Mstislaw or Mstislavl ( be, Мсціслаў, [], russian: Мстиславль [msʲtʲɪˈslavlʲ], pl, Mścisław, lt, Mstislavlis) is a town in the Mogilev Region, Eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mstsislaw District. As of 2009, its population was 10,804.
History
Mstislavl was first mentioned in the
Ipatiev Chronicle The Hypatian Codex (also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis; be, Іпацьеўскі летапіс; russian: Ипатьевская летопись; uk, Іпатіївський літопис) is a ''svod'' (compendium) of three ''l ...
in 1156. It was initially a part of the
Principality of Smolensk
The Principality of Smolensk (eventually Grand Principality of Smolensk) was a Kievan Rus' lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The princi ...
, but had become the capital of the
Principality of Mstislavl by 1180. In the Middle Ages, it was the family seat of
Princes Mstislavsky.
Pyotr Mstislavets
Pyotr Timofeyevich Mstislavets (Timofeyev) ( be, Пётр Цімафеевіч Мсціславец; russian: link=no, Пётр Тимофеевич Мстиславец (Тимофеев)) was a Belarusian printer and Ivan Fedorov's associate i ...
is believed to have been born in Mstislavl.
In 1377, it was conquered by the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
. The first Lithuanian duke of Mstislavl was
Karigaila Karigaila ( pl, Korygiełło, died on 16 September 1390 in Vilnius) was a son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver. He became the ruler of Mstsislaw after he captured it from the Principality of Smolensk. He is s ...
, brother of
Jogaila. The town remained part of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...
under the
Mścisław Voivodship
Mstislaw Voivodeship or Mścisław Voivodeship ( be, Амсьці́слаўскае ваяво́дзтва, pl, Województwo Mścisławskie, la, Palatinatus Mscislaviensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand ...
until the
Partitions of Poland in 1772.
Buildings of historic interest include the
Carmelite church (1637, renovated 1746–50) and the
Jesuit cathedral (1640, renovated 1730–38, turned into an Orthodox cathedral in 1842).
Jews had a historic presence in the town. In 1939, there were 2,067 Jews living in Mstislavl which represented almost 20% of the local population. The German army occupied the town in July 1941. In early October, they killed 30 elderly Jews. On October 15, 1941, together with the local police, they murdered from 850 to 1,300 Jews.
It is the birthplace of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
historian and writer
Simon Dubnow
Simon Dubnow (alternatively spelled Dubnov, rus, Семён Ма́ркович Ду́бнов, Semyon Markovich Dubnov, sʲɪˈmʲɵn ˈmarkəvʲɪtɕ ˈdubnəf; yi, שמעון דובנאָװ, ''Shimen Dubnov''; 10 September 1860 – 8 Dece ...
, Jewish statesman and Communist politician
Yakov Chubin
Yakov Chubin also known as Yakov Shub (Mstsislaw, Mogilyov Governorate, 1893 – Moscow, November 1956) served as the seventh General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR.
His term began on 17 April 1937, following the resign ...
, and expressionist artist
Abraham A. Manievich
Abraham Anshelovich Manievich (Abram Manevich) (25 November 1881 Mstsislaw, Belarus – 30 June 1942 Bronx, United States) was a Ukrainian-American Expressionism, expressionist artist of Belarusian-Jewish origin.
Life
He studied art at the Kie ...
, among others.
File:Mstislaw Jesuit Collegium building front.JPG, Jesuit Collegium building, from the 17th century
File:Mstislaw Gimnasium building.JPG, Mstislaw Male Gimnasium, from the beginning of the 19th century
File:Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Mstislavl.JPG, Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral, built in the 19th century on the foundation of an earlier Catholic Cathedral
References
External links
Photos on Radzima.orgThe murder of the Jews of Mstsislawduring
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 opposing ...
, at
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
website.
{{Authority control
Towns in Belarus
Populated places in Mogilev Region
Mstsislaw District
Mstislaw Voivodeship
Mstislavsky Uyezd