Bilopillia

Bilopillia
Білопілля
Central square
Interactive map of Bilopillia
Bilopillia
Location of Bilopillia
Bilopillia
Bilopillia (Ukraine)
Coordinates: 51°08′45″N 34°18′42″E / 51.14583°N 34.31167°E / 51.14583; 34.31167
Country Ukraine
OblastSumy Oblast
RaionSumy Raion
HromadaBilopillia urban hromada
Founded1672
Government
 • MayorZarko Yurii Vasilyovych
Elevation
159 m (522 ft)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
15,600
Postal code
41800—810
Area code+38 (05443)
KATOTTHUA59080030010079123
Websitehttp://bilopillya-meria.gov.ua/

Bilopillia (Ukrainian: Білопілля [ˌbiɫoˈpilːɐ] ) is a city in Sumy Raion of Sumy Oblast of northeastern Ukraine. It was the administrative center of Bilopillia Raion until it was abolished on 18 July 2020. It is located close to Kursk Oblast of Russia. Population: 15,600 (2022 estimate).[1] The city's ancient name is Vyr.[2]

Geography

Bilopillia is located on the Central Upland upon the river Vyr, a tributary of Seym.[3]

Bilopillia railway station is situated in the south part of the city.[4] Roads T1904, T1906, T1908, and highway P45 are present in the city.

History

Ancient and medieval period

The territory of modern Bilopillia was settled as early as the 2nd–6th centuries, as evidenced by the discovered settlement of the Chernyakhiv culture. During the time of Kievan Rus, the fortified city of Vyr emerged, which was an outpost in the fight against nomads. Vyr is mentioned for the first time in the "Povchannya" of Volodymyr Monomakh in 1096, but the events depicted there relate to the year 1113. In 1239, the city was devastated and burned by the Mongol-Tatars. In the mid-16th century, the posts of the Moscow military guard appeared in this area. One of them was established on the Vyr hillfort. It existed until 1571.

Cossack administration

In 1672, a new settlement emerged on the site of the ancient Vyr, which had 1352 inhabitants. It was established by settlers from Right-bank Ukraine.[3] The settlement was first mentioned as Kryha, after the local river, in the Chronicle of Samovydets in 1687. The second name – Bilopillia – was given by settlers from the town of the same name.[5]

Bilopillia was an important town in the Sumy Cossack regiment. It consisted of a town with 9 towers and a fort with 13 towers. In 1678 there were 53 Russian service people and 1,202 Cossacks. In 1681, the three villages of Krygu (in office), Vorozhba (2 kilometers from the city), and Pavlivka (5 km from the city) were assigned to Bilopillia.[6]

Russian and Soviet rule

After the dissolution of Sloboda Ukraine in 1765,[3] Bilopillia became a settlement (since 1791 – a town) in Sumskoy Uyezd in the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire. During the 19th century it was a centre of grain trade, hosting numerous fairs.[3]

In 1932 the town's population reached 12,000.[3] In 1933 Bilopillia Machine-Building Plant was built here.[7]

The settlement suffered as a result of the genocide of the Ukrainian people, conducted by the Government of the USSR in 1932–1933 and 1946–1947. At least 2,000 people died during the Soviet-organized Holodomor of 1932–1933. During World War II, town was occupied by the German Army from 8 October 1941 to 3 September 1943.

After the war Bilopillia served as a centre of machine building, sugar industry and alcohol production.[3]

Russo-Ukrainian war

The city has been shelled during the Russo-Ukrainian war. On April 26, 2024, Russian artillery killed two civilian women aged 77 and 69 and injured three more, according to Ukrainian sources.[8]

Demographics

Population

In January 1989 the population was 19,746 people.[9]

In January 2013 the population was 16,731 people.[10]

Ethnicity

Distribution of the population by ethnicity according to the 2001 census:[11]

Ethnic groups in Bilopillia
percent
Ukrainians
92.60%
Russians
5.81%
Gypsies
0.81%
Belarusians
0.30%
Armenians
0.12%
Azerbaijanis
0.12%

Native languages

Distribution of the population by their first language according to the 2001 census:[12]

Native languages in Bilopillia
percent
Ukrainian
93.3%
Russian
5.6%
Romani
0.7%
Armenian
0.1%
Belarusian
0.1%
others
0.1%

References

  1. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Entry Display Web Page".
  3. ^ a b c d e f Енциклопедія українознавства. Словникова частина (ЕУ-II). Vol. 1. 1993. p. 132.
  4. ^ Белополье // Советский энциклопедический словарь. редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. 4-е изд. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1986. стр.124
  5. ^ Янко М. Т. Топонімічний словник України: Словник-довідник. — К.: Знання, 1998. — 432 с.
  6. ^ Janko M.T. Toponymic Dictionary of Ukraine: Dictionary-reference book. — K.: Knowledge, 1998. — 432 p.
  7. ^ Белополье // Большая Советская Энциклопедия. / под ред. А. М. Прохорова. 3-е изд. том 3. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1970. стр.125
  8. ^ "Shelling of Bilopillia in Sumy region: three injured reported". www.ukrinform.net. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  9. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу
  10. ^ "Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2013 року. Державна служба статистики України. Київ, 2013. стор.92" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Національний склад міст". Datatowel.in.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України".