Unecha (), 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 ...

Unechsky District Unechsky District () is an administrativeLaw #13-Z and municipalLaw #3-Z district (raion), one of the twenty-seven in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the western central part of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrativ ...

Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (), also known as Bryanshchina (, ), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1,169,161. Geography Bryansk Oblast lies in weste ...

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 ...

, stands on the Unecha River (within the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

's basin) southwest of

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

, the administrative center of the

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

. Population:

History

Historically, the territory at various times formed part of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

, the

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 ...

and Russia. Town status was granted in 1940. From 1936 to 1951 Unecha was the home station for the Unecha motive branch of the

Belarusian railway Belarusian Railway (BCh) ( () / ''Biełaruskaja čyhunka'', ) is the national state-owned railway company of Belarus. It operates all of the rail transport network in Belarus. As of 2005, the railway employs 112,173 people. Overview The compa ...

. From September 1943 to March 1944 the Directorate of the Belarusian railway was situated in the town. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, about 12% of inhabitants were Jews. 1,708 Jews were living in Unecha. The town was occupied by the German army in the middle of August 1941. A large number of Jews managed to flee to the east before the Germans’ arrival. Shortly after the German occupation, the Jews were distinguished and forbidden to leave the town. In October 1941, all the Jews were confined to a closed

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

, where they stayed until its liquidation in mid-March 1942. Due to harsh living conditions and hunger, many Jews died before the liquidation. Hundred of them were executed and group of

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

from another village were murdered alongside the Jews on this day. The Germans also operated a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

battalion for Jews and the Dulag 121 transit

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in the town.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Unecha serves as the

.Law #13-Z As an administrative division, it is, together with six rural localities, incorporated within Unechsky District as Unechsky Urban Administrative Okrug.Law #69-Z As a municipal division, Unechsky Urban Administrative Okrug is incorporated within Unechsky Municipal District as Unechskoye Urban Settlement.Law #3-Z

Notable People

Aleksandr Putsko Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Putsko (; born 24 February 1993) is a Russian professional football player who plays as a centre-back for Arsenal Tula. Career Club Putsko played for FC Spartak Moscow in the 2012–13 Russian Cup game against FC Sal ...

, footballer

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Bryansk Oblast Mglinsky Uezd Holocaust locations in Russia