Zhytomyr is a city in northwestern Ukraine. The city is divided into the Bohunskyi and Koroliovskyi districts.
A settlement on the site of Zhytomyr emerged in the second half of the 9th century.
After the October Revolution, the RSDLP(b) faction in the Zhytomyr Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies gained the support of a majority of deputies, and on January 8–9 (21–22), 1918, Soviet power was established in Zhytomyr; however, on February 24, 1918, the city was occupied by German troops in accordance with the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Central Powers.
Later, in 1918, for several weeks Zhytomyr hosted the state authorities of the Ukrainian People's Republic, and from April 29 to December 14, 1918, the state authorities of the Ukrainian State. The headquarters of the 1st Volyn Corps of the Ukrainian State was located in the city. Nevertheless, a communist underground organization continued to operate in the city; it prepared an armed uprising against the Directorate, which lasted from January 4 to 7, 1919, but was suppressed.
On April 12, 1919, during the Berdychiv–Korosten offensive operation, the city was taken by units of the Red Army, which left Zhytomyr in August 1919.
On September 18, 1919, the 44th Rifle Division and units of the Southern Group of the 12th Army of the Red Army took Zhytomyr in a joint attack; subsequently, units of the 12th Army of the Red Army took up defensive positions in the Zhytomyr area.
During the Soviet–Polish War, on April 26, 1920, the city was captured by Polish troops, but under occupation Soviet underground activists and partisans continued to operate in Zhytomyr behind Polish lines. On June 7, 1920, Zhytomyr was taken by the 4th Cavalry Division of the 1st Cavalry Army of the Red Army. Later, in 1920, Zhytomyr became the stationing location of the 30th Border Brigade, tasked with guarding the border with Poland.
In 1925, Zhytomyr became the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Okrug of Kyiv Oblast.