Kalinkavichy (; ; ) is a town in
Gomel Region, southeastern
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
.
It serves as the administrative center of
Kalinkavichy District.
Kalinkavichy is located beside the
Netech' River, opposite the city of
Mazyr
Mazyr or Mozyr (, ; , ; ; ) is a city in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mazyr District. It is situated on the Pripyat (river), Pripyat River about east of Pinsk and northwest of Chernobyl in Ukraine. As of 2025, ...
, and is the site of one of the country's most important
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film
* ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film
* ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film
* ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (E ...
s. In 2004, its population was 37,876. As of 2025, it has a population of 36,656.
History
Archaeological excavations have found traces of human settlement dating back to 26,000-24,000 years ago near
Yurovičy, the oldest yet discovered in Belarus.
The earliest historical mention of the town of Kalinkavičy dates to 1560. The town grew to prominence at the end of the nineteenth century with the coming of the railways.
Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a significant part of the population was Jewish, 3,386 out of 9,799 were Jews. Kalinkavichy was under
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
occupation from 22 August 1941 until 14 January 1944. Before the arrival of the German forces, a part of the Jewish population managed to evacuate the city by train.
On September 20, 1941, all the Jews were shot by collaborating policemen and German gendarmes in a trench.
Food processing (esp. pork products) is the largest industry. The extraction of peat (5.5 million tonnes of reserves) is also economically important.
Overview
The mean January temperature is ; July . Precipitation totals per annum.
Kalinkavičy is also known for the annual
Avtyuki comedy festival
A comedy festival is a celebration of comedy with many shows, venues, comedy performers (such as stand up comics, sketch troupes, variety performers, etc.) and is held over a specific block of time. Normally, each festival has a diverse range of ...
, held every June.
In 1998, the town was united with the surrounding rural area to form a single administrative unit,
Kalinkavičy Rajon, covering , with a total population of 71,500.
Notable people
*One of the most notable figures born in Kalinkavicy was
Solomon Simon (1895–1970), a well-known Yiddish author who emigrated to New York City in 1913. His autobiography, "My Jewish Roots," describes his early childhood years in Kalinkavichy (Kalinkovich).
*
Katherine Locke, a stage and supporting screen actress of the 1930s and 40s was born in Kalinkavichy, prior to emigrating to the United States.
*
IDF General (1905-1947)
*
Igor Fruman
Igor Fruman (born 1966) is a Soviet-born American businessman. He is an associate of Rudy Giuliani who, along with Lev Parnas, aided in a search in Ukraine for detrimental information on U.S. President Donald Trump's political opponents. This in ...
was born in Kalinkavichy, and immigrated to the U.S., later working in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
for a time.
References
External links
Youtube: 3 июля 2018 года. КАЛИНКОВИЧИ ОТМЕТИЛИ ДЕНЬ НЕЗАВИСИМОСТИ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalinkavicy
Populated places in Gomel region
Populated places in Belarus
Kalinkavichy district