Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tcherkasy

TCHERKASY (Polish Czerkasy), a district town of Russia, in the government of Kieff, and 190 miles by rail to the south-east of Kieff, on the right bank of the Dnieper. It is poorly built, mostly of wood; the population has rapidly increased lately, and has doubled since 1846, reaching 15,740 in 1883. There are now two gymnasiums for boys and girls, and several lower schools. The inhabitants (Little Russian) are mostly employed in agriculture and gardening. There is a brisk export trade in corn, refined sugar, tobacco, salt, and timber; raw sugar and manufactured goods are imported, principally by Jewish merchants.

Tcherkasy, formerly Tckerkassk, was an important town of the Ukraine in the 15th century, and remained so, under Polish rule, until the revolt of Hmelnitski, when it became free. When West Ukraine was taken again by Poland, most of its inhabitants migrated to the left bank of the Dnieper. It was annexed by Russia in 1795.