Early history The history of Cherkasy has not been thoroughly explored. Historians believe that the city was established in 1286, within the territory of
Kievan Rus'. Little is known about the early history of the city. Cherkasy is first documented in the 1305
Hustyn Chronicle, in which it is mentioned along with other Kievan Rus' cities such as
Kyiv,
Kaniv,
Zhytomyr and
Ovruch.
Under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Cherkasy headman , Cherkasy headman In the 1360s the city entered a new period in its development, becoming a part of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Cherkasy became an important defender of the southern borders of the Grand Duchy. In 1384 the city was recognized as a fortified town on the southern edge (of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), forming along with
Vinnytsia,
Bratslav and
Kaniv part of a defensive line against
Crimean Tatars. The city started to be ruled by a headman (starosta). From the end of the 15th until the beginning of the 16th centuries, the post of was held by the prominent persons of that time – (in office: 1488–1495), (in office: 1494–1500), Vasyl Dashkevych (, in office: 1504–1507),
Andriy Nemyrovych (in office: 1511–1514),
Ostafiy Dashkevych (in office: 1514–1535), Vasyl Tyshkevych,
Dmytro Baida-Vyshnevetskiy (in office: 1550–1553) etc. During the 15th and 16th centuries Cherkasy was one of the main centres that helped the Cossacks in the peopling of the Ukrainian south. Citizens took part in military campaigns against Tatars and Turks, including operations led by
Ivan Pidkova (died 1578). New Cherkasy Castle, built in 1549–52 on the place of the old one, was the centre of city life.
Under Polish rule, Khmelnytsky Uprising Bohdan Khmelnytsky After the
Union of Lublin in 1569 Cherkasy became a part of
Poland. The Cherkasy Regiment, which was created in 1625, played a big role in history of the city. The city became one of the centres of the
Cossack movement. Citizens took part in the
Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648-1657, during which the regiment became an administrative-territorial subdivision (until 1686). During that time
Cherkasy Regiment was one of the most powerful military units and took part in all of the battles with Bohdan Khmelnytsky's army. After a successful campaign, Khmelnytsky in 1654 signed an alliance with Muscovy at Pereyaslav. The war ended in 1667 with the
Truce of Andrusovo. Cherkasy remained part of Poland, but territories east of the Dnieper River including
left-bank Ukraine and
Zaporizhia were secured for Muscovy. While in the Polish Kingdom, the city was a seat of the county (powiat) which belonged to a greater unit – the
Kyiv Voivodeship of the
Lesser Poland Province until 1793. It was a
royal city of Poland. In 1768, during the
Koliiivshchyna turmoils, in which the city's residents participated, Cherkasy was severely damaged and pillaged. In 1791 the city gained
Magdeburg rights. After the
Second Partition of Poland the city was incorporated into the Kievan Guberniya of
Imperial Russia.
19th – early 20th centuries From the beginning of the 19th century, the city was planned by
William Heste, a Russian architect, civil engineer and town planner of Scottish descent. His plan for the city involved building square blocks with straight streets. After the second division of Poland in 1793, Cherkasy became part of the Russian Empire. From 1797 it was a town of the
Kyiv Governorate. In the second half of the 19th century the city experienced great economic growth. The construction of a railroad through the city resulted in many new industrial enterprises. Sugar, tobacco, metalwork, mechanical engineering and trade industries were at peak development at that time. ===
Ukrainian War of Independence, Second World War and Soviet period === victims After the
October Revolution in 1917 Cherkasy fell under
Bolshevik control. After that, however, the city changed its ruler at least 18 times – during the civil war it was conquered by hetman
Pavlo Skoropadskyi, then again by Bolsheviks, later by
Nykyfor Hryhoriv. On 1 January 1920, the city finally and for a long period fell under Soviet rule. As with all villages and towns in the area, it was a victim of man-made famine in 1932–1933 (
Holodomor) and a
Great Purge (a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union organised by Joseph Stalin in 1936–1938).
The Second World War damaged the city greatly. On
22 June 1941, German bombers attacked Cherkasy. For two months soldiers defended the city, but on 22 August, the invaders took the city. On 14 December 1943, Cherkasy was liberated from the German invaders. After the end of the war, the city began to recover after being almost obliterated. According to
5-year plans, the city began to re-develop its economy, infrastructure and socio-cultural sphere. In 1954 the city became the administrative centre of
Cherkasy Oblast (
province), which remains the youngest oblast in Ukraine to date. In the 1960s Cherkasy became the chemical giant of the
Ukrainian SSR, after "Azot" (the biggest nitrogen fertilizer producing plant), "Khimvolokno" (artificial fiber manufacturing plant), "Khimreaktyv" (chemical reagents for military purposes) and many others were built in the city. In 1961 a Kremenchuk hydro power plant was built, forming the Kremenchuk Water Reservoir, which Cherkasy is now standing on. This makes the city a big transport hub, serving the longest
dyke in Ukraine (15 km) with rail and road on it.
Independence from the Soviet Union Since gaining independence, industry in the city has declined, along with the number of citizens and living standards. A lot of big and powerful factories and plants were privatized but couldn't survive in a competitive market. Some enterprises changed their profile – several (3) factories and plants around the city were united under the "
Bogdan Corporation" and started production of buses and cars. Some of the companies remained working and became successful, like
"Azot". On 28 November 2008, the monument of Lenin was removed from the central square. This caused different reactions in different people. Now the central square, formerly called "Lenin Square", is called "Soborna Square" (Cathedral Square). The square was recently renovated. In 2009, Cherkasy airport received International Airport status (
IATA: CKC –
ICAO: UKKE). Until 18 July 2020, Cherkasy was designated as a
city of oblast significance and belonged to Cherkasy Municipality but not to Cherkasy Raion even though it was the centre of the raion. As part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Cherkasy Oblast to four, the city was merged into Cherkasy Raion. The city has occasionally seen Russian air strikes and missile attacks as a result of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. == Transportation ==