Introduction

1. Defense of Smolensk 1609-1611

3. Smolensk in the Great Patriotic War

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

City-worker, city-warrior, city of Russian glory!

This is how Smolensk is called from time immemorial. For the second millennium, he has stood unshakably on the steep Dnieper hills, at the crossroads of many roads, honestly and courageously taking upon himself everything that history has assigned him.

The great waterway "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed here, connecting Scandinavia with the Black Sea basin. Having crossed the watershed between the Western Dvina and the Dnieper along small rivers, lakes and land, merchants on the banks of the river repaired and tarred ships, put shoes, clothes, and harness in order.

In 882, the Smolensk lands became part of the Old Russian state, which contributed to the strengthening of the economic growth of the city. Due to its advantageous geographical position, Smolensk has become a major commercial and cultural center. In the 9th-13th centuries, he was a link in the trade of the countries of the Arab Caliphate and Scandinavia, an authoritative intermediary in trade between European countries, the island of Gotland and the Russian principalities. The Smolensk people also traded their goods: flax, rye, wax, honey, leather, furs, as well as horses and cattle. Archaeological excavations testify to the wide distribution of various crafts in the Smolensk principality. Smolensk residents mastered the secrets of making heavy-duty bricks, from which intensive building construction began in the 12th century.

At the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries, Smolensk, as an important strategic point, was fortified with a powerful stone wall. On September 13, 1609, seven years after the construction of the fortress was completed, the Polish king Sigismund III approached Smolensk with a huge army and laid siege to it. For more than twenty months, the defenders of the city, all its population, selflessly held back the onslaught of a well-armed army of invaders.

In the summer of 1708, the troops of the Swedish king Charles XII approached the southern borders of the Smolensk land, it was through Smolensk that he threatened to pass to Moscow. But Peter I arrived in the city, the most energetic measures were taken to repair the fortress and meet the enemy at the distant approaches. Having come across well-equipped fortifications, having suffered several major defeats and almost being captured, Charles XII realized that it was impossible to break through to Moscow through Smolensk, turned south, to Ukraine, where the famous Battle of Poltava took place (1709).

1. Defense of Smolensk 1609-1611

Twenty-month heroic defense of the city during the Polish-Swedish intervention in Russia at the beginning of the 17th century.

The Smolensk fortress was an important stronghold on the western border of the Russian state, covering the way to Moscow. Its garrison under the command of governor M.B. Sheina numbered 4-5 thousand people, had up to 200 guns of various types and calibers, significant stocks of food and ammunition.

The Polish army, which included hired Hungarian infantry and Zaporozhye Cossacks, greatly outnumbered the garrison of the fortress. In September 1609, she approached Smolensk and launched the first unsuccessful assault. From September 28 to October 4, she bombarded the fortress, after which she moved on to a long siege.

The defenders of the city (the garrison and the townspeople) found themselves in a difficult situation. The Russian army, headed by Prince D.I., set out to deblock Smolensk. Shuisky in June 1610 under the village. Klushino was defeated by the Polish troops of Hetman S. Zolkiewski.

In July, August and November 1610, Polish troops repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to take Smolensk by storm. An attempt by the Polish command to persuade the defenders of the fortress to capitulate was rejected.

In the winter of 1610-11. the situation in Smolensk worsened: there was not enough salt and water, epidemics began. No outside help was forthcoming. Moscow was in the hands of the Poles.

The Polish command, having received from the defectors information about the state of the garrison and fortifications, in June 1611 organized the fifth, most fierce assault on the fortress from three directions. Having blown up the walls, the Poles broke into the city. Troops and residents heroically resisted on the streets of the city, blew up a powder warehouse. Voevoda M.B. Shein, seriously wounded, was captured.

The heroic defense of Smolensk for almost two years fettered the main forces of the Polish king Sigismund III and gave time and opportunity for the deployment of a national liberation movement in the country, for the formation of the first Russian militia that liberated Moscow from the invaders.

By July 22 (August 3), the 1st and 2nd Russian armies, retreating from the western borders, united in the Smolensk region and 4 days later set out to meet the enemy in the direction of Rudnya, Vitebsk. To cover the city from the south-west, the 27th Infantry Division of General D.P. was sent to Krasny. Neverovsky.

On August 1 (13), the main forces of the French army resumed the offensive and moved along the left bank of the Dnieper to Smolensk. The Neverovsky division blocked their way and, retreating with battles, detained the enemy for a day. During this time, the 7th Infantry Corps of General N.N. managed to return to Smolensk. Raevsky, who decided to defend himself in the city itself, using fortifications.

On August 4 (16), the troops of Murat, Ney and Davout approached Smolensk. They surrounded the city, carried out a bombardment and began to storm it. During the whole day there were intense battles, especially stubbornly in the area of ​​the Royal Bastion, where the 26th Infantry Division of General I.F. Paskevich. All enemy attacks were repulsed. By evening, the main forces of the 1st and 2nd armies approached and settled in the northern part of the city.

On the night of August 5 (17) Raevsky's tired corps was replaced by the 6th Infantry Corps of General D.S. Dokhturov and the 3rd Infantry Division of General P.P. Konovnitsyn; in the northern part - batteries of General A.I. Kutaisova. On the morning of August 5 (17), the enemy captured the city with a horseshoe: from the west - Ney's corps, from the south - Davout, from the east - Poniatowski. In the first half of the day there was a firefight, accompanied by mutual sorties of small units. In the afternoon, the bombardment of the city from 350 guns began, the enemy went over to a general attack, captured the outskirts of the city. Defending the Rachevsk suburb, General A.A. Rock. Neverovsky's division fought at the Nikolsky Gate. The most fierce fighting took place at the Molokhov Gate, the Royal Bastion, where the regiments of the 3rd and 7th infantry divisions opposed parts of Davout's corps. For 3 hours, the enemy tried to break into the city, but all his attacks were repulsed. From a powerful bombardment, the city was engulfed in flames.

On the night of August 6 (18), the troops, and with it the population, left the burning city and destroyed the bridge across the Dnieper. During August 6 (18), Dokhturov’s corps, located on the right bank of the Dnieper, covered the withdrawal of the main forces of the 1st Army (the 2nd Army withdrew the day before) and repelled attempts by French troops to cross the Dnieper near the city. In the battle of Smolensk, the French army lost up to 20 thousand people killed, the Russian - 10 thousand people

Napoleon's plan to impose a general battle on the Russian army was thwarted.

The events of this battle are immortalized with monuments and memorial plaques.

3 . Smolensk in the Great Patriotic War

Smolensk land, which for many centuries protected Moscow and the eastern regions of the country from the attack of enemies from the West, during the years of the Great Patriotic War found itself in the path of the main forces of the fascist invasion. By the end of July 1941, the Hitlerite command hoped to capture Smolensk on the move, seize the interfluve of the Dnieper and the Western Dvina, and thereby open the shortest road to Moscow. But the fascist strategists miscalculated.

On July 10, one of the largest battles of the initial period began - the Battle of Smolensk, which lasted over a vast area until mid-September 1941. In it, Soviet soldiers heroically held back the onslaught of the strike group of the fascist armies "Center". For two weeks they fought bloody battles on the streets of Smolensk. In the battles near Yelnya, which ended in the defeat of several elite divisions of the enemy and the liberation of the city, the Soviet Guard was born - the color and pride of our Armed Forces. (see Soviet Guard). For the first time, the Nazis experienced a volley of new Soviet weapons - rocket artillery - the legendary "Katyushas" (see Rocket artillery). The civilian population of the region rendered great assistance to the Red Army. At the call of the regional committee of the party, tens of thousands of old men, women, girls and boys, who replaced the men who had gone to the front, participated in the construction of defensive fortifications, airfields, bridges and other structures, created 26 fighter battalions and about a hundred self-defense groups to fight enemy paratroopers. .

As a result of the Battle of Smolensk, the enemy doctrine of "blitzkrieg" was dealt the first serious blow, and the attempt of the Nazis to break through to Moscow on the move failed. For the first time during the Second World War, selected fascist troops, suffering huge losses, were delayed for two months, which made it possible for the Soviet command to gain time to pull up reserves from the depths of the country, prepare the Vyazemskaya and Mozhaisk lines of defense, and strengthen the defense of the capital (see the Battle of Smolensk 1941 G.).

For more than two years, the region was front-line. The Nazis stubbornly held on to the occupied areas, considering them as a springboard for a subsequent attack on Moscow. The main reserves of the fascist Army Group Center were concentrated here, powerful defensive lines were created, bloody battles with the Nazis did not stop for a day. In addition to the Battle of Smolensk in 1941, the troops of the Red Army carried out 12 military operations on the territory of the region, which entered the history of the Great Patriotic War. These are operations: Elninskaya 1941, Vyazemskaya 1941, Sychevsko-Vyazemskaya 1942, Vyazemskaya airborne 1942, Rzhev-Vyazemskaya 1942, Rzhev-Sychevskaya 1942, Rzhev-Vyazemskaya 1943.

Having defeated the Nazi troops near Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk and in other sectors of the front, the Red Army in the summer of 1943 went over to the offensive in the Western direction and on August 7 - October 2 carried out the Smolensk operation of 1943. Its components were the following operations: Demenskaya, Yelninsko-Dorogobuzhskaya, Dukhovshchinsko-Demidovskaya, Smolensko-Roslavlskaya. During the fighting, the troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts broke through the powerful defensive lines of the enemy troops, liberated Yelnya, Yartsevo, Demidov, Dorogobuzh, Dukhovshchina, Smolensk, Roslavl and completely completed the liberation of the Smolensk region, cleared part of the Kalinin region from the Nazis, laid the foundation for the liberation of Belarus.

Despite the unparalleled courage shown by the fighters of the Red Army, the people's militia, and all the working people during the Battle of Smolensk in 1941, by October 12, the Nazis managed to temporarily capture the entire territory of the region. In the occupied areas, the Nazis established a regime of bloody terror. They burned villages, shot civilians, subjected patriots to the most cruel tortures. However, with no atrocities and violence, the Nazis could not shake the heroic spirit of the Smolensk people, bring them to their knees. From the very beginning of the enemy occupation, the operational rear of Army Group Center turned into an arena for a mass battle of patriots against the invaders.

On the territory of the Smolensk region during the period of its complete occupation, a wide network of underground party bodies and organizations was created. Led by the Smolensk Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, fulfilling the directives of the Central Committee of the Party, they stood at the head of the patriotic resistance of the people, ensured its unprecedented scope, and successfully led all forms of the people's struggle against the fascist invaders. The actions of partisan forces turned out to be the most centralized and effective. Actively interacting with the regular units of the Red Army, by the spring of 1942 they had liberated 25 of the 42 occupied regions from the enemy in his rear, on the territory of which partisan territories arose - powerful bases for the advancing Red Army and partisan operations. Under the leadership of the Western headquarters of the partisan movement, created in the summer of 1942, they launched active sabotage activities on enemy communications, disrupted the supply of weapons, ammunition and other military-technical equipment to the front, did not allow the invaders to take out food, raw materials, timber from the occupied territory, saved the Smolensk people from deportation to hard labor in Germany, carried out reconnaissance in the interests of the Red Army, diverted from the front and fettered significant enemy forces.

Underground groups and organizations in cities and other settlements inflicted significant damage on the Nazi invaders. Underground workers operated in Smolensk, Roslavl, Vyazma, Kardymov, Rudna, Demidov and other places. They collected and delivered intelligence information, participated in sabotage, disabled the equipment of enterprises, collected weapons, organized prisoner-of-war escapes and sent them to partisan detachments, distributed leaflets, informed the population about the actions of Soviet troops, etc. The most massive was the struggle of the population to disrupt the political, economic and military plans and measures of the Nazi occupiers. Smolensk sabotaged food supplies, did not go to work, did not pay taxes, evaded mobilization, and caused enormous damage to the invaders. All forms of popular struggle behind enemy lines were interconnected with each other. Partisan formations widely used underground methods and interacted with the underground. In turn, the underground, when the situation required it, went over to open hostilities or joined partisan formations. The struggle of the people to disrupt the activities of the invaders rose to the level of sabotage. Complementing and reinforcing each other, all these forms of struggle constituted the mighty movement of the people.

In terms of scale, political and military results, the nationwide struggle behind enemy lines acquired the importance of an important military-political factor in the defeat of fascism, rendered enormous assistance to the Red Army, which played a decisive role in the victory over the fascist invaders.

Smolensk fought against the Nazis not only on the territory of their region. They were among the defenders of the Brest Fortress, participated in the defense of Moscow, fought under the walls of Stalingrad, smashed the enemy near Orel and Kursk, crossed the Dnieper, Vistula, Danube and other water lines, liberated the countries of Eastern Europe from the Nazis, stormed Berlin. Fighting on the fronts, in partisan detachments, in the underground, they increased the glory of their ancestors. The homeland highly appreciated their military exploits. Tens of thousands of Smolensk residents were awarded orders and medals, more than 236 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 44 became full holders of the Order of Glory. Among them are pilots A.I. Koldunov and V.D. Lavrinenkov - twice Heroes of the Soviet Union; M.A. Yegorov, who hoisted the banner of Victory over the Reichstag in Berlin; S.V. Grishin, commander of a partisan formation; Army General P.A. Kurochkin; Colonel General I.T. Grishin; Marshal of the Armored Forces O.A. Losik. For the courage and steadfastness shown by the defenders of Smolensk, the active participation of workers in the partisan movement and the successes achieved in the restoration of the city and the development of the national economy, Smolensk was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and the Order of Lenin. The city of Yelnya was also awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class. On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Victory over fascism, for the courage and steadfastness of the defenders of Smolensk, the mass heroism of the workers in the struggle against the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War, Smolensk was awarded the honorary title "City of Hero" with the award of the Gold Star medal.

During the period of their rule, the German fascist invaders committed colossal destruction and unheard-of atrocities, caused enormous damage to the economy and culture of the region. They almost completely destroyed 12 cities, including Smolensk, Vyazma, Roslavl, Yartsevo, Dorogobuzh, Rudnya, Velizh. Five workers' settlements, regional centers Vskhody, Prechistoye, Sloboda and hundreds of villages were wiped off the face of the earth. The Nazis destroyed and plundered 935 industrial enterprises, more than 3 thousand cultural and health institutions, burned almost 250 thousand houses of rural residents, took 1.5 million head of livestock from the population and collective farms. The material damage inflicted on the national economy exceeded 40 billion rubles. But the biggest damage caused by the Nazis was that the war they unleashed claimed millions of human lives. Many thousands of Smolensk people died at the fronts and in partisan detachments. Tens of thousands were tortured to death by the Nazis. During the occupation, 151,319 civilians and 230,137 prisoners of war were shot, hanged, burned, buried alive, poisoned with poison and in gas chambers, tortured in the dungeons of the SD, 164,630 people were driven by the Nazis to hard labor in Germany. Compared to the pre-war period, the population of the region was reduced by half, and many areas were literally depopulated. The occupiers sought to leave behind a "desert zone" in order to undermine the economic power of the Soviet Union, weaken the advancing Red Army, doom the remaining population to poverty, hunger, and extinction. But the Nazis again miscalculated.

The Soviet state found the strength and means to begin restoration work already during the war. In August 1943, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a special decision "On the restoration of the economy in the Smolensk region." In the same month, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution "On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation." There were still battles on the fields of the region, and trains with building materials and equipment for factories and transport, agricultural implements, equipment for public utilities, hospitals, schools, clubs, textbooks, household utensils, shoes and clothes were already coming here from the depths of the country. The workers of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, Moscow, Kuibyshev, Yaroslavl, Ryazan, Kostroma regions provided great gratuitous assistance to the Smolensk people in restoring the destroyed economy and culture. Smolensk under the leadership of the regional party organization showed tremendous efforts to revive the economy and culture. People lived in dugouts, basements, shacks, and in Smolensk even in the niches of the ancient fortress walls. The collective farms lacked machines, horses, seeds, and labor. The fields were dug up by trenches, stuffed with mines, overgrown with weeds and bushes. But the working people of the region overcame all the difficulties. Throughout the Smolensk region, a movement of working people for mastering the construction professions unfolded. Following the example of the Stalingraders, volunteer construction teams were organized in Smolensk, Vyazma, Roslavl and other cities and towns. Smolensk residents restored, repaired and built housing, cultural and community facilities, industrial premises, sowed fields, harvested crops (see Restoration of the national economy of the region.). The working people paid special attention to the comprehensive support of the Soviet Army and Navy. The restored local industry was immediately involved in the execution of urgent orders for the army in the field. The Smolensk people handed over millions of poods of grain, potatoes, vegetables and other products to the military units of the Western and Kalinin fronts. Successfully passed both in the liberated areas and behind enemy lines, the subscription to a military loan, tickets for a cash and clothing lottery, fundraising for the construction of a tank column "Smolensk Partisan", an aviation squadron "Smolensk".

Conclusion

In the entire centuries-old history of the city, there was no such century when the Smolensk people did not have to take up arms. They participated in many campaigns against the Polovtsy, who attacked the southern lands of Russia. The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, calling on the Russian princes to unite to repel enemy invasions, calls the Smolensk prince Davyd fearless, his squad - brave. The Smolensk people staunchly fought against the army of the Golden Horde near the Kalka River, smashed the Horde near the walls of their city, heroically held back the onslaught of the Lithuanian feudal lords, giving Moscow the opportunity to gather strength and begin the unification of the Russian principalities. Three Smolensk regiments took part in the fierce battle of Grunwald with the knights of the Teutonic Order.

The most difficult trials fell on the lot of Smolensk during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against Nazi Germany. On the far and near approaches to the ancient city, on its streets and squares, on the entire surrounding land, the largest battle of the initial period of the war thundered for two months - the Battle of Smolensk, which destroyed Hitler's plans for a “blitzkrieg”. When the city was under temporary occupation, the population remaining in it continued to fight the enemy.

September 25, 1943 Smolensk was liberated. The ruins of buildings, mountains of crumbled bricks, charred trees and chimneys on the site of former dwellings were seen by the soldiers of the Red Army when they entered the city. A new heroic feat was required to overcome devastation, to revive life in the ashes and ruins. And this feat was accomplished.

Today's Smolensk is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. In it, gray antiquity coexists with modern buildings, revived buildings delight the eye with their architectural appearance. History here reminds of itself either as an earthen defensive rampart, or as an ancient temple, or as a fortress tower... Smolensk residents are proud of their heroic past, building a new life.

Bibliography

1. Belyaev I.N. Memory of fiery years. Smolensk 2000

2. Ivanov Yu.G. pages of the history of the Smolensk region. Smolensk 2007-12-16

3. Vyrshchikov A.N. Moral and patriotic education m.1990

4. Demina L.M. According to the laws of beauty. M.2000

5. Lutovinov V.I. On the patriotic education of youth. 1994 №34

The Smolensk Region is a geographically, historically, culturally and economically unique region.

Already many hundreds of years ago, the trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed here - the main artery of the Slavic peoples, which, linking north with south, crossed here with roads leading from west to east. In the 9th century Smolensk was the center of the region, stretching from Novgorod in the north to Kyiv in the south, from Polotsk in the west and to Suzdal in the east.

The heyday of the Smolensk principality falls on the XII century. At this time, monumental construction began, temples were erected, which became the pride of Russian architecture. The Smolensk Principality has 46 cities, 39 of them have fortifications ...

For a whole century, the Smolensk land flourished. But in 1230, a terrible pestilence devastated her. This was followed by the invasion of Batu into Russia, the aggression of Lithuania ... The Mongols, having reached the walls of Smolensk, could not ruin it, but still the city paid tribute to them from 1274 to 1339.

In the 16th century, Smolensk land became part of a strong Russian state, however, its existence cannot be called calm. The Lithuanians, united with the Poles, do not stop trying to return the territories they lost, the protection of which is now becoming an all-Russian task.

It was at this time that Smolensk began to be called the “key” of Moscow.

In the 18th century Smolensk received the status of a provincial city. Active construction begins, trade turnover increases. But - the year 1812 comes, and again Smolensk gets in the way of the enemy - this time the Napoleonic hordes.

After the Patriotic War of 1812, Smolensk lay in ruins for a long time. Many public and private buildings that previously adorned the city were never restored ...

In the second half of the 19th century, Smolensk became a major railway junction. This contributed to the development of trade and industry.

The city continued to develop vigorously after the October Revolution. At that time, enterprises of large-scale industry were created in Smolensk and the region - a flax mill, a machine-building plant, and many others.

Once again, peaceful development was interrupted by war. In the summer of 1941, a battle broke out on Smolensk land, as a result of which the advance of the Nazis to Moscow was delayed for two months ...

For more than two years, the Smolensk region was under occupation. The war caused great damage to the region. After the Nazi occupation in Smolensk, only 7% of the undamaged residential area remained, more than 100 industrial enterprises were destroyed. In the ruins lay Vyazma, Gzhatsk, Yelnya, Dorogobuzh, Velizh, Demidov, Dukhovshchina, Roslavl ...

Realizing the great importance of the Smolensk region for the country, in 1945 the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR included Smolensk and Vyazma among the 15 Russian cities subject to priority restoration, for which all conditions were created ...

In the shortest possible time, the area was restored. Soon the volume of industrial production exceeded the pre-war level and continued to grow every day.

In commemoration of the merits of the inhabitants of the city, Smolensk was awarded the title of Hero City. This high title he wears with honor.

The history of the city of Smolensk is rooted in antiquity. Smolensk occupies an important place in the history of Russia.
The city occupied an advantageous geographical position on the banks of the Dnieper. In the Ustyug Chronicle Smolensk is mentioned under the year 863. At that time Smolensk was already quite a large city.

Smolensk was the center of the Slavic tribe of the Krivichi, who were famous as skilled builders and artisans. In the 9th century in Smolensk, part of the structures were built of stone.

The ancient trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed through the city, which connected the North with the Black Sea. Smolensk conducted extensive trade with the countries of the West, the cities of North-Eastern Russia and the countries of the East. Located at the crossroads, the city of Smolensk quickly mastered the achievements of science and culture of foreign countries and used them.

Even before the formation of Kievan Rus, Smolensk was the center of a large independent principality. Since 882, the city was ruled by the governors of the Kyiv prince, but then their own representatives of the Rurik clan, the founder of Ancient Russia, began to reign there.

In the first half of the 12th century, the city of Smolensk again became the center of an independent principality. Surrounded on three sides by enemies, the lands of the Smolensk principality were constantly attacked. But this time was a period of political elevation of Smolensk, it does not even recognize formal dependence on Kyiv, does not pay tribute, the dynasty of the princes of Smolensk is being strengthened here and its own diocese is being established.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Smolensk surpassed all the centers of Ancient Russia in terms of the scope of construction; a brilliant, completely independent architectural school developed there.

Smolensk was not captured and devastated during the invasion of the hordes of Batu, although it paid tribute to the khan. But another enemy stood on the threshold - Lithuania. The first invasions of Lithuanians into the Smolensk lands happened at the end of the 12th century, and after the weakening of Russia by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, Smolensk is increasingly subjected to their attacks. In the principality itself, too, there was no peace: throughout the 13th century, there was a constant struggle for the right to reign in Smolensk. The principality began to be divided into appanages, and this greatly weakened it.

The 14th century did not bring peace to Smolensk. Now Moscow and Lithuania fought for him, who tried to unite the territory of the former Kievan Rus under their rule.
In 1386, the Smolensk people were defeated by the Lithuanians on the Vehri River and began to pay tribute to Lithuania. They did not violate the agreement, but Prince Vitovt again captured the city and included it in his possessions.

In 1401, a new battle took place on the Vorskla River between Prince Vitovt and the former Prince of Smolensk Yuri. The victory was on the side of the Smolensk people, who with great joy opened the gates to the legitimate Russian prince, however, the joy was short-lived. Prince Yuri pursued a tough policy, and numerous reprisals against opponents, which were particularly cruel, forced the townspeople to accept the power of the Principality of Lithuania. In 1404, Smolensk was surrendered to Vitovt without a fight and became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for more than a hundred years. Only during the reign of Vasily III, in 1514, Smolensk became a Russian city.

Moscow tried very hard to keep Smolensk, which throughout the 16th century was a tasty morsel for Poland and Lithuania. The question of the city arose at all peace negotiations, but each time Smolensk was defended and kept as part of the Russian state. The constant threats of the capture of Smolensk forced the Moscow rulers to start building a new stone fortress. In 1595, the "city master" Fyodor Kon was given the royal order to urgently go to Smolensk and start building stone defensive structures there.

Supervision of the work was entrusted to the royal brother-in-law Boris Godunov. The new fortress was built by the whole world.

Several brick factories worked in the city, stone construction stopped at that time in other regions of Russia, and all the masons were sent to Smolensk for work that should have been completed by the end of the truce with the Commonwealth, that is, before 1603. The new fortress, covering virtually the entire city, was completed and lit in 1602. A few years later, it faced its first serious test. In 1609 - 1611, she withstood the siege of the troops of the Polish King Sigismund. Commander Shein led the defense. Only in June 1611 did the Poles manage to capture Smolensk. Again, for several decades, Smolensk was part of the Commonwealth.

In 1654, Smolensk was taken by Russian troops, and forever it became part of Russia under the Treaty of Andrusov in 1667.Smolensk recovered very slowly. As early as 1830, there were traces of unbuilt ashes. Only in the early 1830s did the construction of residential buildings, office buildings and the repair of the Smolensk fortress wall begin. The Blonje garden appeared in the city, which became a favorite place for festivities. In 1841, a monument to the heroes of the war of 1812 was solemnly opened in Smolensk, which depicts a battle plan and indicates the number of soldiers who fell in battles for the city.

Gradually, trade and crafts developed in Smolensk, in addition to bazaars, two fairs began to operate, and industrial enterprises also arose.

The development of trade relations was facilitated by the emergence of highways passing through Smolensk, and from the second half of the 19th century the city became a major railway junction, where the Moscow-Brest and Riga-Orlovskaya lines converged. According to the volume of trade, the city came out on top among other cities of the province. There were more than 800 trading establishments. Among the industries, the main ones were brick production, leatherworking and brewing.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Smolensk was a typical wooden city with a population of 47 thousand people.

The history of the city of Smolensk is the history of Russian prowess and military glory. The fact that Smolensk is a warrior is also evidenced by its coat of arms: a black cannon in a silver shield with a golden bird of paradise sitting on it.

Section 1. SURNAMES AS A SPECIAL TYPE OF NAME OF A PERSON: Section 2. HISTORY OF SURNAMES OF THE SMOLENSK REGION IN THE ETHNO-SOCIAL ASPECT:

§ 1. Historical and geographical essay on the Smolensk region (you are on this page now)

§ 3. Surnames of the Smolensk nobility:

3.3. Smolensk noble families in the historical and cultural area:
Section 3. SURNAMES OF MODERN SMOLENSCHINA:

§ 1. Surnames formed from rare forms of baptismal names:

§ 2. Surnames formed from non-baptismal names:

§ 7. Structural features of Smolensk surnames read
Section 4. SURNAME WITH DIALECT BASES:
- Letters A-B read
- Letters G–L read
- Letters G–L read
- Letters G–L read
APPENDIX:

1. SURNAME ACCENT

2. DECLECTION OF SURNAMES

LITERATURE
LIST OF DICTIONARIES AND ABBREVIATIONS
LIST OF SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
SURNAME INDEX read

Smolensk. Fortress wall with Veselukha tower in 1912
Author of the photo: S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky

The history of the formation and development of the surnames of the Smolensk Territory can be objectively presented only against the background of the history of the development of this territory.

The history of the Smolensk region, according to scientists, includes several periods: 1) from ancient times to 1404, i.e. the time when the Lithuanian prince Vitovt conquered Smolensk, 2) Lithuanian - from 1404 to 1514, the time of the liberation of Smolensk lands and their entry into the Muscovite state, 3) Moscow - from 1514 to 1611, the year the region was captured by the Poles, 4) Polish - from 1611 to 1654 (and some territories - until 1686), 5) Great Russian - until 1812, when the entire Smolensk Territory was engulfed in the Patriotic War, devastated and devastated (Bugoslavsky, 1914, p. 1). Periodization can be continued: 1) the period from 1812 to 1861, the year of the abolition of serfdom, 2) pre-revolutionary (from 1861 to 1917), 3) post-revolutionary (from 1917 to the present).

Let us immediately point out that the difficult historical destinies of the region (it is well known that Smolensk is the “key city”, the “outpost of Moscow”, on its coat of arms there is a phoenix bird, reviving the city from the ashes more than 20 times) are directly reflected both in the geography of the Smolensk region and and in the history of Smolensk dialects and the Smolensk family system.

It is interesting to note that during its heyday - the XII century - the Smolensk principality in its territory was twice the territory of the modern Smolensk region, included part of the Mogilev, Vitebsk, Moscow, Kaluga, Bryansk, Pskov, Oryol and Tver lands. But by the beginning of the 15th century, the principality lost its former power, noticeably narrowed its territory and was conquered by Lithuania. In the XV century, as part of the Lithuanian state, a new rise of the Smolensk region began: the Vyazma, Dorogobuzh, Belsky, Gzhatsky, Velikoluksky and some other territories returned to it again. However, starting from the second half of the century, the Russians recapture the lost regions one by one, the integrity of the Smolensk region is again violated, and by 1514, when Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich finally annexed the Smolensk principality to Moscow, it included approximately the same lands as and at the beginning of the century.

The 16th century - the period when the Smolensk Territory became part of the Muscovite State - was the century of strengthening the borders, expanding the territory of the Smolensk region. So, from 1596, an original document has been preserved - “The Case of the Construction of the Fortress Wall”, which allows not only to fully imagine all the stages of the construction of this unique structure, “the necklace of all Great Russia”, but also to determine the territorial boundaries: a document containing the painting of the villages of the Smolensk region.

Engraving "Siege of Smolensk in 1609-1611"

However, since the beginning of the 17th century, Smolensk land was again invaded - this time by the Polish. It was during this "Polish" period that the closest ties between Smolensk and Belarusians, Ukrainians and Poles developed. The entire territory of the region became part of the Commonwealth.

After the re-annexation of the Smolensk region to Muscovite Russia under the Eternal Peace of 1686, the Smolensk land received for some time territorial integrity and certain borders. First, Peter I, and then Catherine II, tried to strengthen and legalize the borders of the province, which remained until the revolution of 1917. The Smolensk region included ancient lands, such as Belsky, Vyazemsky, Gzhatsky, Dorogobuzh, Dukhovshchinsky, Elninsky, Krasninsky, Porechsky, Roslavl, Smolensky, Sychevsky, Yukhnovsky counties.

We do not aim in detail, by years, to indicate the accession or secession from the Smolensk region of some small specific territories: we will give only a particular example.

The Krasny district center, which, under Prince Rostislav the Great, had been a specific city since 1155, then became a shtetl, a working settlement, and now is an urban-type settlement, has changed hands more than once. Its name also changed - Red - Red - Red.

Separate territorial changes in the region took place throughout the 19th century and until the mid-30s of the 20th century: some areas were part of the Smolensk region, then left it, the border with neighboring Belarus, Russian regions (Tver, Kaluga, Pskov, Bryansk) changed more than once ). In the 30s of the twentieth century, the process of “cutting and sewing” of the territory, the justification for which was, as they said then, “the adaptation of old administrative-territorial units to new economic and political needs”, separated from the Smolensk region some ancient Smolensk and important regions (Belsky and Yukhnovsky).

As you can see, the history of the Smolensk Territory is complex and contradictory. More than once or twice, Smolensk lands changed hands, falling into the cycle of military and political events, changing borders, administrative designation.

How does the history of the region and its geographical location influence the development of the family system of the region?

Even in the era of the existence of the Smolensk principality, trade relations were developing with the Baltic states, the German lands (let us point to the charters of the XII-XIV centuries, well known to historians and linguists). The study of the anthroponymy of that period indicates a fairly wide interaction of the anthroponymic vocabulary of the Smolensk Territory and the designated territories.

The Lithuanian period in the history of the Smolensk region is ambiguously assessed by researchers, however, in linguistic terms, we immediately note that the 15th century did not seriously affect the Smolensk dialects of the past. Although it cannot be said that such a long entry of the Smolensk Territory, together with other Western Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, into one state, naturally, should have had an impact on the naming of the Smolensk people. In our opinion, this is primarily due to the migration of the population of the Lithuanian-Russian territories. In addition, according to A.I. Sobolevsky, “Smolensk was an intermediary between Russia and the rest of Europe, European education and culture poured into Smolensk and further into Russia” (1909, p. 109).

But the Polish period was very seriously reflected in the fate of the Smolensk region. A terrible picture was presented by Smolensk - the center of the region - after its capture by the Poles. The city was empty and was a ruined uninhabited space, enclosed by a wall (Pisarev, 1898, p. 46). This space began to be rebuilt and populated by new people, immigrants from Lithuania and Poland. A new class was formed - the philistine landowners. The Russian language was abolished from office work, all documents were drawn up in Polish or in Latin. Thus, the fact that the Smolensk Territory was part of the Polish-Lithuanian state had, according to language historians, a serious impact on both the fate of the Smolensk dialect of that time and the naming of the inhabitants of the region.

After the final annexation of Smolensk to Moscow in 1654, the reorganization of the region began. Settlers from different Russian regions poured in a wide stream. Many Moscow service people, clerks, and scribes appeared. A policy of assimilation of a special privileged class of the nobility - the Smolensk gentry - with visitors was carried out.

Until 1812, the connections of the Smolensk Territory with the Baltic, Polish and German lands are still active, trade is developing, as the borders have become safe. In 1708, the Smolensk Voivodeship was transformed into a province, and from 1719 the province became a province of Riga with 5 large counties according to the number of main cities. At that time, there was a large number of mixed marriages, which undoubtedly affected both the ethnic composition of the region and its anthroponymy. In 1775, the Smolensk province was re-formed with 12 counties, but trade was declining, the importance of the region was declining, the migration of the population was noticeably reduced, which led to a certain stabilization of the names of the inhabitants.

Here we will limit ourselves to a relatively detailed description of individual historically difficult periods in the fate of the Smolensk Territory, which introduced certain, sometimes quite serious changes in the development of the anthroponymic system of the region. Although we will immediately point out that subsequent eras had their own characteristics: as already noted, until the 30s of the twentieth century there was no complete completion in the formation of the territorial boundaries of the Smolensk region, the October Revolution of 1917, the Great Patriotic War and some other events were serious extralinguistic factors . Limitations in the description are primarily related to the volume of work, as well as the fact that by the beginning of the 19th century, the corpus of surnames of the Smolensk Territory was basically formed - this is the main component of the three-term formula for naming a Russian person. But, of course, we take into account all the historical factors that influenced the development of the family system of the Smolensk Territory in the period after 1812.

Currently, the territory of the Smolensk region includes 25 districts: Velizhsky, Vyazemsky, Gagarinsky, Glinkovsky, Demidovsky, Dorogobuzhsky, Dukhovshchinsky, Elninsky, Ershichsky, Kardymovsky, Krasninsky, Monastyrschensky, Novo-Duginsky, Pochinkovsky, Roslavl, Rudnyansky, Safonovsky, Smolensky, Sychevsky, Temkinsky, Ugransky, Khislavichsky, Kholm-Zhirkovsky, Shumyachsky, Yartsevsky.

The Smolensk region is adjacent to the Bryansk, Kaluga, Moscow, Pskov, Tver regions of Russia, the Vitebsk and Mogilev regions of Belarus.

Special mention should be made of the former Belsky district, which is currently part of the Tver region as a district. In the history of the region, this territory, originally Smolensk, has changed its administrative affiliation more than once. Not an exception is the recent time, when the Belians raised the issue of transferring to the Smolensk region (1992), which has not yet been resolved, but a positive result is also possible.

Smolensk has always been a crossroads between north and south, west and east. Back in the 9th century, Smolensk, as the center of the tribal union of the Krivichi Slavs, and then as a large city of Kievan Rus, developed on the site of a portage between the river basins of the Dnieper and the Western Dvina on the water trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." It is no coincidence that in the 11th century it became the center of the Smolensk principality, which already in the 12th century began to be called the “Great”. The principality was one of the strongest in the ancient Russian state and occupied a territory much larger than the modern region. In 1238 (9), a large detachment of Tatars was defeated near Smolensk, who never managed to subjugate it.

Rich lands always arouse the envy of neighbors. At the end of the 14th century, a long-term struggle for the Smolensk lands unfolded between the stronger Muscovite and Lithuanian states, which ended in the loss of independence and the entry Smolensk and most of the principality into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia (as it was then called). A century later, in 1514, Moscow Prince Vasily III annexed Smolensk and since that time a large trade and craft center has been turning into a strong fortress on the western border of the state, on the shortest road between Moscow and Europe. First, Ivan IV Vasilievich (Grozny) built a wooden fortress-gorodnya here, and then his son Fyodor Ioannovich ordered the construction of a powerful stone fortress in Smolensk, which has been preserved to this day. Since the 17th century, the Smolensk region has become the scene of all major wars waged by the Russian state with its Western neighbors: the Russian-Polish wars of the 17th century, the Northern War, the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War. The military theme is that excursion direction in which no region of Russia can compete with the Smolensk region.

Being a fortress, Smolensk in 1611 was taken by the army of the Polish king Sigismund III and for a long time, for 43 years, became part of the Commonwealth. Together with him under the Polish flag was the western half of the Smolensk region. In 1654, the Russian army, led by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, forever returned the Smolensk lands to the Russian state, but the gentry did not go anywhere from here. The Polish nobles, who owned the lands here, swore allegiance to the Russian Tsar, converted to Orthodoxy, and in return received the lands that the Polish kings once bestowed upon them as eternal property. Until the revolution of 1917, the western Smolensk region was sometimes called "gentry". It should be noted that such an ethnographic division into west and east is still clearly expressed in the architecture of cities (it is enough to compare Smolensk and Vyazma).

During numerous wars, the Smolensk land suffered more than others (especially in 1812 and 1941-1945), but always rose from the ashes. It is not by chance that the words on the coat of arms of the Smolensk region "The unbending spirit can overcome everything" are not accidental.