Pokuttia,also known asPokuttyaorPokutia,(Ukrainian:Покуття;Polish:Pokucie;Romanian:Pocuția) is an historical area ofEast-Central Europe,situated between theDniesterandCheremoshrivers andCarpathian Mountains,in the southwestern part of modernUkraine.Although the historic heart of the area wasKolomyia,the namePokuttia(literally 'around the corner') is derived from the town ofKuty,which literally means 'angles' or 'corners'. The region is now inhabited mainly byUkrainians.
Pokuttia | |
|---|---|
    | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Pokuttia on the map of Ukraine | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Largest city | Kolomyia |
| Time zone | UTC+2(EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3(EEST) |
History
editHaving been a part ofKievan Rus'and then one of its successor states,Halych-Volhyniain the early medieval period, the area was incorporated intoKingdom of Polandafter 1340 byCasimir III of Polandin accordance with agreement made withYuri II Boleslav,the lastKing of Ruthenia,before his death in 1340.[1][2][3]
Władysław II Jagiełło,needing financial support for his battles against theTeutonic Knights,used the region as a guarantee for a loan which he obtained fromPetru II of Moldavia,who himself gained control of the region in 1388. Petru was eager to gain influence in the internal politics of the Kingdom of Poland, supporting the cause of his long-time allies, theJagiellonsof theGrand Duchy of Lithuania.Pokuttia, thus, became the feudal property of the princes ofMoldavia,but remained within theKingdom of Poland.As in other such famous 'deals' in medieval Europe (e.g.Foix,or theDauphiné), when the local feudal lord had to swear anoath of allegianceto the kingfor the specific territory,even when the former was himself an independent ruler of another state. Consequently, the region became a matter for judicial and military dispute between the two countries, because the debt was never repaid in full by Poland.
In 1485, MoldavianprinceStephen the Great,having lost his country's access to theBlack Seathe previous year to theOttomans,was in serious need of alliances, and swore allegiance toCasimir IV Jagiellon,King of Poland for Pokuttia, in what is known as theColomeeaoath.
In 1490, due to increased oppression of Ukrainians at the hands of the Polish, a series of successful rebellions was led by Ukrainian hero Petro Mukha, joined by other Ukrainians, such as Cossacks and Hutsuls, in addition to Moldavians. Known asMukha Rebellion,this series of battles was supported by Moldavian prince Stephen the Great, and it is one of the earliest known uprisings of Ukrainians against Polish oppression. These rebellions saw the capture of various cities of Pokuttia, and reached as far west as Lviv.[4]
Moreover, Casimir's successor,John I Albert of Poland,used the aforementioned treaty as a pretext to invadeMoldaviaitself in 1497. Even after four months of siege, he failed to take the fortress ofSuceava,Stephen's capital, and abandoning the siege, his army ran into a trap that caused many of his nobles to die (seeBattle of the Cosmin Forest).
In 1498, Pokuttia was conquered by Stephen the Great, annexed and retained byMoldaviauntil theBattle of Obertynin 1531, when it was recaptured by Poland'shetmanJan Tarnowski,who defeated Stephen's sonPetru Rareș.Minor Polish–Moldavian clashes for Pokuttia continued for the next 15 years, until Petru Rareș's death. Throughout Middle Ages,Obertynwas Pokuttia's main castle, while Kolomyia was the region's main market town and fair.
Following thePartitions of Polandof 1772, Pokuttia fell under theHabsburg Monarchy.
In the wake of theWorld War Iand the fall ofAustria-Hungary,it became disputed between Poland and the short-livedWest Ukrainian People's Republic,which had its seat of government inStanyslavivafter it failed to holdLviv.In May 1919, Polish and Romanian forcesoccupied Pokuttiain order to create a corridor between Poland and Romania. In August 1919, the Romanian Army handed eastern Pokuttia over to Poland.[5]After thePolish–Soviet War,it remained in Poland.
In mid-September 1939, during theinvasion of Polandat the start ofWorld War II,the Polishgold reservewas evacuated fromWarsawand stored by the Polish government inŚniatyn,before it was eventually further evacuated viaRomaniato territory ofPolish-alliedFrance.[6]As a result of the1939 invasion and partition of PolandbyNazi Germanyand theSoviet Union,the area was initially attached to theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,falling to Nazi control after the start ofOperation Barbarossauntil 1944. It was then incorporated into the Soviet controlled Western UkrainianoblastofIvano-Frankivsk,roughly corresponding to the southern half of the oblast.
Pokuttia's population still contains today some Romanian and Ukrainian Hutsul communities. At the 2001 census there were 600 Romanians and Moldovans recorded.
Language
editThe territory of Pokuttia had been part of Moldavia since the 14th century. The Moldavian state had appeared by the mid-14th century, eventually expanding its territory all the way to the Black Sea. Bukovina and neighboring regions were the nucleus of the Moldavian Principality, with the city of Iași as its capital from 1388 (after Baia and Siret).[7]The Romanian language influenced the language spoken by locals, and thePokuttia–Bukovina dialectwas formed. It is distinct from other Ukrainian dialects because most of them are influenced by other Slavic languages, while the Pokuttia-Bukovina dialect was formed under the influence of Romance languages. The dialect preserved several archaic endings and soft declension, and certain lexical peculiarities, including Romanianisms. The expansion of ancient Pokuttian phonetic features in the 14th-16th centuries in western Podolia contributed to the formation of a broader group of Dniester dialects.[citation needed]
List of cities
edit- Nadvirna
- Deliatyn
- Hody-Dobrovidka
- Kobaky
- Kolomyia(Polish:Kołomyja,Romanian: Colomeea)
- Kosiv
- Kosmach
- Kuty,Stari Kuty(Romanian: Cuturi)
- Lanchyn
- Pechenizhyn
- Obertyn(Romanian: Obertin)
- Verkhovyna
- Vorokhta
- Yabluniv
- Yaremche
- Zabolotiv
References
edit- ^Barański M. - Dynastia Piastów w Polsce, page 899
- ^Kazimierz Wielki - Jerzy Wyrozumski, page 79
- ^Kiryk F., Wielki Król i Jego Następca, page 7
- ^Mukha's Rebellion
- ^Philippe Henri Blasen: Pocuce, injuste prius detractum, recepit... Rumänische Ansprüche auf die südostgalizische Gegend Pokutien? In: Analele Bucovinei, 1/2014
- ^Wróbel, Janusz (2002). "Wojenne losy polskiego złota".Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej(in Polish). No. 8–9 (19–20).IPN.pp. 56–57.ISSN1641-9561.
- ^"Southwestern dialects".encyclope điểu fukraine.Retrieved2020-11-09.