Krupki
Encyclopedia
Krupki is a small, rural town in Krupki Raion
, near the cities of Minsk
and Mogilev
in Belarus
.
, after which, the district was annexed by the Russian Empire
in 1793. Krupki became the administrative centre of its district and got its own council in 1900. The town’s coat of arms is a white, blue and yellow shield. The old, wooden Bogoroditskaya Church in the nearby village of Hodovcy is of tourist and historic value
.
The town's population was 1,800 (mostly Jewish) people in 166 houses, according to a 1895 Russian Encyclopedia, and 2,080 (largely non 'Hebrews') in 1926 as according to a similar reference book of 1961. There is no apparent evidence that any of Russia
's endemic famine
s or pre-Revolutionary bread riots
had broken out in Krupki town or its immediate environs.
About 75% of the local Jews fled the town during the Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War
, for either Western Europe
or United States. Only 870 of them remained in situ by 1939. There were also small Polish
, Poleszuk
(“Tutejsi”), Lithuanian and Roma settlements in Krupki.
and later the Communist Party (bolsheviks) of Lithuania and Belorussia took it over in Belarus. As a result of this turn of fate, Krupki was incorporated in the U.S.S.R. after the western parts of Belarus and the border city of Brest were given to Poland and the eastern parts, along with the city of Minsk, joined the U.S.S.R., between the two world wars.
In September 1939, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
, the Soviet Union invaded Poland
and annexed its eastern lands
, including most Polish-held Byelorussian land. Nazi Germany
invaded the Soviet Union
in 1941.
On September 18, 1941 the entire Jewish Ghetto, a community of 1,000 people were killed by the Nazis
. The massacre was described in the diary of one of the German perpetrators. The first massacre involved 100 deaths near the grave yard, but a later killing spree killed roughly 900 other Jews in different location.
At first, the Germans told the Jews to gather together because that were being deported to Germany. But as the German forced then into a ditch, it was evident what the Germans had in mind. At this point, panic ensued.
Some of the Germans and Austrians involved in the incident were also injured during the panic. Very few, if any, of the local Belorussians, Roma/Gypsies or Poles
supported the anti-Semitic attack and a few even actively opposed Nazi rule in their town altogether. Krupki was liberated by the Red Army
during the June of 1944. Byelorussia was the hardest hit Soviet Republic in the war and remained in Nazi hands
until it was liberated during the Minsk Offensive of 1944. The Jewish population of Byelorussia
was devastated during The Holocaust
and never recovered.
. It was to stay as part of the Belorussian SSR until 1991, when it became part of the state of Belarus
. Krupki's population had reached 5,000 by 1977.
The Junior Sergeant
, Rifleman
Kriptoshenko Vladimir Olegovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
and Order of the Red Star
(both posthumously) after being killed
by grenade
explosion during the 1988 Battle for Hill 3234
whilst serving in the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
.
The Oblast was moderately irradiated in the Chernobyl disaster
.
in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union
. A memorial cross dedicated to the victims of the Soviet purge was destroyed by Neo-Communists in 2009. There are various memorials, dedicated to the Soviet heroes Alena Kolesova, U.M. Martinkevich and space pilot Vladimir Kovalyonok
.
and set at a height of 174 m. The name means either to grind grain or the (grain) mill.
, Polish
, Ukrainian
and Jewish minorities. The population was around 5,000 in 1977.
Krupki has Eastern Orthodox, Catholic
, Protestant and Jewish communities. There is a synagogue
and several churchs in the town and the nearby wooden orthodox church.
, forestry, the farming of fruit and vegetables and food processing
. It once used to make pottery, produce bread and manufacture matches.
The roads are mostly tarmac
ked and are of an average grade for Belorussian road ways. The nearest airports are in Minsk
and Krupki has a railway station.
Krupki Raion
Krupki Raion is a second-level administrative subdivision of Minsk Voblast, Belarus. Its capital is the town of Krupki....
, near the cities of Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
and Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
.
History before 1914
It was founded in 1067 and existed during both the medieval Kingdom of Poland and of the great Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Krupki was then absorbed in to the Grand Duchy of LithuaniaGrand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, after which, the district was annexed by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in 1793. Krupki became the administrative centre of its district and got its own council in 1900. The town’s coat of arms is a white, blue and yellow shield. The old, wooden Bogoroditskaya Church in the nearby village of Hodovcy is of tourist and historic value
Historic value
In the study of collectibles, historic value means an increase in value because of historical aging.Collectibles - Rares - Rarity...
.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's endemic famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
s or pre-Revolutionary bread riots
Food riot
Food and bread riots are caused by harvest failures, incompetent food storage, hoarding, poisoning of food, or attacks by pests like locusts. When the public becomes too desperate in such conditions, they attack shops, farms, homes, or government buildings to attain bread or other staple foods like...
had broken out in Krupki town or its immediate environs.
Jewish community
The Yiddish Jewish settlement in Krupki is first noted in the 17th century and was thriving by the middle of the 18th century. About 40% of the Jews were employed as labours and craftsmen and a Yiddish school was established in the town. There were three Hebrew schools in Krupki by the 1890s according to the 1895 Russian Encyclopedia.About 75% of the local Jews fled the town during the Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, for either Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
or United States. Only 870 of them remained in situ by 1939. There were also small Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Poleszuk
Poleszuk
Poleszuk is the name given to the people who populated the swamps of Polesia.The Poleszuk dialect is close to the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish languages...
(“Tutejsi”), Lithuanian and Roma settlements in Krupki.
World War I and World War II
The town was briefly taken by a small unit of Prussian troops during the later part of the war. Belarus first declared independence on 25 March 1918, forming the Belarusian People's RepublicBelarusian National Republic
The Belarusian People's Republic was a self-declared independent Belarusian state, which declared independence in 1918. It is also called the Belarusian Democratic Republic or the Belarusian National Republic, in order to distinguish it from Communist People's Republics...
and later the Communist Party (bolsheviks) of Lithuania and Belorussia took it over in Belarus. As a result of this turn of fate, Krupki was incorporated in the U.S.S.R. after the western parts of Belarus and the border city of Brest were given to Poland and the eastern parts, along with the city of Minsk, joined the U.S.S.R., between the two world wars.
In September 1939, as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
, the Soviet Union invaded Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
and annexed its eastern lands
Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union
Immediately after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded the eastern regions of the Second Polish Republic, which Poles referred to as the "Kresy," and annexed territories totaling 201,015 km² with a population of 13,299,000...
, including most Polish-held Byelorussian land. Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in 1941.
On September 18, 1941 the entire Jewish Ghetto, a community of 1,000 people were killed by the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The massacre was described in the diary of one of the German perpetrators. The first massacre involved 100 deaths near the grave yard, but a later killing spree killed roughly 900 other Jews in different location.
At first, the Germans told the Jews to gather together because that were being deported to Germany. But as the German forced then into a ditch, it was evident what the Germans had in mind. At this point, panic ensued.
Some of the Germans and Austrians involved in the incident were also injured during the panic. Very few, if any, of the local Belorussians, Roma/Gypsies or Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
supported the anti-Semitic attack and a few even actively opposed Nazi rule in their town altogether. Krupki was liberated by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
during the June of 1944. Byelorussia was the hardest hit Soviet Republic in the war and remained in Nazi hands
Occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany occurred as part of the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 and ended in August 1944 with the Soviet Operation Bagration.- Background :...
until it was liberated during the Minsk Offensive of 1944. The Jewish population of Byelorussia
History of the Jews in Belarus
The Jews in Belarus were the third largest ethnic group in the country in the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, Jews were the third among the ethnic groups in Belarus, and in cities and towns comprised more than 40% of the population. The population of cities such as Minsk,...
was devastated during The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
and never recovered.
During the Cold War
The town was violently purged by the KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. It was to stay as part of the Belorussian SSR until 1991, when it became part of the state of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Krupki's population had reached 5,000 by 1977.
The Junior Sergeant
Junior Sergeant
A Junior Sergeant , is an Estonian military rank in the Ground and Air Force of Estonia, which has existed since the end of the Estonian War of Liberation in 1920...
, Rifleman
Rifleman
Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeers and streltsy, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.-History:...
Kriptoshenko Vladimir Olegovich was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
and Order of the Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
(both posthumously) after being killed
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
by grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
explosion during the 1988 Battle for Hill 3234
Battle for Hill 3234
The Battle for Hill 3234 was a defensive battle and successful military campaign fought by 345th Soviet paratroopers in Afghanistan against a force of 200 to 250 Mujahideen rebels...
whilst serving in the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
.
The post-Soviet era
It became part of the state of BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. A memorial cross dedicated to the victims of the Soviet purge was destroyed by Neo-Communists in 2009. There are various memorials, dedicated to the Soviet heroes Alena Kolesova, U.M. Martinkevich and space pilot Vladimir Kovalyonok
Vladimir Kovalyonok
-Honours and awards:* Hero of the Soviet Union, twice * Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class * Order of Military Merit * Three Orders of Lenin...
.
Geography
Krupki lie 65 mi to the East from MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
and set at a height of 174 m. The name means either to grind grain or the (grain) mill.
Demographics
It is mostly inhabited by Belorussians, but has RussianRussians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and Jewish minorities. The population was around 5,000 in 1977.
Krupki has Eastern Orthodox, Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, Protestant and Jewish communities. There is a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and several churchs in the town and the nearby wooden orthodox church.
Economy and transportation
It consists of both woodworking, flaxFlax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
, forestry, the farming of fruit and vegetables and food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
. It once used to make pottery, produce bread and manufacture matches.
The roads are mostly tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
ked and are of an average grade for Belorussian road ways. The nearest airports are in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
and Krupki has a railway station.