Romny, historic city in Sumy Oblast, marks its 900th anniversary (10/20/96)

Romny, historic city in Sumy Oblast, marks its 900th anniversary

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Many famous Ukrainians have had contact with this city in its 900-year existence, but few outside of Ukraine or Russia know much about Romny, which, with its 57,000 inhabitants (according to the 1989 census, sits at the confluence of the Sula and Romny rivers in the Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine.

The names Shevchenko, Mazepa, Antonenko-Davydovych, Stetsenko, Kalnyshevsky are all in some way associated with Romny. The city is first mentioned in 1096 in the testament of Prince Volodymyr Monomakh, as one of the eastern fortresses of the Kyivan Rus' empire.

Some say the city is much older. A story in the September 19 edition of Molod Ukrainy suggests that the city was founded some time after 988, when Prince Volodymyr the Great had people relocated to "establish cities around the rivers Desna, Ustryi, Trubysheva and Sula."

Perhaps older than 900

But Romny, using the Monomakh testament as its birth certificate, was happy enough to celebrate its 900th anniversary this year with a two-day citywide celebration on September 14-15. It included the traditional museum and art exhibits, concerts and sporting events commemorating the anniversary.

It also included politicians, local and national, artists and, of course all the residents. The spirits of the famous figures who passed through this city while leaving their mark on Ukraine and the world, should have been there, too. (Maybe they were, who's to say.)

First Shevchenko monument

Ukraine's national bard, Taras Shevchenko, for a time resided in this city. In 1918, in remembrance of that, Romny was the first city in Ukraine to erect a monument to the father of Ukrainian identity. It was sculpted by the famous Ukrainian sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze, who was born in the city. Later that year he created another work of Taras Shevchenko for the city of Kyiv.

Hetman Ivan Mazepa spent the winter of 1708 in the city with his ally King Charles XII of Sweden before moving against Peter the Great of Russia in the fateful Battle of Poltava in 1709.

The last head otaman of the Zaporozhian Sich, Petro Kalnyshevsky, was born in a village near the city. The 18th century artist Ivan Stetsenko lived there. The 20th century writer Borys Antonenko-Davydovych was born there. The list goes on and on, and includes famous Ukrainian Americans as well.

Leonid Poltava, writer and journalist, was born in the Romny area in 1921, before emigrating after World War II and ending up in New York. He was an editor for many Ukrainian American periodicals including Svoboda, Vyzvolnyi Shliakh and Ukrayinski Visti.

Another person who had ties to the city of Romny is Stephen Timoshenko, a renowned mechanical engineer and scientist in the U.S. He studied in Romny from 1889 to 1896 and ended up in the United States in 1922. He eventually taught at the University of Michigan and Stanford University, where he developed several mathematical formulas on material strengths. In 1957, the Society of American Mechanical Engineers inaugurated the Timoshenko Medal, awarded for major accomplishments in applied technological sciences.

Through the years the city became known as the "Kobzar Capital" of Ukraine. Such famous kobzars as Yevhen Adamtsevych, who kept alive the famous Kozak melody "Zaporizhian March," Ivan Petrenko, Fedir Tereshchenko and Hryhoriy Spytsia all were born in Romny.

Romny today

Today, the residents of the city are experiencing the same economic decline as any other city in Ukraine. There is reason for hope, however. Several large firms have privatized and are beginning to expand production. Most notable, are a shoe manufacturing outfit called Talan, which recently opened a clothing manufacturing subsidiary and now has a contract for new school uniforms for Ukraine's kids, and a meat processing plant, Romnymiaso.