Chernigov Gubernia 1909 map
showing borders and main rivers.
Major towns with Jewish populations are marked orange

The Uyezds of Chernigov Guberniya
created by Pamela Lucas for Chernigov Gubernia Group

From Stieler's Atlas of Modern Geography. 100 maps with 162 inset maps engraved on copper. Adapted for the use of the English-speaking public by B. V. Darbishire. Gotha, J. Perthes, 1909.

When the Chernigov Gubernia was created in 1802, it was part of the Russian Empire.

In 1918-1919 theChernigov Gubernia, except the two northernmost uyezds, was allocated to Ukraine. Mglin and Surazh Uyezds became part of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.

Then in 1917–19 the Chernigov region, including its northern part (the counties of Starodub, Mglin, Surazh, and Novozybkov), belonged to the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR)

At that time Chernigov bordered on Mogilev and Smolensk Gubernia in the north, on Oryol Gubernia in the east, on Kursk and Poltava Gubernia in the south, on Kiev and Minsk Gubernia in the west.

It was divided in 15 districts (Uyezds) : Borzna, Chernigov, Glukhov, Gorodnya, Konotop, Kozelets, Krolevets, Mglin, Novgorod-Syeversk, Novozybkov, Nyezhin, Oster, Sosnitsa, Starodub and Surazh.

Around 1929/1932, the borders of Chernigov guberniya changed again. Towns in Chernigov guberniya were no longer exclusively in Russia. Most of them became a part of Ukraine, in a district known as Chernihiv oblast. Other towns became part of Belarus. Some towns stayed under Russian rule.