Kaniv

Kaniv is a city located in central Ukraine, in the Cherkasy Oblast (province). It was founded in the 11th century by Kievan Prince Yaroslav the Wise. The city sits on the Dnieper River and is one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It has a population of around 23,172 people. Kaniv is most famous for being the burial place of Taras Shevchenko, a celebrated Ukrainian poet and painter. The Kaniv reserve is the oldest historical and cultural reserve in Ukraine. There are many industries in the city, including a hydroelectric power plant, a fruit and vegetable factory, a condiments factory, a large milk and cheese factory, and a poultry processing factory. Kaniv played a prominent role in the Kievan Rus' (Ruthenian state) where it was a center of an apanage principality within the principality of Kyiv. It has been part of Kievan Rus', the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Poland. It was also one of the centers of Cossack culture and military life.