Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, , , ) is a city in the
Mohyliv-Podilskyi
Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, , , ) is a city in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion of the Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Administratively, Mohyliv-Podilskyi is incorporated as a town of regional significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv ...
Raion
A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
of the
Vinnytsia Oblast
Vinnytsia Oblast ( uk, Ві́нницька о́бласть, translit=Vinnytska oblast; ; also referred to as Vinnychchyna — uk, Ві́нниччина) is an oblast of western and southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Vinnytsia. ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Administratively, Mohyliv-Podilskyi is incorporated as a
town of regional significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion, one of twenty-seven districts of Vinnytsia Oblast, though it is not a part of the district. It is located in the historic region of
Podolia
Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
, on the border with
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
,
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
, along the left bank of the
Dniester
The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...
river. On the opposite side of the river lies the Moldovan town of
Otaci
Otaci (formerly Ataki, Russian Атаки) is a town (population 8,400) on the southwestern bank of the Dniester River, which at that point forms the northeastern border of Moldova. On the opposite side of the Dniester lies the Ukrainian city of ...
, and the two municipalities are connected to each other by a bridge. Population:
History
Polish period
The first mention of the town dates from 1595. The owner of the town, Moldavian
hospodar
Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or "master".
Etymology and Slavic usage
In the Slavonic language, ''hospodar'' is usually applied to the master/owner of a house or other properties and also the head of a family. ...
Ieremia Movilă
Ieremia Movilă ( pl, Jeremi Mohyła uk, Єремія Могила), (c. 1555 – 10 July 1606) was a Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia between August 1595 and May 1600, and again between September 1600 and July 10, 1606.
Rule
A boyar of the Movi ...
(from which the name Mohyliv, ''Moghilău/Movilău'' in Romanian) bestowed it as a dowry gift to his daughter, who married into the
Potocki
The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...
family of
Polish nobility. At that time, the groom named the town Movilǎu in honor of his father-in-law. In the first quarter of the 17th century, Mohyliv became one of the largest towns in
Podolia
Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
. It was part of the
Podolian Voivodeship
The Podolian Voivodeship, uk, Подільське воєводство or Palatinate of Podolia was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland, since 1434 until 1793, except for the period of Ottoman occup ...
of the
. It was a multi-ethnic
border town
A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different coun ...
composed of
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
,
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
,
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...
and
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
. In the 18th century the main churches of the town were built: the Polish-Armenian Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Greek St. Nicholas Church. Polish rule was interrupted by
Ottoman rule as part of
Podolia Eyalet
Podolia Eyalet ( ota, Eyalet-i Kamaniçe) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its capital was Kamianets-Podilskyi ( pl, Kamieniec Podolski; ua, Кам’янець-Подільський; tr, Kamaniçe).
History
In 1672, the Ottoman army, led ...
. During Ottoman rule, it was nahiya centre of
Kamaniçe sanjak as ''Mıhaylov''.
Russian period
The town was annexed by Russia after the 1793
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War ...
. After the restoration of Polish independence, Mohyliv was briefly captured by the Poles under the command of General
Franciszek Krajowski in 1919, but it ultimately fell to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. In 1937, during the
Polish Operation of the NKVD
The ''Polish Operation'' of the NKVD (Soviet security service) in 1937–1938 was an anti-Polish mass-ethnic cleansing operation of the NKVD carried out in the Soviet Union against Poles (labeled by the Soviets as "agents") during the period of ...
, the Soviets destroyed the Polish Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Romanian period
Mohyliv-Podilskyi was occupied by Romanian and German troops in July 1941 and incorporated into the Romanian-ruled
Transnistria Governorate
The Transnistria Governorate ( ro, Guvernământul Transnistriei) was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa and occupied from 19 Aug ...
. Soon thereafter, thousands of Jews in the town were murdered by the occupiers.
Mohyliv-Podilskyi soon became a transit camp for Jews expelled from Bessarabia and Bukovina to
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
. From September 1941 to February 1942 more than 55,000 deportees came through the town. Thousands of people were jammed into the transit camp and treated cruelly by the Romanian guards. Many Jews were not allowed to stay in Mohyliv-Podilskyi; thousands were forced to travel by foot to nearby villages and towns. Some convoys were sent to the
Pechora concentration camp
Pechora (also Pechera or Pecioara; Russian: Печера or Печора) was a concentration camp operated by Romania during World War II in the village of Pechora, now in Ukraine.
The concentration camp was established on the gated grounds of wh ...
. The 15,000 who were initially permitted to stay in the town organized themselves into groups. Some 2,000—3,000 were given residence permits, while the rest lived in constant fear of being deported into the Transnistrian interior for forced labor.
In December 1943 over 3,000 Jews were allowed to return to Romania, and in March 1944, Jewish leaders in Bucharest got permission to bring back 1,400 orphans. Mohyliv-Podilskyi was liberated that month; many Jewish men were immediately drafted by the Soviet army. Many who stayed in the city were killed by German bombs. Most of the deportees were allowed to return to Romania in the spring of 1945.
Ukrainian period
Mohyliv-Podilskyi has been part of Ukraine since August 24, 1991.
On November 10, 2016, in Mogilev-Podilskyi, a memorial to the heroes of border guards who died in 1941 was opened.
Geography
The city is located in the southwest of the Vinnytsia region in the ravine formed by the
Dniester River
The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...
and other ravines (Karpivskyi yar), which are formed by the rivers that enter the Dniester basin (Derlo, Nemia, etc.). During the period of snow melting and after rains, temporary drains flow along the bottoms of the beams and the slopes of the ravines.
The average height above sea level is 80 m.
Climate
Economy
Now working in the city:
* Mohyliv-Podilsky Machine-Building Plant;
* metalworking plants;
* light and food industry enterprises, etc.
Notable people
*
Boris Bazhanov
Boris Georgiyevich Bazhanov (russian: Бори́с Гео́ргиевич Бажа́нов; 9 August 1900 – 30 December 1982) was a Soviet secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union who defected from the Soviet Un ...
(1900–1982), Stalin's personal secretary who later defected
*
Witold Maliszewski
Witold Maliszewski (russian: Витольд Осипович Малишевский, uk, Вітольд Йосифович Малішевський; 20 July 1873 – 18 July 1939) was a Polish composer, founder of Odessa Conservatory, and a profe ...
(1873–1939), a Polish composer, professor of the
Warsaw Conservatory
The Chopin University of Music ( pl, Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe. , was born in Mohyliv-Podilskyi.
*
Samuel Yellin (1884–1940), American master blacksmith and metal designer, born in Mohyliv-Podilskyi
*
Adella Kean Zametkin (1863–1931), American socialist and writer, was born in Mohyliv-Podilskyi
Gallery
File:Могілев-Подольскьй вул. Володимирська,4 00.JPG, 19th century architecture in Mohyliv-Podilskyj
File:05-104-0035 Mohyliv Podilsky SAM 5299.jpg, City centre
File:Могилів-Подільський. Миколаївська церква.jpg, St. Nicholas Church
File:Георгіївська церква (Могилів-Подільський) Панорама-3.jpg, St. George Church
File:Могілев-Подольскьй. Георгіївська церква 01.JPG, Saint Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...
Church
File:Пам'ятник Т.Г.Шевченко.JPG, Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...
monument
File:Пам'ятник М.В.Гоголю.JPG, Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
monument
File:Джон Ленон в Могилів-Подільському.jpg, John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
monument
International relations
Twin towns — sister cities
Mohyliv-Podilskyi is
twinned with:
*
Bakhmut
Bakhmut ( uk, Ба́хмут, ) is a city in the Donbas and the administrative centre of Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is located on the Bakhmutka River, about 89 km north of Donetsk city, the administrative center of the o ...
, Ukraine
*
Koziatyn
Koziatyn ( uk, Козятин; also referred to as Kozyatyn, pl, Koziatyn, russian: Каза́тин) is a town in the Vinnytsia Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Koziatyn Raion (district), the town ...
, Ukraine
*
Końskie
Końskie ( yi, Kinsk, קינצק / קינסק) is a town in south-central Poland with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and since its found ...
, Poland
*
Połaniec
Połaniec is a town in Staszów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, with 8,406 inhabitants (2012). The town is in Lesser Poland, and its history dates back to the early days of Polish statehood. It lies in the western part of the Sa ...
, Poland
*
Środa Wielkopolska
Środa Wielkopolska (until 1968 ''Środa''; german: Schroda) is a town in western-central Poland, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, about southeast of Poznań, with 22,001 inhabitants (2009). It is the seat of Środa Wielkopolska Count ...
, Poland
*
Bălți
Bălți (; russian: Бельцы, , uk, Бєльці, , yi, בעלץ ) is a city in Moldova. It is the second largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city is one of the five Moldovan municipalit ...
, Moldova
*
Pitești
Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...
, Romania
*
Šaľa
Šaľa (; hu, Vágsellye, german: Schelle) is a town in south-western Slovakia.
Geography
The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on both banks of the Váh River, around 65 km from Bratislava and 30 km from Nové Zámky. Except t ...
, Slovakia
*
Cavriglia
Cavriglia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about west of Arezzo.
Cavriglia borders the following municipalities: Figline Valdarno, Gaiole in Chianti, ...
, Italy
References
External links
Mohyliv-Podilskyi, article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).*
{{Authority control
Cities in Vinnytsia Oblast
Moldova–Ukraine border crossings
Cities of regional significance in Ukraine
Populated places on the Dniester River in Ukraine
Podolia Voivodeship
Cossack Hetmanate
Mogilyovsky Uyezd (Podolian Governorate)
Holocaust locations in Ukraine