First settlers from the
right bank of Dnieper arrived on the site of modern Karlivka in the 1670s, founding the settlement of Orchyk, which was part of the first Poltava
sotnia of the
Poltava Regiment. In the first quarter of the 18th century, the lands of the Poltava Regiment between the Kolomak and Orchyk rivers were given to the general of the Russian army Johann Bernhard Weissbach. After Weisbach's death in 1735, Karlivka was gifted to
Field marshal Minikh, who named the settlement Minikhpol. In 1812 a
manor was constructed in Karlivka by its then owner Lev Razumovsky, son of the last
Ukrainian hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky. Later the town came in possession of
Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia and was inherited by her descendants from the
Russian imperial family. Between 1899 Fedir Petliura, elder brother of Ukrainian political leader
Symon Petliura, taught at the local school. Before the
World War II, Karlivka had more than 10,000 inhabitants and was classified as an
urban-type settlement. A hospital, a polyclinic, a high school, and a factory training school operated in the village. Until 18 July 2020, Karlivka was the administrative center of
Karlivka Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of
raions of Poltava Oblast to four. The area of Karlivka Raion was merged into Poltava Raion. == Economics ==