Historical region in Eastern Europe
Historical region
Podolia
or
Podilia
(
Ukrainian
:
Под?лля
,
romanized
:
Podillia
,
IPA:
[po?d???il?ː?]
;
Russian
:
Подолье
,
romanized
:
Podolye
;
Romanian
:
Podolia
;
Polish
:
Podole
;
German
:
Podolien
;
Belarusian
:
Падолле
,
romanized
:
Padollie
;
Lithuanian
:
Podol?
;
Yiddish
:
???????
,
romanized
:
Podolie
) is a historic region in
Eastern Europe
, located in the west-central and south-western parts of
Ukraine
and in northeastern
Moldova
(i.e. northern
Transnistria
).
Podolia is bordered by the
Dniester
River and the
Eastern Bug
River. Covering an area of 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi), it features an elongated plateau and fertile agricultural land. Its main rivers are the Dniester and the
Southern Bug
, which serve as important trade channels. Podolia is known for its cherries, mulberries, melons, gourds, and cucumbers.
The region has a rich history, dating back to the
Neolithic
period, with various tribes and civilizations occupying it over time. It became part of the
Kingdom of Galicia?Volhynia
, the
Golden Horde
, the
Kingdom of Poland
, the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
, the
Ottoman Empire
, the Austrian
Habsburg monarchy
, and the
Russian Empire
. In the 20th century, Podolia underwent various political changes, with both
Poland
and the
Soviet Union
controlling parts of it at different times.
Podolian culture is renowned for its folk icon-painting tradition, with red, green, and yellow colors dominating the art. Collections of these iconic works can be found in the Vinnytsya Art Museum and the Museum of Ukrainian Home Icons in
Radomysl Castle
.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The name derives from Old
Slavic
po
, meaning "by/next to/along" and
dol
, "valley" (see
dale
).
[
citation needed
]
Geography
[
edit
]
The area is part of the vast
East European Plain
, confined by the
Dniester
River and the
Carpathian
arc in the southwest. It comprises an area of about 40,000 km
2
(15,000 sq mi), extending for 320 km (200 mi) from northwest to southeast on the left bank of the Dniester. In the same direction run two ranges of relatively low hills, separated by the
Southern Bug
. The
Podolian Upland
, an elongated, up to 472 ft (144 m) high
plateau
stretches from the
Western
and Southern Bug rivers to the Dniester, and includes mountainous regions with
canyon
-like fluvial valleys.
Podolia lies east of historic
Red Ruthenia
, i.e. the eastern half of
Galicia
, beyond the
Seret River
, a tributary of the Dniester. In the northwest, it borders on
Volhynia
. It is largely made up of the present-day Ukrainian
Vinnytsia Oblast
and southern and central
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
. The Podolian lands also include parts of the adjacent
Ternopil Oblast
in the west and
Kyiv Oblast
in the northeast. In the east it consists of the neighbouring parts of
Cherkasy
,
Kirovohrad
and
Odesa Oblasts
, as well as the northern half of
Transnistria
.
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 of
Mohyliv-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
9 °C
(
?4 °C
in January,
20 °C
in July).
Russian-ruled Podolia in 1906 had an estimated population of 3,543,700, consisting chiefly of
Ukrainians
. Significant minorities included
Poles
and
Jews
, as well as 50,000
Romanians
, some
Germans
, and some
Armenians
.
The chief settlements include Kamianets-Podilskyi, the traditional capital,
Vinnytsia
,
Khmelnytskyi
,
Ribni?a
, Mohyliv-Podilskyi,
Haisyn
,
Balta
,
Bar
,
Camenca
,
Yampil
,
Bratslav
, and
Letychiv
.
Podolia is known for its
cherries
,
mulberries
,
melons
,
gourds
, and
cucumbers
.
History
[
edit
]
The country has had human inhabitants since at least the beginning of the
Neolithic
period.
Herodotus
mentions it as the seat of the
Graeco
-
Scythian
Alazones
and possibly the
Neuri
. Subsequently, the
Dacians
and the
Getae
arrived. The
Romans
left traces of their rule in
Trajan'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 the
Primary Chronicle
mentions four apparently
Slavic tribes
: the
Buzhans
and
Dulebes
along the
Southern Bug
River, and the
Tivertsi
and
Ulichs
along the Dniester. The
Avars
invaded in the 7th century. Later the
Bolokhoveni
occupied the same territory in the 13th century.
Kingdom of Ruthenia
[
edit
]
Prince
Oleg of Novgorod
extended his rule over this territory known as the
Ponizie
, or "lowlands." These lowlands later became a part of the Rus' principalities of
Volhynia
,
Kyiv
, and
Galicia
. In the 13th century,
Bakota
served as its political and administrative centre.
Lithuanian, Polish and Ottoman rule
[
edit
]
During the 13th century, the
Mongols
plundered Ponizie;
Algirdas
, Grand Duke of Lithuania, freed it from their rule following his victory against the
Golden Horde
in the
Battle of Blue Waters
of 1362, annexing it to Lithuania under the name of
Podolia
, which has the same meaning as Ponizie, and in 1366 western Podolia with
Kamieniec Podolski
passed under Polish sovereignty. In 1375, the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamianets-Podilskyi
was founded. Polish colonisation began in the 14th century.
[
citation needed
]
After the death of the Grand Duke of Lithuania
Vytautas
in 1430, Podolia was incorporated into
Podolian Voivodeship
of the
Kingdom of Poland
, with the exception of its eastern part, the
Bracław Voivodeship
, which remained with Lithuania, both forming part of the
Polish?Lithuanian union
. With the
Union of Lublin
of 1569, eastern Podolia passed from Lithuania to Poland with the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
. The
Kamieniec Podolski Fortress
was nicknamed the "gateway to Poland",
[1]
whereas the city of Kamieniec Podolski itself as one of Poland's major cities enjoyed voting rights during the
royal election period
.
[2]
Podolia was invaded several times by the
Crimean Tatars
and
Turks
, and during the
Deluge
, also by
Transylvanians
and
Russians
, with notable Polish victories at
Udycz
(1606),
Czarny Ostrow
(1657),
U?cieczko
(1694).
From 1672, Podolia became part of the
Ottoman Empire
, when and where it was known as
Podolia Eyalet
. During this time, it was a province, with its center being
Kamanice
, and was divided into the
sanjaks
of Kamanice,
Bar
,
Mejibuji
and
Yazlovets
(Yazlofca).
It returned to Poland in 1699 with the
Treaty of Karlowitz
.
The region was the site of two notorious massacres, the
Batoh massacre
of 1652, in which several thousand Poles were murdered by the Cossacks, and the
Massacre of Uman
of 1768, in which several thousand Poles, Jews and Uniates were murdered by
haidamaks
.
In 1768, the
Bar Confederation
was formed by the Poles, including
Casimir Pulaski
in
Bar
in Podolia. Podolia remained part of the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
until its
Partitions of Poland
in 1772 and 1793, when the
Austrian
and
Russian Empires
annexed the western and eastern parts respectively.
Russia and Austria
[
edit
]
From 1793 to 1917, part of the region was the
Podolia Governorate
in southwestern Russia bordering with Austria across the
Zbruch River
and with
Bessarabia
across the
Dniester
. Its area was 36,910 km
2
(14,251 sq mi).
In 1772
First Partition of Poland
, the Austrian
Habsburgs
had taken control of a small part of Podolia west of the
Zbruch
River (sometimes also called "Southern Podolia") around
Borschiv
, in what is today Ternopil Oblast. At this time, 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 similarity to the other East Slavs already subject to the Habsburg monarchy was showcased in a 1772 book by
Adam F. Kollar
and was used as an argument in favor of annexation by the Habsburgs.
[3]
The
Ternopil
(Tarnopol) region of western Podolia was briefly taken by Russia in 1809 but reverted to Austrian rule in 1815. Within the
Austrian Empire
, western Podolia was part of the
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
which, in 1867 with the formation of
Austria-Hungary
, became an
ethnic Pole
-administered autonomous unit under the Austrian crown. At 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.
Several battles of the Polish uprisings of
1809
,
1830?1831
and
1863?1864
were fought in Podolia.
As to the Jewish community in Podolia, the
Haskalah
or Jewish Enlightenment reached it in the 19th century, introduced by Jews from Western Europe. Says I A. Bar-Levy (Weissman), author of the "
Yizkor Book
" for Podolia: "It brought an end to the cultural separation of Jews from the surrounding world. Jews began to learn modern sciences and languages, read world literature and participate in the cultural life of the nations among whom they lived."
[4]
Just as was the case in other areas of former Poland, Jews started to learn the language of the country they lived in and to write about secular subjects. The writers of the Haskalah in Podolia included: the forerunner
Isaac Satanow
(1733?1805), Menachim Mendel Lapin, author and translator, Ben-Ami (Mordecai Rabinowitz), who wrote in Russian, and many others.
[4]
Between Poland and the Soviet Union
[
edit
]
With the collapse of Austria-Hungary following
World War I
in November 1918, western Podolia was included in the
West 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 the
Polish?Soviet War
. At same war, Poland briefly occupied eastern Podolia in 1919 and again in 1920. After the
Peace of Riga
the Polish control of western Podolia was recognized by the USSR. USSR retained eastern Podalia. There were
pogroms
during this period.
In Poland from 1921 to 1939, western Podolia was part of the
Tarnopol Voivodeship
. Eastern Podolia remained in the
Ukrainian SSR
and between 1922 and 1940, in the southwestern part, the
Moldavian 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 southern Ukrainian SSR against Soviet authorities. Troops from Moscow were sent to the region and suppressed the unrest, causing around 4000 deaths, according to US correspondents sent to report about the insurrection, which was at the time completely denied by the Kremlin official press.
[5]
In 1939 after the signing of the
Molotov?Ribbentrop Pact
between
Nazi Germany
and the
Soviet Union
and the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939, the area became part of Soviet Ukraine. Many local inhabitants were deported to
labour camps
.
[
citation needed
]
In January 1940, the
Czortkow uprising
, an unsuccessful Polish uprising against Soviet occupiers, took place in pre-war Polish Podolia. Following
German invasion of the Soviet Union
in 1941, most of Podolia was occupied by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the
Reichskommissariat Ukraine
. The area of Podolia between the Southern Bug below Vinnytsia and the Dniester was occupied by
Axis
Romania
as part of
Transnistria
.
Starting in July 1941, the Jewish inhabitants were subjected to mass extermination by shooting in a German campaign carried out by four
Einsatzgruppen
("operational groups") specially organized for the purpose. Reliable estimates including German, Soviet, and local records indicate that upwards of 1.6 million, perhaps as many as 2 million, Jews were murdered in this fashion. Most were buried in mass graves,
[
citation needed
]
but there were also instances of communities being forced
en masse
into community buildings or synagogues that were then burnt,
[
citation needed
]
or herded into local mines that were subsequently dynamited.
[
citation needed
]
In 1944 the Soviets re-occupied Podolia and in 1945, when Poland's eastern border was formally realigned along the
Curzon line
, the whole of Podolia remained in the Ukrainian and Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republics. Most remaining Poles and Jews fled or were expelled to the
People's Republic of Poland
.
Culture
[
edit
]
The Podillia's folk icon-painting tradition is well known in Ukraine. Its manifestation is long home
iconostases
painted on canvas at the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th centuries. Red, green and yellow colours prevail, the faces of the saints are a little bit longer, their eyes almond-like. On these iconostases, the most venerated family saints were painted. The collections of Podillya's folk iconostases are possessed by
Vinnytsya Art Museum
and The
Museum of Ukrainian Home Icons
in the
Radomysl Castle
.
[6]
Notable people
[
edit
]
Gallery
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Słownik geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego i innych krajow słowia?skich, Tom III
(in Polish). Warszawa. 1882. p. 748.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Polska encyklopedja szlachecka, Tom I
(in Polish). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Kultury Historycznej. 1935. p. 42.
- ^
Joachim Bahlcke,
Ungarischer Episkopat und osterreichische Monarchie: Von einer Partnerschaft zur Konfrontation (1686?1790)
. 2005.
- ^
a
b
Bar-Levy, I. A. (1966). Blatman, Leon S. (ed.).
'Kamenetz-Podolsk': A Memorial to a Jewish Community Annihilated by the Nazis in 1941
. New York: The Sponsors of the Kamenetz-Podolsk Memorial Book. p. 14 – via Princeton University Press.
- ^
Disorder in the Ukraine?
,
Time
, December 12, 1927
- ^
Богомолець. О. "Замок-музей Радомисль на Шляху Корол?в Via Regia". ? Ки?в, 2013
External links
[
edit
]