Region

Geography

The Mogilev region is located in the centre of the Mogilev oblast. It borders on the Belynichi, Bykhov, Dribin, Shklov and Chausy regions.

It covers the area of 1910.5 square kilometres and is divided into 16 village councils with 279 rural-type settlements.

The region’s administrative centre is Mogilev. The population of the region is 42.3 thousand including 24.8 thousand able-bodied people, 11.2 thousand pensioners and 8.9 children and young people.

History

The history of the Mogilev region dates back to the Stone Age. The monuments of those times help us fix the period, when the first settlers appeared in the region.

The 9th-13th century history of the region was connected with the Polotsk, Smolensk and later Drutsk Duchies. The famous trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was passing through the Mogilev land.

The year of 1569 marked a new page in the history of the region. The Union of Lublin was signed then. It united the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland into one state – Rzecz Pospolita.

The Mogilev region saw bloody wars and fierce battles. In the 16th-17th centuries a continuing conflict between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow over leadership in Eastern Europe occurred in the region. The Northern War broke out just right when the Mogilev land managed to heal the wounds it suffered in the war of the 17th century. The main forces of the Russian and Swedish troops were crossing it. A camp of the Swedish troops headed by King Charles XII was located near the village of Buinichi. In 1708 the Swedish troops were defeated during the battle, which started near the village of Dashkovka. It was the Battle of Lesnaya. Peter the Great called it “Mother of the Battle of Poltava”.

The Patriotic War of 1812 between France and Russia did not pass by the Mogilev region as well. This territory turned out to be in the centre of all events as it stood in the way of Napoleon’s troops to Smolensk and farther to Moscow. The bloody battle between the French troops led by Marshal Nicolas Davout and the Russian corps led by General Raevsky took place near the village of Saltanovka. Besides, later General Raevsky covered himself with glory during the Battle of Borodino.

On July 17, 1924 a session of the BSSR Central Executive Committee of the sixth convocation passed a resolution on forming the Mogilev region.

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War brought fierce battles to the Mogilev land. The Red Army was putting up strong resistance inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. The legendary defence of Mogilev became history. The town was defending 23 days.

By the end of July 1941 the whole territory of the Mogilev region was occupied by the Nazis. Seven villages were burnt down together with their residents.

Underground organisations and 15 partisan parties were functioning in the region. They killed thousands of occupants and derailed dozens of the Nazi trains.

The Mogilev region was liberated on June 28, 1944 thanks to the operation Bagration carried out by the Soviet Army.