Smolensk Governorate

Smolensk Governorate
Смоленская губерния
Governorate of Russian Empire
1796–1929 →

Coat of arms

Map of Smolensk Governorate
Capital Smolensk
History
 • Established 1796
 • Disestablished January 14, 1929
Population
 • 1897 1,525,279 

Smolensk Governorate (Russian: Смоленская губерния), or the Government of Smolensk, was an administrative division (a guberniya) of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR, which existed, with interruptions, between 1708 and 1929.

Smolensk Governorate, together with seven other governorates, was established on December 29 [O.S. December 18], 1708, by Tsar Peter the Great's edict.[1] As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Smolensk Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities.[2]

History

On July 28 [O.S. July 17], 1713, Smolensk Governorate was abolished and its territory was divided between Moscow and Riga Governorates. The governorate was re-established in 1726. In 1775, it was included, along with parts of Moscow and Belgorod Governorates, into Smolensk Vice-Royalty. The governorate was again restored in 1796.

After the October Revolution, Smolensk Governorate was base of independent Western Oblast/Western Commune, Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus, Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Litbel), and finally incorporated into the Russian SFSR.

Eventually, on January 14, 1929, Smolensk Governorate was abolished and its territory was included into Western Oblast.

Subdivisions

Cities included into Smolensk Governorate at the time of its establishment[1]
# City # City # City
1. Smolensk 7. Meshchevsk 13. Serpeysk
2. Belyaya 8. Mosalsk 14. Staritsa
3. Borisovo Gorodishche 9. Odoyev 15. Vorotynsk
4. Dorogobuzh 10. Peremyshl 16. Vyazma
5. Kozelsk 11. Pogoreloye Gorodishche 17. Zubtsov
6. Likhvin 12. Roslavl

Demography

Language

Language Number percentage (%) males females
Russian 1,397,875 91.6 655,460 742,415
Belarusian 100,757 6.6 48,663 52,094
Jewish 10,903 0.7 6,049 4,854
Polish 7,314 0.5 4,855 2,459
Latvian 3,485 0.2 1,770 1,715
German 1,727 0.1 879 848
Ukrainian 1,374 0.0 1,247 127
Gypsy 661 0.0 338 323
Estonian 301 0.0 158 143
Tatar 291 0.0 281 10
Lithuanian 255 0.0 226 29
Other 336 0.0 190 146
Total 1,525,279 100.0 720,116 805,163

Religion

Religion Number percentage (%) males females
Pravoslavs[4] 1,480,110 97.0 696,506 783,604
Old Believers and others split from Pravoslavs 20,728 1.4 9,164 11,564
Judaism 11,144 0.7 6,186 4,958
Roman Catholic 8,487 0.6 5,631 2,856
Lutherans 4,303 0.3 2,218 2,085
Islam 294 0.0 283 11
Reformed 83 0.0 50 33
Karaites 41 0.0 25 16
Armenian Gregorians 11 0.0 7 4
Anglicans 9 0.0 3 6
Armenian Catholic Church 3 0.0 1 2
Mennonites 2 0.0 1 1
Other: Christian denominations 50 0.0 30 20
Other: non-Christians 6 0.0 6 0
Total 1,525,279 100.0 720,116 805,163

References

  1. 1 2 Указ об учреждении губерний и о росписании к ним городов (in Russian)
  2. ↑ С. А. Тархов (2001). "Изменение административно-территориального деления России за последние 300 лет". Электронная версия журнала "География".
  3. ↑ Religion Statistics of 1897 (in Russian)
  4. ↑ Eastern Orthodox, including Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Georgian Orthodox

Further reading

Coordinates: 54°46′58″N 32°02′43″E / 54.7828°N 32.0453°E / 54.7828; 32.0453

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