Spassk, Penza Oblast

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spassk (Russian: Спасск), is a town in Penza Oblast in Russia, and the administrative centre of the Bednodemyanovsk raion. As of 2005 the population is 7,300 people (est.).

[edit] History

In 1648, an uncultivated field was discovered in Shatsk Uezd and was given to a nearby monastery named after the Saviour (Spas in Russian). In 1663 a village was established there, called Bogdanovo. In 1779, the town is renamed Spassk and made the centre of an uezd by a decree of Catherine the Great. However, soon it became apparent that confusion would result since several other towns in Russia shared the name (notably Spassk-Ryazansky) and the town was officially renamed to Spassk-on-Studenets.

In 1925 a party conference in the uezd resolved that the town be renamed Bednodemyanovsk in honour of the poet Demyan Bedny. Bedny himself never visited the town, but was said to maintain a lively correspondence with its inhabitants. In 2005, by Vladimir Putin's presidential decree, the town was renamed back to Spassk.

[edit] References

• http://www.spassk.ru/ (Russian)

	Cities and towns in Penza Oblast
	Administrative center: Penza Belinsky | Gorodishche | Kamenka | Kuznetsk | Nikolsk | Nizhny Lomov | Serdobsk | Spassk | Sursk | Zarechny