Khislavichi (, ''Khoslovitz'') is an urban locality (an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

) 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 ...

Khislavichsky District Khislavichsky District () is an administrativeResolution #261 and municipalLaw #110-z district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Smolensk Oblast, twenty-five in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the oblast and ...

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 by the right bank of the

Sozh River The Sozh (, ; ; ) is a 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. The river is crossed by the Sozh Floating Bridge at Karma, Kar ...

. 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 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th century, these settlements became w ...

'' (''

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

'') Khislavichi () was in Mstsislaw Voivodeship,

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. In 1772, as a result of the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

, it was transferred to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and included in its

Mogilev Governorate Mogilev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. The governorate bordered the Vitebsk Governorate to the north, the Smolensk Governorate to the east, the Chernigov Gover ...

. 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 The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

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 () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It existed, with interruptions, between 1708 and 1929. Smolensk Governorate, together with seven o ...

. On 3 March 1924, a half of Mstislavsky Uyezd was transferred to

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...

, and seven

volost Volost (; ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Kievan Rus', the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the Russian Empire. History The '' Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (1890–1907) states that the origins of the concept is unc ...

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 (, ) 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: History Roslavl was founded as Rostislavl in the 1130s or 1140s. The name i ...

Western Oblast Western Oblast () was an administrative-territorial unit (''oblast'') of the Russian SFSR from 1929 to 1937. Its seat was in the city of Smolensk. The oblast was located in the west of European Russia, and its territory is currently divided b ...

. 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, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

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 ''

Hilfspolizei The ''Hilfspolizei'' (''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 ''Ordnungsp ...

'' 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 imp ...

'', 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) (, , МТС) was a state enterprise for ownership and maintenance of agricultural machinery that were used in kolkhozy (collective farms operated by the government). Each MTS was responsible for around 40 kolkho ...

. In 1963, during the Khrushchyov administrative reform, Khislavichsky District was merged into Monastyrshchinsky District. In 1965, it was re-established.

Geography

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 cold ...

(''Dfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Economy

Transportation

Khislavichi is on a main road which connects Pochinok with

Mstsislaw Mstislaw or Mstislavl is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mstsislaw District. In 2009, its population was 10,804. As of 2024, it has a population of 10,019. History Mstislavl was first mentioned in the ...

, where it continues to

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

and

Krychaw Krychaw or Krichev (, ; , , ) is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Krychaw District. It is situated on the Sozh River. In 2009, its population was 27,202. As of 2024, it has a population of 23,264. ...

. 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.

Culture and recreation

In Khislavichi, there is a local museum.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Smolensk Oblast Cities and towns in Smolensk Oblast Holocaust locations in Russia