Yelets or Elets () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Lipetsk Oblast Lipetsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Lipetsk. As of the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, its population was&n ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, 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 The Central Black Earth Region or the Central-Chernozem Region; is a segment of the Eurasian Black Earth belt that lies within Central Russia and comprises Voronezh Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Oryol Oblast and K ...

. It was mentioned in historical documents as early as 1146 or 1147, when it was a fort belonging to the princes of

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

. The town's position at the very south of the Russian lands made it an easy prey for Turkic conquerors. The

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

burned it in 1239,

Uzbeg Khan The Uzbeks () are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak minorities, and also form minority ...

ravaged it in 1316,

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

sacked it in 1395, and the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

devastated it in 1414. In 1483, the Principality of Yelets was absorbed by the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...

, while the local

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

rulers (last heard of in the 19th century) entered the service of Ivan III. In 1591,

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

revived the largely deserted town by establishing a fortress there. In 1618, the fortress was captured "by subterfuge" by 20,000

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

under

Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny (; ; born – 20 April 1622) was a political and civic leader and member of the Ruthenian nobility, who served as Hetman of Zaporizhian Cossacks, Hetman of Zaporozhian Cossacks from 1616 to 1622. During his tenur ...

, allied with Władysław IV of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. They dismantled a large part of town fortifications. In the 19th century, Yelets became the largest trade center of the region. Handmade

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

has been a notable product of the city since then; other important industries are grain milling and the manufacture of machinery. The town's chief landmark is the vast Ascension Cathedral, built over the years 1845–1889 to a Neo-Muscovite design by

Konstantin Thon Konstantin Andreyevich Thon or Ton (; October 26, 1794 – January 25, 1881) was a Russian architect who was one of the most notable architects during the reign Nicholas I. His major works include the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Grand ...

. The town was occupied by the

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

from December 4–9, 1941 and damaged during the brief occupation and Soviet offensive in the region.

Geography

The city is situated on the Bystraya Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don.

Climate

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Yelets serves as the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

Yeletsky District Yeletsky District () is an administrativeLaw #382-OZ and municipalLaw #114-OZ district (raion), one of the eighteen in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the western central part of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrativ ...

, even though it is not a part of it.Law #382-OZ As an administrative division, it is incorporated as Yelets City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with a 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 ...

. As a municipal division, Yelets City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Yelets Urban Okrug.Law #536-OZ

Economy and transportation

The city is connected to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Lipetsk Lipetsk (, ), also Romanization of Russian, romanized as Lipeck, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh (river), Voronezh River in the Do ...

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

, and Rostov by rail and the M4 highway runs past it. The main industries are limestone quarrying, engineering, food processing, textiles and clothing (Yelets Lace), tobacco processing, and beer distilling.

Culture and education

The city has a theatre, cinemas, and several sports venues. The Yelets State University was upgraded from an institute in 2000 and the city has eight secondary schools.

Notable people

* Iulia Dombrovskaia, pediatrician * Tikhon Khrennikov, composer and administrator

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lipetsk Oblast Yeletsky Uyezd