Smila ( ) is a city located on Dnieper Upland near the Tyasmyn River, in

Cherkasy Raion Cherkasy Raion () is a Raions of Ukraine, raion (district) of Cherkasy Oblast. It is located in the central part of Cherkasy oblast, and the center of the raion is the city of Cherkasy. The population is On 18 July 2020, as part of the administr ...

Cherkasy Oblast Cherkasy Oblast (, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna (, ) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central Ukraine located along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The Capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the cit ...

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 Tiasmyn River, a tributary of the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

, flows through the city. In January 2022, the estimated population was 65,675 a 1.2% decrease from 2021.

Geography

Climate

The climate in Smila is moderately continental. Winters are cold with frequent snow. Summers are warm and can be hot in July, with little rain. Periods of temperatures higher than +10 last up to 170 days. The average annual precipitation is 450–520 mm.

Population

In 1989 the population of Smila was 77,500. In January 2022, the estimated population was 65,675, a 1.2% decrease from 2021.

Language

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

History

Smila arose from an early

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

settlement founded in the late 16th century. It later came under Polish rule. In 1881, 1883, and 1904 there were pogroms in Smila (Smela), during which several Jews lost their lives and much Jewish property was looted or destroyed. Jews had settled in Smila since the 18th century and at the turn of the 20th century they made up over half the population and owned most of the shops. Only a handful of Jews remain in Smila today. The construction of the Fastiv-Znamianka railway line spurred industrial growth in Smila- in 1910, the town had 23 factories and a population of 29 000. 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 ...

, the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

deployed Stalag 345 near Smila to hold Soviet prisoners of war. The camp was kept near Smila from early 1941 until December 1943, when the camp was moved to Zagreb. In 1957, a machine repairs factory established in 1930 was repurposed to produce new machinery. The plant produced machines for food and transportation industries, and in 1972 it employed over a thousand workers. Until 18 July 2020, Smila was designated as a city of oblast significance and served as the administrative center of Smila Raion though it did not belong to the ''raion''. The settlements of Ploske and Irdynivka were subordinated to Smila city council. As part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Cherkasy Oblast to four, the city was merged into

. During the

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 ...

, Russian air strikes started a large fire within the city in October, 2022. Air raid sirens sounded in the city as early as March, 2022. A nearby Ukrainian fuel depot containing 100,000 tonnes of fuel was blown up the next day.

Economy

The economic emphasis is on

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

, and the

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

is also important. However, the town's population has generally declined since the 1980s. Smila is the transport hub for the surrounding region. Smila is where the

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

–

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

and

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

–

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

rail routes cross, making Smila one of the most important railway junctions in Ukraine. The large station at the junction is named after Ukraine's national poet and artist,

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

Notable people

* Samuel (Shmuel) Malavsky – сantor. * Oleksandr Kovpak – football player. * Genia Averbuch – architect.

Twin towns – sister cities

Smila is twinned with: * Bahacheve, Ukraine * Irpin, Ukraine *

Jonava Jonava () is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. ''Achema'', t ...

, Lithuania *

Kovel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War I ...

, Ukraine *

Newton, Iowa Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760 ...

, United States * Vadul lui Vodă, Moldova

Gallery

File:Сміла, Свердлова, 107.JPG, Female gymnasium building File:Adda82. Вид на Успенский костел из Долины озер.jpg, Assumption Church File:Церква Покрова Пресвятої Богородиці, Сміла.JPG, Church of the Holy Virgin File:Smila bank DSC 9403 71-105-0016.jpg, Museum of Local History File:Сміла, Артема, 103.JPG, Technical Institute for Sugar Industry File:Банк, Сміла.JPG, Bank building File:Московський, 1 (Сміла) 01.JPG, Shevchenko district File:Залізничний вокзал, Сміла.JPG, Railway station File:Міст через Тясмин у Смілі.jpg, Railway bridge File:Tiasmyn River in Smila.jpg, Tiasmyn River in Smila File:Храм на честь Різдва Іоанна Хрестителя.jpg,

References

* (1972) ''Історія міст і сіл Української CCP - Черкаська область (History of Towns and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR - Cherkasy Oblast)'', Kyiv.

External links

*
Official city website
*
Unofficial city website
{{Authority control Cities in Cherkasy Oblast Cherkassky Uyezd Historic Jewish communities in Ukraine Cities of regional significance in Ukraine