Smolensk Governorate
The Smolensk Governorate ( Russian Смоленская губерния / Smolenskaja gubernija ) was an administrative unit of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR .
It was in the western part of European Russia, in the border area with today's Belarus , and was bordered by the following governorates (clockwise from the north): Tver , Moscow , Kaluga , Oryol , Chernigov , Mogilev , Vitebsk and Pskov . The capital was Smolensk .
history
It was founded for the first time in 1708 and again in 1726; in 1796 it received its later form. In 1929 it was disbanded and its territory was added to the new Western Oblast of the Russian SFSR .
Classification
Around 1900 the governorate was divided into the following Ujesdy (districts):
- Bely
- Dorogobusch (dissolved in 1927)
- Dukhovshchina (1925 Yarzew )
- Gschatsk (dissolved in 1928)
- Juchnow (1922 to the Kaluga Governorate )
- Jelnja (dissolved in 1928)
- Krasny (dissolved in 1922)
- Poretschje ( Demidow 1918 and dissolved in 1927)
- Roslavl
- Smolensk
- Sychovka (dissolved in 1928)
- Vyasma
In 1922 the Gomel Governorate allocated the Ujesde Gorki and Mstislavl (transferred to the Belarusian SSR in 1924 ).
statistics
In the first census in the Russian Empire in 1897, 1,525,279 inhabitants were found on 56,042.6 km² (27.2 / km²) in the governorate. Most of them were Russians, but there were also 100,757 Belarusians, 10,903 Jews and smaller groups of Latvians, Ukrainians and Germans.
In 1903 the harvest yielded 336,944 tons of rye, 214,299 tons of oats, 41,246 tons of barley, 6117 tons of peas, 10,660 tons of buckwheat and 457,576 tons of potatoes. Flax cultivation was very important: Of all the Russian governorates, Smolensk provided the largest yield (1903: 29,749 tons) of flax fiber . Fruit and vegetable growing (cabbage and cucumbers) was also important. The cattle census in 1903 resulted in 430,000 horses, 570,000 cattle, 740,000 sheep and 250,000 pigs. The industry was insignificant; From 1900 to 1821 there were factories with 12,589 workers and a production value of 8.7 million rubles. The main industries were: weaving, oil beating , sawmilling, beer brewing and distillery, glass and tile production.
In 1926 the governorate covered 57,715 km² with 2,292,712 inhabitants (39.7 / km²).
Web links
- Smolénsk . In: Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon . 5th edition. Volume 2, F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1911, p. 719 .
- Entry in Meyers 1905
- Results of the 1897 census (language groups) (Russian)
- Results of the 1897 census (administrative districts) (Russian)
- Results of the 1926 census (Russian)