Pryluky

Pryluky Прилуки
City
Churches in Pryluky
Flag Coat of arms
Pryluky Location of Pryluky in Ukraine
Coordinates: 50°36′0″N 32°24′0″E / 50.60000°N 32.40000°E / 50.60000; 32.40000Coordinates: 50°36′0″N 32°24′0″E / 50.60000°N 32.40000°E / 50.60000; 32.40000
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Chernihiv Oblast
Municipality	Pryluky municipality
Area
• Total	42 km2 (16 sq mi)
Population (January 1, 2015)
• Total	57,735
Website	http://pryluky.org/

Pryluky (Ukrainian: Прилу́ки, Ukrainian pronunciation: [prɪˈɫukɪ]) is a city located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (district), the city itself is incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does not belong to the raion. Located nearby is the Pryluky air base, a major strategic bomber base during the Cold War, which is Ukraine's largest airfield. Population: 57,735 (2015 est.)

Archeological excavations have shown that a settlement on the territory of the present-day city dates back to the second millennium BC. According to one explanation, the city derived its name from its location, being situated on a turn in the river that looked like a bow when viewed from above. Another theory holds that the city's name connotes the idea of being situated “on floodplain meadows”.

Pryluky was first mentioned in 1085 by Prince Volodymyr Monomakh in his Precepts To My Children. That year the city-fortress sheltered the prince and his entourage from the horde of Polovtsy and soon the prince's armed forces, strengthened by the Pryluky militia, routed the enemy. However, in 1092 the Polovtsy attacked the fortress once more wiping out the whole population and sacking the city.

Later, the city was repeatedly plundered by eastern nomadic tribes and became a centre of internecine wars between Ruthenian princes. In 1239, Pryluky was destroyed by the Mongols; in 1362, the city was conquered by Lithuanian feudal lords. But the citizens always staunchly defended Pryluky, fighting for their freedom and dignity.

After the Union of Lublin of 1569, according to which the city came under the rule of the Polish nobility, many inhabitants of Pryluky and nearby villages began to run away, seeking freedom in the vast Dnieper steppes. Oppressed peasants from other areas of central and eastern Ukraine took refuge there too. Settlements founded by the runaways in the late 15th-early 16th centuries occupied large territories in the vicinity of Kiev and Cherkasy. Thus grew the Cossack community. Scared by the proliferation and popularity of Cossacks, Poland tried to suppress this spontaneous resistance but did so in vain.