Once the ancient Russian city was an important center for the development of culture and statehood, the third after Kyiv and Novgorod. It has been part of Ukraine for almost a hundred years and, apparently, all the best is left behind. All that the population of Chernigov can be proud of now is the glorious past and historical monuments from there.
General information
Regional center, located on the right bank of the Desna River, near the confluence of the Strizhen River. The northernmost region of Ukraine borders on Russia (Bryansk region) and Belarus (Gomel region). Neighboring regions of the country: Kyiv region is located in the west, Sumy region is located to the east, and Poltava region is located to the south.
The population of Chernihiv is 289,400 people, according to 2018 data. 1.054 million people live in the region. Which represent all the main religious denominations of the country: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism.
The territory of the region is completely located on the East European Plain, which determines the flat characterareas with slight elevation changes relative to sea level from 50 to 150 m. 1200 rivers flow through the region, the largest of which are the Dnieper, Desna and Oster.
Ancient history
Traces of human activity found on the territory of the region date back to the Neolithic era, and the first settlements to the Bronze Age, to the 2nd millennium BC. Starting from the 1st millennium, several settlements arose on the banks of the Desna and Strizhn, which quickly grew due to their location on the trade route. The first written mention in the "Tale of Bygone Years" is associated with the Kyiv prince Oleg, who forced Byzantium to pay tribute to large Russian cities. There is no reliable data on how many people lived in Chernihiv in those years.
In 1024 it becomes the capital city of the principality, thanks to which it continues to grow rapidly. The second half of the 11th century was the period of the greatest prosperity of the Chernigov principality. The Yeletsky (1060) and Ilyinsky (1069) monasteries were built. The area of the city reached 450 hectares, and the population of Chernihiv was 40,000 people.
In the 19th and first half of the 20th century
In 1801, Chernihiv became the administrative center of the formed Chernihiv province. During these years, there were 705 houses in the city, in which 4,000 people lived. After the abolition of serfdom, the population began to grow rapidly, due to the influx of peasants into urban enterprises. In 1897 the population was 27,716. At the same time, electricity was provided, two hospitals, 15 hotels, 9taverns, postal and telephone station. In 1913, 32 thousand people lived in the provincial center.
During the years of Soviet industrialization, many new industrial enterprises were built, including iron smelting, clinker and vinegar plants. A new power plant, the Chernigov-Gomel and Chernigov-Ovruch railways have been built. The city had 32 industrial enterprises employing 1,000 people. In the pre-war year of 1939, 69,000 people lived in the city.
Post-war reconstruction
During the years of occupation and war, the city was severely damaged, 107 industrial buildings, a power plant, a railway, and telephone communications were completely or severely destroyed. The regional center began to be rebuilt, and in 1943 classes were resumed at schools, and in 1944 at the teacher's institute. In 1949, the factory of musical instruments was restored and started working, by 1951 the railway bridge and the station were built.
The city was rebuilt according to the general plan, in 1950-1955 the center was reconstructed according to the project of architects P. Buklavsky I. Yagodovsky. New streets were built, new microdistricts were built up with three and five-story houses. In total, by 1960, 300 thousand square meters were built. housing. In 1959, the population of the city of Chernihiv was 90 thousand people. By national composition: Ukrainians made up the most group of inhabitants - 69%, Russians occupied a share of 20%, Jews - 8%, Poles - 1%). By this time, the pre-warindustry and the construction of new enterprises began..
The best Soviet years
In the 1960s and 1970s, a synthetic fiber factory, a worsted-cloth factory, a thermal power plant and many other industrial facilities were put into operation. New residential microdistricts, cultural objects were built, including the building of the theater. T. G. Shevchenko and the Palace of Pioneers. By 1970, the population of the city of Chernigov reached 159,000 people.
In 1980, a new plan for the reconstruction of the city was adopted, the hotel complex "Gradetsky", the cinema "Pobeda", the building of the publishing complex and secondary school No. 12 were built. At that time, the city had 245 thousand inhabitants. Thanks to the construction of new industrial enterprises, the increase in output, the population continued to grow rapidly. In the last year of Soviet rule, in 1989, the population of Chernihiv was 296,000.
As part of independent Ukraine
After gaining independence, the city's industry fell into a period of protracted crisis. According to the first all-Ukrainian census, the population of Chernihiv was 305 thousand people. This is the maximum registered number of inhabitants. In 2003, the Chernihiv Automobile Plant was organized on the basis of several closed enterprises. The company began to produce buses, and since 2010, trolleybuses.
In 2006, the population of Chernigov decreased to 300,000 people. In subsequent years, the number of inhabitants gradually decreased, mainly due toaccount of natural loss and migration outflow. In 2014, the city had 295.7 inhabitants. In recent years, a large number of people leave to work in Russia and European countries. In 2017, the population of Chernihiv decreased by 2,200 people, amounting to 289,400 people. Almost half of the population decline was due to natural decline.
Population of the region
There are 22 districts, 1530 settlements in the region, including 1488 rural ones. The largest cities are Chernihiv, Nizhyn and Pryluky. The population of the region is about 1.054 million people, including urban residents - 678 thousand (approximately 64.35% of the total population), rural - 376 thousand (35.65%). About 28% or 297 thousand people live in the regional center, about 74 thousand people live in Nizhyn and about 59 thousand people live in the city of Pryluky. The region was affected by processes characteristic of all developing countries:
- gradually declining proportion of the rural population, the urbanization rate in 2001 was 58.4%, and has now increased by 6%.
- small city dwellers move to big cities.
Ukraine is also characterized by a rather large labor migration of the population to Russia and Europe. Since 2001, the number of inhabitants of the region has decreased by almost 200 thousand people. The population density of the Chernihiv region is 33.25 people per sq. km.
Most of the population of the region are Ukrainians, approximately 93.5%, of the total number of residents, Russians are 5%,Belarusians 0.6%. In cities, there is a slightly different ratio of nationalities, so 24.5% of the population of Chernihiv consider Russian as their native language.
Economy of Chernihiv
In the largest regional industrial center - Chernihiv, the main sectors of the economy are chemical, light and food. One of the leading enterprises of the country's chemical industry, the Chernihiv Chemical Fiber Plant, is located here. Which produces more than 70 types of products, including cord fabrics, polyamide yarns, polyamide granulates, polyamide monofilaments. Products are shipped to about 800 consumers around the world.
Other important enterprises for the population of Chernihiv, in terms of employment, are: the plant of radio devices "CheZaRa" and the car factory. The Chernihiv Automobile Plant produces buses and trolleybuses, although in recent years the volume of production has been insignificant. The plant of radio devices specializes in the production of medical equipment. Since Soviet times, large enterprises of light industry continue to operate - wool processing, worsted-cloth and sewing.
Economy of the region
The leading industries in the region are the chemical industry, mechanical engineering, woodworking and food. Which is concentrated mainly in the largest settlements of the region - Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Pryluky and Bakhmach.
Oil and natural gas are produced in the region from various fields of the Dnieper-Donetskoil and gas region. The parent company Oil and Gas Production Department (NGDU) "Chernigovneftegaz" is located in the city of Priluki. The city also has a tobacco factory of British American Tobacco, which produces cigarettes of the global brand "Kent" and the local "Priluki Osoblivі". "Priluki plant - "Belkozin" is the only enterprise in Ukraine that produces collagen sausage casings.
In another large city of the Nizhyn region, there are two enterprises producing equipment for agriculture. The largest enterprise NPK "Progress" is engaged in the production of military products.
