POLTAVA, pol-tit'va, or PULTOWA, pkil' ta-vit. A of Little Russia, bounded by the Government of Tchernigov on the north. Kharkov on the east, Ekaterinoslav and Kher son on the south, and Kiev on the west (Map: Russia, D 5). Area. about 19,000 square miles. The surface is undulating, slightly elevated in the north, and with a general incline toward the val ley of the Dnieper in the southwest. It belongs to the basin of the Dnieper, by which river it is skirted on the southwest. The climate is moderate and steady, the annual temperature at Poltava, the capital, averaging about 46°. Poltava belongs to the black-soil region of European Russia and is one of the chief grain-producing districts of the Empire. Agriculture is the principal occupation and is carried on 011 very primitive lines, modern machinery and fertilizers being confined principally to large estates. The leading products are rye, oats, and wheat. They are raised in quantities far above the domestic demand. The sunflower and flaxseed are culti
vated for the production of oil, and tobacco raising is important. The vegetables of Poltava, especially the melons, are famous all over Rus sia. Stock-raising, especially the breeding of horned cattle, is of importance. since oxen are used chiefly as animals and for purposes.
The has few in dustries, and they are connected with or The principal manufactures are flour. oil, tobacco. spirits. etc. Population, in 1S97. 2.794.727, over 95 per cent. Little Rus sians, Jews, Pides. and Germans. Capital, Pol tava. The Russians to settle in the in the tenth century, but their settlements were destroyed the invasion and the territory was taken possession of by Lithu ania in the fourteenth Century. Later it passed to Poland. By the Andrussovo Treaty (1667) it fell to Russia. The present was formed in 1802.