Poltava Oblast

To many Ukrainians, Poltava Oblast is the very embodiment of the rural heartland: wide fields, whitewashed villages, rivers lined with willows. A travel warning is in effect for Ukraine because of Russia's war of aggression; a trip to Poltava is described here as a portrait, for a time when the situation allows it again.

Poltava and Kremenchuk

The city of Poltava entered European history through the Battle of 1709, in which Tsar Peter I defeated King Charles XII of Sweden. A museum and monuments on the battlefield commemorate it. The neoclassical center with its circular square and Column of Glory was laid out in the early 19th century; on Ivanova Hill stands the Exaltation of the Cross Monastery with its Baroque domes. Kremenchuk on the Dnipro is an industrial city with an oil refinery and automobile manufacturing; in 2022, its shopping mall was the target of a Russian missile strike that killed many people.

Villages, Literature and Crafts

Nikolai Gogol was born in the village of Velyki Sorochyntsi, where the Sorochyntsi Fair, which he immortalized in a short story, takes place every August. Ivan Kotliarevsky, the founder of the modern Ukrainian literary language, also came from Poltava. In Opishnia, pottery has been made for centuries; the National Museum of Pottery displays jugs, toy figures and clay sculptures. The landscape along the Vorskla and Psel rivers invites boat trips and fishing excursions.

In Dykanka, which Gogol immortalized in his "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka," there is an old wooden church, and along the Psel River you will find the steep banks of Shyshaky and the manor estates of Mala Pereshchepyna, where a famous treasure was discovered.

Food and Getting There

Poltava is the home of halushky, small dumplings boiled in broth and served with sour cream or bacon – the city even has a monument to them. Other local dishes include Poltava-style borscht and cherry vareniki. Poltava lies on the Kyiv–Kharkiv rail line and can be reached from Kyiv in about three to four hours. Air strikes are possible here as well; check current safety advisories before any trip. In peaceful times, late summer is the best time to visit.