KOBELYAKI, a town of Russia, in the government of Poltava, 40 miles south-west of the government town, with a station on the railway between Kharkoff and Krementchug. The town proper is situated on the right bank of the Vorskla, but a suburb of some size, known simply as Zaryetchya or “Beyond the River,” lies on the other side. Of the 13,000 inhabitants more than half are occupied exclusively with agriculture; but weaving, introduced by German colonists, is beginning to be a considerable industry in the town. Kobelyaki was founded by the Polish nobleman Nemirovitch, and is mentioned as a town in 1647. In the neighbourhood lies the village of Perevo-lotchna, where the Swedish forces under Charles XII. laid down their arms.