Khislavichi (russian: Хиславичи, yi, חאסלאוויץ ''Khoslovitz'') is an urban locality (an
urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
) 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 is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of
Khislavichsky District
Khislavichsky District (russian: Хиславичский райо́н) is an administrativeResolution #261 and municipalLaw #110-z district (raion), one of the twenty-five in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the oblast a ...
of
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 o ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, located by the right bank of the
Sozh River
The Sozh, or Sož ( be, Сож, ; russian: Сож, uk, Сож) is an international river flowing in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a left bank tributary of the Dnieper. The Sozh passes through Gomel, the second largest city in Belarus.
T ...
. Population:
History
Khislavichi is first mentioned in 1526. It belonged to Poland, and since the 18th century ''
miasteczko
A ( or (), () was a historical type of urban settlement similar to a market town in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. After the partitions of Poland, partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th-century, these ...
'' (''
shtetl
A shtetl or shtetel (; yi, שטעטל, translit=shtetl (singular); שטעטלעך, romanized: ''shtetlekh'' (plural)) is a Yiddish term for the small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish populations which existed in Eastern Europe before ...
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
and included in its
Mogilev Governorate
The Mogilev Governorate () or Government of Mogilev was a governorate () of the Russian Empire in the territory of the present day Belarus. Its capital was in Mogilev, referred to as Mogilev-on-the-Dnieper, or Mogilev Gubernskiy.
The area of t ...
. It belonged to
Mstislavsky Uyezd Mstislavsky Uyezd (''Мстиславский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Mogilev Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northeastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Mstsislaw.
Demographi ...
. By the end of the 19th century, of the total population of 4,361, 3,642 were Jews and 739 were of
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
faith. There were eight synagogues and two wooden churches. The settlement belonged to Saltykov Russian noble family.
In 1919, Mogilev Governorate was abolished, and Mstislavsky Uyezd was transferred to
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 ...
. On 3 March 1924, a half of Mstislavsky Uyezd was transferred to
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
, and seven
volost
Volost ( rus, во́лость, p=ˈvoləsʲtʲ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Eastern Europe.
In earlier East Slavic history, '' volost'' was a name for the territory ruled by the knyaz, a principality; either as an absolute ...
s, including Khislavichi, were left in Smolensk Governorate.
On 12 July 1929, governorates and uyezds were abolished, and Khislavichsky District with the administrative center in the settlement of Khislavichi 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 ...
of
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. In 1935, Khislavichi was granted urban-type settlement status. 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 Fe ...
and Smolensk Oblasts. Khislavichsky District was transferred to Smolensk Oblast.
The German Army entered Khislavichi on July 16, 1941. 800 Jews of the town were resettled in a ghetto. In September or October 1941, 120 to 150 Jews were murdered in a mass execution. On March 20, 1942, the Russian ''
Hilfspolizei
The ''Hilfspolizei'' (abbreviated ''HiPo'' or ''Hipo''; meaning "auxiliary police") was a short-lived auxiliary police force in Nazi Germany in 1933. The term was later semi-officially used for various auxiliary organizations subordinated to the ...
'' entered the ghetto. Under the command of the ''
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 im ...
'', they killed all the Jews of the ghetto about 150 meters northwest of the town in a ditch near the local
machine and tractor station
The machine tractor station (MTS) (russian: машинно-тракторная станция ''mashinno-traktornaya stantsiya'', МТС) was a state enterprise for ownership and maintenance of agricultural machinery that were used in kolkhozy ...
.
In 1963, during the Khrushchyov administrative reform, Khislavichsky District was merged into Monastyrshchinsky District. In 1965, it was re-established.
Climate
Khislavichi 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 freez ...
(''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, nota ...
).
Economy
Transportation
Khislavichi is on a main road which connects Pochinok with
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 R ...
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 ...
. In Khislavichi, another road branches northwest to Monastyrshchina. There are also local roads with bus traffic originating from Khislavichi.
The closest railway station is in Pochinok.
The Sozh is not navigable in Khislavichi.