Sudzha (, ) 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 ...

Sudzhansky District Sudzhansky District () is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the twenty-eight in Kursk Oblast, Russia. Its administrative center is the town of Sudzha. It has a population of 25,119. Geography The area of the district is ...

Kursk Oblast Kursk 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 Kursk. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, Kursk Oblast had a pop ...

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 on the

Sudzha Sudzha (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Sudzhansky District in Kursk Oblast, Russia, located on the Sudzha and Oleshnya rivers southwest of Kursk, the administrative center of the oblast. It has a population of 5,127 people. ...

and Oleshnya rivers southwest of

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

, 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 ...

. It has a population of 5,127 people. It is the natural gas exchange feeder where the Trans-Siberian pipeline meets the Brotherhood pipeline. The town was occupied by Ukrainian forces between August 15, 2024 and March 12, 2025 as a result of an incursion into the region.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the territory formed part of the

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

principality of , which was annexed by the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

before its final annexation by the

Grand Principality 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 ...

in the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

. Sudzha was founded in 1664. It was initially a town of the

Sumy Sumy (, , ) is a city in northeastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel (river), Psel River and has a population of making it the 23rd-largest in the country. The city ...

Regiment within

Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine, also known locally as ''Slobozhanshchyna'' or ''Slobozhanshchina'', is a historical region in northeastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia. It developed from Belgorod Razriad and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries on the ...

, and was fortified with ramparts and a moat. In 1708 it was included within the

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

, and in 1779, it became the seat of the

Sudzhansky Uyezd Sudzhansky Uyezd (; ) was one of the subdivisions of Kursk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Sudzha. History The city of Sudzha was founded in 1664. The uyez ...

within the

Kursk Governorate Kursk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1796 to 1928 with its capital in Kursk. Administrative divisions As of 1914, Kursk Governorate included 15 uyezds. * Belgorods ...

. In 1870, the town had a population of 4,482 and the suburbs had a population of 5,624. In 1869, there were 393 craftsmen in the town, and in 1871 there were nine factories. In the late 19th century, the town hosted four annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s and two weekly markets. According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, the town had a population of 7,433, of which 61.2% spoke Ukrainian, 37.2% spoke

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, 1.2% spoke

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

and 0.3% spoke

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

. In November–December 1918, Sudzha was the seat of the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government of Ukraine before its relocation to

Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...

. It formed part of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

until 1922, when it was transferred to the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. 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 ...

, Sudzha was occupied by German troops from October 18, 1941, to March 3, 1943. Later in the 20th century, a natural gas pipeline transit station was established near Sudzha. A gas metering station was installed. As of 2024, the output was fed to the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline.

Russo-Ukrainian War

After the beginning of the full-scale

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

in 2022, the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline at Sudzha became the last remaining point at which natural gas flowed from Russia to Europe through Ukraine after the

2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage On 26 September 2022, a series of underwater explosions and consequent gas leaks occurred on 3 of 4 Nord Stream pipes, rendering them inoperable. The Nord Stream 1 (NS1) and Nord Stream 2 (NS2) are natural gas pipelines. They are two of 23 ...

. On June 4, 2023, Russia said it shot down a Ukrainian drone over Sudzha.

Kursk offensive

On August 6, 2024, fierce fighting broke out at the border of

and around Sudzha as part of an incursion by Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainian government confirmed the capture of the town on August 15 and announced the formation of a

military administration Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outs ...

in Ukrainian-occupied areas of Kursk Oblast. A statue of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

in the town had been dismantled by August 16. On March 12, 2025, Russian state media published footage of Russian troops raising flags in the center of Sudzha. On the same day, it was reported that the town was once again under Russian control.

Government

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sudzha serves as the

. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Sudzhansky District as the

town of district significance Town of district significance is an administrative division of a district in a federal subject of Russia. It is equal in status to a selsoviet or an urban-type settlement of district significance, but is organized around a town (as opposed to a ...

of Sudzha. As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Sudzha is incorporated within Sudzhansky Municipal District as Sudzha Urban Settlement.

Demographics

The town's population has declined over the past few decades, from 7,487 in 1989 to 5,127 in 2021.

Gallery

Церковь Покрова Суджа пересечение Ленина и Щепкина 2018 год (фото 2).jpg, Church of the Protection of the Theotokos ЖД вокзал Суджа фасад 2018 год.jpg, Railway station Дом купца Солматина Суджа Советская 12 2018 год (фото 2).jpg, Post office Здание учительской семинарии Суджа улица 1 мая 15. 2018 год (фото 1).jpg, Former teacher's seminary

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kursk Oblast Sudzhansky Uyezd 1664 establishments in Russia Populated places in Sudzhansky District Populated places established in 1664