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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 city. It is served by Vitebsk Vostochny Airport and Vitebsk Air Base.


History


Before 1945

Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where the Vićba River (Віцьба, from which it derives its name) flows into the larger Western Dvina, which is spanned in the city by the Kirov Bridge. Archaeological research indicates that Baltic tribes had settlements at the mouth of Vitba. In the 9th century, Slavic settlements of the tribal union of the Krivichs replaced them. According to the '' Chronicle of Michael Brigandine'' (1760), Princess Olga of Kiev founded Vitebsk (also recorded as Dbesk, Vidbesk, Videbsk, Vitepesk, or Vicibesk) in 974. Other versions give 947 or 914. Academician Boris Rybakov and historian Leonid Alekseyev have come to the conclusion, based on the chronicles, that Princess Olga of Kiev could have established Vitebsk in 947. Leonid Alekseyev suggested that the chroniclers, when transferring the date from the account of the Byzantine era (since the creation of the world) to a new era, obtained the year 947, later mistakenly written in copying manuscripts as 974. An important place on trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, Vitebsk became by the end of the 12th century a center of trade and commerce, and the center of an independent principality, following Polotsk, and at times, Smolensk and Kiev princes. The official year of the founding of Vitebsk is 974, based on an anachronistic legend of founding by Olga of Kiev, but the first mention in historical records dates from 1021, when Yaroslav the Wise of
Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
gave it to Bryachislav Izyaslavich, Prince of Polotsk. In the 12th and 13th centuries Vitebsk functioned as the capital of the Principality of Vitebsk, an appanage principality which thrived at the crossroads of the river routes between the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
and Black seas. In 1320 the city was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as dowry of the Princess Maria, the first wife of Grand Duke of Lithuania
Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd;  – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...
. By 1351 the city had erected a stone Upper and Lower Castle, the prince's palace. In 1410 Vitebsk participated in the Battle of Grunwald. In 1569 it became a part of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1597 the townsfolk of Vitebsk were privileged with Magdeburg rights. However, the rights were taken away in 1623 after the citizens revolted against the imposed Union of Brest and killed Archbishop Josaphat Kuntsevych of Polotsk. The city was almost completely destroyed in 1708, during the Great Northern War. In the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the Russian Empire annexed Vitebsk. Under the Russian Empire, the historic centre of Vitebsk was rebuilt in the Neoclassical style. The Battle of Vitebsk was fought west of the city on 26–27 July 1812 as
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
attempted to engage decisively with the Russian army. While the French were to occupy the town for over three months (the emperor celebrating his 43rd birthday there) the Russian army was able to slip away with minimal losses towards Smolensk. Before World War II, Vitebsk had a significant Jewish population: according to
Russian census of 1897 The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 (Russian alphabet#Letters eliminated in 1917–18, pre-reform Russian: ) was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Fi ...
, out of the total population of 65,900, Jews constituted 34,400 (around 52%). The most famous of its Jewish natives was the painter
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
(1887-1985). In 1919 Vitebsk was proclaimed to be part of the
Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia The Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia or Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus (SSRB; be, Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка Беларусь, Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika Biełaruś; russian: ...
(January to February 1919), but was soon transferred to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and later to the short-lived
Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (SSR LiB), * lt, Lietuvos ir Baltarusijos socialistinė tarybų respublika; * pl, Litewsko-Białoruska Socjalistyczna Republika Rad * russian: Социалистическая Сове ...
(February to July 1919). In 1924 it was returned to the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
. During World War II the city came under Nazi German occupation (11 July 1941 – 26 June 1944). During Operation Barbarossa, 22,000 Jews, or 58% of Vitebsk's Jewish population, managed to successfully evacuate to the interior of the Soviet Union, thus saving themselves from the impending Holocaust. Much of the old city was destroyed in the ensuing battles between the Germans and Red Army soldiers. Most of the remaining local Jews perished in the Vitebsk Ghetto massacre of October 1941. The Soviets recaptured the city during the 1944 Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive.


Post-war period

In the first postwar five-year period the city was rebuilt. Its industrial complex covered machinery, light industry, and machine tools. In 1959 a TV tower was commissioned and started broadcasting the 1st Central Television program.


Independence of Belarus

In January 1991, Vitebsk celebrated the first Marc Chagall Festival. In June 1992, a monument to Chagall was erected on his native Pokrovskaja Street and a memorial inscription was placed on the wall of his house. Since 1992 Vitebsk has been hosting the annual
Slavianski Bazaar The International Festival of Arts “Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk” ( be, Міжнародны фестываль мастацтваў «Славянскі базар у Віцебску», uk, Міжнародний фестиваль мист ...
, an international music festival. The main participants are artists from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with guests from many other countries, both Slavic and non-Slavic. There has been a remarkable improvement and expansion of the city. The central stadium was reconstructed, and the Summer Amphitheatre, the railway station and other historical sites and facilities were restored, and the Ice Sports Palace along with a number of new churches and other public facilities were built, together with the construction of new residential areas.


Attractions

The city has one of the oldest buildings in the country: the Annunciation Church. The building dates back to the period of Kievan Rus. The city at the time was pagan and did not belong to the
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
or Russian Orthodox Church or the Kievan Rus state. It was constructed in the 1140s as a pagan church, rebuilt in the 14th and 17th centuries as a Roman Catholic Church, restored in 1883 and destroyed by the Soviet administration in 1961. The church was in ruins until 1992, when it was restored to its presumed original appearance. Churches from the Polish-Lithuanian period were likewise destroyed, although the Resurrection Church (1772–77) has been rebuilt. The Orthodox cathedral, dedicated to the Intercession of the
Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...
, was erected in 1760. There are also the town hall (1775); the Russian governor's palace, where Napoleon celebrated his 43rd birthday in 1812; the Neo-Romanesque Roman Catholic cathedral (1884–85); and an obelisk commemorating the centenary of the Russian victory over Napoleon. Vitebsk is also home to a lattice steel TV tower carrying a horizontal cross on which the antenna mast is guyed. This tower, which is nearly identical to that at
Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
, but a few metres shorter (245 metres in Vitebsk versus 254 metres at Grodno) was completed in 1983. The city is also home to the
Marc Chagall Museum The Marc Chagall Museum ( be, Віцебскі музей Марка Шагала) is a museum dedicated to the painter Marc Chagall, in his hometown of Vitebsk, Belarus. The museum was founded by the decision of the Vitebsk City Executive Comm ...
and the
Vitebsk regional museum The Vitebsk Regional History Museum (russian: Витебский областной краеведческий музей) is a museum in Vitebsk, Belarus. History Its history begins in the 19th Century, when in 1868 the city opened its first mu ...
.


Geography


Climate

Vitebsk has warm summer humid continental climate, Köppen: ''Dfb''. Summers are generally warm, while winters are relatively cold but still warmer than in Moscow due to a stronger influence of maritime air from the Baltic Sea. Approximately of precipitation falls here per annum.


Education

The main universities of Vitebsk are
Vitebsk State Technological University Vitebsk State Technological University (VSTU) is a technological university located in Vitebsk, Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республ ...
,
Vitebsk State Medical University 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 ci ...
and
Vitebsk State University P. M. Masherov Vitebsk State University, commonly known simply as Vitebsk State University,bis a tertiary institute in Vitebsk, Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic o ...
named in honor of
Pyotr Masherov Pyotr Mironovich Masherov, ''Piotr Mironavič Mašeraŭ''russian: Пётр Миронович Машеров (né Mashero; – 4 October 1980) was a Soviet partisan, statesman, and one of the leaders of the Belarusian resistance during Wo ...
.


Sport

HK Vitebsk HK Vitebsk is an ice hockey team in Vitebsk, Belarus. The team competes in the Belarusian Extraliga The Belarusian Extraleague (abbreviated BHL, also known as the Belarusian Open Championship), officially formed in 2006, is the top ice hockey l ...
of the Belarusian Extraleague is the local pro hockey team.


Linguist

Mikhail Sukernik (1902 - 1981), contributor to the first Russian - Yiddish Dictionary.


Notable people

*
Leonid Afremov Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide. People with the name include: *Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright and ...
(1955-2020), painter * Zhores Alferov (1930-2019), physicist, 2000 Nobel Prize Winner for Physics *
S. Ansky Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky), was a Jewish author, playwright, researcher of Jewish folklore, polemicist, and cultural and political activist. He is best known for his play ' ...
(1863–1920), playwright, '' The Dybbuk'' * Anatol Bahatyroǔ (Anatoly Bogatyrev) (1913 – 2003), Belarusian composer *
Vladimir Bourmeister Vladimir Bourmeister (22 January 1904 - 5 March 1971) was a Soviet choreographer best known for his choreography of Swan Lake, a ballet dance by Peter Tchaikovsky. Made in 1952, his choreography of the dance, unlike other choreographies at the ...
(1904–1971), ballet choreographer *
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
(1887–1985), artist *
Max Danish Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...
(1881–1964), U.S. labor journalist with ILGWU * Sam Dolgoff (1902–1990), anarcho-syndicalist housepainter * Tanya Dziahileva (1991-), model *
Alexandra Holub Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...
(1986-), painter and poet *
Mark Fradkin Mark Grigoryevich Fradkin (Марк Григорьевич Фрадкин, May 4, 1914 – April 4, 1990) was a Soviet composer, author of numerous popular songs (many of which were co-written with poet Yevgeny Dolmatovsky) and musical scores f ...
(1914 – 1990), composer *
Leon Gaspard Leon Schulman Gaspard (2 March 1882 - 21 February 1964) was a Russian Empire-born painter, known for his paintings of indigenous cultures and folk traditions. He tended to paint scenes with throngs of people, and his favorite locations were in s ...
(1882–1964), artist *
Joseph Günzburg Joseph Günzburg (Osip Gavrilovich Gintsburg, Осип Гаврилович Гинцбург (or ''Iosif-Evzel'', ''Иосиф-Евзель''); 1812 in Vitebsk – 12 January 1878 in Paris) was a Russian financier and philanthropist who became a b ...
(1812–1878), Russian financier and philanthropist *
Isser Harel Isser Harel ( he, איסר הראל, 1912 – 18 February 2003) was spymaster of the intelligence and the security services of Israel and the Director of the Mossad (1952–1963). In his capacity as Mossad director he oversaw the capture and co ...
(1912–2003), Israel intelligence chief *
Lazar Khidekel Lazar Markovich Khidekel (Vitebsk 1904 – Leningrad 1986) was an artist, designer, architect and theoretician, who is noted for realizing the abstract, avant-garde Suprematist movement through architecture. Early life In 1918 at the age of 14 ...
(1904–1986), artist, architect *
Lev Khidekel Lev may refer to: Common uses *Bulgarian lev, the currency of Bulgaria *an abbreviation for Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah People and fictional characters *Lev (given name) *Lev (surname) Places * Lev, Azerbaijan, ...
(1909—1977), architect * Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin (1750 – 1807), poet and collector of Belarusian folklore * Leon Kobrin (1873–1946), playwright *
Marcelo Koc Marcelo Koc (4 June 1918 in Vitebsk, Belarus – 26 October 2006 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentinian composer. Koc studied at the Academy of Music in Łódź, Poland and in 1938 went to Buenos Aires where he continued his education with Jacobo F ...
(1918–2006), Argentinian composer *
Sergei Kornilenko Sergei Aleksandrovich Kornilenko ( be, Сяргей Аляксандравіч Карніленка; russian: Сергей Александрович Корниленко; born 14 June 1983) is a Belarusian professional football coach and a form ...
(1983-), footballer *
Lazar Lagin Lazar Iosifovich Lagin (russian: Ла́зарь Ио́сифович Лагин), real name Lazar Ginzburg (4 December 1903, Vitebsk – 4 June 1979, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian author of children's and science fiction books. Lagin is be ...
(1903–1979), writer * El Lissitzky (1890–1941), artist *
Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk (1730?–1788), also known as Menachem Mendel of Horodok, was an early leader of Hasidic Judaism. Part of the third generation of Hassidic leaders, he was the primary disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch. From his base i ...
(1730?–1788),
Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
Rebbe *
Anna Missuna Anna Boleslavovna Missuna (12 November 1868 – 1922) was a Russian-born Polish geologist, mineralogist, and paleontologist. Early life Missuna was born in the Vitebsk Region (then part of the Russian empire, now part of Belarus). Her parents we ...
(1868–1922), geologist *
Sergey Pushnyov Sergey may refer to: * Sergey (name), a Russian given name (including a list of people with the name) * Sergey, Switzerland, a municipality in Switzerland * ''Sergey'' (wasp), a genus in subfamily Doryctinae The Doryctinae or doryctine wasps are ...
(1997), lasertag warrior *
Yehuda Pen Yehuda Pen, also known as Yuri Pen ( yi, יודל פּען – ''Yudl Pen''; 5 June 1854 – 1 March 1937), was a Russian and Soviet Jewish painter and art teacher. He was a major figure of the Jewish Renaissance in Russian and Belarusian art at ...
(1854–1937), artist * Kazimierz Siemienowicz (1600–1651), engineer, pioneer of rocketry *
Ivan Sollertinsky Ivan Ivanovich Sollertinsky (3 December 1902, Vitebsk – 11 February 1944, Novosibirsk) (Cyrillic: ''Ива́н Ива́нович Соллерти́нский'') was a Soviet polymath. He specialized in fields including linguistics, theatre, liter ...
(1902-1944), polymath, critic, and musicologist *
Joseph Solman Joseph Solman (January 25, 1909 – April 16, 2008) was an American painter, a founder of The Ten, a group of New York City Expressionist painters in the 1930s. His best known works include his "Subway Gouaches" depicting travelers on the New ...
(1909–2008), American painter *
Simeon Strunsky Simeon Strunsky (July 23, 1879 – February 5, 1948) was a Russian-born Jewish American essayist and editorialist. He is best remembered as a prominent editorialist for the ''New York Times'' for more than two decades. Biography Early years ...
(1879–1948), author in New York City * Immanuel Velikovsky (1895–1979),
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
/
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
and author * Alexander Vvedensky (1889–1946), one of the leaders of the Living Church movement *
Moshe Wittenburg Moses ( el, Μωϋσῆς),from Latin and Greek Moishe ( yi, משה),from Yiddish Moshe ( he, מֹשֶׁה),from Modern Hebrew or Movses (Armenian: Մովսես) from Armenian is a male given name, after the biblical figure Moses. According to th ...
(1829-1909), Jewish financier of land purchases in the Holy Land


Artistic tributes

In 1928, the American composer Aaron Copland composed the piano trio ''Vitebsk: Study on a Jewish Theme'', and the work was premiered in 1929. Based on a Jewish folk song from
S. Ansky Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky), was a Jewish author, playwright, researcher of Jewish folklore, polemicist, and cultural and political activist. He is best known for his play ' ...
's play '' The Dybbuk'', Copland's piece is named for Vitebsk Governorate, where Ansky was born, and where he first heard the tune.


Website

The website of the city of Vitebsk www.gorod212.by, a news portal.


Sources

*  In Russian
eastview.com
* Любезный мне город Витебск.... Мемуары и документы. Конец XVIII — начало XIX в. / Вступ. ст., науч., коммент., сост., публ. В. А. Шишанова. Мн.: Асобны Дах, 2005. 40 с. * Шишанов В
947 или 914?
// Витебский проспект. 2005. No.45. 10 нояб. С.3. * Изобразительное искусство Витебска 1918 – 1923 гг. в местной периодической печати : библиограф. указ. и тексты публ. / сост. В. А. Шишанов. – Минск : Медисонт, 2010. – 264 с.


Notes


External links


"Vitebsk : The Fight and Destruction of the 3rd Panzer Army" by Otto Heidkamper and Linden Lyons, Casemate Publishers, 2017


External links


Encyclopedia of Vitebsk

Cultural space — Vitebsk4.me

Official web server

Official site

Population of Vitebsk by mother tongue in 1897

The plan of Vitebsk 1904

Official site of Vitebsk regional museum of local lore
* {{Authority control Shtetls Cities in Belarus Populated places in Vitebsk Region Vitebsky Uyezd Vitebsk Voivodeship Polochans Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust