Dzyarzhynsk Explained

Settlement Type:Town
Dzyarzhynsk
Other Name:Dzerzhinsk
Native Name:
Flag Size:150
Pushpin Map:Belarus
Pushpin Relief:1
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Dzyarzhynsk in Belarus
Coordinates:53.6833°N 27.1333°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Belarus
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Minsk Region
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Dzyarzhynsk District
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1146
Population As Of:2024
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:29,796
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:MSK
Utc Offset:+3
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:222720
Area Code:+375 1716
Blank Name:License plate
Blank Info:5
Website:Official website

Dzyarzhynsk or Dzerzhinsk (Belarusian: Дзяржынск|Dziarzhynsk; Russian: Дзержинск), formerly known as Koydanava until 1932,[2] is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Dzyarzhynsk District.[1] As of 2024, it has a population of 29,796.[1]

History

In the Middle Ages, the village belonged to the Radziwiłłs, a Polish–Lithuanian aristocratic family.

Jewish community

Jews lived in Koidanova as early as 1620.[3] Koidanova became the site of a new Hasidic Jewish dynasty in 1833 when Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Perlow (1797–1862) became the first Koidanover Rebbe.[4] He was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Boruch Mordechai Perlow (1818 - 1870), grandson, Rabbi Aharon Perlow (1839 - 1897), and great-grandson, Rabbi Yosef Perlow of Koidanov-Minsk (1854-1915), who was the last Koidanover Rebbe to live in the town. After World War I, the dynasty was moved to Baranovichi, then in Poland.[5]

In 1847, Koidanova had 2,497 Jewish inhabitants.[3] In 1897, the city had a total population of 4,744, of whom 3,156 were Jews.[6]

Inter-war period

In May 1932, it was granted the status of a city and was renamed Koidanau (Belarusian: Ко́йданаў|Kojdanaŭ) or Koydanov (Russian: Ко́йданов|Koydanov). In June of that year it was renamed again as Dziaržynsk by the Communist authorities, in honour of Felix Dzerzhinsky (1877–1926), a famous Bolshevik creator and chief of the "Extraordinary Commission" (CHEKA) – the Soviet secret police - who was born in a Dziaržynava estate not far from the city, although on the other side of the then Polish-Soviet border.[3]

The city was the capital of the short-lived Dzierzynszczyzna Polish Autonomous District during 1932–38.[3]

World War II

It fell under German occupation during World War II. It was captured on 28 June 1941.

The Lithuanian Twelfth Schutzmannschaft (auxiliary police) Battalion's 1st Company, led by Lieutenant Z. Kemzura, massacred approximately 1,600 Jews from the city on 21 October 1941, shooting them and throwing them into a pit; many were buried alive.[7] [8] [9] As it is reported in The Complete Black Book of Russian Jewry: "For three hours the earth covering the mass grave would move; people still alive were trying to crawl out of their grave."[9] On 1–2 March 1942 the Einsatzgruppen transported several thousand Jews from throughout Belorussia and murdered them in Koidanov.[10] The city was liberated by the Soviet Red Army on 6 July 1944.[3]

Modern day

In 1998, the city had 24,700 inhabitants.[11]

Now part of Belarus, the name Kojdanava (Belarusian: Койданава) is becoming popular again (it is the official name for the railway station of Dzyarzhynsk), but the official name remains unchanged.

Geography

The highest point of Belarus, Dzyarzhynskaya Hara, is several kilometers from Dzyarzhynsk.

Transport

There is a rail route across the city from Minsk Passazhirsky to Baranovichi Polesskie.

There is only one bus route in Dziarzhynsk; there are 18 stops.

Sport

The local football club is the Arsenal Dzerzhinsk, playing in the Belarusian First League. Its home ground is the City Stadium.

Notable residents

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа. https://web.archive.org/web/20240402055418/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/. 2 April 2024. belsat.gov.by. 9 April 2024.
  2. Book: Экономическая история Беларуси . 2001 . Экоперспектива . 978-985-6598-81-7 . 392 . ru.
  3. Web site: Koidanova . Beljews.info . August 20, 2011.
  4. Web site: Rabbonim, Rebbes, and Crown Rabbis, of Lyakhovichi. Deborah G.. Glassman. 2004. JewishGen. June 20, 2012. February 22, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150222181250/http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/lyakhovichi/Rabbonim.htm. dead.
  5. Web site: 2010. The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Allen. Nadler. Koidanov Hasidic Dynasty. June 20, 2012.
  6. Web site: Jewish population of Minsk uezd according to the 1897 Russian Census. beljews.info. June 20, 2012.
  7. Web site: Jewish Heritage Research Group in Belarus. Jhrgbelarus.org. October 21, 1941. August 20, 2011. December 25, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171225045020/http://jhrgbelarus.org/Heritage_Holocaust.php?pid=&lang=en&city_id=8&type=3. dead.
  8. Web site: Richard. Breitman. Richard Breitman. Himmler's Police Auxiliaries in the Occupied Soviet Territories. Simon Wiesenthal Center Multimedia Learning Center. 1997. August 20, 2011. unfit. https://web.archive.org/web/20110727011820/http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=395183. July 27, 2011.
  9. Book: The Complete Black Book of Russian Jewry . June 13, 2003 . August 20, 2011. 9781412820073 . Patterson . David .
  10. Book: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum . Historical Atlas of the Holocaust . Macmillan / Simon & Schuster . 1995 . 978-0028974514 . registration . See in Routes to Roots Foundation, Inc.
  11. Web site: BELARUS: urban population . Populstat.info . August 20, 2011 . October 21, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071021190847/http://www.populstat.info/Europe/belarust.htm . dead .