Belyov () 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 ...

of Belyovsky District in

Tula Oblast Tula Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an Oblasts of Russia, oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in European Russia and is administratively part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of . It has a ...

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 left bank of the

Oka River The Oka (, ; ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its total length, ...

. Population: 13,180 (2018);

History

As is the case with many other towns in the former

Upper Oka Principalities In Russian historiography the term Upper Oka Principalities () traditionally applies to about a dozen tiny and ephemeral polities situated along the upper course of the Oka River at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. They were reigned b ...

, Belyov was first mentioned in a

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

in 1147. After the disintegration of the

Principality of Chernigov The Principality of Chernigov was one of the largest and most powerful states within Kievan Rus'. For a time the principality was the second most powerful after the Principality of Kiev. The principality was formed in the 10th century and maint ...

in the wake of the

Mongol invasion of Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Principality of Ryazan, Ryazan, Principality of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl, Principality of Pereyaslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimi ...

, Belyov became a seat of a local princely dynasty in 1468. The princes of Belyov fluctuated between 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, ...

and the

Grand Duchy 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 ...

, until they moved to the latter state. During World War II, Belyov was occupied by the German Army in October, 1941, but was liberated by elements of 10th Army on December 31, during the Soviet counteroffensive phase of the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

. Following an incident where a local Jewish families were accused of murdering a child to use his blood to bake

matzah Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : matzot or Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashk. matzos) is an Unleavened bread, unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (lea ...

, there was a rise in anti-Jewish propaganda by Communist Party members. These allegations that Jews used the blood of Christians in rituals was embarrassing to the Communist Party when it came from Party Members, and a

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

was narrowly averted in this instance. Some press sources from that time, most in

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 ...

, condemned the inaction against the prominent community members and demanded adherence to Communist party policies on antisemitism.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Belyov serves as the

of Belyovsky District.Law #954-ZTO As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Belyovsky District as Belyov Town Under District Jurisdiction.Law #954-ZTO defines a town under district jurisdiction as a town which is a part of one of the districts of the oblast.

OKATO Russian Classification on Objects of Administrative DivisionThe English name of the document is given per the English title included on the document's first page. (), or OKATO (), also called All-Russian classification on units of administrative and ...

lists the town of Belyov as a part of Belyovsky District and separately from other administrative divisions of the district. As a municipal division, Belyov Town Under District Jurisdiction is incorporated within Belyovsky Municipal District as Belyov Urban Settlement.Law #543-ZTO

Architecture

The town contains one of the oldest churches in

Economy

Belyov is home to Transmash railroad equipment factory. It is also famous for pastila whose production started in 1888 and was revived in 2010s.

Notable people

* Zinaida Gippius * Alexei Osipov

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Belyov

Belyov Business Directory
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Tula Oblast Belyovsky Uyezd