in that country as a distinct nationality but rather as an ethnic sub-group of Ukrainians. About 10,100 people (0.8%) identify themselves as Rusyns according to the last census.

Out of 1,010,100 Ukrainians in the region, 99.2% (~1,002,019) identified their native language as Ukrainian, while about 0.5% (~5,051) consider their native language to be Russian. Out of 151,500 Hungarians, 97.1% (~147,107) consider their native language to be Hungarian, while about 2.6% (~3,939) consider their native language to be Ukrainian. Out of the 32,100 officially recorded Romanians, 99.1% (31,811) identified their native language to be Romanian, while 0.6% (~193) consider their language Ukrainian. Out of 31,000 Russians, 91.6% (28,396) identified their native language as Russian, while 8.1% (~2,511) consider their language Ukrainian. Out of 14,000 Romani peoples only 20.7% (2,898) identify their native language as Romani, while 62.9% (~8,806) consider their language Ukrainian or Russian. Out of 5,600 Slovaks 43.9% (2,458) identify their native language as Slovak, while 42.1% (~2,358) consider their language Ukrainian. Out of 3,500 Germans, 50.0% (1,750) acknowledge their native language, while 38.9% (~1,362) consider their language Ukrainian. About 81% of the oblast population considers the Ukrainian language their native language, while 12.7% of population gives consideration to the Hungarian language and just over 5% considers either the Russian or Romanian languages.

Around two thirds are Eastern Orthodox and about a quarter are Catholic. The largest denomination is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, followed by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. Smaller religious groups include Roman Catholics and Protestants, which are largely associated with minority groups; Roman Catholics and Protestants tend to be Hungarian or Rusyn.

Their languages and culture are respected by the provision of education, clubs, etc. in their respective languages. Those who recognize Ukrainian as their native language total 81.0% of the population, Hungarian — 12.7%, Russian — 2.9%, Romanian — 2.6%, and Rusyn — 0.5% Residents in seven of Mukachivskyi Raion's villages have the option to learn the Hungarian language in a school or home school environment.

Zakarpattia is home to approximately 14,000 ethnic Roma (Gypsies), the highest proportion of Roma in any oblast in Ukraine. The first Hungarian College in Ukraine is in Berehove, the II. Rákoczi Ferenc College.

Beside the major ethnic groups, Zakarpattia is home to several ethnic sub-groups such as Boykos, Lemky, Hutsuls, and others.

Religion
According to a 2021 survey, 31% of the religious community of Zakarpattia Oblast adheres to Catholicism, while 40% belong to the Eastern Orthodoxy and 20% are Protestants. Only one percent of the population does not follow any religion.

The Catholic community of Zakarpattia is divided as follows:

 * Roman Catholic – 17%
 * Greek Catholic – 83%

The Greek Catholic community falls under the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, associated with the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church.

The Orthodox community of Zakarpattia is divided as follows:

The Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church is considered to be the oldest Protestant community in Ukraine (the first group of Reformers appeared in Sub-Carpathia in the 1530s) and the only church of the Calvinist tradition.
 * Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate (today Orthodox Church of Ukraine) - 42%
 * Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate – 33%
 * Non-denominational – 25%

Age structure

 * 0–14 years: 19.1% (male 123,009/female 116,213)
 * 15–64 years: 69.8% (male 428,295/female 445,417)
 * 65 years and over: 11.1% (male 48,826/female 89,800) (2013 official)

Median age

 * total: 35.1 years
 * male: 33.2 years
 * female: 37.1 years (2013 official)

Economy

Situated in the Carpathian Mountains, Zakarpattia Oblast's economy depends mostly on trans-border trade, vinery and forestry. The oblast is also home to a special economic zone.

The oblast's main industry includes woodworking. Other industries include food, light industry, and mechanical engineering. The foodstuffs segment in the structure of ware production of national consumption is 45%. The total number of large industrial organisations is 319, compared to 733 small industrial organisations.

The most common crops grown within the region include cereals, potatoes and other vegetables. In 1999, the total amount of grain produced was 175,800 tons, of sunflower seeds — 1,300 tons, and potatoes — 378,200 tons. The region also produced 76,100 tons of meat, 363,400 tons of milk and 241,900,000 eggs. The total amount of registered farms in the region was 1,400 in 1999.

In 2011 it had a gross regional product worth ₴18,100,000,000

Wooden churches

 * Serednie Vodyane churches
 * Verkhnye Vodyane church
 * Danylovo church
 * Kolodne church
 * Krainykovo church
 * Nyzhnie Selyshche church
 * church
 * Sokyrnytsia church
 * Huklyvyi church

Villages

 * Batrad
 * Halabor

title: Zakarpattia Oblast


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Boys Be...

Boys Be... (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese anthology manga series written by Masahiro Itabashi and illustrated by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi. Three different manga series were serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine: Boys Be... (1991–1996), Boys Be... 2nd Season (1996–2000), and Boys Be... L Co-op (2000–2001), totaling 58  volumes. Four other manga series have been published: Boys Be... Pre-season (2009), Boys Be... Next Season (2009–2012), Boys Be… Adult Season (2012–2013), and Boys Be... Young Adult (2017–2018). In North America, the second manga series was licensed by Tokyopop.

A 13-episode anime television series by Hal Film Maker was broadcast on Wowow in 2000. The anime series was licensed for English release in North America by The Right Stuf International.

Overview
Boys Be... is an anthology series of short romantic comedy stories. The title refers to the quote "Boys, be ambitious", said by William S. Clark, which has become a popular motto in Japan.

The series focuses upon the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of first love and teenage romance. While several characters are taken from stories in the manga series, the story of the anime is unrelated to the manga. Each episode begins and ends with a philosophical quote which sums up the episode's content. The anime, while centered on Kyoichi and Chiharu, revolves around seven or eight main characters and their love lives.

Main characters

 * Kanzaki Kyōichi (神崎 恭一)
 * A typical high school student who, in the opening episode, realizes he has feelings for a childhood friend, a track star named Chiharu Nitta. Their relationship develops slowly in the series, however, it encounters some turbulence when he goes out of the area to do some summer work, and upon coming back, sees Chiharu kissing another guy. Kyochi is broken hearted and has a brief relationship with Shoko Sayama and dealt with loneliness with the help of another schoolmate. His interests are in the visual arts, mainly drawing. In the final episode, he travels to Hokkaido to clear his mind and work on some sketches, and get a new perspective on relationships.
 * A typical high school student who, in the opening episode, realizes he has feelings for a childhood friend, a track star named Chiharu Nitta. Their relationship develops slowly in the series, however, it encounters some turbulence when he goes out of the area to do some summer work, and upon coming back, sees Chiharu kissing another guy. Kyochi is broken hearted and has a brief relationship with Shoko Sayama and dealt with loneliness with the help of another schoolmate. His interests are in the visual arts, mainly drawing. In the final episode, he travels to Hokkaido to clear his mind and work on some sketches, and get a new perspective on relationships.

 * Kenjō Yoshihiko (剣城 美彦)
 * Yoshihiko is talented in sports (especially baseball), but has no interest in it whatsoever. He also seems to have no interest in girls... until he bumped into Aya Kurihara at the library and kisses him. He meets Natsue Horikawa, who inspires him to keep pursuing baseball and, in getting to know her, and more of himself, they become a couple. He also spent a whole day with pop idol Jyunna Morio when she escaped from her studio taping.
 * Yoshihiko is talented in sports (especially baseball), but has no interest in it whatsoever. He also seems to have no interest in girls... until he bumped into Aya Kurihara at the library and kisses him. He meets Natsue Horikawa, who inspires him to keep pursuing baseball and, in getting to know her, and more of himself, they become a couple. He also spent a whole day with pop idol Jyunna Morio when she escaped from her studio taping.

 * Kurumizawa Makoto (胡桃沢 マコト)
 * Makoto is the epitome of a girl-obsessed guy, keeping an electronic database of the good-looking girls at Otowa-no-Mori with him, and checking with his guide books and magazines for love advice. Early in the series, he was trying to peep at a short-skirted schoolgirl as she was climbing the stairs of an overpass, and his scooter crashed into a mini-truck. He then had a crush on the nurse intern. Later on, he used a computer dating program which paired him up with Erika Kawai. Since he lacked real dating experience, Makoto went on a mock date with Yumi. However, his actual date does notgo as well when Erika sees a photo of him together with Yumi, and promptly dumps him. Makoto ends up being comforted by Yumi when she offers him her self-made cookies, and he realises that they had a good time together during the mock date, and they end up becoming a couple.
 * Makoto is the epitome of a girl-obsessed guy, keeping an electronic database of the good-looking girls at Otowa-no-Mori with him, and checking with his guide books and magazines for love advice. Early in the series, he was trying to peep at a short-skirted schoolgirl as she was climbing the stairs of an overpass, and his scooter crashed into a mini-truck. He then had a crush on the nurse intern. Later on, he used a computer dating program which paired him up with Erika Kawai. Since he lacked real dating experience, Makoto went on a mock date with Yumi. However, his actual date does notgo as well when Erika sees a photo of him together with Yumi, and promptly dumps him. Makoto ends up being comforted by Yumi when she offers him her self-made cookies, and he realises that they had a good time together during the mock date, and they end up becoming a couple.

 * Nitta Chiharu (新田 千春)
 * Chiharu is Kyoichi's athletic love interest, running for their school's track and field team. She has been Kyoichi's friend since childhood, but she also has difficulty expressing love, eventually making her move at the end of the first episode by holding Kyoichi's hand while they are out. When she goes out to summer training with the track team, she is wooed by a college guy named Okazaki, and struggles with whether she really has a relationship with Kyoichi. Okazaki continued his advances to which they spent a night together at a lookout point, though she says nothing happened between them. She wanted to keep her tryst a secret, but Kyoichi, coming in to visit, saw them kissing, hence a rift formed between them that lasted all summer. Towards the end of the series, as she sees her friends get into relationships, she considers whether to reconcile.
 * Chiharu is Kyoichi's athletic love interest, running for their school's track and field team. She has been Kyoichi's friend since childhood, but she also has difficulty expressing love, eventually making her move at the end of the first episode by holding Kyoichi's hand while they are out. When she goes out to summer training with the track team, she is wooed by a college guy named Okazaki, and struggles with whether she really has a relationship with Kyoichi. Okazaki continued his advances to which they spent a night together at a lookout point, though she says nothing happened between them. She wanted to keep her tryst a secret, but Kyoichi, coming in to visit, saw them kissing, hence a rift formed between them that lasted all summer. Towards the end of the series, as she sees her friends get into relationships, she considers whether to reconcile.

 * Kazama Yumi (風間 有美)
 * Yumi is a glasses girl with a sarcastic attitude on relationships, usually to counter her friend Aki's idealistic sayings. She likes to occasionally dress in odd clothes, such as a sea otter costume at the beach and an animal hat during New Year's Eve. After accidentally destroying Makoto's laptop, she tries to train Makoto on how to date her friend Erika Kawai, and even goes on a mock date where she holds up X signs and razzes Makoto whenever he makes a mistake. But in the course of the mock date, she realizes she is having a good time, that Makoto has some good qualities, and she ends up falling in love, feeling somewhat lonely that Erika gets to date him for real. However, as fate would have it, Makoto's date with Erika did not go well, and she ends up comforting him with her self-baked cookies, and they ended up being a couple.
 * Yumi is a glasses girl with a sarcastic attitude on relationships, usually to counter her friend Aki's idealistic sayings. She likes to occasionally dress in odd clothes, such as a sea otter costume at the beach and an animal hat during New Year's Eve. After accidentally destroying Makoto's laptop, she tries to train Makoto on how to date her friend Erika Kawai, and even goes on a mock date where she holds up X signs and razzes Makoto whenever he makes a mistake. But in the course of the mock date, she realizes she is having a good time, that Makoto has some good qualities, and she ends up falling in love, feeling somewhat lonely that Erika gets to date him for real. However, as fate would have it, Makoto's date with Erika did not go well, and she ends up comforting him with her self-baked cookies, and they ended up being a couple.

 * Mizutani Aki (水谷 亜紀)
 * Aki has a rather idealistic view of romance. In the opening episode, she talks about how she fell in love with a guy on the train in two minutes. In one of the episodes, she reunites with her former middle-school classmate that she used to spend a bunch of time with on his photography hobby and who was totally clueless that she liked him. Her boyfriend is now working in Hokkaido, and they maintain a long-distance relationship. In the New Year's Eve episode, she gets worried that the world might really end.
 * Aki has a rather idealistic view of romance. In the opening episode, she talks about how she fell in love with a guy on the train in two minutes. In one of the episodes, she reunites with her former middle-school classmate that she used to spend a bunch of time with on his photography hobby and who was totally clueless that she liked him. Her boyfriend is now working in Hokkaido, and they maintain a long-distance relationship. In the New Year's Eve episode, she gets worried that the world might really end.

Supporting and guest characters

 * She is Kyoichi's smart-alecky sister who loves to tease him. She takes over the Kanzaki household when their parents are not around.
 * She is Kyoichi's smart-alecky sister who loves to tease him. She takes over the Kanzaki household when their parents are not around.
 * She is Kyoichi's smart-alecky sister who loves to tease him. She takes over the Kanzaki household when their parents are not around.

 * When Makoto broke his leg due to a scooter accident, he was confined to the hospital where Mizuki was an intern, and she became his nurse. At first, Makoto's crush on her causes trouble as she makes embarrassing mistakes in front of her superiors. Eventually she warms up to him.
 * When Makoto broke his leg due to a scooter accident, he was confined to the hospital where Mizuki was an intern, and she became his nurse. At first, Makoto's crush on her causes trouble as she makes embarrassing mistakes in front of her superiors. Eventually she warms up to him.
 * When Makoto broke his leg due to a scooter accident, he was confined to the hospital where Mizuki was an intern, and she became his nurse. At first, Makoto's crush on her causes trouble as she makes embarrassing mistakes in front of her superiors. Eventually she warms up to him.

 * A female student who had a run-in with Yoshihiko when he looked for a ball that went through the library's window. When he crawled to look for it, he knocked the stool where she was standing while putting a book back into its proper shelf. He caught her and unintentionally got a feel of her "lumpy" side, but she was grateful for the rescue, and rewarded him with a kiss on the lips. The potential romance was cut short when she transferred back to France, as she was just an exchange student, and Yoshihiko learned the kissing is just a European custom, although it turns out Aya has a different view on the romance.
 * A female student who had a run-in with Yoshihiko when he looked for a ball that went through the library's window. When he crawled to look for it, he knocked the stool where she was standing while putting a book back into its proper shelf. He caught her and unintentionally got a feel of her "lumpy" side, but she was grateful for the rescue, and rewarded him with a kiss on the lips. The potential romance was cut short when she transferred back to France, as she was just an exchange student, and Yoshihiko learned the kissing is just a European custom, although it turns out Aya has a different view on the romance.
 * A female student who had a run-in with Yoshihiko when he looked for a ball that went through the library's window. When he crawled to look for it, he knocked the stool where she was standing while putting a book back into its proper shelf. He caught her and unintentionally got a feel of her "lumpy" side, but she was grateful for the rescue, and rewarded him with a kiss on the lips. The potential romance was cut short when she transferred back to France, as she was just an exchange student, and Yoshihiko learned the kissing is just a European custom, although it turns out Aya has a different view on the romance.

 * Tsuyoshi was a classmate of Aki from their third year of junior high. He has a passion for photography, and often spends long hours for the perfect shot, bringing Aki along. But in high school, he lost his passion for photography, until he meets Aki again and she puts some sense into him. They form a long-distance relationship, and he is now working in Hokkaido. His inspiration is none other than Aki herself.
 * Tsuyoshi was a classmate of Aki from their third year of junior high. He has a passion for photography, and often spends long hours for the perfect shot, bringing Aki along. But in high school, he lost his passion for photography, until he meets Aki again and she puts some sense into him. They form a long-distance relationship, and he is now working in Hokkaido. His inspiration is none other than Aki herself.
 * Tsuyoshi was a classmate of Aki from their third year of junior high. He has a passion for photography, and often spends long hours for the perfect shot, bringing Aki along. But in high school, he lost his passion for photography, until he meets Aki again and she puts some sense into him. They form a long-distance relationship, and he is now working in Hokkaido. His inspiration is none other than Aki herself.

 * He is Chiharu's cousin and Nao's overprotective brother, and is Kyoichi's and Makoto's boss at the summer resort. He is so overprotective (because of her frail health) that he did not see his beloved sister grow up. Mostly he is in conflict with the fresh Makoto.
 * He is Chiharu's cousin and Nao's overprotective brother, and is Kyoichi's and Makoto's boss at the summer resort. He is so overprotective (because of her frail health) that he did not see his beloved sister grow up. Mostly he is in conflict with the fresh Makoto.
 * He is Chiharu's cousin and Nao's overprotective brother, and is Kyoichi's and Makoto's boss at the summer resort. He is so overprotective (because of her frail health) that he did not see his beloved sister grow up. Mostly he is in conflict with the fresh Makoto.

 * She is Chiharu's cute but frail cousin (prone to sunstroke) with an overprotective brother who lives by the sea. Makoto tried courting her, but her brother is always a step ahead of him.
 * She is Chiharu's cute but frail cousin (prone to sunstroke) with an overprotective brother who lives by the sea. Makoto tried courting her, but her brother is always a step ahead of him.
 * She is Chiharu's cute but frail cousin (prone to sunstroke) with an overprotective brother who lives by the sea. Makoto tried courting her, but her brother is always a step ahead of him.

 * She dreams of standing at the pitchers' mound during the annual Koushien (Japanese High School Baseball Championship). Trouble is, she is a girl, and girls are not allowed to participate in the tournament. This girl with immature emotional swings did guide Yoshihiko out of his disinterest in the sport, and they become a couple.
 * She dreams of standing at the pitchers' mound during the annual Koushien (Japanese High School Baseball Championship). Trouble is, she is a girl, and girls are not allowed to participate in the tournament. This girl with immature emotional swings did guide Yoshihiko out of his disinterest in the sport, and they become a couple.
 * She dreams of standing at the pitchers' mound during the annual Koushien (Japanese High School Baseball Championship). Trouble is, she is a girl, and girls are not allowed to participate in the tournament. This girl with immature emotional swings did guide Yoshihiko out of his disinterest in the sport, and they become a couple.

 * He is the charming young man Chiharu Nitta met during summer training camp. He is a city slicker with a beat for nature and many hobbies such as collecting beetles and fishing. At first Chiharu shrugged him off, but because she was lonely, and she is in a fight with Kyoichi, she nearly gave in. Though he had a girlfriend waiting in the city, he continued his advances and managed to make Chiharu fall for him, though, during a date at a spot overlooking the city, Chiharu says nothing happened between them.
 * He is the charming young man Chiharu Nitta met during summer training camp. He is a city slicker with a beat for nature and many hobbies such as collecting beetles and fishing. At first Chiharu shrugged him off, but because she was lonely, and she is in a fight with Kyoichi, she nearly gave in. Though he had a girlfriend waiting in the city, he continued his advances and managed to make Chiharu fall for him, though, during a date at a spot overlooking the city, Chiharu says nothing happened between them.
 * He is the charming young man Chiharu Nitta met during summer training camp. He is a city slicker with a beat for nature and many hobbies such as collecting beetles and fishing. At first Chiharu shrugged him off, but because she was lonely, and she is in a fight with Kyoichi, she nearly gave in. Though he had a girlfriend waiting in the city, he continued his advances and managed to make Chiharu fall for him, though, during a date at a spot overlooking the city, Chiharu says nothing happened between them.

 * She is a renegade student hoping to make it big in the music business. She and Kyoichi get involved after she recruits him to retrieve her confiscated minidisc player. During the time with Kyoichi, she was planning to audition for lead singer in a J-pop band, but loses confidence when she sees a younger rival. She asks Kyoichi out one night, but he does notcome, and she wanders the street soul searching. At the end of the series, she is on the radio with her latest single called "Hatsukoi" (First Love).
 * She is a renegade student hoping to make it big in the music business. She and Kyoichi get involved after she recruits him to retrieve her confiscated minidisc player. During the time with Kyoichi, she was planning to audition for lead singer in a J-pop band, but loses confidence when she sees a younger rival. She asks Kyoichi out one night, but he does notcome, and she wanders the street soul searching. At the end of the series, she is on the radio with her latest single called "Hatsukoi" (First Love).
 * She is a renegade student hoping to make it big in the music business. She and Kyoichi get involved after she recruits him to retrieve her confiscated minidisc player. During the time with Kyoichi, she was planning to audition for lead singer in a J-pop band, but loses confidence when she sees a younger rival. She asks Kyoichi out one night, but he does notcome, and she wanders the street soul searching. At the end of the series, she is on the radio with her latest single called "Hatsukoi" (First Love).

 * Erika is a good friend of Yumi's and the girl that Makoto's latest matchmaking software selected. Erika comes from a fairly wealthy family and supposedly has refined tastes according to Yumi. Erika and Makoto go on a date, but she notices Makoto has a lot of notes from "training" with Yumi, and that Yumi really does like Makoto, so she quickly dumps him.
 * Erika is a good friend of Yumi's and the girl that Makoto's latest matchmaking software selected. Erika comes from a fairly wealthy family and supposedly has refined tastes according to Yumi. Erika and Makoto go on a date, but she notices Makoto has a lot of notes from "training" with Yumi, and that Yumi really does like Makoto, so she quickly dumps him.
 * Erika is a good friend of Yumi's and the girl that Makoto's latest matchmaking software selected. Erika comes from a fairly wealthy family and supposedly has refined tastes according to Yumi. Erika and Makoto go on a date, but she notices Makoto has a lot of notes from "training" with Yumi, and that Yumi really does like Makoto, so she quickly dumps him.

 * Takuya is a schoolmate of Kyoichi, and they work together part-time at the video shop. He wears a cross-shaped earring, which Kyoichi notices after he has been hounded by the same dream involving windmills and downed airplanes. Though soft-spoken and one of the most handsome men at his school, Takuya does nothave a girlfriend, though he was interested in someone. He is so shy he drowns in loneliness, but found the courage to express what he feels for that someone. Makoto thought Kyoichi is getting desperate when he notices he was spending too much time with him.
 * Takuya is a schoolmate of Kyoichi, and they work together part-time at the video shop. He wears a cross-shaped earring, which Kyoichi notices after he has been hounded by the same dream involving windmills and downed airplanes. Though soft-spoken and one of the most handsome men at his school, Takuya does nothave a girlfriend, though he was interested in someone. He is so shy he drowns in loneliness, but found the courage to express what he feels for that someone. Makoto thought Kyoichi is getting desperate when he notices he was spending too much time with him.
 * Takuya is a schoolmate of Kyoichi, and they work together part-time at the video shop. He wears a cross-shaped earring, which Kyoichi notices after he has been hounded by the same dream involving windmills and downed airplanes. Though soft-spoken and one of the most handsome men at his school, Takuya does nothave a girlfriend, though he was interested in someone. He is so shy he drowns in loneliness, but found the courage to express what he feels for that someone. Makoto thought Kyoichi is getting desperate when he notices he was spending too much time with him.

 * She is a famous pop idol. Her image is plastered on everything from TV commercials selling bottled water to magazine covers. Yoshihiko mistakes her for a generic girl in a Santa suit distributing flyers. For the rest of the day, Yoshihiko became her unwitting "reindeer" . Earlier in the series, Yoshihiko and his girlfriend Natsue went to one of her concerts.
 * She is a famous pop idol. Her image is plastered on everything from TV commercials selling bottled water to magazine covers. Yoshihiko mistakes her for a generic girl in a Santa suit distributing flyers. For the rest of the day, Yoshihiko became her unwitting "reindeer" . Earlier in the series, Yoshihiko and his girlfriend Natsue went to one of her concerts.
 * She is a famous pop idol. Her image is plastered on everything from TV commercials selling bottled water to magazine covers. Yoshihiko mistakes her for a generic girl in a Santa suit distributing flyers. For the rest of the day, Yoshihiko became her unwitting "reindeer" . Earlier in the series, Yoshihiko and his girlfriend Natsue went to one of her concerts.

 * / Biker Girl
 * She is a Japanese-Finnish girl that Kyoichi met when he travel to Hokkaido, acting as his impromptu tourist guide that "charge one kiss per transaction." She is more flirtatious, more daring, and freer than the Chiharu he knows, and rides a Harley-Davidson Softail motorcycle.
 * She is a Japanese-Finnish girl that Kyoichi met when he travel to Hokkaido, acting as his impromptu tourist guide that "charge one kiss per transaction." She is more flirtatious, more daring, and freer than the Chiharu he knows, and rides a Harley-Davidson Softail motorcycle.

Manga
Written by Masahiro Itabashi and illustrated by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi, Boys Be... was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from August 7, 1991, to November 13, 1996. Kodansha collected its chapters in 32 volumes, released from January 17, 1992, to January 17, 1997.

A second series, titled Boys Be... 2nd Season, was published in the same magazine from November 20, 1996, to February 23, 2000. Kodansha collected its chapters in 20 volumes, released from April 17, 1997, to July 17, 2000.

A third series, Boys Be... L Co-op, was published in the same magazine from March 21, 2000, to March 14, 2001. Kodansha collected its chapters in six volumes, released from August 10, 2000, to June 15, 2001. An additional volume, titled Boys Be... Last Season, was released on June 23, 2001.

In North America, the second part of the manga, Boys Be... 2nd Season, was released by Tokyopop; according to Tokyopop's Jake Forbes, the published licensed the second series due to its "more contemporary, mature, and compelling" subject matter. They released 17 volumes from November 9, 2004, to August 13, 2008, before Tokyopop confirmed in August 2009 that their manga licensing contracts with Kodansha had expired.

Other series
A special one-shot was published in Magazine Special on March 19, 2009. Boys Be... Pre-season (firstly published as Boys Be… 2009 1-Gakki (BOYS BE… 2009年1学期)) was serialized on Kodansha's MiChao! manga website from April 24 to October 9 of the same year. It was collected in a single volume released on January 15, 2010.

Boys Be... Next Season was serialized in Kodansha's Magazine Special from October 20, 2009, to February 20, 2012. Six volumes were released from April 16, 2010, to April 17, 2012.

Boys Be… Adult Season started in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Evening on August 11, 2012. Its latest chapter was published on June 25, 2013.

Boys Be... Young Adult' was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age from September 8, 2017, to July 9, 2018. Two volumes were released on April 9 and October 9, 2018.

Anime
A 13-episode anime television series produced by Hal Film Maker was broadcast on Wowow from April 11 to July 4, 2000. The opening and ending themes, "Daijobu" (だいじょうぶ) and "Minna Ga Iine" (みんながいいね), respectively, are both performed by Aki Maeda. The ending theme for episode 8 is "My Tomorrow" by Yuka Imai; she also performed the opening theme for the final episode, "Hatsukoi" (初恋), which is a cover of Kozo Murashita's 1983 song.

The series was licensed in Southeast Asia by Odex, who released the series in Japanese with English subtitles in 2001. In North America, the series was licensed by The Right Stuf International in 2004. It was released on four DVDs from February 28 to June 27, 2006. A complete DVD set was released under Right Stuf's division Nozomi Entertainment on March 11, 2008. A DVD box set was released on December 7, 2010.

Video games
Two video games for the PlayStation were released by Kodansha: Boys Be... on March 28, 1997, and ''Boys Be.. 2nd Season'' on September 22, 1999. Another video game, Typing Renai Hakusho: Boys Be... (タイピング恋愛白書 BOYS BE…), was released by Sunsoft for the PlayStation 2 on March 14, 2002.

Manga
By 2022, the manga had over 25 million copies in circulation.

Reviewing Tokyopop's first volume for Anime Fringe, Patrick King commended the realism and depth of the characters and Hiroyuki's art style as well, stating: "Boys Be is a refreshing series that was written for guys seeking a little romance manga of their own. In that regard, it is easily worth a look if you're one such guy", noting, however, that the stories could appeal to female readers as well. In Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson commented: "Most of the stories involve kisses or love confessions, or are excuses for women to pose in scanty outfits, but the hero does not always get the girl, and a few of the stories are impressively funny." Thompson also said that the art "improves as it goes on," adding, however, that "the repetitive character designs make it difficult to tell one girl from the others." In a more negative review, Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading criticized the series for its repetitiveness, formulaic stories and fanservice, stating as well that the female characters, except for hair length, look alike.

Anime
Writing for Anime News Network, Patrick King commented that the series is "frequently tender, but never mushy. Its female stars are attractive, but they're not pin-ups, nor do they jiggle without reason. Romance and humor are deftly intertwined in this series, but it is not a standard romantic comedy," adding that the series "depicts the "normal" world quite well, but this show is far from average." Theron Martin from the same website, said that it is "hardly a dynamic series, and doesn't have much for ongoing plot," but highlighted the "honest, character-driven stories which feel real and avoid going to silly or angsty extremes". Martin said that the series' called the series "unsuitable for anyone who doesn't have a fair amount of patience, but those that do will find a pleasant and likable slice-of-life series free of the normal anime gimmicks." Chris Beveridge of AnimeOnDVD, made a positive review of the series, stating that it "consistently brought a smile to our face throughout it. Remembrances of experiences past and the ring of real world truth to much of it makes this something that people can connect to in a way they can't with a lot of other anime."

Enoch Lau of THEM Anime Reviews praised the stories and characters, stating that while they are "slightly stereotyped", they have a "down-to-earth appeal to the viewer." Lau also commended the soundtrack and varied range of music. On the other hand, he criticized the art, stating that it is "rather inconsistent when it comes to character design and sometimes gets a bit too simple," and its short duration. In a more mixed review, Jeff Harris of IGN stated that the series' relationship drama is at times "seriously overdone and rather sappy," and that it "disappoints more often than not." Harris concluded: "Boys Be is a pretty harmless but overall, a rather tame and vanilla romance anime. The show leaves way too much unsaid, and it feels like barely any progression is made in the story."

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Boys Be...


text:
SimGolf

SimGolf is a video game created by Maxis in 1996. The game allows players to design their own golf courses and play them.

Gameplay
The player can design their own golf course, being able to lower and raising the terrain, and can add trees, traps, lakes and other natural hazards.

Players can play on the golf course they have designed or play the two existing courses designed by American golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr.

The mouseswing interface lets the player use their mouse to hit the ball, and leaves the driving, chipping and putting to the player. (The traditional "power bar" option is also available.)

Critical reception
The game received a score of 2 out of 5 stars from Computer Games Strategy Plus.

title: SimGolf


text:
Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv Oblast (Київська область, ), also called Kyivshchyna (Київщинa, ), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special status. However, Kyiv also serves as the administrative center of the oblast. The Kyiv metropolitan area extends out from Kyiv city into parts of the oblast, which is significantly dependent on the urban economy and transportation of Kyiv.

The population of Kyiv Oblast is Its largest city is Bila Tserkva, with a population over 200,000.

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is in the northern part of Kyiv Oblast. It is administered separately from the oblast and public access is prohibited.

History
Kyiv Oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on February 27, 1932 among the first five original oblasts in Ukraine. It was established on territory that had been known as Ruthenian land.

Earlier historical administrative units that became the territory of the oblast include the Kiev Voivodeship under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kiev Viceroyalty and Kiev Governorate under the Russian Empire. The northern part of the oblast belongs to the historical region of Polesia (Polissia).

In Kyiv region, there was a specific folk icon-painting style much influenced by the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra painting school. Saints were depicted on the deep purple or black background, their clothes dark, their haloes dark blue, dark green or even black, outlined by thin white dotted contours. The Kyiv region's icons collection is the part of the exhibition of the Museum of Ukrainian home icons in the Historical and cultural complex "The Radomysl Castle".

The current borders of the oblast were set following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Administrative oversight of the new city of Slavutych, which was constructed as part of the Chernihiv Oblast, was then transferred to the Kyiv Oblast (see Chernobyl zone below).

On 24 February 2022, Russian Armed Forces invaded Kyiv Oblast as part of its 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine launched a counter-offensive to retake the region in March 2022. The oblast was declared free of invaders on 2 April 2022 by the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense its troops had retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv. However, on April 9, 2022 the Russians attacked the Oblast again, even destroying a railway station in Bucha.

Geography
Kyiv Oblast has a total area of 28100 km2 (approximately 35 times the area of Kyiv city) and is located in north-central Ukraine. On the west it borders the Zhytomyr Oblast, on the southwest – Vinnytsia Oblast, on the south – Cherkasy Oblast, on the southeast – Poltava Oblast, on the east and northeast – Chernihiv Oblast, and on the north – Homyel Voblasts of Belarus.

The oblast is equally split between both banks of the Dnieper River (Dnipro) north and south of Kyiv. Other significant rivers in the oblast are the Dnieper's tributaries: Pripyat (Prypiat) (R), Desna (L), Teteriv (R), Irpin' (R), Ros' (R) and Trubizh (L).

The length of the Dnipro River within the boundaries of the oblast totals 246 km. The oblast has a total number of 177 rivers intersecting the region; 13 reservoirs (the most notable ones being Kyiv Reservoir and the Kaniv Reservoir), over 2000 ponds, and approximately 750 small lakes.

Climate
The climate of Kyiv Oblast is characteristic of the Polesia area and other neighboring forested areas. The oblast has a moderately continental climate with relatively mild winters and warm summers. The temperatures range from -6.1 °C in January to 19.2 °C degrees in July.

Vegetation
Kyiv Oblast has small mountains and slopes on the right bank of the Dnieper River. This entire area is surrounded by a continuous belt by greenery and forests. The oblast's "green area" covers 436 km2, characterized by 250 different sorts of trees and bushes.

Points of interest
The following historic-cultural sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.
 * Pereiaslav museum of folk architecture
 * Liutych platzdarm
 * Ivan Kozlovsky villa
 * Dobranychivka settlement
 * Saint Pokrov Church (Parkhomivka)
 * Museum-villa of Kateryna Bilokur
 * Landscape garden Oleksandria

Administrative divisions
The oblast is divided into 7 raions, which are further divided into 69 hromadas.

 * The area of Vyshhorod Raion does not account for the Chernobyl exclusion zone (2,600 km2).

Before the July 2020 reform, the oblast was subdivided into 25 raions (administrative districts). It consisted of 26 cities, 30 towns, and more than 1,000 villages.

The following data incorporates the number of each type of administrative divisions of Kyiv Oblast:

 * Administrative Center – 1 (Kyiv);
 * Raions – 25;
 * Settlements – 1183, including:
 * Villages – 1127;
 * Cities/Towns – 56, including:
 * Urban-type settlements – 30;
 * Cities – 25, including:
 * Cities of oblast subordinance – 13;
 * Cities of raion subordinance – 14;
 * Rural councils – 605.

As with other oblasts of Ukraine, the head of the Kyiv Oblast State Administration (governor) is appointed by the President of Ukraine and subordinated to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Local self-government body is the popularly elected Kyiv Oblast Rada, chaired by a Speaker (elected from among the councilors).

The "exclaves"
The municipality of Slavutych is within the borders of the neighboring Chernihiv Oblast on the eastern bank of the Dnieper river and the municipality has no common border with the Kyiv Oblast. Still, Slavutych is administered by the Kyiv Oblast authorities (being a kind of administrative exclave).

Similarly, the town of Kotsiubynske, which is within the borders of Kyiv city (which is surrounded by the Kyiv Oblast), is administered by the Kotsiubynske Settlement Council.

Chernobyl zone
The north-western end of the oblast is a part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone due to the radioactive contamination caused by the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. The largest cities within zone are Chernobyl and Prypiat, which are now abandoned. The city of Slavutych was built outside of the zone to host evacuated residents of Prypyat and personnel of the zone installations.

Important cities and towns
Important cities and towns of Kyiv Oblast include:

 * Biggest settlements (population in thousands)
 * Bila Tserkva – 200.1
 * Brovary – 86.8
 * Boryspil – 54.0 (not counting two subordinated villages)
 * Fastiv – 52.0
 * Irpin – 40.6 (not counting four subordinated towns)

Heads of State Regional Administration

 * 1) Ivan Kapshtyk — as Presidential representative in Kyiv Oblast — 24 March 1992 — June 1994
 * 2) Vasyl Sinko — 19 July 1995 — 21 September 1996
 * 3) Anatoliy Zasukha — 22 September 1996 — 19 January 2005
 * 4) Yevhen Zhovtyak — 4 February 2005 — 24 May 2006
 * 5) acting Valeriy Kondruk — 24 May — 16 June 2006
 * 6) Vira Ulianchenko — 16 June 2006 — 20 May 2009
 * 7) acting Viktor Vakarsh — 20 May — 17 September 2009
 * 8) Viktor Vakarsh — 17 September 2009 — 18 March 2010
 * 9) Anatoliy Prysyazhnyuk — 18 March 2010 — 2 March 2014
 * 10) Volodymyr Shandra — 2 March 2014 — 3 February 2016
 * 11) Maksym Melnychuk — 3 February — 9 September 2016
 * 12) Oleksandr Horhan — 28 October 2016 — 30 October 2018
 * 13) Oleksandr Tereshchuk — 30 October 2018 — 11 June 2019
 * 14) interim acting Vyacheslav Kucher — 11 June 2019 — 9 July 2019
 * 15) Mykhailo Bno-Airiyan — з 10 July 2019 — 28 October 2019
 * 16) Oleksiy Chernyshov — 28 October 2019 — 4 March 2020
 * 17) Vasyl Volodin — 11 March 2020 — 8 February 2022
 * 18) Oleksiy Kuleba — 8 February 2022 — 15 March 2022
 * 19) Oleksandr Pavlyuk — 15 March — 21 May 2022
 * 20) Oleksiy Kuleba — 21 May 2022 — 24 January 2023
 * 21) interim acting Dmytro Nazarenko — 25 January 2023 — 10 April 2023

Demographics
Kyiv Oblast's largest nationality group are Ukrainians (1,684,800 people, or 92.5%), followed by Russians, Jews, Belarusians, Poles, and others. The current estimated population (excluding Kyiv) is around 1.72 million (as of 2013). The population density is 63.01/km2.

The urban population, according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census data, accounted for 1,053,500 people, or 57.6%, and the rural population – for 774,400 people, or 42.4%.

According to the data, the number of men accounted for 845,900 people, or 46.3%, that of women – 982,000 people, or 53.7%.

Age structure

 * 0–14 years: 14.9% (male 132,559/female 123,816)
 * 15–64 years: 69.8% (male 576,559/female 621,753)
 * 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 84,026/female 177,360) (2013 official)

Median age

 * total: 39.7 years
 * male: 36.3 years
 * female: 43.0 years (2013 official)

Age structure of Kyiv City

 * 0–14 years: 14.1% (male 203,453/female 192,111)
 * 15–64 years: 73.3% (male 962,391/female 1,093,183)
 * 65 years and over: 12.6% (male 129,293/female 223,285) (2013 official)

Median age of Kyiv City

 * total: 37.6 years
 * male: 35.4 years
 * female: 39.9 years (2013 official)

Industry
Kyiv Oblast's main industry's include: power production, food, chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering and metal-working. The national share of tire production for automobiles constitutes – 63%, excavators – 53%, paper and cardboard – 40%, hoisting cranes – 39%. In general, the oblast has 330 licensed industrial enterprises and 742 smaller industrial enterprises. The Boryspil Bus Plant in Prolisky produces 1,700 buses per year of various modifications, and several other auto-industry factories are also located in the oblast'.

Agriculture
In addition to industry, the oblast also has a developed agriculture production. In 1999, the gross grain yield in the region was about 1,118,600 tons, sugar-beets – 1,570,900 tons, sunflower seeds – 18,1 thousand tons, potatoes – 669,200 tons. The region also produced 156,900 tons of meat, 738,500 tons of milk and 855,2 million eggs. At the beginning of 1999, there were 1,130 registered farms within the oblast.

Transportation
Kyiv Oblast has a highly developed rail transport system. The total length of the oblast's working railway lines is 88 km (as of 1985). Through the territory of the oblast pass the: Moscow—Kyiv—Lviv, Kyiv—Dnipro—Donetsk and other railway routes. In addition to inter-Ukraine and international rail routes, local Elektrychka lines also pass through the oblast: Kyiv—Fastiv—Koziatyn, Kyiv—Fastiv—Myronivka, Kyiv—Teteriv, Kyiv—Nizhyn, and Kyiv—Yahotyn.

The length of the oblast's roads totals 7,760 km, including 7,489 km of paved roads. The main roads passing thorough the oblast include:
 * Saint Petersburg—Kyiv—Odesa (M-01/M-05 route)
 * Kyiv-Kovel-Lublin (M-07 route)
 * Voronezh—Kharkiv-Kyiv-Lviv-Kraków (E-40, M-06/M03 route)
 * Luhansk-Dnipro-Kyiv (M-04 route)

The oblast's main airports include two international airports: the Boryspil Airport and the Hostomel (Antonov) Cargo Airport. Ukrainian military airbases are located in the cities of Bila Tserkva and Uzyn.

Strategic gas-pipelines in the oblast include Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline, and Shebelynka—Poltava—Kyiv.

Education
Kyiv Oblast has 795 state-run schools of general education, 219 (27.5%) of which are situated in urban areas and 576 (72.5%) of which – in rural areas. These schools are attended by 232,260 students, 141,416 (60.6%) which attend urban schools, and 98,944 (39.4%) which attend rural area schools. In addition, there are 12 evening schools with an enrollment of over 6,000 students, 15 private institutions teaching about 7,000 students, 23 vocational schools teaching over 14,300 students, 22 higher schools with an enrollment of over 34,900 students), and 52 home-school institutions containing over 48,700 children. There are also 756 institutions of pre-school education attended by a total of 44,400 children, 52 home-school institutions, 22 vocational institutions, having an enrollment of 17,300 students.

Also, educational institutions for orphans, physically and mentally disabled children represent an important component of Kyiv Oblast's educational system.

In addition to general education schools, the oblast has educational institutions specifically for gifted children, including:
 * Fastiv Regional Natural and Mathematic School
 * Kyiv Regional Lyceum of Physical Education and Sports
 * Stritiv Higher Pedagogical School of Kobza Music
 * Brovary Higher School of Physical Education (training ground for several world- and Olympic champions).

Nomenclature
Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their capital cities, officially referred to as "oblast centers". The name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city: Kyiv (in transliterated Ukrainian) is the center of the Kyivs’ka oblast' (Kyiv Oblast). Most oblasts are also sometimes referred to in a feminine noun form, following the convention of traditional regional place names, ending with the suffix "-shchyna", as is the case with the Kyiv Oblast, Kyivshchyna.

title: Kyiv Oblast


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Spitz (band)

Spitz (スピッツ) is a Japanese rock band. The group was originally formed in 1987 by four art school students in Tokyo; it consists of Masamune Kusano (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Tetsuya Miwa (lead guitar), Akihiro Tamura (bass guitar), and Tatsuo Sakiyama (drums).

In March 1991, Spitz released their first single "Hibari no Kokoro" and the self-titled debut album simultaneously on Polydor Records. Although their early efforts failed to attract public attention, the band eventually came into prominence with the single "Robinson" being released in April 1995 and selling in excess of 1.6 million copies in Japan. It was followed by their 6th studio album Hachimitsu, which was released in the same year and achieved mainstream success, immediately topping the Japanese Oricon chart and selling approximately 1.7 million copies to date. It earned the Best Album category in the 37th Japan Record Awards by the Japanese Composers Association on New Year's Eve of 1995, and received a quadruple platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of Japan in 1997.

After their breakthrough in the mid 1990s, Spitz has sustained commercial success in Japanese market for nearly 20 years. They have been listed in the top 30 of the best-selling music acts in history of the Japanese record charts, having sold over 20.8 million copies albums and singles domestically as of December 2013.

Throughout their recording career, the band have released 15 studio albums and 38 physical singles to date. They have consistently maintained a jangly pop/rock style of music, featuring arpeggiated guitar work influenced by Donovan. They are also noted for their melodic compositions, symbolic lyrics, and clear high-pitched vocals by the group's chief singer-songwriter Kusano.

About Spitz
Spitz's musical style is influenced by Donovan, using electric guitar played with arpeggio, and a steady rhythm. Their simple melodies are influenced by popular songs and use Kusano's soft voice.

The band's name was proposed by Kusano and means "sharp and pointed" in German. Kusano liked the "sp" sound (as in "special" or "crispy"). He had wanted to use this name since he was a high school student, but members of his band disagreed with him. Their fan club is named after the Norwegian island Spitsbergen.

In 1995, the album Hachimitsu sold more than one million copies and became very popular. After that, the singles "Sora mo Toberuhazu" (空も飛べるはず) and "Cherry" (チェリー) sold more than one million copies each.

Spitz's music is often seen as conventional pop ballads. However, the band initially started as a hard rock band. They love rock music, and view themselves as a rock band. They say that their music is "rock and popular music."

All of the members went to art school. Kusano and Tamura went to Tokyo Zokei University. Miwa and Sakiyama went to Bunka Fashion College. Miwa and Tamura were classmates in junior high school.

Their connection with their audience is very important to them. Their policy is not to give a performance at a stage bigger than an ordinary concert hall. After becoming a famous band, Kusano said "We are not thinking of giving a performance at Nippon Budokan." However, he also said "I didn’t say we won’t do it forever."

1986–1990: Formation and early years
In spring 1986, Tokyo Zokei University students Masamune Kusano and Akihiro Tamura met for the first time. Along with fellow drummer Atsushi Ono, they formed the band called the Cheetahs, which was named after the nickname of 1960s Japanese female pop icon Kiyoko Suizenji. The trio had usually performed hard rock-renditions of the Japanese kayokyoku and folk-rock tunes from the 1960s and 70s, such as "365-Ho no March" (Suizenji's signature song) and "Ichigo Hakusho o Mo Ichido" (a song written by Yumi Arai and originally recorded by the Bang Bang). To focus on the stage performance as a frontman, Kusano recruited another guitarist Taku Nishiwaki, and then the band changed its name to the Spitz. However, after the vocalist transferred from Tokyo Zokei University to Musashino Art University, the band itself broke up c. 1987.

After transferring colleges, Kusano continued his friendship with Tamura, frequently playing Nintendo video games with each other. Attempting to form a band again, Tamura brought Tetsuya Miwa, who had been his longtime friend since junior high school, on as a bass player. Miwa, who was a student of Bunka Fashion College, also took his old friend Tatsuo Sakiyama into company as a drummer, who had been in the same folk song club at his art school. All four members of Spitz had gathered by 1988, and they have gone on working together without any lineup changes.

From 1988, Spitz started performing gigs at live houses in Tokyo, such as Shinjuku Jam, and Shibuya Yaneura. Kusano was deeply influenced by The Blue Hearts, one of the most successful and influential Japanese punk rock band at the time, both artistically and musically. He had apparently tried to imitate Hiroto Komoto's idiosyncratic stage presence and vocalizations, on the band's earliest live performances or recordings. A club manager of Shibuya La Mama considered Spitz was just a faceless rip-off of The Blue Hearts. He suggested to the group that they should establish their own artistic identity, or else they would never go anywhere. Afterwards, Kusano stopped acting or writing like Komoto and Masatoshi Mashima, and adapted to acoustic guitar-driven sound that matched with his own wide-ranged soft voice. Songs like "Ai no Uta" and "Hibari no Kokoro" which were officially released, are the earliest materials that Kusano wrote after changing his style of music.

In November 1988, Spitz dropped the self-published single entitled "Tori ni Natte"/"UFO no Mieru Oka" on phonosheet. In 1989, they finally realized their dream of performing live on stage of Shinjuku Loft, a famed live house in Japan at the time. On July 12, 1990, the band performed a solo gig there for the first time, in front of an audience of 300 people. In March 1990, they released the EP entitled Hibari no Kokoro independently on a Mistral label distributed by Shinjuku Loft. It was co-recorded by a then-unknown producer Ryo Yoshimata on keyboards.

By around 1990, some A&R people noticed the band's talent and tried to contract with them. Due to a reluctance to be controlled by a record company, the group rejected to deal with any major record labels, until they found the proper artist management agency. In summer 1990, Spitz built up a business partnership with Road & Sky, the management for a multi-million selling singer-songwriter Shogo Hamada, and signed to Polydor Japan shortly afterwards.

1991–1992
On March 25, 1991, Spitz released their eponymous debut album. Its closing track "Hibari no Kokoro", remake version of the title track for their independent EP, was issued as a single on the same day. In the following month, the album cut "Ninoude no Sekai" got heavy airplay on radio stations in Osaka. Except for a number of shows　in small venues, they mainly concentrated on studio work for the rest of that year. Their second LP Namae o Tsuketeyaru came out just 9 months later from its predecessor, followed by their first concert tour started from February 1992.

In April 1992, they released a collection of five new songs (in Japan, those type of releases have been commonly categorized as 'mini album' rather than 'EP') entitled Aurora ni Narenakatta Hito no Tame ni and embarked on its accompanying tour. This symphonic rock-oriented EP was featuring orchestration by its co-producer Tomoki Hasegawa, who previously undertook the strings arrangement of "Majo Tabi ni Deru", the lead single from their second studio album. In the same year, they recorded their third full-length album Hoshi no Kakera which came out only 5-month after. It mostly features distorted guitar sound heavily influenced by grunge and shoegazing.

During this period, neither their singles nor albums even reached inside the top 100 on national record charts. Even worse, despite extensive recording sessions and prolific releases they underwent at that time, the band suffered from declining record sales.

1993–1996: Commercial breakthrough
Although they had not originally wanted a mainstream success, members of the band had begun to feel sorry for their management team about a string of commercial disappointment. Therefore, they attempted to craft more commercially 'accessible' effort on Crispy, their 4th album which started its recording in April 1993. The group committed their album's production to Masanori Sasaji, who has been well known as a record producer for the Unicorn. However, owing to lack of communication between the artist and a producer, frontman was not able to be satisfied with a result of the recording, particularly disliking Sasaji's excessively synthesized sound and brass arrangements. Moreover, at the time of release in September 1993, Crispy itself failed to chart again and made them devastated. Kusano, who had disliked his own voice, even started to regard his distinctive vocals as the main cause of the band's commercial failure. But after the release of second single from the album, "Kimi ga Omoide ni Naru Mae ni", the situation turned around. It sold modestly and provided the band with first entry on the Japanese Oricon record chart, peaking there at No. 33. As a result, minor hit single boosted the band's ticket sales and enabled them to perform live extensively in larger venues. They reconsidered the partnership with Sasaji, and decided to continue recording together on follow-up album.

In April and July 1994, with Takayuki Hijikata (土方 隆行) as producer, the singles "Sora mo Toberuhazu" and "Aoi Kuruma" (青い車) were released and became smash hits. In September, when they installed Sasaji as producer again, they released the 5th album Sora no Tobikata (空の飛び方), which ranked 14th when just released. By the way, this year they appeared in Music Station (TV Asahi’s program) with "Kimi ga Omoide ni Naru Mae ni", in Pop Jam (NHK’s program) with "Aoi Kuruma", in Count Down TV (TBS’s program) with "Spider".

In April of the following year, they released the single "Robinson" (ロビンソン) which placed among the top 10 of the Oricon Charts for the first time and sales exceeded 1.6 million. It ranked in 9th overall in the year. It became a long time seller, which stayed in the top 10 charts for over 30 weeks. In July, the single "Namida ga Kirari" (涙がキラリ☆) also ranked 2nd when just released and its sales were 98,000. At first they couldn't realize these great hits. It was not until they appeared in Meet the World Beat '95 at the Expo in Osaka in July that the members realized they really became stars after hearing great cheers from the audience. In September, they released their 6th album Hachimitsu (ハチミツ) which became a million seller. In October, they started their first long-term tour, and they performed over 40 concerts. In January, the following year, "Sora mo Toberu Hazu" was used as the theme song of Fuji TV network's drama Hakusen Nagashi (白線流し). It became a revival hit and ranked No. 1 in Oricon Charts for the first time as a single. More than 1.5 million copies were sold. (The members say this bewildered them.) In April, the single "Cherry" was also a huge hit with sales of 1,610,000 copies. In October, they released their 7th album Indigo Chiheisen (インディゴ地平線) and started a lengthy tour, which has as many as 70 concerts.

1997–2000
By 1997 (their 10th anniversary) Sasaji withdrew as their producer and all the members were in their thirties. Since they felt they couldn't depend on keeping their producers forever, they determined to stand on their own feet. They began to wonder if they should change the band's course. The band disliked the fact that they had taken on a conventional, orthodox image. So, they held Rock Rock Konnichiwa (ロックロックこんにちは) in Osaka, which became an annual event. They performed a secret live concert at Shinjuku Loft where they mainly played their amateur days’ songs. In March 1998, Yuichi Tanaya (棚谷 裕一) joined them as a co-arranger, and they released their self-produced 8th album Fake Fur (フェイクファー). In May 1998, Hiroko Kuji (クジ ヒロコ), the keyboardist, joined the all-over-Japan concert tours, and came to be an essential supporting member of their tours since then. During the tour, in August, they recorded "Hi-Fi, Low-Fi" (ハイファイ・ローファイ), "Sakana" (魚) and "Seishun Ikinokori Game" (青春生き残りゲーム) with Kuji, which were collected in the album 99ep.

In March 1999, they compiled some unreleased tracks and released a special album entitled Ka Chou Fu Getsu (花鳥風月) with producer　Ryomei Shirai (白井良明). In July of the same year, they appeared in Meet the World Beet in Osaka again. Although they didn't have plans to release new single at that time, they recorded by themselves inside or outside Japan from September to October. They brought "Moon Light" (ムーンライト) (already tracked down) and "Funanori" (船乗り) to the United States. After recording "Haru Natsu Rocket" (春夏ロケット) and "Memories" (メモリーズ), they mixed them down in Miami and mastered them in Los Angeles. Stephen Mackersen, who was in charge of mastering then, would become a necessary engineer for Spitz since 2000, except several singles.

While the members were in America, the recording company decided to sell a "greatest hits" compilation album. The members had no intention of releasing a "best of" album until after their break-up or retirement. However, despite their reluctance, the album Recycle: Greatest Hits of Spitz was released in December of that year. In the end, it became a very successful album with the sales of more than two million copies. However, officially, the band did not recognize the album and did not include the CD in their official discography.

In 2000, they hired Shokichi Ishida (石田 ショーキチ) as producer and started recording a new album in earnest. The members said it was a big stimulus to cooperate with a contemporary. In July of the year, they released 9th album Hayabusa (ハヤブサ), which is distinguished by its harder rock styling and changed their conventional image. They toured for one year with more than 100 performances.

2001–present
After Sasaji's withdrawal, their producer varied with their work, but they installed Seiji Kameda as producer, who is known as a producer of Ringo Shiina since 2001 and himself is a bassist in Tokyo Jihen. In September 2002, they released the 10th album Mikazuki Rock (三日月ロック), which recovered the melody peculiar to Spitz, along with the rock sound of the previous album.

Although they didn't release any singles in 2003, "Star Gazer" (スターゲイザー) was played on TV as the theme song of Ainori from that autumn; it was released in January 2004 to rank 1st in Oricon chart and get many fans. In March 2004, they gathered the songs which hadn't appeared in any albums since 1999 and released special album Iroiro Goromo (色色衣). In January of the following year 2005, they also released the 11th album Souvenir (スーベニア).

In March 2006, when 15 years had passed since their debut, they released an official single collection album Cycle Hit Spitz Complete Single Collection. The following year marked their 20th anniversary of organization, and they held 20 Shūnen Kinen Matsuri (20周年記念祭り). They released the 12th album Sazanami CD (さざなみCD) in October and went on an all-over-Japan tour from December onwards. Their thirteenth album, Togemaru (とげまる), was released in October 2010.

Band members

 * Masamune Kusano (草野 マサムネ), real name 草野 正宗 (same pronunciation) – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar. Born on December 21, 1967, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Graduated from Fukuoka Prefectural Jōnan High School, as well as from Musashino Art University with a degree in Design.
 * Tetsuya Miwa (三輪 テツヤ), real name 三輪 徹也 (same pronunciation) – Lead guitar, backing vocals. Born on May 17, 1967, in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Graduated from Fujieda Meisei High School and Bunka Fashion College.
 * Akihiro Tamura (田村 明浩) – Bass, backing vocals, leader. Born on May 31, 1967, in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Graduated from Shizuoka Prefectural Fujieda East High School. Attended Tokyo Zokei University, but left before graduating.
 * Tatsuo Sakiyama (崎山 龍男) – Drums. Born on October 25, 1967, in Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Graduated from Tochigi Prefectural Sano High School and Bunka Fashion College.

Discography
Studio albums
 * Spitz (1991)
 * Namae o Tsukete Yaru (1991)
 * Hoshi no Kakera (1992)
 * Crispy! (1993)
 * Sora no Tobikata (1994)
 * Hachimitsu (1995)
 * Indigo Chiheisen (1996)
 * Fake Fur (1998)
 * Ka Chō Fū Getsu (1999)
 * Hayabusa (2000)
 * Mikazuki Rock (2002)
 * Souvenir (2005)
 * SazanamiCD (2007)
 * Togemaru (2010)
 * Chiisana Ikimono (2013)
 * Samenai (2016)
 * Mikke (2019)
 * Himitsu Studio (2023)

title: Spitz (band)