Location: Poltava Oblast
Poltava is the capital of Poltava Oblast in Ukraine. It is famous site of Battle of Poltava on June 27th 1709 when Swedish army and its Cossack allies were defeated by the Russian Army under command of Peter the Great. It became a turning point in the Great Northern War. Swedish Empire lost large parts of its land for good, while Russian Empire became an important key player in the region.
The Monument (Column) of Glory
The Monument of Glory, also called
the Column of Glory, stands at the heart of Poltava’s Round Square,
where eight streets meet in a classic radial plan. It was built to
mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava (27 June 1709,
Old Style), the decisive clash of the Great Northern War in which
the army of Peter I defeated the Swedish force led by King Charles
XII. Local tradition holds that the column occupies the very ground
where Peter met the city’s garrison and peasants the day after the
battle. A wooden triumphal arch had already been raised there for
that meeting.
The first sketches came from Poltava’s provincial
architect M. Amvrosimov in 1804. They were sent to the Imperial
Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, where Jean-François Thomas de
Thomon refined the design. Sculptor Feodosy Shchedrin, with help
from F. Gordeyev and I. Martos, modeled the bronze work.
Construction ran from 1806 to 1811. Townspeople and nearby villages
raised about 135,000–150,000 rubles. Emperor Alexander I paid for
the gilded bronze eagle and other bronze ornaments. The cast-iron
Tuscan column was poured at the Lugansk foundry; granite for the
pedestal came from quarries near Kremenchuk and Keleberda.
The
monument is a cast-iron column on a stepped granite base shaped like
a fortress bastion. Eighteen cannon, some captured Swedish field
pieces that had sat in Poltava for nearly a century and others taken
from the fortress bastions, are set into the lower course. A
cast-iron railing of swords pointing downward encircles the upper
pedestal as a sign of peace after victory. Three wreaths of oak,
laurel, and palm bind the shaft. A gilded bronze eagle, wings spread
about 3 meters, holds a laurel wreath in its beak and arrows in its
claws and looks toward the battlefield.
Total height is about
16.6 meters. The column itself, including the capital, is 10.35
meters high. The eagle with its hemisphere measures 2.11 meters.
Diameter is 1.84 meters at the base of the shaft and 1.3 meters at
the top. An inscription on the monument reads that it was finished
in 1809, yet the official opening took place on 27 June 1811. In
1852 a circular park was laid out to set the column apart from the
growing city. The monument was badly damaged in the Second World War
and restored, then reopened in 1953. It remains the visual and
symbolic center of Poltava.
Khrestovozdvizhensky Monastery
(Holy Cross Exaltation Monastery)
The monastery stands on
Monastyrska Hill above the Poltavka River, in the Chervonyi Shlyakh
district. It was founded in 1650 as a men’s house by Kalistrat,
hegumen of the Mhar Transfiguration Monastery, with the blessing of
Metropolitan Sylvester Kosiv of Kyiv. Funding came from Poltava
Regiment Colonel Martyn Pushkar and other Cossack officers and
townsmen. Crimean Tatars burned the wooden complex in 1693–1695.
Swedish troops occupied the height in the spring of 1709 and used it
to shell the fortress; after the battle the Russians recovered the
site.
The stone Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was
begun in 1689 (or 1699) with support from Hetman Ivan Samoylovych
and later the Kochubey family. Sources give completion dates of 1709
or consecration in 1756. The church is a rare seven-domed Ukrainian
Baroque building that also draws on older Kyivan and wooden-church
plans. It is about 30 meters long; the central dome rises 28 meters.
Four altars once served the main nave and the choir lofts. A
four-tier carved limewood iconostasis by S. Shalmatov (1772, Rococo)
once filled the width of the church. The four-tier gate bell tower
of 1786 reaches 47 meters and is the tallest historic structure on
the hill. Masonry walls and monastic buildings were added in the
1880s.
Charles XII and Peter I both visited the monastery. Taras
Shevchenko sketched it in 1845. Closed and damaged in the Soviet
period and during the Second World War, it was revived as a convent
in the 1990s and restored from 1999. The cathedral, bell tower,
refectory church, and brothers’ quarters are listed as monuments of
national importance.
Church of Saint Panteleimon
(Panteleymonovskaya Church)
The Church of the Holy Great Martyr
and Healer Panteleimon is a working Eastern Orthodox parish church
at 64 Yevropeiska (formerly Frunze) Street, on the edge of Ivan
Kotliarevsky Park. The park occupies the old city cemetery. Nearby
once stood the All Saints Cemetery Church, known from 1740 and later
demolished in the Soviet years.
City authorities approved a new
church on the site in 1999. Architects S. Trehubov and O. Biliavska
designed it. The building was consecrated on 19 September 2000; the
first Divine Liturgy followed on 23 September. The parish belongs to
the Poltava eparchy. Its feast day is 9 August (St. Panteleimon).
Among its relics are a wonder-working icon of St. Nicholas and an
icon of St. Panteleimon with a particle of relics. Services are held
daily; an akathist to the healer is sung on Tuesdays.
Monument to Fallen Swedish Soldiers
Two memorials honor the
Swedish dead of 1709. The better-known one in the visitor’s original
note is the Russian monument of 1909. It stands on the former right
flank of the Swedish line. Emperor Nicholas II attended the
bicentenary ceremonies that year. The memorial is a truncated
granite pyramid topped by a cross, with a bronze plaque in Russian
and Swedish: a prayer that the brave Swedish soldiers who fell on 27
June 1709 be remembered forever. Cast-iron posts linked by a chain
surround it.
A second stone, paid for by Swedish subscriptions
and shipped with help from Emanuel Nobel, was set up on 2 June 1909
near the village of Pobyvanka, on a mound said to cover Swedish
graves. The 6-meter, 20-ton granite block from the Vånevik quarry in
Småland bears a bilingual inscription: “In memory of the Swedes who
fell here in 1709, this stone was raised by their compatriots in
1909.” A sculptural group of Mother Svea covering a fallen
Carolinian soldier, originally intended for the battlefield, was
instead erected in Stockholm in 1904.
Ivanova Gora (Ivan’s
Mountain) is the historic heart of Poltava. This high plateau on the
right bank of the Vorskla River is where the chronicle town of Ltava
stood as early as 1174. Later it became the site of the 17th-century
earthen Poltava Fortress, which held out for three months against
Charles XII’s Swedish army in 1709.
The hill takes its name from
Ivan Kotlyarevsky (1769–1838), the writer who lived here and whose
Eneida is regarded as the starting point of modern Ukrainian
literature. Today the plateau is Soborna Square. Around it you find
the restored Holy Dormition Cathedral and its tall bell tower,
Kotlyarevsky’s reconstructed estate-museum (house, well, barns), the
rebuilt wooden Podilska Tower of the old fortress, and the popular
Monument to the Halushka.
White Rotunda on Soborna Square crowns
the very edge of Ivanova Gora. First built in 1909 for the 200th
anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, the horseshoe-shaped colonnade
of eight Doric columns stands about 9 meters high on the remnants of
the old Podilsky bastion. Local legend says a Poltava blacksmith
skillfully reshod Peter the Great’s horse after it lost a shoe
during the battle; the open ends of the “horseshoe” point toward the
cathedral.
Destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt in 1954.
From the rotunda a wide view opens over the Podil and Levada
districts, the Vorskla valley, and the Exaltation of the Cross
Monastery on the opposite hill. At night LED lighting turns it into
one of the city’s most photographed spots. Graduates come at dawn
after their last school night; newlyweds often open champagne here.
Monument “From Swedes to Swedes” stands a short distance north of
the city, near the village of Pobyvanka (Takhtaulove area) on the
northern edge of the 1709 battlefield. The 6-meter, 20-ton granite
monolith was quarried in Sweden (Småland) and shipped here in 1909.
Both faces carry the same short inscription in Swedish and Russian:
“In memory of the Swedes who fell here in 1709. Erected by their
compatriots in 1909.”
Swedish public donations paid for the
stone; Emanuel Nobel covered transport and installation. The top of
the block slants slightly north, a traditional Scandinavian sign of
mourning. A local story claims that at sunrise the first light
sometimes outlines the silhouette of a grieving woman on the
granite.
Poltava Regional Museum (Poltava Local Lore Museum /
Vasyl Krychevsky Poltava Regional Studies Museum) occupies the
striking Ukrainian Moderne building at 2 Konstytutsii Street.
Founded in 1891 on the initiative of soil scientist Vasyl Dokuchaev,
it now holds roughly 190,000–300,000 items: archaeology from the
Ltava settlement and later periods, ethnography, folk art (Opishnia
ceramics, embroideries, kilims), natural-history collections, and
documents of regional history. The building itself, designed by
Vasyl Krychevsky in 1903–1906 and decorated inside by Serhii
Vasylkivsky and Mykola Samokysh, is one of Poltava’s architectural
landmarks. The museum was heavily damaged in 1943 and later
restored.
Current situation first. Most Western governments, including the US
and UK, advise against all travel to Ukraine, including Poltava Oblast.
Airspace is closed. Missile and drone attacks continue nationwide.
Poltava itself has been hit in recent days (early September 2026), with
explosions reported in the city and injuries. Air-raid sirens are
common. Trains can be delayed several hours when alerts are active. If
you travel anyway, treat this as a high-risk trip: download the official
“Povitryana Tryvoha” (Air Alert) app, know the nearest shelter at every
stop, carry a power bank, and follow local official channels. Ordinary
street crime is relatively low, but that is not the main risk.
How to get there
There is no functioning passenger airport in
Poltava. Nearest options used to be Kharkiv and Dnipro; both remain
disrupted.
Train is the most reliable way. Poltava has two stations:
Poltava-Kyivska (better for Kyiv) and Poltava-Pivdenna (South). Kyiv is
roughly 3.5–5 hours depending on Intercity vs ordinary trains. Kharkiv
is about 2 hours. Buy tickets on the Ukrzaliznytsia app or website and
check live delays; air alerts regularly stop trains.
Bus from Kyiv
takes about 3.5–5 hours and is cheaper (often from about $13 one way).
Multiple operators run daily. The main bus station is not right in the
historic center; allow time for a trolleybus or taxi.
From abroad,
typical routes go via Poland or other EU neighbors to Kyiv or Lviv, then
onward by train or bus. International trains into Ukraine exist but
change frequently.
Inside the city, trolleybuses and marshrutkas
cover the center cheaply. Taxis and ride-hailing work. The historic core
(Round Square – Cathedral Square – Ivanova Hora) is easily walked.
Best time to visit
May–June and September are the most
comfortable: mild temperatures, lime and chestnut blossom in late
spring, harvest colors in early autumn. July–August can reach 30–32 °C
and feel sticky. Winters are cold, often well below freezing, with ice
on sidewalks. Weather is secondary to the security picture; any visit
should be planned around current alerts, not just climate.
Core
sights (city center)
Start at Round Square (Kruhla Ploshcha) and
Korpusnyi Garden. This is the city’s architectural signature: a
near-circular Classicist square laid out in the early 19th century, with
the 1811 Monument of Glory (cast-iron column topped by an eagle) in the
middle and eight former government buildings around the rim. Eight
streets radiate from it. The garden itself is one of Ukraine’s oldest
planned parks.
From there it is a short walk to:
Ivanova Hora
(Ivan’s Hill) and the White Rotunda (Bila Altanka / Rotunda of Peoples’
Friendship, 1909). Best viewpoint over the Vorskla valley and the lower
town. Sunset is the classic time.
Cathedral Square, the Assumption
Cathedral (Ukrainian Baroque, mid-18th century), and the small Halushky
Monument nearby. This is the old fortress hill.
Ivan Kotlyarevsky
Literary Memorial Museum (his reconstructed homestead). Essential if you
care about Ukrainian language and literature; Eneida (1798) was written
here.
Poltava Regional Museum of Local Lore (Vasyl Krychevsky
Museum). The building itself is a landmark of Ukrainian architectural
modernism (former Zemstvo). Strong archaeology, Cossack, and
ethnographic collections.
Poltava Art Museum. Smaller, quieter, good
for regional painting and icons.
Most museums run roughly
Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–17:00; confirm hours locally because they shift.
Battle of Poltava site
About 7–10 km northeast of the center
(taxi or marshrutka). The State Historical and Cultural Reserve “Field
of the Battle of Poltava” covers a large open area with reconstructed
redoubts, monuments, the Swedish mass grave, St Samson’s Church, and the
Battle History Museum (diorama and artifacts). Allow half a day. Grounds
are often free; the museum charges a modest fee. Wear proper shoes; it
is a walk.
Food
Poltava’s signature dish is halushky: soft
flour dumplings served in broth or with pork cracklings and sour cream.
They are not varenyky. Look for them at traditional restaurants and at
the central market. Also try Poltava-style borshch (sometimes with
dumplings instead of potatoes), local honey, pickles, and salo. Carry
small cash; cards work in hotels and many restaurants but not
everywhere.
Day trips
Dykanka (about 30 km north): Gogol
country. Church of St Nicholas, ancient Kochubei oaks, and a triumphal
arch from Alexander I’s visit. Easy half-day.
Opishnia: major pottery
center with a large museum of ceramics.
Velyki Sorochyntsi: famous
fair (traditionally August), linked to Gogol.
These require a car,
taxi, or organized ride; public transport exists but is slower.
Practical visiting tips
Stay near Independence / Sobornosti Street or
Round Square so you can walk most sights.
Wear flat, comfortable
shoes. The center has cobbles.
Dress modestly in churches (shoulders
and knees covered; women often cover hair).
Carry cash in small notes
and a power bank. Power and mobile service can drop during alerts.
Markets are best on weekday mornings for produce and crafts.
Photography of military objects, checkpoints, and some infrastructure is
restricted.
English is limited outside hotels; Ukrainian and Russian
are the working languages. Basic Ukrainian phrases help.
Two full
days cover the city center plus the battlefield. A third day is useful
for Dykanka or Opishnia.
Suggested one-day walking circuit
Morning: Round Square and Korpusnyi Garden → Regional Museum.
Lunch:
halushky.
Afternoon: Cathedral Square, Assumption Cathedral, Halushky
Monument, Kotlyarevsky museum.
Late afternoon / sunset: White
Rotunda on Ivanova Hora.
A second day: battlefield reserve in the
morning, then either the art museum and parks or a short trip out of
town.
Archaeological finds
In the territory of Poltava, primitive people lived even during the
Paleolithic. In the tract Belaya Gora, located on the outskirts of
Poltava, a Neolithic site was discovered. Archaeological excavations
in the city showed that back in the 9th century, a fortified
settlement was built by the Slavic tribe of northerners on the
Ivanova Mountain in the territory of the present Cathedral Square.
Near Victory Park, the remains of two settlements of the late X -
early XI century. Opposite the Law Academy, the remains of a posad
from three clay houses of the 11th – 12th centuries were found.
Further research showed that on the territory of Cathedral Square,
Pervomaisky Avenue and Spasskaya Street there were continuous urban
areas - streets, residential, utility and industrial premises.
Middle Ages
The Ipatiev Chronicle of 1174 first mentioned the fortification on
the Ltava River, but its exact location is not indicated.
In 1240, the settlement was almost completely destroyed during the
Mongol-Tatar invasion, and for a long time there were no consonant
names in written sources. In the middle of the XIV century, the
Principality of Kiev, which included Poltava, was annexed by Prince
Olgerd to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In 1430, in the letter of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas,
Poltava was first mentioned, which was under his rule at that time,
which he transferred to the Horde prince Alexander Glinsky who had
switched to the Lithuanian side, who built a fortress here - wooden
fortifications and earthen ramparts around Poltava. In 1482, Poltava
was attacked by the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray. Since 1503, Poltava
belonged to Prince Mikhail Glinsky. In 1508, she was taken from him
by the Polish king Sigismund I for participating in an anti-Polish
uprising. However, later it was still returned to the Glinsky
family. In 1537, the Glinsky's son-in-law - Baybuz became the owner
of Poltava.
In 1569, according to the Union of Lublin, Poltava from the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania was transferred to the Kingdom of Poland. In
1576, Stefan Batoriy divided the entire Left-Bank Ukraine according
to the Zemstvo and the army into regiments, and the regiments into
hundreds. In the second half of the XVI century in the Poltava
region there were about 300 villages, among which were cities,
settlements, villages. In the territory of the Poltava region, large
possessions of Lithuanians and Poles, mainly Mazury, were formed.
In 1630, Poltava was given to Bartolomew Obalkovsky, in 1641 she
passed to Stanislav Konetspolsky and was first named the city. Under
him, a fortress was erected (Ukrainian). The first colonel of the
Cossack administration was Ostryanin. Around these years, Poltava
received the Magdeburg Law, although the feudal lords continued to
intervene in the affairs of the city. In those days, potters,
blacksmiths, and shoemakers worked in Poltava.
In 1646, the units of Jeremiah Vishnevetsky captured Poltava. At
that time, according to official documents, there were 812
households in the city.
As part of the Hetman
After the Khmelnitsky uprising, Poltava became the
military-administrative center of the Poltava regiment as part of
the Hetman. The entire territory of the city was divided into
hundreds. During the Russo-Polish War, Poltava was one of the main
regions of the Left-Bank Ukraine, which became a reliable rear, from
where human resources were replenished and the army of Bogdan
Khmelnitsky was supplied. A lot of people from these places showed
themselves during the war (Martyn Pushkar, Ivan Iskra, etc.)
At this time, Poltava is actively developing in the cultural and
economic aspect - the Holy Cross Monastery is being built, the
creators of the Cossack annals Samuel Velichko and Grigory
Grabyanka, the poet Ivan Velichkovsky live and work in the city.
In 1658, Poltava became the center of an uprising against the hetman
Ivan Vygovsky.
During the Ruins, the city was attacked several times by the Crimean
Tatars allied with Vygovsky, in connection with which new
fortifications were built around the city - Poltava was surrounded
by a moat and surrounded by a rampart. However, in 1658, Vygovsky
managed to take the city and betrayed it to devastating ruin. Many
residents of Poltava were enslaved to the Crimean Tatars. According
to other sources, Vygovsky prevented this.
After the Andrusovsky armistice of 1667, Poltava, along with
Left-Bank Ukraine, became part of the Russian Empire.
In the years 1693-1695. as a result of the raids of the Crimean
Tatars, the city was sacked.
1700-1917
At the end of the 17th century, the restoration and development of
the city began. At the turn of the XVII — XVIII centuries. Poltava
becomes one of the craft and trade centers of the Left Bank.
Of great importance for the city was the Northern War of
1700-1721 between Russia and Sweden. During the campaign of King
Charles XII to Moscow through the territory of the Hetman region,
the garrison of Poltava (4200 soldiers and 2.5 thousand armed
citizens) held the city for three months until the main forces of
the Russian army approached. On June 27 (July 8), 1709, a general
battle of the Northern War - the Battle of Poltava - took place near
the city walls. Both armies included Zaporizhzhya Cossack regiments,
the Russian army - led by Peter I, the Swedish - led by Ivan Mazepa
and Kost Gordienko. The result of the battle was the complete defeat
of Charles XII, after which he, together with Mazepa, fled to the
Bendery fortress in the Ottoman Empire. After the Northern War, the
city became known throughout the Russian Empire as a city of
military glory. Poltava began to be actively built up; soon the city
became one of the main trade and craft centers of Little Russia.
In 1775, Poltava became part of the Novorossiysk province, in 1784 -
part of the Yekaterinoslav governorate.
At the beginning of the 19th century, 35 industrial enterprises
operated in the Poltava region, including: saltpeter, soap
factories, cloth factories, brick factories and others.
After Poltava became the administrative center of the Poltava
province in 1802, the first master plan of the city was approved in
1803, according to which a city garden was created in 1803-1805, the
city center was designed and built up - an architectural ensemble
around the Round Square, from which the rays emanated from 8
streets.
In 1811, the Glory Monument was opened in the center of the square.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, Poltava became the center of the
formation of the militia of the Poltava province.
Subsequently, Poltava became one of the centers of cultural and
spiritual life of Little Russia. Since 1818, the Masonic Lodge “Love
for Truth” has been operating here, which included Ivan
Kotlyarevsky, V. Lukashevich, V. Tarnovsky and others. In 1818-1819,
Nikolai Gogol studied at the school. The playwright and theater
director Mikhail Staritsky, the historian and public figure Mikhail
Dragomanov, and the mathematician Mikhail Ostrogradsky studied at
the Poltava gymnasium. Here, almost all his life, Ivan Kotlyarevsky
worked. In 1844, Taras Shevchenko came to the city. Ivan
Nechui-Levitsky, Panas Mirny, Vasily Dokuchaev and his student
Vladimir Vernadsky, doctor Nikolai Sklifosovsky worked and worked
here.
In 1818, the Institute of Noble Maidens and the Theological College
at the Holy Cross Monastery were opened, and in 1820, a gardening
school.
In 1835, a provincial public library was created in the city, and on
April 2, 1838, the publication of the newspaper Poltava Provincial
Gazette began. In 1840, the cadet corps was opened.
In 1846, Poltava intellectuals V. Belozersky, Georgy Andruz, and
others entered the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood, founded in Kiev.
In 1852, the Ilyinsky Fair was transferred from Romny to Poltava.
By the beginning of 1860, in a city with 30 thousand inhabitants, a
female gymnasium, a day school and 5 Saturday and Sunday schools
were opened.
In 1876, the Alexander Sixth Class School opened in Poltava.
In 1884, an experimental field was created on the outskirts of the
city (later transformed into an agricultural station).
In 1900-1921, the famous writer Vladimir Korolenko lived, studied
and worked in Poltava.
In 1901, a social democratic organization of a spark type was
created in Poltava.
On August 30, 1903, a monument to Ivan Kotlyarevsky was unveiled.
In 1908, the building of the provincial zemstvo was erected in a
pseudo-Moorish style.
In 1909, on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, the
Petrovsky Park and a monument to Colonel Kelin and the valiant
defenders of Poltava were opened. At the place where the ancient
Sampsonian Tower once stood, they built the White Arbor - a low
semicircular colonnade with a view of several tens of kilometers.
By 1913, Poltava was a small provincial provincial city of the
Russian Empire. The city was dominated by one- and two-story
buildings, industry was developing, 64 enterprises were operating in
the city (steam repair workshops, oil churns, stocking workshops,
several mills and other small industries), the total number of
workers at which was about 2 thousand people.
1918-1991
In 1917, Bolshevik and pro-Russian members of the Poltava Council
of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies were strong in the city.
After the October Revolution, the Poltava United Organization of the
RSDLP (b) was created in the city.
On December 17, 1917, the troops of the Central Rada dispersed the
Poltava Council, however, on January 6 (19), 1918, the combined Red
Guard detachments from Petrograd and Moscow under the command of
P.V. Yegorov, the Red Guards of Poltava and the 1st Red Cossack
Regiment under the command of V.M. Primakov occupied the city. On
January 12 (25), 1918, the Poltava Military Revolutionary Committee
began work, in February 1918 the city Council of workers, peasants
and soldiers' deputies began work, and the city council was
dissolved.
On March 1, 1918, the government of Soviet Ukraine moved from Kiev
to Poltava, but on March 10, 1918, it left for Yekaterinoslav. March
29, 1918 Poltava was occupied by the advancing Austro-German troops.
The first, according to the memoirs of Vsevolod Petrov, his
Haidamaks entered the city.
April 29 - until mid-November 1918, the provincial government bodies
of the Poltava province of the Ukrainian state worked in the city
and the administration of the 6th Poltava corps of the Ukrainian
state was located.
On November 27, 1918, detachments of armed communists entered the
city, but two days later they were knocked out by the troops of the
Ukrainian People’s Republic.
July 16, 1919 the city was occupied by units of the Volunteer Army.
On December 31, 1919, Soviet power was restored in the city.
From June 30 and July 1922 in the city, on the basis of the order of
the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Crimea No. 778/204,
the formation of the management of the 8th Rifle Corps continued.
Here it was until October 1925.
In 1922, a confectionery factory was created and began work.
In the years 1923-37, several administrative reforms were carried
out.
In 1924, the Tekstilshchik hosiery factory was created and started
operating, on May 25, 1925, a tobacco factory, and in 1929, a meat
factory. In addition, in 1929, sewage was carried out in Poltava.
In 1931, the oil and fat factory and the Poltava thermometer factory
were built and put into operation, in 1934 - the spinning factory.
September 22, 1937 Poltava region was established with its center in
the city of Poltava.
During the Second World War, the city was bombarded several times by
the Luftwaffe; on September 18, 1941, German troops entered the
city. The city was included in the Reich Commissariat of Ukraine. In
accordance with the plans for the colonization of the “eastern
space”, by order of the German occupation authorities, the number of
schools in the city was reduced from 37 to 2, and the number of
students was reduced from 18259 to 150. During the period of
occupation, an underground regional committee operated under the
leadership of S. F. Kondratenko .
On June 1, 1942, Hitler visited Poltava.
In the summer-autumn campaign of 1943, Poltava was an important
communications center behind the rear of German troops, and the loss
of the city meant the loss of a number of other large strongholds.
As a result, the German command began large-scale work to strengthen
the city. Not only local residents were mobilized for work, but also
residents of Kiev, Chernigov and Zhytomyr. As Soviet troops
approached Poltava in September 1943, German troops began to shoot
residents of the city accused of having ties to the Soviet
underground, burn buildings and non-evacuated material assets, and
establish minefields. The first line of German fortifications ran
along the rivers Merepa and Uda, the main line of German defense was
on the right bank of the Vorskla River. As a result, the fighting
for the city took on a fierce character and continued around the
clock from September 21 to September 23, 1943. It turned out to take
Poltava only after crossing the Vorskla and bypassing the city from
south and north by the troops of the 5th Guards Army General A. S.
Zhadov and the 53rd Army I. M. Managarov.
On September 22, 1943, at 11 p.m., the commander of the 201st
Infantry Regiment of the 84th Infantry Division, Major Yermishin,
established the Red Banner on the central square of the city.