KREMENCHUG

kremenchug, a town of south-west russia, in the government of poltava, on the left bank of the dnieper (which periodically overflows its banks), 73 m. s.w. of the city of poltava, on the kharkov-nikolayev railway. pop. (1887), 31,000; (1897, with kryukov suburb), 58,648. the most notable public buildings are the cathedral (built in 1808), the arsenal and the town-hall. the town is supposed to have been founded in 1571. from its situation at the southern terminus of the navigable course of the dnieper, and on the highway from moscow to odessa, it early acquired great commercial importance, and by 1655 it was a wealthy town. from 1765 to 1789 it was the capital of "new russia." it has a suburb, kryukov, on the right bank of the dnieper, united with the town by a railway bridge. nearly all commercial transactions in salt with white russia are effected at kremenchug. the town is also the centre of the tallow trade with warsaw; considerable quantities of timber are floated down to this place. nearly all the trade in the brandy manufactured in the government of kharkov, and destined for the governments of ekaterinoslav and taurida, is concentrated here, as also is the trade in linseed between the districts situated on the left affluents of the dnieper and the southern ports. other articles of commerce are rye, rye-flour, wheat, oats and buckwheat, which are sent partly up the dnieper to pinsk, partly by land to odessa and berislav, but principally to ekaterinoslav, on light boats floated down during the spring floods. the dnieper is crossed at kremenchug by a tubular bridge 1081 yds. long; there is also a bridge of boats. the manufactures consist of carriages, agricultural machinery, tobacco, steam flour-mills, steam saw-mills and forges. kremenets (polish, _krzemieniec_), a town of south-west russia, in the government of volhynia, 130 m. w. of zhitomir, and 25 m. e. of brody railway station (austrian galicia). pop. (1900), 16,534. it is situated in a gorge of the kremenets hills. the jews, who are numerous, carry on a brisk trade in tobacco and grain exported to galicia and odessa. the picturesque ruins of an old castle on a crag close by the town are usually known as the castle of queen bona, i.e. bona sforza (wife of sigismund i. of poland); it was built, however, in the 8th or 9th century. the mongols vainly besieged it in 1241 and 1255. from that time kremenets was under the dominion alternately of lithuania and poland, till 1648, when it was taken by the zaporogian cossacks. from 1805 to 1832 its polish lyceum was the centre of superior instruction for the western provinces of little russia; but after the polish insurrection of 1831 the lyceum was transferred to kiev, and is now the university of that town.