Podolia Поділля Podillia | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Podolia (yellow) in modern Ukraine | |
| Country | Ukraine,Moldova |
| Region | West Ukraine,Central Ukraine |
| Historical capital | Kamianets-Podilskyi |
| Largest city | Vinnytsia |
| Parts | Ternopil Oblast,Khmelnytskyi Oblast,Vinnytsia Oblast,Odesa Oblast,Cherkasy Oblast |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Podolia orPodillia[a] is a historic region inEastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts ofUkraine and northeasternMoldova (i.e. northernTransnistria).
Podolia is penetrated bySouthern Buh river and bordered by theDniester River to the south. It features an elongated plateau and fertile agricultural land covering an area of 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi). The two main rivers serve as important trade channels. Podolia is known for itscherries,mulberries,melons,gourds, andcucumbers.
The region has a rich history, dating back to theNeolithic, with various tribes and civilizations occupying it over time. It became part of theKingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, theGolden Horde, theKingdom of Poland, theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, theOttoman Empire, theHabsburg monarchy of Austria, and theRussian Empire. In the 20th century, Podolia underwent various political changes, with both theSecond Polish Republic and theSoviet 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. These iconic works can be collected in the Vinnytsya Art Museum and the Museum of Ukrainian Home Icons inRadomysl Castle.
The namePodolia orPodillia derives fromProto-Slavic*polit. 'by, next to, along' and*dolъlit. 'valley, lowland'[1][2] (cf. Englishdale, Dutchdal, GermanTal).[3] It shares this same root meaning withPodil, the Lower City ofKyiv. As with many Proto-Slavic nouns, such as домъ (domŭ "home, house"), the vowel /o/ shifted to /i/ in Ukrainian (дімdim), but not in Belarusian (домdom), Polish (dom), or Russian (домdom). Therefore, most languages render the toponym asPodol-, but inside Ukraine itself, it isPodil-. The letters-ia derive from the grammatical convention inLatin toponymy to add thesuffix-ia to the names of countries or regions. The extra -л- (-l-) in written Ukrainian is added for proper pronunciation.
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The area is part of the vastEast European Plain, confined by theDniester River and theCarpathian arc in the southwest. It comprises an area of about 40,000 km2 (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, theSouthern Bug separates two ranges of relatively low hills. ThePodolian Upland, an elongated, up to 472 ft (144 m) highplateau stretches from theWestern and Southern Bug rivers to the Dniester. It includes mountainous regions withcanyon-like fluvial valleys.
Podolia lies east of historicRed Ruthenia, i.e. the eastern half ofGalicia, beyond theSeret River, a tributary of the Dniester. In the northwest, it borders onVolhynia. It is primarily made up of the present-day UkrainianVinnytsia Oblast and southern and centralKhmelnytskyi Oblast. The Podolian lands also include parts of the adjacentTernopil Oblast in the west andKyiv Oblast in the northeast. In the east, it consists of the neighbouring parts ofCherkasy,Kirovohrad andOdesa Oblast, as well as the northern half ofTransnistria.
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 essential channel for trade in the areas ofMohyliv-Podilskyi,Zhvanets, and other Podolian river ports.
In Podolia,chernozem "black earth" soil predominates, making it a very fertile agricultural area.Marshes occur only beside the Bug. A moderate climate predominates, with average temperatures atKamianets-Podilskyi of9 °C (−4 °C in January,20 °C in July).
Russian-ruled Podolia in 1906 had an estimated population of 3,543,700, consisting chiefly ofUkrainians. Significant minorities includedPoles andJews, as well as 50,000Romanians, someGermans, and someArmenians.
The chief settlements include Kamianets-Podilskyi, the traditional capital,Vinnytsia,Khmelnytskyi,Rîbnița, Mohyliv-Podilskyi,Haisyn,Balta,Bar,Camenca,Yampil,Bratslav, andLetychiv.
Podolia is known for its cherries, mulberries, melons, gourds, and cucumbers.
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The region has had human inhabitants since at least the beginning of theNeolithic period.Herodotus mentions it as the seat of theGraeco-ScythianAlazones and possibly theNeuri. Subsequently, theDacians and theGetae arrived. TheRomans left traces of their rule inTrajan's Wall, which stretches through the modern districts of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Nova Ushytsia, and Khmelnytskyi.
During theMigration Period, many peoples 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 theSouthern Bug River, and theTivertsi andUlichs along the Dniester. TheAvars invaded in the 7th century. Later. theBolokhoveni occupied the same territory in the 13th century.
PrinceOleg extended his rule over this territory known as thePonizie, or "lowlands". These lowlands later became a part of the principalities ofVolhynia,Kiev, andGalicia. In the 13th century,Bakota served as its political and administrative centre.
During the 13th century, theMongols plundered Ponizie;Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, freed it from their rule following his victory against theGolden Horde in theBattle of Blue Waters of 1362, annexing it to Lithuania under the name ofPodolia, which has the same meaning as Ponizie, and in 1366 western Podolia withKamieniec Podolski passed under Polish sovereignty. In 1375, theRoman Catholic Diocese of Kamianets-Podilskyi was founded. Polish colonisation began in the 14th century.[citation needed]
After the death of the Grand Duke of LithuaniaVytautas in 1430, Podolia was incorporated intoPodolian Voivodeship of theKingdom of Poland, with the exception of its eastern part, theBracław Voivodeship, which remained with Lithuania, both forming part of thePolish–Lithuanian union. With theUnion of Lublin of 1569, eastern Podolia passed from Lithuania to Poland with thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. TheKamieniec Podolski Fortress was nicknamed the "gateway to Poland",[4] whereas the city of Kamieniec Podolski itself as one of Poland's major cities enjoyed voting rights during theroyal election period.[5] Podolia was the target of frequentTatar slave raids.[6] Podolia was invaded several times by theCrimean Tatars andTurks, and during theDeluge, also byTransylvanians andRussians, with notable Polish victories atUdycz (1606),Czarny Ostrów (1657),Uścieczko (1694).
From 1672, Podolia became part of theOttoman Empire, when and where it was known asPodolia Eyalet. During this time, it was a province, with its center beingKamaniçe, and was divided into thesanjaks of Kamaniçe,Bar,Mejibuji andYazlovets (Yazlofça). It returned to Poland in 1699 with theTreaty of Karlowitz.
The region was the site of two notorious massacres, theBatoh massacre of 1652, in which several thousand Poles were murdered by the Cossacks, and theMassacre of Uman of 1768, in which several thousand Poles, Jews and Uniates were murdered byhaidamaks.
In 1768, theBar Confederation was formed by the Poles, includingCasimir Pulaski inBar in Podolia. Podolia remained part of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until itsPartitions of Poland in 1772 and 1793, when theAustrian andRussian Empires annexed the western and eastern parts respectively.
From 1793 to 1917, part of the region was thePodolia Governorate in southwestern Russia bordering with Austria across theZbruch River and withBessarabia across theDniester. Its area was 36,910 km2 (14,251 sq mi).
In 1772First Partition of Poland, the AustrianHabsburgs had taken control of a small part of Podolia west of theZbruch River (sometimes also called "Southern Podolia") aroundBorschiv, in what is today Ternopil Oblast. At this time, EmperorJoseph 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 byAdam F. Kollár and was used as an argument in favor of annexation by the Habsburgs.[7] TheTernopil (Tarnopol) region of western Podolia was briefly taken by Russia in 1809 but reverted to Austrian rule in 1815. Within theAustrian Empire, western Podolia was part of theKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria which, in 1867 with the formation ofAustria-Hungary, became anethnic 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 of1809,1830–1831 and1863–1864 were fought in Podolia.
As to the Jewish community in Podolia, theHaskalah 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."[8] 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 forerunnerIsaac Satanow (1733–1805), Menachim Mendel Lapin, author and translator, Ben-Ami (Mordecai Rabinowitz), who wrote in Russian, and many others.[8]
With the collapse of Austria-Hungary followingWorld War I in November 1918, western Podolia was included in theWest Ukrainian People's Republic, but came underPolish 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. At same war, Poland briefly occupied eastern Podolia in 1919 and again in 1920. After thePeace of Riga the Polish control of western Podolia was recognized by the USSR. USSR retained eastern Podalia. There werepogroms during this period.
In Poland from 1921 to 1939, western Podolia was part of theTarnopol Voivodeship. Eastern Podolia remained in 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 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.[9]
In 1939 after the signing of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact betweenNazi Germany and theSoviet Union and the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939, the area became part of Soviet Ukraine. Many local inhabitants were deported tolabour camps.[citation needed] In January 1940, theCzortków uprising, an unsuccessful Polish uprising against Soviet occupiers, took place in pre-war Polish Podolia. FollowingGerman 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 byAxisRomania as part ofTransnistria.
Starting in July 1941, the Jewish inhabitants were subjected to mass extermination by shooting in a German campaign carried out by fourEinsatzgruppen ("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 forceden masse into community buildings or synagogues that were then burnt,[citation needed] or herded into local mines that were subsequently dynamited.[citation needed]
The Germans operated the Stalag 310, Stalag 329, Stalag 349 and Stalag 355prisoner-of-war camps in Podolia.[10]
In 1944 the Soviets re-occupied Podolia and in 1945, when Poland's eastern border was formally realigned along theCurzon line, the whole of Podolia remained in the Ukrainian and Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republics. Most remaining Poles and Jews fled or were expelled to thePeople's Republic of Poland.
The Podillia's folkicon-painting tradition is well known in Ukraine. Its manifestation is long homeiconostases 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 byVinnytsya Art Museum and TheMuseum of Ukrainian Home Icons in theRadomysl Castle.[11] Podillia is also notable as the birthplace of theBaal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and as the cradleFrankism, a controversial Jewish religious sect ofSabbateanism.[12]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Kropotkin, Peter Alexeivitch; Bealby, John Thomas (1911). "Podolia". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 875.