Putyvl (, ; , ) is a city in

Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presid ...

, in north-east

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 ...

. The city served as the administrative center of Putyvl Raion until the administrative reform in 2018; now it is under the jurisdiction of

Konotop Raion Konotop Raion (, ) is a raion in Sumy Oblast in Central Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion is the town of Konotop. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Sumy Oblast wa ...

. Population:

History

One of the original

Siveria Severia (, ; ) or Siveria ( / , ''Siveria'' / ''Sivershchyna'') is a historical region in present-day southwest Russia, northern Ukraine, and eastern Belarus. The largest part lies in modern Russia, while the central part of the region is the c ...

n towns, Putyvl was first mentioned as early as 1146 as an important fortress contested between

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

and

Novhorod-Siverskyi Novhorod-Siverskyi (, , , ''Novgorod-Severskiy''), historically known as Novhorod-Siversk () or Novgorod-Seversk (), is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, alth ...

principalities of

Kievan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...

. The song of Yaroslavna on the walls of Putyvl is the emotional culmination of the medieval ''

Lay of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' or ''The Tale of Ihor's Campaign'' () is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaign of Igor'', ''The Song of Igor's Campaign'' ...

'' and

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to prod ...

's opera ''

Prince Igor ''Prince Igor'' (, ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the early Russian epic '' The Lay of Igor's Host'', which recounts the campaign of the 12th-centur ...

''. In the 14th century, it was captured by

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. After the

Battle of Vedrosha The Battle of heVedrosha (; ) was fought near the Vedrosha river, close to Dorogobuzh (then in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, now in Russia) on 14 July 1500, during the Second Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1500–1503). In the battle of Vedros ...

in 1500, Putyvl was ceded to

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

. During the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

, the town became the center of

Ivan Bolotnikov Ivan Isayevich Bolotnikov (; 1565–1608) headed a popular uprising in Russia in 1606–1607 known as the Bolotnikov Rebellion (''Восстание Ивана Болотникова''). The uprising formed part of the Time of Troubles in Russia ...

's uprising and briefly a base for the

False Dmitry I False Dmitry I or Pseudo-Demetrius I () reigned as the Tsar of all Russia from 10 June 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dmitriy Ivanovich (). According to historian Chester S.L. Dunning, Dmitry was "the only Tsar ever raise ...

forces. It was occupied by

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

between 1607 and 1619. Putyvl was part of

Kursk Governorate Kursk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1796 to 1928 with its capital in Kursk. Administrative divisions As of 1914, Kursk Governorate included 15 uyezds. * Belgorods ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

prior to the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

. Putyvl, along with some surrounding villages, was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR on 16 October 1925. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Putyvl was under German occupation between 10 September 1941 and 3 September 1943.

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of Resistance during World War II, resistance movements that fought a Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war against Axis powers, Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Territories of Poland an ...

led by

Sydir Kovpak Sydir Artemovych Kovpak (; ), (June 7, 1887December 11, 1967) led Soviet partisans in Ukraine from 1941 to 1944 during the Axis-Soviet War phase of World War II. Biography Kovpak was born to a poor Ukrainian peasant family in Kotelva vi ...

participated in

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

against the Germans in the forests all over Northern Ukraine. Putyvl was occupied by Russian troops early in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Architecture

The main architectural monument of Putivl is the Movchansky Monastery, which dates largely to the 17th century. The foundations of its three-domed cathedral, dedicated to the Nativity of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

, belong to the 1590s, but the main part of the church is one of the earliest

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

structures in the region, described in its entirety by

Paul of Aleppo Paul Za'im, known sometime also as Paul of Aleppo (Paul, Archdeacon of Aleppo) (1627–1669) was an Ottoman Syrian Orthodox clergyman and chronicler. Son of Patriarch Macarius III Ibn al-Za'im, Paul accompanied his father in his travels throu ...

in 1654. The cathedral displays strong influence of Muscovite architecture, especially in detailing and sculptural decor. Apart from the monastery, Putyvl also possesses the

Cossack Baroque Ukrainian Baroque (), also known as Cossack Baroque () or Mazepa Baroque, is an artistic style that was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the result of a combination of local traditions and European Baroque. History ...

church of St. Nicholas (1735–37) and the Saviour Cathedral, a singular hybrid of Ukrainian and Russian church architecture, started in 1617 and incorporating such typically Muscovite features as

onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. They taper smoothly upwards to a point. It is a typical ...

s. Remaining parts of 17th-century fortifications are visible close at hand; these include the gates and several towers, one of which was built up into a bell tower in 1700.

Demographics

According to the

2001 Ukrainian census The 2001 Ukrainian census is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

population, which makes up a bit less than half of the town's population. For comparison, ethnic Russians only account for 9,4% of the total population of the

. The city is the only settlement in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

with a population of more than 10.000 inhabitants, in which the majority speaks the

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

natively. The exact ethnic and linguistic composition was as follows:

Gallery

File:Магазин купця О.Брянцева, м. Путивль просп. Іоанна Путивльського (вул. Кірова), 65-Б.jpg, Historic shops in the old town File:Putyvl' Remisnyche Uchylysche M.Maklakova 01 Lunachars'kogo 80 (YDS 8052).JPG, Former crafts school File:Путивль. Центральна вулиця.jpg, Main street File:Putyvl' Svyatoduhiv (Spaso-Preobrazhens'kiy) Sobor 07 2 K.Marksa 45 (DSC 8006).JPG, Holy Spirit Cathedral File:Церква Миколи Козацького, Путивль.JPG, St. Nicholas Church File:Пам'ятник княгині Ярославні.JPG, Princess Yaroslavna monument

References

External links

Informal city portal
{{Authority control Cities in Sumy Oblast Cities of district significance in Ukraine