The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

310 RUSSIA IX ETJEOPE.rate the overthrow of the Swedes. But Poltava is now chiefly notable for itswool and horse fair, whose annual exchanges amount to upwards of £2,000,000.Much of its trade is in the hands of the Jews, and some cloth works have beenestablished by the Germans both here and at Konstantinograd, in the Orel valley.Near the site of the old Polish fortress of Ko'idak stands the modern town ofTekaterinoslav, "Catherine's Glory," on the right bank of the Lower Dnieper,above the great rapids, and close to the junction of the Samara. Its favourableFig. 161.—Poltava.Scale 1 : 150,000.F.ofP59-I0-LafG. 34°30situation and the circumstance that it is the centre of the provincial administrationhave raised it to a position of some importance during the present century. Belowthe rapids Alexandrovsk, facing the famous island of Khortitza, is the startingpointof the caravans which convey the cereals of the interior to the port ofBerdansk, on the Sea of Azov. Farther down Nikopol, on the right bank, marksthe extreme point to which the coasting vessels are able to ascend the Dnieper.In the neighbourhood are Pokrovskoi/e and Kapulovka, an old and a more recent