city in EC Ukraine: scene of a battle (1709) in which the Russians under Peter the Great defeated Sweden: pop. 320,000
See Poltava in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A city of central Ukraine west-southwest of Kharkiv. Probably settled by Slavic peoples in the 8th or 9th century, it was a Cossack stronghold in the 17th century. Population: 310,000.