Livny (russian: Ливны, p=ˈlʲivnɨ) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Oryol Oblast Oryol Oblast (russian: Орло́вская о́бласть, ''Orlovskaya oblast''), also known as Orlovshchina (russian: Орловщина) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is th ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. As of 2018, it had a population of 47,221. :ru:Ливны#cite note-2018AA-3

History

The town is believed to have originated in 1586 as Ust-Livny, a wooden fort on the bank of the

Livenka River , name_etymology = , image = Река Ливенка.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_size ...

, although some believe that a town had existed on the spot previous to the

Mongol invasion of Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernihiv (30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping destr ...

. The fortress was important in guarding the southern border of the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

in the case of a Crimean Tatar raid along the

Muravsky Trail Muravsky Trail or Murava Route (russian: Муравский шлях, uk, Муравський шлях) was an important trade route and an invasion route of the Crimean Nogays during the Russo-Crimean Wars of the 16th and early 17th centuries. ...

. Thirty years later,

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

sent prince Masalsky to build a town of Livny under the umbrella of a garrison stationed in the fort. It was pillaged and burnt by the Tatars on many occasions. In 1606, the citizens of Livny raised a rebellion against

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

, killing his governor and proclaiming their allegiance to

False Dmitry I False Dmitry I ( rus, Лжедмитрий I, Lzhedmitriy I) (or Pseudo-Demetrius I) reigned as the Tsar of Russia from 10 June 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dmitriy Ivanovich ( rus, Дмитрий Иванович). A ...

. Two years later,

Ivan Bolotnikov Ivan Isayevich Bolotnikov (russian: Ива́н Иса́евич Боло́тников; 1565–1608) headed a popular uprising in Russia in 1606–1607 known as the Bolotnikov Rebellion (Восстание Ивана Болотникова). The up ...

chose it as a base of his military operations against Vasily IV. In 1618, the wooden town was burnt by the Cossacks of

Petro Konashevych Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny ( uk, Петро Конашевич-Сагайдачний; pl, Piotr Konaszewicz-Sahajdaczny; born about 1582 in Kulchytsi, today Sambir Raion – 20 April 1622 in Kyiv) was a Ukrainian Cossack political and ...

. The Crimeans again attacked the town in 1661, burning it to the ground. As soon as the Tatar attacks ceased, the period of prosperity was ushered. In the 19th century, Livny rivaled

Yelets Yelets, or Elets (russian: Еле́ц), is a city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Bystraya Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don. Population: History Yelets is the oldest center of the Central Black Earth Region. It was me ...

as the main trade center of the area. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Livny was occupied by the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

from 26 November to 25 December 1941. Germany retook Livny (Lauen), briefly in 1942–1943.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Livny serves as the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Livensky District Livensky District (russian: Ли́венский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #522-OZ and municipalLaw #442-OZ district (raion), one of the twenty-four in Oryol Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the oblast. The area of the ...

, even though it is not a part of it.Law #522-OZ As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the town of oblast significance of Livny—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Livny is incorporated as Livny Urban Okrug.Law #449-OZ

Miscellaneous

Near Livny, there is a tall guyed TV tower, which was presumably built in 1979.

Notable people

Sergey Bulgakov Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist. Biography Early life: 1871–1898 Sergei Nikolaevich Bu ...

, Orthodox theologian and philosopher, was a native of Livny.

Alexey Stakhanov Alexey Grigoryevich Stakhanov ( rus, Алексе́й Григо́рьевич Стаха́нов, p=staˈxanəf; 3 January 1906 – 5 November 1977) was a Soviet and Russian miner, Hero of Socialist Labour (1970), and a member of the CP ...

, founder of the

Stakhanovite movement The term Stakhanovite () originated in the Soviet Union and referred to workers who modeled themselves after Alexey Stakhanov. These workers took pride in their ability to produce more than was required, by working harder and more efficiently, thu ...

, was born in a village near Livny.

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

Pictures of Livny
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Oryol Oblast Livensky Uyezd (Oryol Governorate)