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, L ...
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 ...
,
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-eigh ...
, located by the right bank of the Sozh River. Population:
History
Khislavichi is first mentioned in 1526. It belonged to Poland, and since the 18th century '' miasteczko'' (''
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 Poland and Lithuania ...
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...
and included in its Mogilev Governorate. It belonged to Mstislavsky Uyezd. By the end of the 19th century, of the total population of 4,361, 3,642 were Jews and 739 were of Russian Orthodox 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. 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 absolut ...
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 of Western Oblast. 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 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'' entered the ghetto. Under the command of the '' Einsatzgruppen'', 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.
In 1963, during the
Khrushchyov
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev stu ...
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 and Krychaw. 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.