The heart of Ukraine is ancient and at the same time eternally young Kyiv. But the soul of the country is the Cherkasy region. It was on its territory that the victorious Cossack spirit of the Ukrainian people was formed.
The hetman's capital, the city of Chigirin (Ukraine), is also located here. Cherkasy region is the birthplace of many outstanding people. Among them are the first hetman of Ukraine, Bogdan Khmelnytsky, the Haidamak leaders Gonta and Zaliznyak, as well as the prophet of the nation and the genius of the whole country, Taras Shevchenko.
Administrative and territorial divisions
Cherkasy region is one of the youngest in Ukraine. The date of its formation is January 7, 1954. It was on this day that the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was signed on the separation for this purpose of the regions of Vinnitsa, Kyiv, Poltava and Kirovograd regions. The territorial unit includes 855 settlements. Among them are sixteen cities, fifteen urban-type settlements. The villages of the Cherkasy region are represented by 824 settlements. 44.5% of the total population of the territorial unit lives in them. It has Cherkasy region districts. There are twenty of them.
The administrative center of the Cherkasy regionis the city of Cherkasy. It was founded at the end of the thirteenth century and was a small settlement. It was given the status of a city only in 1975
Geography
Cherkasy region is located in the Dnieper basin, in its middle course. This is the central part of the country. The territory of the region occupies about twenty-one thousand square kilometers. This is three and a half percent of the area of Ukraine.
Cherkasy region stretches for two hundred and forty-five kilometers from northeast to southwest and one hundred and fifty kilometers from south to north. If you use mathematical calculations, you can calculate the geographical center of the region. It is a point located in the Gorodishchensky district near the village of Zhuravki.
The entire territory of the Cherkasy region is conditionally divided into left-bank and right-bank. In general, however, it is a flat area. The main territory of the right bank is located in the zone of the Dnieper Upland. The highest point of the region with an absolute height of 275 meters above sea level is also located there. It was recorded near the settlement Monastyrishche. The right bank adjacent to the Dnieper is represented by the marshy Irdyno-Tyasma lowland. There is also a hill in the form of the Kanev mountains. The left-bank part is characterized by low relief.
Weather conditions
The climate in the region is characterized as temperate continental. It has warm summers and not very cold winters. The average air temperature in January is minus sixdegrees, and in July - twenty warm.
Economy
Ukraine is rightfully proud of its agro-industrial complex and food industry. Cherkasy region is one of the leading producers of agricultural products in the country. There are a large number of industrial enterprises on its territory. More than three hundred organizations mine coal and produce electricity, produce ammonia, mineral fertilizers, technological equipment, computers and chemical fibers.
The food industry of the region has achieved the greatest success in such industries as dairy and sugar, canning and alcoholic beverages. Thus, the Cherkasy region in terms of the structure of its economy is an industrial-agrarian one. Industry plays a significant role in this. The share of its products in the total gross income is thirty-six percent. Agriculture accounts for 27%.
Industry
Products of enterprises of the Cherkasy region are widely known not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. In the structure of industrial production, the leading role belongs to the manufacturing industry. It occupies almost eighty-seven percent of the total regional volume. In second place are enterprises that produce and distribute gas, heat, water and electricity. Their production is almost eleven percent of the total. The mining industry has the lowest indicator. The enterprises that are part of this structure produce a little more than twopercent of total production.
Production of the Cherkasy region is represented by the food industry (39.9%), chemical (26.9%), machine-building (8%) and light industry (1.5%).
Uman, Korsun-Shevchenkovsky and Katerynopol canning factories are known for a wide range of products. They ship their goods not only to various regions of Ukraine, but also to the CIS countries, Western Europe and the B altic states.
Products manufactured by chemical industry enterprises are well known to consumers. Its list includes mineral fertilizers and paints and varnishes, chemical fibers and reagents, car care products, medicines and polymer films.
The machine-building complex plays a serious role in the region's economy. It includes machine and instrument-making enterprises producing equipment for the food and light industries, as well as for agriculture.
Agribusinesses
Specialization of agriculture in the Cherkasy region is crop production of grain and beetroot, as well as meat and dairy farming. The percentage of plowing of agricultural land in this area is high. According to this indicator, the Cherkasy region, along with the Kherson region, is the leader in Ukraine. 539 collective enterprises, thirty-four state farms and 555 farms operate here.
Smela
Many cities of the Cherkasy region have a rich and interesting history. So, back in 1542, on the banks of the Tasmin River, atown of Smila. Cherkasy region celebrates his birthday on the second Sunday of September.
Smela is the center of the Smelyansky district. In 2005, 69 thousand people lived in this settlement. The national composition is mainly represented by Ukrainians, Russians and Jews.
There is a legend according to which the name of the city was given in honor of a brave young girl. She led the Slavs out of the settlement, besieged by the Tatars, by secret paths. Thanks to her, the enemy was defeated. However, the girl died from a Tatar arrow.
The city of Smela (Cherkasy region) was first mentioned in the chronicles of the 16th century. At that time this place belonged to the Commonwe alth. In 1795, the territory on which the city was located, went to the Russian Empire. After that, its industrial development began. A sugar factory and a mechanical factory were founded here. In 1876, the laying of the railway began through Smela. This fact became a powerful impetus for the further economic development of the city. Today, the food industry and mechanical engineering are well developed in Smela. The city has a milk cannery and the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of cabinet and upholstered furniture. This is the LIVS factory. Aluminum is being mined near the city.
Guests of Smila can visit the Museum of Local Lore, the Orthodox Intercession Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Church and the Memorial of Memory. An interesting attraction is the wagon museum. Its exhibits will acquaint visitors with the history of the railway development of the town.
Wheater
The history of the city goes back to ancient times. For the first time these places were described by Herodotus. According to one of the existing hypotheses, there was an ancient city on the site of the present Kamenka. Over the years, this territory belonged to the King of Poland Kazimir, Jerzy Lubomirsky - the Polish magnate, Ukrainian hetman Khmelnitsky and Field Marshal of Russia Potemkin-Tavrichesky. Further, by inheritance, the area passed into the possession of Davydova.
Kamenka (Cherkasy region) was the place where Pushkin and Tchaikovsky stopped. Today, the main attraction of the city is the historical and cultural reserve of Ukraine. On its territory there are several museum expositions, including a memorial house-estate, architectural buildings, a park laid out in the 18th century, sculptures, monuments, as well as library and archival funds. The reserve hosts Pushkin poetry festivals and children's music competitions dedicated to the memory of Tchaikovsky.
After the discovery of a groundwater deposit with unique natural properties, the construction of one of the first distilleries in the region began in Kamenka. And at present, for the production of Kamenskaya vodka, water is taken from a well with a depth of 220 m.
Vatutino
The city was founded in 1947. In the post-war years, it was necessary to solve the problem of providing residents with local types of household fuel in order to replace straw and Donbas coal. And now, on the outskirts of the village of Yurkovka, a lignite deposit was discovered, onon the basis of which a new city arose. The equipment at the open and closed mines was used captured, taken out from Germany.
For the construction of residential buildings and structures of the town, a woodworking plant and a brick factory were built. The coal complex was closed by the beginning of the 90s. Today, a bakery and several small businesses operate in Vatutyno (Cherkasy region).
Kinel-Cherkassy
In 1744, settlers from Ukraine arrived in the fertile area of the Middle Volga region. Forty-six Cossack families founded Kinel-Cherkasskaya Sloboda near the Bolshoi Kinel River. Initially, it was a security guard settlement. Its foundation was connected with the need to strengthen the borders of the Moscow state in the east.
Now this is the Kinel-Cherkassky district of the Samara region, and a small village founded in ancient times by the Cossacks is the largest village in Russia and the administrative center of the region.
Today, there are three schools and the same number of libraries in this village. A regional hospital, a sanatorium and a boarding house, where the elderly live, have been opened here. There is a House of Culture and Youth Organizations in Kinel-Cherkassy, a local history museum and a sports school for children and youth. The attraction of the village is the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, which is already over one hundred and fifty years old.
