Pochinok (russian: Почи́нок) is a

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 ...

and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Pochinkovsky District Pochinkovsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia: * Pochinkovsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, an administrative and municipal district of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast *Pochinkovsky District, Smolensk O ...

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, ''Smolenskaya oblast''; informal name — ''Smolenschina'' (russian: Смоле́нщина)) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the city of ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, located on the Khmara River (

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

's basin) southeast of

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 c ...

, the administrative center of the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

. Population:

Climate

Pochinok has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

History

Pochinok has been known since 1811 as a village. It belonged to Yelninsky Uyezd of

Smolensk Governorate Smolensk Governorate (russian: Смоленская губерния, Smolenskaja gubernija), or the Government of Smolensk, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It ex ...

. In 1926, it was granted a town status. In October 1928, Yelninsky Uyezd was abolished and split between Smolensky, Roslavlsky, and

Vyazemsky Uyezd Vyazemsky Uyezd (''Вяземский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Smolensk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northeastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Vyazma. Demographics At the ...

s. Pochinok was transferred to Smolensky Uyezd. On 12 July 1929, governorates and uyezds were abolished, and Pochinkovsky District with the administrative center in the town of Pochinok was established. The district belonged to

Roslavl Okrug Roslavl (russian: Ро́славль, ) is a town and the administrative center of Roslavlsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is a road and rail junction and a market town. Population: Climate Roslavl has a warm-summer humid continental ...

Western Oblast Western Oblast (russian: Западная область, ''Zapadnaya oblast'') was an ''oblast'' (a first-level administrative and municipal unit) of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1929 to 1937. Its seat was in the city ...

. On August 1, 1930 the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast. On 27 September 1937 Western Oblast was abolished and split between

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...

and Smolensk Oblasts. Pochinkovsky District was transferred to Smolensk Oblast. Between 1941 and 1943, during WWII, the town was occupied by German troops.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Pochinok serves as the

.Resolution #261 As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Pochinkovsky District as Pochinkovskoye

Urban Settlement An Urban settlement is a concentrated settlement that is part of an urban area. It is an area with high density of human-created structures. *Municipal urban settlement, a type of subdivision such as Cape town in Western Cape *Urban settlement, ...

. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban settlement status and is a part of Pochinkovsky Municipal District.Law #132-z

Economy

Industry

There are enterprises of textile and food industries in Pochinok.

Transportation

A railway connecting

and

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

goes through Pochinok. Pochinok is the main railway station within Pochinkovsky district. The R120 road (formerly A141), which connects Smolensk with Bryansk and

, passes close to Pochinok. There is a road between Pochinok and

Yelnya Yelnya (russian: Ельня) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Yelninskoye Ur ...

, as well as another one across the border to

Mstsislaw 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 ...

where it continues to

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...

and

Krychaw Krychaw or Krichev ( be, Кры́чаў, Łacinka: Kryčaŭ, ; russian: Кричев, , pl, Krzyczew) is a city in the eastern Belarusian Mogilev Region. Krychaw is the administrative center of Krychaw District. As of 2009, its population was 27 ...

. There are also local roads with bus traffic originating from Pochinok.

Military

Since the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, nearby Shatalovo air base has been a major training and operations facility for

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

combat crews.

Culture and recreation

In Pochinok, there is a local museum which was opened in 2000. The expositions highlight history of the district.

Notable people

The most famous native of Pochinok is the artist and designer

El Lissitzky Lazar Markovich Lissitzky (russian: link=no, Ла́зарь Ма́ркович Лиси́цкий, ; – 30 December 1941), better known as El Lissitzky (russian: link=no, Эль Лиси́цкий; yi, על ליסיצקי), was a Russian artist ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Smolensk Oblast Yelninsky Uyezd