Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is
Originally a tribal centre of Siverians, in the 9th century Chernihiv was incorporated into the Rus' state, becoming its second most important city after Kyiv. Between the 11th and 13th century it served as the centre of an eponymous principality and a bishopric. Chernihiv's role as an important cultural and religious centre of Rus' is signified by numerous churches preserved from that era. Following the Tatar invasion the city lost its leading role in Siveria and was eventually incorporated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but suffered from Tatar and Muscovite attacks. During most of the 16th century Chernihiv was part of the Tsardom of Moscow, but in 1618 was transferred to Poland and served as a centre of a voivodeship. In 1623 the city was awarded with Magdeburg Law.
Chernihiv experienced a new rise in its importance following its incorporation into the Cossack Hetmanate. During the late 17th and early 18th century the city served as a major cultural centre of Ukraine, and many of its structures were rebuilt in Ukrainian Baroque style. In 1700 a collegium was established in the city. Following the Hetanate's disbandment, in 1782 Chernihiv became part of an eponymous viceroyalty, which was later transformed into Chernigov Governorate. In the Russian Empire it functioned as a centre of administration, trade and crafts. During that period Chernihiv became a hotspot of culture, science and publishing. During the 19th century the city housed a Ukrainian autonomist circle and saw the emergence of a radical Hromada movement. Among its notable inhabitants was the Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky.
After the February Revolution a Free Cossack militia was formed in Chernihiv, and it came under control of the Ukrainian Central Rada. After the end of the Russian Civil War the city became the centre of an eponymous region as part of Soviet Ukraine, one of republics of the Soviet Union. Under Soviet rule Chernihiv underwent rapid industrialization. Severely damaged during World War II, in its aftermath the city was rebuilt according to a new plan. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 Chernihiv was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine by the Ukrainian government.
Names and etymology The name Chernihiv/Chernigov is a compound name, which begins with the Slavic root Cherni-/Cherno-, which means 'black'. Scholars vary with interpretations of the second part of the name (-hiv/-gov, ) though scholars such as Dr. Martin Dimnik, Professor of Medieval History at University of Toronto, connect Chernihov with the worship of "the black god" Chernibog.
The city of Chernihiv is also historically known by different names in other languages – ; (Tshernigov).
History Early history Chernihiv was first mentioned (as ) in the Rus'–Byzantine Treaty (907), but the time of its establishment is unknown. Artifacts from the Khazar Khaganate uncovered by archaeological excavations at a settlement there indicate that it seems to have existed at least as early as the 9th century. Towards the end of the 10th century, the city probably had its own rulers. It was there that the Black Grave, one of the largest and earliest royal mounds in Eastern Europe, was excavated in the 19th century.
During the late 11th - early 12th century Chernihiv hegumen Daniel travelled to the Holy Land, leaving an eyewitness account of his trip. Parts of a lost chronicle created in the city have been preserved in later documents.
The city was second in wealth and importance in the southern portion of the Kievan Rus'.Nasledie Svyatoy Rusi URL accessed on January 12, 2006 From the early 11th century on, it was the seat of the powerful Principality of Chernigov, whose rulers at times vied for power with Kievan Grand Princes, and often overthrew them and took the primary seat in Kiev for themselves.
The principality was the largest in Kievan Rus and included not only the Severian towns but even such remote regions as Murom, Ryazan and Tmutarakan. The golden age of Chernigov, when the city population peaked at 25,000, lasted until 1239 when the city was sacked by the hordes of Batu Khan, and entered a long period of relative obscurity.
The area fell under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1353. The city was burned again by Crimean khan Meñli I Giray in 1482 and 1497 and in the 15th to 17th centuries changed hands several times between Lithuania, Muscovy (1408–1420 and from 1503), and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1618–1648), where it was granted Magdeburg rights in 1623 and in 1635 became a seat of Chernihiv Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province.
The area's importance increased again in the middle of the 17th century during and after the Khmelnytsky Uprising. In the Hetman State, Chernihiv was the city of deployment for the Chernihiv regiment (both a military and territorial unit of the state at the time).
Imperial Russia Under the 1667 Treaty of Andrusovo, the legal suzerainty of the area was ceded to the Tsardom of Russia, with Chernihiv remaining an important center of the autonomous Cossack Hetmanate. With the abolishment of the Hetmanate, the city became an ordinary administrative center of the Russian Empire and a capital of local administrative units. The area in general was ruled by the Governor-General appointed from Saint Petersburg, the imperial capital, and Chernihiv was the capital of local namestnichestvo (province) (from 1782), Malorosiyskaya or Little Russian (from 1797) and Chernigov Governorate (from 1808).
According to the census of 1897, the city of Chernihiv had 11,000 Jews out of a total population of 27,006. Their primary occupations were industrial and commercial. Many tobacco plantations and fruit gardens in the neighborhood were owned by Jews. There were 1,321 Jewish artisans in Chernihiv, including 404 tailors and seamstresses, but the demand for artisan labor was limited to the town. There were 69 Jewish day-laborers, almost exclusively teamsters. Few, however, were employed in factories.
Ukrainian People's Republic
Chernihiv land was a zemlia of the Ukrainian People's Republic centered in Chernihiv. Founded on 6 March 1918 according to the Law "On the administrative-territorial division of Ukraine" approved by the Central Council of Ukraine, it was abolished on 29 April 1918 by Hetman of Ukraine Pavlo Skoropadsky, who brought back old governorate divisions of the Russian Empire.
The administrative unit included Chernihiv, Horodnia, Oster, Sosnytsia, parts of Kozelets, Nizhyn and Borzna povits of Chernigov Governorate.
World War II During World War II, Chernihiv was occupied by the German Army from 9 September 1941 to 21 September 1943. The Germans operated a Nazi prison and a forced labour battalion for Jews in the city.
Independent Ukraine The Statue of Lenin on Myru Avenue was toppled on February 21, 2014, as part of the demolitions of the statues of Lenin in Ukraine.
Until 18 July 2020, Chernihiv was designated as a city of oblast significance and did not belong to Chernihiv Raion even though it was the center of the raion. As part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Chernihiv Oblast to five, the city was merged into Chernihiv Raion.
In June 2022, Chernihiv signed an agreement with Rzeszów, Poland to become sister cities.
Siege of Chernihiv
On 24 February 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city was under siege by the Russian Armed Forces according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, in its first battle since the Second World War. On 10 March 2022, Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko announced that the city had been completely encircled by Russian forces.
On 5 April 2022, Governor of Chernihiv Oblast Vyacheslav Chaus stated that the Russian military had left Chernihiv Oblast, but that it had planted mines in many areas.Russian Military Leaves Chernihiv Region, Plants Mines In Many Areas - Governor Chaus, Ukrainian News Agency (5 April 2022)
On 19 August 2023, a Russian missile strike killed seven in the city. On 17 April 2024, another Russian missile strike killed around 18 people in the city.
Demographics
Ethnic groups Distribution of the population by ethnicity according to the 2001 census:
Language Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census: Language Number Percentage Ukrainian 221 322 74.01% Russian 73 277 24.50% Other or undecided 4 439 1.49% Total 299 038 100.00%
Despite considering Ukrainian a native language, many still didn't use it in daily life, as Russian remained the primary language for communication in Chernihiv. A 2017 survey that asked what language do participants use at home revealed that only Ukrainian was spoken only by 18% of the city's population, both Ukrainian and Russian were at 28%, while Russian was the most at 53%.
The 2022 Russian invasion caused a new wave of Ukrainization in Chernihiv, with more and more people switching to Ukrainian in their private lives. According to a survey conducted by the International Republican Institute between April and May 2023, 53% of the city's population spoke Ukrainian at home, and 41% spoke Russian.
Geography Chernihiv stands on the upper right bank of Desna River to the north-northeast of Kyiv. The city's territory forms a part of the Dnieper Lowland.
The area was served by Chernihiv Shestovytsia Airport prior to 2002, and during the Cold War it was the site of Chernihiv air base.
Rivers Desna River The city of Chernihiv is crossed by Desna River, a major left tributary of the Dnieper River. "Desna" means "right hand" in the Old East Slavic language. It is long, and has a drainage basin that covers .
In Ukraine, the river's width ranges from , with its average depth being . The mean annual discharge at its mouth is . The river freezes over from early December to early April and is navigable from Novhorod-Siverskyi to its mouth, for about .
Stryzhen River Right trubutary of the Desna river. long with a basin. This river flows into the Desna river just behind the historical center of Chernihiv.
Snov River The Snov River, right tributary of the Desna River (Dnieper basin) has its mouth 12 km to the east of Chernihiv. The length of the river is . The area of its drainage basin is . The Snov freezes in November – late January and stays icebound until March – early April. Part of the river forms the Russia–Ukraine border.
According to Ruthenian chronicles, in 1068, a battle took place at the Snov River between Duke of Chernihiv Sviatoslav Yaroslavich and Cumans led by Duke Sharukan.
Climate Chernihiv has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with cold, cloudy and snowy winters, and warm, sunny summers. The average annual temperature for Chernihiv is , ranging from a low of in January to a high of in July. Precipitation is well distributed throughout the year though precipitation is higher during the summer months and lower during the winter months. The record high was and the record low was .
Architecture
Chernihiv's architectural monuments chronicle the two most flourishing periods in the city's history – those of Kievan Rus' (11th and 12th centuries) and of the Cossack Hetmanate (late 17th and early 18th centuries).
The oldest church in the city and one of the oldest churches in Ukraine is the 5-domed Transfiguration Cathedral, commissioned in the early 1030s by Mstislav the Bold and completed several decades later by his brother, Yaroslav the Wise. The Cathedral of Sts Boris and Gleb, dating from the mid-12th century, was much rebuilt in succeeding periods, before being restored to its original shape in the 20th century. Likewise built in brick, it has a single dome and six pillars.