Obol (russian: Оболь, be, Обаль, also romanized as Obal or Obaĺ) is a

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian

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 ...

Shumilina Raion Shumilina District is a second-level administrative subdivision (raion) of Belarus in the Vitebsk Region. Its administrative seat is the urban-type settlement of Shumilina. The other urban-type settlement within the raion is Obal Joktan (also wri ...

, in

Vitebsk Region Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ; rus, Ви́тебская о́бласть, Vitebskaya oblast, ˈvʲitʲɪpskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a region ( oblas ...

. In 2016, it had a population of 2,395.

History

Obol was known since the 16th century as a village of the

Połock Voivodeship Połock Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo połockie, be, Полацкае ваяводства) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) since the 15th century u ...

, in 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 ...

. in 1772, following the Partitions of Poland, it became part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In 1866, the construction of the Riga- Oryol railway contributed to its growth. The village was occupied from August 1941 to June 26, 1944 by the Nazi German troops, 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 opposing ...

. In 1968 it was elevated from the status of village to the one of urban-type settlement.

Geography

Located in the middle of its Voblast, Obol lies between

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...

(64 km southeast) and

Polatsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

(36 km northwest), and is crossed by the homonym river. It is 21 km from Shumilino, 45 from

Navapolatsk Novopolotsk ( be, Наваполацк (Cyrillic), Navapołack (Łacinka), translit=Navapolatsk, ; russian: Новополоцк, translit=Novopolotsk, ) is a city in Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus, with a population (2008 estimate) of 107,458. Founded ...

and 228 from

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. The town is served by the P20 highway and by the

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

-Vitebsk- Daugavpils- Riga railway.

Personalities

Zinaida Portnova Zinaida Martynovna Portnova (russian: Зинаида Мартыновна Портнова; 20 February 1926 – 15 January 1944) was a Soviet teenager, partisan and posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union. Biography Portnova was born in Lenin ...

(1926–1944), Russian partisan,

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. In 1942 she joined the Belarusian resistance movement, becoming a member of the local underground Komsomol organization in Obol.

Twin towns

* Ödeshög (

Ödeshög Municipality Ödeshög Municipality (''Ödeshögs kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County, Sweden. The seat is situated in the small town of Ödeshög. The coat of arms was created in 1972 at the time the modern municipalities of Sweden were crea ...

, Sweden)Info at Ödeshög municipal website

References

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Obaĺ Urban-type settlements in Belarus Populated places in Vitebsk Region Polotsk Voivodeship Polotsky Uyezd