Surazh, Russia

Surazh Сураж
Town[1]
Small church from 1907
Coat of arms
Location of Surazh
53°01′N 32°23′E / 53.017°N 32.383°E / 53.017; 32.383
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Bryansk Oblast[1]
Administrative district	Surazhsky District[2]
Urban Administrative Okrug	Surazhsky[2]
First mentioned	17th century
Elevation	160 m (520 ft)
Population  (2010 Census)[3]
• Total	11,640
• Estimate  (2018)[4]	10,884 (−6.5%)
Administrative status
• Capital of	Surazhsky District,[1] Surazhsky Urban Administrative Okrug[2]
Municipal status
• Municipal district	Surazhsky Municipal District[5]
• Urban settlement	Surazhskoye Urban Settlement[5]
• Capital of	Surazhsky Municipal District,[5] Surazhskoye Urban Settlement[5]
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK [6])
Postal code(s)[7]	243500
OKTMO ID	15654101001
Website	www.suradmin.ru

Surazh (Russian: Сураж) is a town and the administrative center of Surazhsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Iput River 177 kilometers (110 mi) southwest of Bryansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 11,176 (2021 Census);^[8] 11,640 (2010 Russian census);^[3] 12,046 (2002 Census);^[9] 12,559 (1989 Soviet census);^[10] 1,599 (1897).

History

The territory formed part of the Smolensk Voivodeship within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1648/1667, and afterwards it was located within the Cossack Hetmanate. It was first mentioned in the 17th century as the village of Surazhichi (Суражичи); later as a sloboda.^{[citation needed]} Since 1781 it has been known as the town of Surazh-na-Iputi (Сураж-на-Ипути),^[11] and since 1797—as simply Surazh.^{[citation needed]}

From 1803 it was administratively located in the Chernihiv Governorate.^[11] In 1870 there were 82 craftsmen and eight small factories in the town.^[11] According to a 1897 census, the town had a population of 4,006, of which 59.9% were Jews, 24.4% were Belarusians, 13.9% were Russians, 0.8% were Ukrainians and 0.6% were Poles.^[12]

Jews apparently first settled in Surazh in the first half of the 18th century. In 1897 the Jewish population of Surazh of 2,398 comprised 60 percent of the total population. The Jews of Surazh suffered from pogroms in October 1905 and at the end of winter and in the spring of 1917. In 1918 a pogrom was carried out in Surazh by Red Army soldiers. In 1939 the 2,052 Jews of Surazh comprised about 23 percent of the total population. The town was occupied by the Germans on August 17, 1941. The Jews were forced into a ghetto after which the homes they left were damaged and then burned. In March 1942 all the ghetto inmates were shot near Kislovka village. Surazh was liberated by the Red Army on September 25, 1943.^[13]

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Surazh serves as the administrative center of Surazhsky District.^[1] As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Surazhsky District as Surazhsky Urban Administrative Okrug.^[2] As a municipal division, Surazhsky Urban Administrative Okrug is incorporated within Surazhsky Municipal District as Surazhskoye Urban Settlement.^[5]

Ecological problems

As a result of the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, part of the territory of Bryansk Oblast has been contaminated with radionuclides (mainly Gordeyevsky, Klimovsky, Klintsovsky, Krasnogorsky, Surazhsky, and Novozybkovsky Districts). In 1999, some 226,000 people lived in areas with the contamination level above 5 Curie/km², representing approximately 16% of the oblast's population.

References

Notes

Sources

• Брянская областная Дума. Закон №13-З от 5 июня 1997 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Брянской области», в ред. Закона №4-З от 5 февраля 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты Брянской области». Опубликован: "Брянский рабочий", №119, 24 июня 1997 г. (Bryansk Oblast Duma. Law #13-Z of June 5, 1997 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Bryansk Oblast, as amended by the Law #4-Z of February 5, 2014 On Amending Various Legislative Acts of Bryansk Oblast. ).
• Брянская областная Дума. Закон №69-З от 2 ноября 2012 г. «Об образовании городских административных округов, поселковых административных округов, сельских административных округов, установлении границ, наименований и административных центров административных округов в Брянской области». Вступил в силу 1 января 2013 г. Опубликован: Информационный бюллетень "Официальная Брянщина", №16, 6 ноября 2012 г.. (Bryansk Oblast Duma. Law #69-Z of November 2, 2002 On the Establishment of Urban Administrative Okrugs, Settlement Administrative Okrugs, Rural Administrative Okrugs, on Establishing Borders, Names, and Administrative Centers of the Administrative Okrugs of Bryansk Oblast. Effective as of January 1, 2013.).
• Брянская областная Дума. Закон №3-З от 9 марта 2005 г. «О наделении муниципальных образований статусом статусом городского округа, муниципального района, городского поселения, сельского поселения и установлении границ муниципальных образований в Брянской области», в ред. Закона №75-З от 28 сентября 2015 г. «Об изменении статуса населённого пункта посёлок Красный Ятвиж Клетнянского района Брянской области». Вступил в силу через 10 дней после официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Брянская неделя", №13, 8 апреля 2005 г. (Bryansk Oblast Duma. Law #3-Z of March 9, 2005 On Granting the Municipal Formations the Status of Urban Okrug, Municipal District, Urban Settlement, Rural Settlement and on Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Bryansk Oblast, as amended by the Law #75-Z of September 28, 2015 On Changing the Status of the Inhabited Locality the Settlement of Krasny Yatvizh in Kletnyansky District of Bryansk Oblast. Effective as of the day which is 10 days after the official publication.).

External links

• The murder of the Jews of Surazh during World War II, at Yad Vashem website.