- Podolia
The region of Podolia (also spelled Podilia or Podillya) is a historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day
Ukraine , corresponding toKhmelnytskyi Oblast andVinnytsia Oblast . NorthernTransnistria , inMoldova is also a part of Podolia. ( _uk. Поділля, "Podillia"; _lt. Podolė; Romanian: "Podolia"; _ru. Подолье, "Podolye"; _pl. Podole)Geography
Podolia lies south of
Volhynia , southwest of the Kiev Region, northeast of theDniester River , and east of Galicia across theZbruch River , a tributary of theDniester .It has an area of about 40,000
km² , extending for nowrap|320 km from northwest to southeast on the left bank of the Dniester. In the same direction run two ranges of relatively low hills separated by theSouthern Bug , ramifications of the Avratynsk heights. Two large rivers, with numerous tributaries, drain the region: the Dniester, which forms its boundary with Moldova and is navigable throughout its length, and the Southern Bug, which flows almost parallel to the former in a higher, sometimes swampy, valley, interrupted in several places by rapids. The Dniester forms an important channel for trade in the areas ofMohyliv-Podilskyi ,Zhvanets and other Podolian river-ports.In Podolia, "black earth" ("chernozem") soil predominates, making it a very fertile agricultural area. Marshes occur only beside the Bug. A moderate climate predominates, with average temperatures at
Kamianets-Podilskyi of nowrap|9 °C (nowrap|-4 °C in January, nowrap|20 °C in July).Russian-ruled Podolia in 1906 had an estimated population of 3,543,700, consisting chiefly of
Ukrainians . Significant minorities includedPoles andJew s, as well as 50,000 Romanians, some Germans, and a fewArmenians .Fact|date=January 2008The chief towns include
Kamianets-Podilskyi , the traditional capital, Balta,Bratslav ,Haisyn ,Letychiv ,Lityn ,Mohyliv-Podilskyi ,Nova Ushytsia ,Olhopil , Khmelnytskyi,Vinnytsia , and Yampil. In Moldova, the major podolian cities areCamenca andRîbniţa .Podolia is known for its cherries, mulberries,
melon s,gourd s, andcucumber s.History
The country has had human inhabitants since at least the beginning of the
Neolithic period.Herodotus mentions it as the seat of the Graeco-Scythia n Alazones and possiblyScythia n Neuri. Subsequently theDacia ns and theGetae arrived. The Romans left traces of their rule inTrajan's Wall , which stretches through the modern districts of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Nova Ushytsia and Khmelnytskyi.During the Great
Migration Period , many nationalities passed through this territory or settled within it for some time, leaving numerous traces in archaeological remains. Nestor in thePrimary Chronicle mentions four apparentlySlavic tribes : theBuzhans andDulebes along theBug River , and theTivertsi andUlichs along theDniester . The Avars conquered these peoples in the 7th century. Prince Oleg ofKiev , extended his rule over this territory known as the "Ponizie", or "lowlands." These lowlands later became a part of theRuthenia n principalities ofVolhynia ,Kiev , and Galicia, with the capital at Bakota at one time. In the 13th century, theMongols plundered Ponizie;Algirdas (Olgierd), prince of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania , freed it from their rule following his victory against theGolden Horde in theBattle of Blue Waters of 1362, annexing it to his own territories under the name of "Podolia", which has the same meaning as Ponizie. Polish colonisation began in the 14th century.After the death of the Lithuanian prince
Vytautas the Great (Vitovt) in 1430, Podolia became part of theCrown of the Polish Kingdom , with the exception of its eastern part, the Province ofBratslav , which remained in Lithuania until its union with Poland in theUnion of Lublin of 1569. Apart from an Ottoman occupation (1672 - 1699), the Poles retained Podolia until the partitions of their country in 1772 and 1793, when theHabsburg Monarchy of Austria andImperial Russia annexed the western and eastern parts respectively.From 1793-1917, part of the region was the
Podolia Governorate (Russian: Подольская губерния ["Podol’skaja gubernija"] ; Ukrainian: Подільська губернія ["Podil’s’ka hubernija"] ) in southwestern Russia bordering with Austria across theZbruch River and withBessarabia across theDniester . Its area was 36,910 km².The Austrian Habsburgs took control of western Podolia (sometimes also called "Southern Podolia") in 1772 in the first partition of Poland by the Russian,
Prussia n and Austrian Empires. At this time, the Emperor Joseph II toured the area, was impressed by the fertility of the soil, and was optimistic about its future prospects. Poland disappeared as a state in a third partition in 1795 but the Polish gentry continued to maintain local control in both eastern and western Podolia over a peasant population which was primarily ethnically Ukrainian whose likeness with the East Slavic population of the Habsburg Monarchy was showcased in a book byAt the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Austrian Podolia witnessed a large-scale emigration of its peasant population to western Canada.
With the collapse of Austria-Hungary following
World War I in November 1918, western Podolia was included in theWest Ukrainian People's Republic , but came under Polish control in 1919 which was confirmed in the Poland–Ukrainian People's Republic agreement in April 1920. Podolia was briefly occupied in 1920 by Soviets during the course of thePolish-Soviet War . After thePeace of Riga the Polish control was recognized by the USSR.In Poland from 1921 to 1939, western Podolia was part of the
Tarnopol Voivodeship . Eastern Podolia remained to theUkrainian SSR and between 1922 and 1940, in the southwestern part, theMoldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created.In 1927 there was a massive uprising of peasants and factory workers in
Mohyliv-Podilskyi ,Kamianets-Podilskyi ,Tiraspol and other cities of southernUkrainian SSR against Soviet authorities. Troops from Moscow were sent to the region and suppressed the unrest, causing around 4000 deaths, according to US corespondents sent to report about the insurrection, which was at the time completely denied by the Kremlin official press. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,737074,00.html Disorder in the Ukraine?] , "TIME Magazine ", December 12, 1927]In 1939 after the signing of the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact betweenNazi Germany and theSoviet Union and the Soviet invasion of17 September 1939 , the area became part of Soviet Ukraine. Many local inhabitants were deported to concentration camps. Following German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, most of Podolia was occupied by Nazi Germany and incorporated into theReichskommissariat Ukraine . The area of Podolia between the Southern Bug below Vinnytsia and the Dniester was occupied by AxisRomania as part ofTransnistria .In 1944 the Podolia again fell to the Soviets and in 1945, when Poland’s eastern border was formally realigned along the
Curzon line , the whole of Podolia remained in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Most remaining Poles and Jews fled or were expelled to thePeople's Republic of Poland .References
*1911
External links
* [http://feefhs.org/maps/RUSE/re-ukrai.html Map of Podolia (1882)]
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