Smarhon or Smorgon ( be, Смарго́нь, ; russian: Сморгонь; lt, Smurgainys; pl, Smorgonie; yi, סמאָרגאָן) is a city in the

Grodno Region Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. It was the site of Smarhon air base, now mostly abandoned. Smarhoń is located 107 km from the capital,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

History

Within the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

, Smarhon was part of

Vilnius Voivodeship pl, Województwo wileńskie , conventional_long_name = Vilnius Voivodeship , common_name = Vilnius , subdivision = Voivodeship , nation = Grand Duchy of Lithuania (part of the federative Polish–Lithuani ...

. In 1795, the town was acquired by the

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 ...

in the course of the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Poli ...

. Until the mid 19th century, Smarhon was a private property of the

Radziwiłł family The House of Radziwiłł (; lt, Radvila; be, Радзівіл, Radzivił; german: link=no, Radziwill) is a powerful magnate family originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. ...

with most of its population being Jewish. From 1921 until 1939, Smarhon (''Smorgonie'') was part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

. In September 1939, the town was occupied by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

. From 25 June 1941 until 4 July 1944, Smarhon was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of the '' Generalbezirk Litauen'' of ''

Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initi ...

''. Smorgon is known as the place where a school of bear training, the so-called "Bear Academy", was founded.

Smarhon baranki

Up until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Smarhon was widely known for its baranki, traditional

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...

an ring-shaped bread rolls, similar to

bagel A bagel ( yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; pl, bajgiel; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the History of Jews in Poland, Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into a roughly hand-sized ring from yeaste ...

s and

bublik Bublik (also ''booblik'' or ''bublyk''; rus, бублик, búblik, plural: ''bubliki''; uk, бублик, lit=, translit=búblyk) is a traditional Eastern European bread roll. It is a ring of yeast-leavened wheat dough, that has been boiled ...

i. Russian food historian William Pokhlyobkin considered Smarhon to be the birthplace of baranki.
Баранки
'. In: В. В. Похлёбкин, ''Кулинарный словарь от А до Я''. Москва, Центрполиграф, 2000, ( William Pokhlyobkin, ''Culinary Dictionary''. Moscow, Centrpoligraf publishing house, 2000; Russian) Baranki were supposedly used to feed bears in the Bear Academy. Written accounts of Smarhon baranki appeared in the 19th century. Polish-Lithuanian journalist

Adam Kirkor Adam Honory Kirkor (21 January 1818 – 23 November 1886) was a Polish publisher, journalist and archeologist. Biography Adam was born in Sliwino on 21 January 1818, finishing school in Mogilev. From 1834 to 1866, he worked in Vilnius, later ...

wrote in the encyclopedia ''Picturesque Russia'': "In Smorgon, Oshmyany district, Vilna province, almost all the petty bourgeois population is busy baking small , or kringles, which are widely known as ''Smorgon obvaranki''. Each traveller would definitely buy several bundles of these ; besides, they are transported to

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional ur ...

and other cities."

Władysław Syrokomla Ludwik Władysław Franciszek Kondratowicz (29 September 1823 – 15 September 1862), better known as Władysław Syrokomla, was a Polish romantic poet, writer and translator working in Vilnius and Vilna Governorate, then Russian Empire. Bi ...

mentioned Smarhon as "the capital of obwarzanki famous in all Lithuania". Smarhon obwarzanki were a traditional treat at Saint Casimir's Fair in Vilnius.

International relations

Smarhon is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Visaginas Visaginas () is the centre of Lithuania's youngest municipality, located on the north-eastern edge of the country. It was built as a town for workers engaged in the construction of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Visaginas is the only town in L ...

, Lithuania *

Alytus Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. T ...

, Lithuania * Krasnoznamensk, Russia

Famous natives and citizens of Smarhon

* Zmicier Apanasovič (nom de guerre “Terror") (1990–2022), Belarusian volunteer killed in action defending Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion *

Peter Blume Peter Blume (27 October 1906 – 30 November 1992) was an American painter and sculptor. His work contained elements of folk art, Precisionism, Parisian Purism, Cubism, and Surrealism. Biography Blume, born in Smarhon, Russian Empire to a ...

(1906–1992), US painter, in magic realism style * Louis Hurwich (1886–1967), US Jewish educator, superintendent of the Boston Bureau of Jewish Education and founder of

Hebrew College Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is committed to Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational academic environment. The president of the college ...

* Isaac Itkind (1871–1969), distinguished Russian and Soviet sculptor *

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one of ...

(1865–1935), rabbi, Jewish theologist,

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

of Palestine, learned in Smarhon

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stu ...

Moyshe Kulbak Moyshe Kulbak ( yi, משה קולבאַק; be, Майсей (Мойша) Кульбак; 1896 1937) was a Belarusian Jewish writer who wrote in Yiddish. Biography Born in Smarhon (present-day Belarus, then in the Russian Empire) to a Jewish fa ...

(1896–1937), Belarusian Yiddish poet, writer, executed by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

* Moshe Kussevitzki (1899–1966), Polish-US Jewish cantor * Ida Lazarovich Gilman or Ida Mett (1901–1973), Russian

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

militant and author, exiled in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Shalom Levin Dr Shalom Levin ( he, שלום לוין, 27 March 1916 – 14 April 1995) was an Israeli teacher and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1969 and 1977. Biography Born in Rakaŭ near Minsk in the Russian Emp ...

(1916–1995), Secretary Gen. and President of Israel Teachers Union, Knesset (Parliament) Member, educator and author *

Karol Dominik Przezdziecki Karol Dominik Przeździecki (1782–1832) was a Polish count, born in Chornyi Ostriv. In 1806, he was the ruler of Smarhonʹ. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, he first commanded the 21st Lithuanian Infantry Regiment until August, an ...

(1782–1832),

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

count, fighter for the liberation of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

in the revolt of 1830–1831 *

David Raziel David Raziel ( he, דוד רזיאל; 19 November 1910 – 20 May 1941) was a leader of the Zionist underground in British Mandatory Palestine and one of the founders of the Irgun. Biography David Rozenson (later Raziel) was born in Smarhon� ...

(1910–1941), fighter for the emancipation of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s in Palestine, commander of the Irgun Tzvai Leumi nationalist resistance organization, killed in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

on an anti-Nazi mission *

Esther Raziel Naor Esther Raziel-Naor ( he, אסתר רזיאל-נאור, 29 November 1911 – 11 November 2002) was a Revisionist Zionist, Irgun leader and Israeli politician. She was the sister of fellow Irgun leader David Raziel. Biography Early life Raziel ...

(1911–2002),

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i politician, militant in the Irgun Jewish nationalist resistance during the British mandate in Palestine * William Schwartz (1896–1977), US painter * Nahum Slouschz (1872–1966), Israeli writer, translator and archaeologist *

Abraham Sutzkever Abraham Sutzkever ( yi, אַבֿרהם סוצקעווער, Avrom Sutskever; he, אברהם סוצקבר; July 15, 1913 – January 20, 2010) was an acclaimed Yiddish poet. ''The New York Times'' wrote that Sutzkever was "the greatest poet o ...

(1913–2010), Yiddish and Polish poet and Second World War partisan *The Gordin brothers,

Abba ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

(1887–1964) and Wolf, anarchist educators, militants, and theorists

References and notes

External links

Smorgon memory book

Photos on Radzima.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smarhon' Cities in Belarus Oshmyansky Uyezd Populated places in Grodno Region Shtetls Smarhon District Vilnius Voivodeship Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939)