Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, ) is a city in

Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia Oblast (, ), also referred to as Vinnychchyna (), is an oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in central Ukraine. Its capital city, administrative center is Vinnytsia. The oblast has a population of History Vinnytsia Oblast, first established on ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It serves as the administrative center of

Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion () is one of the six raions (districts) of Vinnytsia Oblast, located in southwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion is the city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi. Population: History On 18 July 2020, as part of the ...

within the oblast. It is located in the historic region of

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

, on the border with

Bessarabia Bessarabia () 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 Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, along the left bank of the

Dniester River The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

. 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:

Name

In addition to the Ukrainian (''Mohyliv-Podilskyi''), in other languages the name of the city is , and .

History

Polish period

The first mention of the town dates from 1595. The owner of the town, Moldavian

hospodar ''Gospodar'' or ''hospodar'', also ''gospodin'' as a diminutive, is a term of Slavic origin, meaning "lord" or " master". The compound (, , , sh-Latn-Cyrl, gospodar, господар, ) is a derivative of ''gospod'' / ''gospodin'', , or when spe ...

Ieremia Movilă Ieremia Movilă ( ; 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. At the time, Moldavia was a vassal province of the Polish-Lituania CommonWealth ...

(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 The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

. At that time, the groom named the town Movilău in honor of his father-in-law. In the first quarter of the 17th century, Mohyliv became one of the largest towns in

. It was part of the

Podolian Voivodeship The Podolian Voivodeship or Palatinate of Podolia was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland, from 1434 until 1793, except for the period of Ottoman occupation (1672–1699), when the region was organized ...

of the

Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown Lesser Poland Province (, ) was an administrative division of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1795. It was the largest province of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with Kraków as its capital. The province's name derives fro ...

. 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 ...

whose population included

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

and

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

. 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 () was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its capital was Kamianets-Podilskyi (; ; ). History In 1672, the Ottoman army, led by Sultan Mehmed IV, captured Kamaniçe after a short siege. The Treaty of Buchach confirmed Ottoman con ...

. During Ottoman rule, it was nahiya centre of

Kamaniçe Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

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 partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

. After the restoration of Polish independence, Mohyliv was briefly captured by the Poles under the command of General

Franciszek Krajowski Franciszek Krajowski (; 30 September 1861 in Velešín – 22 November 1932 in Brest) was a Czech-Polish military officer and a General of the Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currentl ...

in 1919, but it ultimately fell to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In 1937, during the Polish Operation of the NKVD, 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 () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...

. 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 known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

. 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. 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 Mohyliv-Podilskyi, a memorial to the heroes of border guards who died in 1941 was opened.

Population

Language

Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census:

Geography

The city is located in the southwest of the Vinnytsia region in the ravine formed by the

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 (; 9 August 1900 – 30 December 1982) was a secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union who published memoirs about Stalin and his secrets. Bazhanov was the personal secretary of Soviet ...

(1900–1982), Stalin's personal secretary who later defected *

Witold Maliszewski Witold Maliszewski (, ; 20 July 1873 – 18 July 1939) was a Polish composer, founder of Odessa Conservatory, and a professor of Warsaw Conservatory. Biography Maliszewski was born in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Russian Empire (now Ukraine). He graduat ...

(1873–1939), a Polish composer, professor of the Warsaw Conservatory, was born in Mohyliv-Podilskyi. * Chaim Towber (1901–1972), American actor, best known as the author of the song '' I Love You Much Too Much'' *

Samuel Yellin Samuel Yellin (1884–1940) was an American master blacksmith and metal designer. Early life and education Samuel Yellin was born to a Jewish family in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine in the Russian Empire in 1884. At the age of eleven, he was ...

(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 * Leonid Mosendz - Ukrainian poet * Ivan Hlyinskyi - Ukrainian poet *

Serhii Naiev Serhii Ivanovych Naiev (; born 30 April 1970) is a Ukrainian lieutenant general who served as Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from 2016 until 2024. Biography Naiev was born on 30 April 1970, in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, ...

- Ukrainian lieutenant general who served as

Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine The Joint Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine () is a body of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was created in 2020 with the goal of planning and coordinating combined milit ...

from 2020 until 2024. * Hennadii Vatsak (born 1972), Ukrainian businessman and politician File:Maliszewski.jpg,

File:Chaim-Towber.jpg, Chaim Towber

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 P1820759 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 Church File:Пам'ятник М.В.Гоголю.JPG,

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

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 activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

monument

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Mohyliv-Podilskyi is twinned with: *

Bakhmut Bakhmut is a city in eastern Ukraine. It is officially the administrative center of Bakhmut urban hromada and Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. The city is located on the Bakhmutka River, about north of Donetsk, the administrative center ...

, Ukraine *

Koziatyn Koziatyn (also referred to as Kozyatyn; , ; ; ) is a city in the Vinnytsia Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of the Koziatyn Raion (district); the city itself was not a part of the district and was separ ...

, Ukraine *

Końskie Końskie () 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 foundation, until 1795 (see Partitions of P ...

, 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'') 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 County, and of Gmina ...

, Poland *

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

, Moldova *

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (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 th ...

, Romania *

Šaľa Šaľa (, ; , ) is a town in Šaľa District within Nitra Region in south-western Slovakia. Geography Šaľa is located on the Danubian Lowland on both banks of the Váh River, around 65 km from Bratislava and 30 km from Nové Zámky. Be ...

, 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 Holocaust locations in Ukraine