Ivyanyets Iwieniec | |
|---|---|
 Ivyanyets town center | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Ivyanyets | |
| Coordinates:53°53′24″N26°44′49″E / 53.89000°N 26.74694°E /53.89000; 26.74694 | |
| Country | Belarus |
| Region | Minsk Region |
| District | Valozhyn District |
| First mentioned | 14th century |
| Founded | 1444 |
| Population (2025)[1] | |
• Total | 3,805 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK[2]) |
| Postal code | 222370 |
| Area code | +375 1772 |
| Vehicle registration | 5 |
Ivyanyets orIvenets[a] is anurban-type settlement inValozhyn District,Minsk Region,Belarus.[1] It is located 56 kilometers (35 mi) west ofMinsk.[3] In 2017, its population was 4,206. As of 2025, it has a population of 3,805.[1]
Ivyanyets is best known as the birthplace ofFelix Dzerzhinsky, aBolshevik revolutionary.
Ivyanyets is located in a hillyforested area on the Volma River, and its origins can be traced to the end of the 15th century in theGrand Duchy of Lithuania. Originally known as Givenech, presumably derived fromLithuaniangyventi – "to live", it was founded in 1444 as aprivately owned settlement of the Sologub family, and by 1522 it was listed as a town withinMinsk County of theVilnius Voivodeship. Ivyanyets was home to a primarilyProtestantCalvinist community, and it saw rapid growth with schools and a hospital. In 1606, a woodenchurch was built, and in 1640 the town was composed of 27 lots. During theRusso-Polish War (1654–1667), Ivyanyets was severely damaged byRussian forces, and slowly recovered over the next century. At the beginning of the 18th century Ivyanyets County was formed, with its administrative center located in the town, and in 1702 aFranciscan monastery was built by Theodore Vankovich. In 1745, Jan Michal Sologub built a stone church in the town. Sologub was the current Podskarby, the chief financial manager of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a member of the Senate, and the owner of the town. By 1780, Ivyanyets was composed of 7 streets, amarket, and 174 lots.
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In 1793, as a result of thesecond partition of Poland, Ivyanyets became part of theRussian Empire and the center of a Minsk County township. During theJanuary Uprising (1863-1864) against Russian rule in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 189 men from the town fought asinsurgents on the Polish side. Following the suppression of the uprising, Russian authorities began aRussification process in the region. Apublic school was opened in Ivyanyets, and on November 28, 1869, the local Church of St. Michael and the Holy Trinity was forcibly altered to theMoscow Patriarchate of theRussian Orthodox Church. By 1880, Ivyanyets had 288 houses, 2 schools, 35 shops, 17potteries, 2inns, 2 churches and 2synagogues, as well as weekly auctions and 2 fairs a year. According to the census of 1897, the number of households had increased to 399, with 2 churches and 2 chapels, a public school, 2 religious schools, 2almshouses, anemergency room, awater mill, 15 workshops of baking pots, 9 store forges, 64, 2 restaurants,vodka storage, held 2 annual fairs and auctions on Sundays. At the beginning of the 20th century, Ivyanyets featured numerous hospitals and clinics, and in 1915 years around the St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk Orthodox church was built next to the fairgrounds.
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In February 1918, Ivyanyets was occupied during theFirst World War byGerman troops as part of the invasion of Russia. On 25 March, 1918, Ivyanyets was proclaimed part of the short-lived independentBelarusian People's Republic, but on 1 January, 1919, in accordance with the decision of the Congress of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus, became a part of theByelorussian SSR, but in August 1919, Ivyanyets was occupied by thePolish Army. According to theTreaty of Riga (1921) the town was included in the inter-warSecond Polish Republic, initially within Stołpce County, and from 1923 in Wołożyn (Valozhyn) County in theNowogródek Voivodeship, and was now 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) from the Belarusian SSR border. In the 1921 census, 64.4% people declaredPolish nationality, 33.9% declared Jewish nationality, and 0.9% declared Belarusian nationality.[4]In 1934, theelectrification of Ivyanyets began when individuals from the town founded apower plant on the Volma River, on the land of a former Sologub family property. In 1936, Ivyanyets built a new school, and by 1938 the town had 574 buildings (including 10 stone) and a militaryairport.
In September 1939, Ivyanyets wasoccupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into theByelorussian SSR.
From 26 June 1941 until 6 July 1944, Ivyanyets wasoccupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of theGeneralbezirk Weißruthenien ofReichskommissariat Ostland.[3] In 1941, there were probably about 1,200Jews residing in Ivyanyets district.[3] As a result of the quick advance of the Germans, few Jews were able to evacuate with theRed Army.[3]
In the summer and autumn of 1941, the Germans introduced anti-Jewish measures, including the appointment of aJudenrat.[5] On 5 September, 50 male Jews from the town were shot following the arrival of theGerman Security Police.[5] In September, authority was transferred to the civil administration and the settlement became a district center inGebiet Nowogrodek.[5] On 10 November, the Germans established anenclosed Jewish ghetto in Ivyanyets which also received Jews from the surrounding villages.[5] In early 1942, some Jews were selected and sent to other ghettos established in Poland, such as one inNavahrudak, as the Germans liquidated the remnants of the Ivyanyets ghetto on 9 June 1942.[6] That day, about 800 victims were shot in a pit in a forest outside of town.[7]
On 19 June, the Polish Partisan Unit from the AK Stołpce District captured the settlement and destroyed the local German garrison. The city was free for a dozen or so hours. These events went down in history as the 'Iwieniec Uprising'. In revenge for the defeat, the Germans later murdered about 150 inhabitants, and many others were deported to forced labor.[8]
Soviet partisans briefly captured the settlement in June 1943 and killed some of the German garrison; many of the Jews who had escaped had sought refuge with the partisan units.[6]
According to the2009 Belarusian census, the population was 62.5% Belarusian, 31.7% Polish and 4.1% Russian.[9] In 2024, it had a population of 3,848.[10]
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