The capital is a status that leaves a mark on any city.
But do we know how many capitals there were in Ukraine? In fact, there were many more than we can imagine.
Which were the longest, and which were only 2 days, like, for example, Transcarpathian Khust, read in our selection:
Kyiv
Kyiv is indeed the first capital of Ukraine. According to the chronicle, Kyiv became the capital of Kyiv Rus in 882 and stayed there until 1240, when it was destroyed by the Mongols.
Then, almost 700 years of decline awaited him, until in 1917 he did not become the capital of the UNR, where he stayed with varying success until 1919. Since 1991, as you know, it has been the capital of Ukraine.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv became the first capital of the Ukrainian SSR and stayed there until 1934, when the capital was moved to Kyiv.
Although the center of Slobozhanshchyna did not have the status of the capital for long, to this day the city remains the second after Kyiv, both in terms of population and importance, and in terms of the number of universities and students it can be called the student capital of Ukraine.
Lviv, Stanislav and Ternopil
In the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the West Ukrainian People’s Republic appeared, with its capital in Lviv, and it did not stay there for long, only 3 weeks.
After the capture of Lviv by Polish troops, the government moved first to Ternopil and stayed there until January 1919, and then to the then Stanislav (now Ivano-Frankivsk), where it was there for another 5 months before the capture of the city by the same Polish army.
The mountain capital of Yasinya
Few people know, but in 1918 not only the ZUNR was proclaimed, but also a small Hutsul Republic within the Rakhiv region of the Transcarpathian region. The state did not last long, less than a year, but during this time it was forever imprinted in the history of the region.
The capital was the considerable village of Yasinya. The leaders of the state were going to join the ZUNR, and hence the UNR, and create a single country from Xiang to Don, but, unfortunately, failed.
The one day capital Khust
In 1939, the Carpathian Ukraine was proclaimed with its capital in a small cozy Khust. The state lasted only a few days, but went down in history.
In fact, Khust was the capital for more than one day, as is often said, but it has been since October 1938, since then Subcarpathian Rus received autonomy as part of Czechoslovakia.
Cossack’s capital Chyhyryn
Chyhyryn was the capital of the Cossack state during the time of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. He stayed in the capital from 1648 to 1676.
But, unfortunately, it was repeatedly destroyed either by the Turks or by the Muscovites. Already at the time of independence, a palace and partly a castle were built in the city, in which the Hetman lived.
Baturyn
The concept of the capital during the time of the hetman was very vague and often meant the residence of the hetman. In particular, Ivan Mazepa chose Baturyn as his capital.
After the notorious events of the war with the Swedes and the Battle of Poltava, the city was destroyed by the troops of Peter I.
The last Herman’s capital Hlukhiv
After the destruction of Baturyn, the capital of Hetman was moved to the town of Hlukhiv. Its name now may lead to wrong associations, but at that time it was one of the centers of the entire Russian Empire.
What is important, the town was indeed the capital. It housed all the bureaucratic and government institutions of that time, the hetman had his own residence.
The Muslim capital Bakhchysarai
Speaking about the capital on the territory of Ukraine, one should not forget about the main city of the Crimean Tatars -Bakhchysarai. It was the capital of the Crimean Khanate for almost the entire period of its existence – almost 400 years.
The city was built on the traditions of oriental architecture, which gives it an extraordinary flavor. Moreover, the oldest educational institution in the territory of Ukraine, a madrasah, a Muslim school, has been preserved in the city.
The anarchic Huliaipole
The exotic capital of Ukraine, which has no analogues in the whole world. Huliaipole was the place where one would most likely meet Nestor Makhno. It became the center of his free state, the capital of anarchy, and was from 1919 to 1921.