Sychyovka () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and 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 ...

Sychyovsky District Sychyovsky District () is an administrativeResolution #261 and municipalLaw #106-z district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Smolensk Oblast, twenty-five in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northeast of the oblast. The a ...

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

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 ...

, located between the

Vazuza The Vazuza (), a river in the Novoduginsky and Sychyovsky districts of Smolensk Oblast and in the Zubtsovsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, becomes a right tributary of the Volga. It is long, and its drainage basin covers . Soviet engin ...

and Losmina Rivers, northeast of

Smolensk Smolensk 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 cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, the administrative center of the

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

. Population:

Etymology

The name of the town derives from the Russian word "" (''sych''), which literally means "

little owl The little owl (''Athene noctua''), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at t ...

", but can also mean "a gloomy person".

History

It was first mentioned in 1488 as a votchina of a Tver prince Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III. In 1493, it became a palace village in Vyazminsky Uyezd. In 1776, Sychyovka was granted town status. During

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 ...

, 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 October 10, 1941 until March 8, 1943, when it was liberated by troops of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Western Front. On January 7, 1943, Jews of the town were murdered in a mass execution perpetrated by an

Einsatzgruppen (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imp ...

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sychyovka serves as the

.Resolution #261 As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Sychyovsky District as Sychyovskoye

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, a ...

. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban settlement status and is a part of Sychyovsky Municipal District.Law #106-z

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Use mdy dates, date=July 2012 Cities and towns in Smolensk Oblast Sychyovsky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Russia