Belgorod is the center of the province and province
The reign of Peter I (1682-1725) was an era of great transformations and major military victories. Important changes took place in all areas of the country's life, and the state itself began to be called in a new way - the Russian Empire. The Russian monarch was proclaimed emperor, and St. Petersburg became the new capital of the state. The reign of Peter I marked the beginning of important events in the life of the Belgorod region.
During the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696. Belgorod fortresses took part in the construction of a large number of transport ships necessary for the siege of Azov. The regiments of the fortress garrisons joined the army that stormed the enemy stronghold. As a result of the second campaign, in 1696, Azov was taken.
In connection with the deployment in 1703 construction work At the shipyards of Azov and Taganrog, Peter I resolved military, organizational and economic issues in Belgorod. Construction timber, as well as thousands of craftsmen, were sent there from the Belgorod region. Continuous clashes with the Crimean-Turkish troops required Peter I to strengthen the forces of the Great Belgorod Regiment, which he did while in Belgorod.
A unique monument to the stay of Peter I in Belgorod is the Assumption-Nicholas Cathedral - in June 1701, the tsar “granted the building... the contribution of one hundred rubles in gold.”
As a result of the Northern War (1700-1721), Russia conquered the Baltic lands from Sweden, gaining access to the Baltic. During the hostilities, along with other units, the Belgorod Infantry Regiment distinguished itself. On June 27, 1709, the Battle of Poltava took place - the general battle of the Northern War. The troops of the center in the battle were commanded by Field Marshal, Count B.P. Sheremetev (1652-1719). One of the main blows of the Swedes was taken by the Belgorod regiment (brigadier S.V. Aigustov). For the steadfastness and courage shown in the Battle of Poltava, the Belgorod residents deserved the “gracious word” of Peter I. Brigadier S.V. Aigustov received the rank of major general. In 1710 under the leadership of B.P. Sheremetev, Aigustov’s brigade also took part in the siege of Riga.
After the Poltava Victoria, an eagle appeared on the banner of the Belgorod regiment - a symbol of triumphant Russia and a pacified lion - a symbol of defeated Sweden. These symbols later became the basis of the coat of arms of the city of Belgorod, and almost three centuries later - of the Belgorod region. In 1708, administrative reform began, Russia was divided into provinces and provinces. According to the decision of Peter I of December 18, 1708, the Belgorod lands became part of the Kyiv and Azov provinces. And by decree of May 29, 1719, the Belgorod province was allocated as part of the Kyiv province. It included 23 cities, among which were Belgorod, Oboyan, Chuguev, Khotmyzhsk, Kursk, Stary Oskol, Korocha. Belgorod became the center of the province. During these years, many famous princely and boyar families acquired land holdings in the Belgorod region. The large estates of Peter I's associate, Count B.P. Sheremetev, were especially notable for their wealth, for example, the settlement of Borisovka.
During the reign of Catherine I (1725-1727), administrative transformations continued. By decree of the Empress on March 1, 1727, the vast Belgorod province was formed, which included the territories of modern Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol and part of the Bryansk regions of Russia and the Kharkov region of Ukraine. Three provinces were allocated within the province: Belgorod, Sevsk and Orel with centers in Belgorod, Sevsk and Orel. Sloboda Cossack regiments with centers in Akhtyrka, Izyum, Rybinskaya Sloboda, Sumy and Kharkov were also assigned to the Belgorod province. The population of the province exceeded one million people.
Simultaneously with the formation of the Belgorod province, the Belgorod provincial chancellery was created by decree of the Senate. She was in charge of the administrative, military, police, judicial and financial affairs of the province.
Belgorod became the provincial capital. In 1730, he acquired his coat of arms, which depicted a black eagle soaring in the blue sky and a golden lion lying on a green field. The black eagle symbolized power and insight, the blue sky - beauty and greatness, the lion - strength and courage, and the green field - hope and abundance.
Prince Yuri Yuryevich Trubetskoy (1668-1739) - one of the “chicks of Petrov’s nest” - was appointed the first Belgorod governor. The future senator held this position for three years and retained a good memory of himself as a skillful and energetic ruler of the region.
The Belgorod province was a powerful military and economic outpost in the south of Russia. Around its cities, districts became stronger, villages and settlements became developed centers not only of agricultural, but also of handicraft and manufacturing production. Centers of culture and education began to appear in noble estates. Many famous people grew up here, glorifying not only the Belgorod region, but the whole of Russia.
During the reign of Catherine II (1762-1796), another administrative reform was carried out. In 1779, the Belgorod province was abolished. Instead, the Oryol and Kursk provinces appeared, part of the territory went to the Voronezh province and Sloboda Ukraine.
For almost two centuries (1779-1953), the Belgorod lands were part of the Kursk and Voronezh provinces (then Kursk and Voronezh regions).
Noble land ownership in the Belgorod region in the 18th century.
During the 18th century, as a result of victorious wars with Turkey, Russia received the Northern Black Sea region, and in 1783 the Crimean Khanate became part of the Russian Empire. The borders of the state moved far to the south from the Belgorod region, and the military danger was eliminated. Ample opportunities have opened up for the economic development of this rich region.
Throughout the 18th century, the political and economic positions of the nobility strengthened. The rulers of the state granted estates inhabited by serfs to the nobles. In the Belgorod province in the middle of the 18th century there were about 5,700 landowner estates, about 200 were especially large in terms of territory and the number of serfs.
The strengthening of serfdom led to peasant-Cossack uprisings. One of them, which broke out in 1707-1709, was directly related to the Belgorod region. The wife and son of the leader of the uprising, K. A. Bulavin, were in Belgorod. In the summer of 1708, near Valuyki, one of the rebel detachments led by atamans Semyon Dranoy, Nikita Goly and Sergei Bespaly defeated the government Sumy regiment.
Already under Peter I, the emperor’s associates A.D. Menshikov, B.P. Sheremetev, G.I. Golovkin received large estates in the Belgorod region. Later, during the time of Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II, the Trubetskoys, Shcherbatovs, Golitsyns, Yusupovs, Shidlovskys, Diviers, Raevskys, Horvats, Vyazemskys, Kurakins, Gagarins and others became the owners of the estates.
Among the most noble and wealthy families in the Belgorod region, the Sheremetevs stood out. The first landowner from this family in the region was Field Marshal, Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (1652-1719). He was one of the most prominent statesmen of the Petrine era - he led troops during the Azov campaigns, Battle of Poltava, Prut campaign, carried out important diplomatic assignments.
By the end of the 18th century. The Sheremetevs in the Belgorod region owned 30 settlements, more than 30 thousand peasants of both sexes, including 10.5 thousand serfs in the settlement of Borisovka. In this settlement there was the Sheremetevs’ house, office and other buildings.
In Russia, the Sheremetev serf theater was famous, which was started by the son of Field Marshal Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev (1713-1788). He married the daughter of the former governor of Siberia, Prince A. M. Cherkassky, and thereby significantly increased his wealth. The Cherkasskys owned estates, including the Alekseevka settlement in the Belgorod region. P.B. Sheremetev took over vast experience from his father-in-law, who was in charge of the construction of palaces and the organization of artistic crafts at the royal court, and also received architects, artists, and craftsmen of various specialties as a dowry.
Singers and actors were heading from Borisovka to Ostankino near Moscow, where theatrical performances were taking place. The names of Borisovites - basses Grigory Mamontov and Grigory Yanpolsky, tenors Stepan Ignatenko and Efim Proshachenkov - have been preserved in history.
The composer, conductor, teacher, and singer S. A. Degtyarev (1766-1813) became widely famous. A native of Borisovka, he began as an opera soloist and drama actor in the Sheremetev home theater, and later, remaining a serf all his life, he created 150 large-form choral works. Degtyarev went down in history as the creator of the first Russian opera on a national plot, “Minin and Pozharsky, or the liberation of Moscow” (text by N. D. Gorchakov).
Representatives of noble families invested in the construction of churches both on their estates and in the cities of the Belgorod region. In the middle of the 18th century. Thanks to the efforts of large landowners, the magnificent Smolensk Cathedral was built in Belgorod.
County life in the 19th – early 20th centuries
IN early XIX V. Most of the territory of the Belgorod region, five of its districts - Belgorod, Grayvoronsky, Korochansky, Novooskolsky and Starooskolsky were part of the Kursk province, and a smaller part, Biryuchensky and Valuysky districts - were part of the Voronezh province. The district centers were not crowded at that time. Thus, in 1820, there were 4,019 residents in Stary Oskol, 2,962 in Valuyki, and 4,596 in Biryucha.
The bulk of the population lived in rural areas. According to the revision of 1858, the population of the Kursk and Voronezh districts of the Belgorod Territory was slightly more than 960 thousand people, while the peasant class numbered almost 810 thousand. A characteristic feature of the Belgorod region was the predominance of state peasants, who on the eve of the reform of 1861 amounted to 61.7%. They possessed not only significant land holdings, but also extensive forest lands. In 1858, in Biryuchensky district, state peasants owned 31,791 dessiatines of forest, in Valuysky district - 25,523 dessiatines.
Representatives of other classes also played a significant role in the economic and cultural life of the region. In the middle of the 19th century. Almost 3,460 hereditary nobles, 1,251 personal nobles, 7,087 merchants, and 22,124 burghers lived in the counties.
Despite the measured nature of county life, significant changes took place in it. Industry and agriculture developed, new factories and workshops appeared. The architectural appearance of cities was transformed, churches, schools, hospitals were built, zemstvo self-government was strengthened, and charitable and charitable organizations operated.
Belgorod district was one of the most industrially developed. Icon painting, pottery and weaving crafts were particularly prominent here. The turnover of 1,888 commercial and industrial establishments in 1908 amounted to more than 3 million rubles. There were more than 130 schools in the county. The Belgorod Theological Seminary, men's and women's gymnasiums were known far beyond its borders. Among the major industrialists and entrepreneurs of the district, the dynasties of the Mukhanovs, Chumichevs, Rebinders, and Botkins stood out.
In the Biryuchensky district of the Voronezh province there was the highest percentage of serfs (63%). Unlike other districts of the province, there were significantly more settlements founded by immigrants from Ukraine. Land holdings here belonged to the Shidlovskys, Yusupovs, Sinelnikovs, Muravyovs, Grineviches, and Stankeviches.
In Valuysky district at the end of the 19th century. there were 43 settlements, 20 villages, 76 hamlets, 13 hamlets, 95 estates, a total of 471 settlements. There were 71 churches, 698 industrial and 413 commercial establishments, 92 fairs, 6 medical stations. Noble families - the Trubetskoys, Kurakins, Golitsyns - invested large funds in the development of industry, education and healthcare. The commercial and industrial establishments of the Urazovo settlement stood out in particular.
Vast land holdings in Grayvoronsky district belonged to the Sheremetev counts. The district occupied a special place in the spiritual life of the Belgorod region. Joasaph of Belgorod spent the last two months of his life in the bishop's estate in Grayvoron. Here, at the site of his death, a chapel was erected, to which thousands of pilgrims flocked from all over Russia every year. In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Zemstvo education was actively developing in the district, there were 126 primary schools, 17 free public libraries, and 11 charitable institutions.
Korochansky district was famous for gardening and fruit growing. Many unique varieties of apples and plums were supplied to both capitals and other cities of the country. The specialized horticultural farms of M. A. Pirotte and the agricultural school attached to them became widely known; natural scientists N. I. Kichunov and M. S. Balabanov worked in the district.
In the Novooskolsky district there were large farms of the princes Trubetskoy, Gagarin, and Golitsyn. The development of capitalism has led to the widespread introduction of advanced forms of labor organization. The exemplary economy of A. N. Maslovskaya enjoyed high prestige among the organizers of agricultural production. Pupils of the agricultural school practiced here, and agricultural specialists from neighboring provinces came here to learn best practices.
Stary Oskol district was famous for its processing industry enterprises, pottery production, and shoe workshops. The large shoe workshop in the settlement of Orlik stood out in particular. Zemstvo education has achieved great success in the district. In 1914, there were 261 schools operating here, of which 184 were zemstvo.
The Belgorod region occupies its worthy and significant place in the history of the Fatherland. On this land, at the sources of the Vorskla and Seversky Donets, Oskol and Tikhaya Sosna, people have long lived East Slavs. In the 10th century, the eastern border of Kievan Rus lay in the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets, and later the southern border of the Moscow state.
For many centuries, the line of defense of the Russian state passed here. And Bel Gorod, which arose on the Belgorod settlement on the right bank of the Seversky Donets on the high White Mountain as a small fortress of the ancient Russian state, for many centuries (founded at the end of the 10th century) carried out its difficult military service as a fortress city, guardian city and defender of the Russian land.
The socio-political, spiritual, material and economic development of the Belgorod region - the south-eastern territory of the ancient Russian state - the “wild field”, the “outskirts” of Kievan Rus - turned a small fortress on the banks of the Seversky Donets into a fortress city on the southern border. An alarming frontier: every day on the alert, alert, ready.
The emergence and formation of Bela Gorod coincided with the baptism of Rus'. Holy Belogorye, which found itself at the intersection of the geographical, political, moral and spiritual boundaries between Russia and the Khazars, Pechenegs and Cumans, Mongol-Tatar conquerors, Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish invaders, was the basis for the formation of the subject environment, its cultural field, which fed Orthodoxy for many generations for a millennium , formed an original cultural inner world based on Christian values
Hundreds, thousands of times, nomads of all stripes plundered and devastated the cities and settlements of the southeastern border of the ancient Russian state. And each time the princes and their squads had to repel enemy raids. In 1169, the Polovtsians were twice defeated by the Severn princes on the territory of modern Belgorod and Kursk regions. In 1174, Novgorod-Seversky Prince Igor defeated the Polovtsian detachments returning from a robbery, returning the loot and prisoners. And in 1183, Igor Svyatoslavich, together with his brother Vsevolod, undertook a successful campaign against the Polovtsian camps along the Merlu River, not far from the city of Donets (near modern Kharkov).
On April 23, 1185, Seversky Prince Igor Svyatoslavich and his retinue marched with Kursk Prince Vsevolod against the insidious Polovtsians along the watershed between the Seversky Donets and Oskol rivers. According to S.A. Pletneva, a professor at the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences, the army of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich moved from Putivl to the site of the battle with the Polovtsians on the territory of the Belgorod-Kursk region, and the princely army made a two-day stop at the beginning of May 1185 in the border fortress of Kholok (now village of Kholki, Chernyansky district) to wait and meet with his brother, Prince Vsevolod of Trubchevsky and Kursk, who was hurrying to him from Kursk.
The campaign was unsuccessful and ended in the death of the Russian army. It became the main plot of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
The hordes of Khan Batu in 1239 completely destroyed and plundered Belgorod. Many Russian settlements of our region were wiped off the face of the earth, including the ancient Russian city - the name of which we do not know - located on the high right bank of the Koren River (near the modern village of Krapivnoye, Shebekinsky district), about which there is no information in the ancient Russian chronicles (belonged to to the Kursk inheritance of the Chernigov principality, and then to the Novgorod-Seversky inheritance of the Chernigov principality, and then to the Novgorod-Seversky principality). Together with Belgorod, they were the most extreme in the southeast of Rus' and guarded its borders from nomads.
And in the 14th century, the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets were captured by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The border of the Principality of Lithuania ran east of Kursk in a straight line from north to south, including Bel Gorod, and turned west along the Vorskla, coinciding with its course.
In 1480, the Mongol-Tatar yoke was overthrown. But the remnants of the hordes formed the Crimean Khanate in the south. Between Russia and Crimea lay a deserted steppe. Here, within the Russian land, detachments of Crimean and Nogai Tatars annually invaded to rob and capture prisoners (“yasyr”), selling live goods in the slave markets of Crimea and Turkey. The Tatars considered the “wild field” as an inexhaustible source of “yasyr” - prisoners. Women were taken into captivity, young people were sold into a harem; men were turned into galley rowers or sold to other countries as slaves.
Mentally reproducing all this, thinking like this, we came into contact with history.
These long-suffering lands of the Moscow state remained poorly protected - there was no one to guard the southern outskirts of the state. That is why the Tatars blazed their own roads to Rus'. One of the main Tatar roads ran between the upper reaches of the Vorskla, Seversky Donets, Seim and Oskol rivers and further along the right bank of the Tim River. This road - Muravsky Way - was the busiest. Another road - the Izyum Sakma - ran from Izyum-Kurgan (now the city of Izyum on the Seversky Donets River) along the right bank of the Oskol River, then between the Tim and Kshenya rivers, where it connected with the Muravsky Way.
The third road, the Kalmius sakma, ran along the left bank of the Oskol River. Mostly Nogai Tatars passed along the Kalmius road, and Tatars of the Crimean Horde along the first two. Thus, all these main Tatar roads crossed the Belgorod land from south to north. The Crimean khans constantly carried out predatory raids on border Russian villages along these roads, and sometimes even into the interior of the country. So, in 1571, Khan Devlet-Girey, following the Muravskaya road, reached Moscow. The Russian capital was ravaged and burned. The following year, the Khan again moved along the same route to Moscow, but this time he was defeated. Smaller hordes of Crimean and Nogai Tatars very often carried out raids, ravaging our border villages. During the raids in 1575, the Tatras drove away 35 thousand Russian people.
However, the Tatars already recognized “Russian Ukraine” as theirs. Under Mengli-Girey (at the beginning of the 16th century), they named almost all the “outlying” cities allegedly ceded to the Lithuanians. “Russian Ukraine, the towns that reached out to us with lands and waters and tributes, granted us this and gave us our leaf,” writes Mengli Giray’s label.
By “Russian Ukraine” the Tatars meant all Russian regions that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Volodymyr, Lutsk, Podolsk, Bratslav, Smolensk, Zvenigorod, Cherkasy, Rylsk, Putivl, Kursk, Bryansk, Starodub and some others and called them darkness (Kursk darkness, Chernigov darkness, etc.).
The result of these claims of the Tatars to the named areas, including Belgorod, was constant raids. Crimea was a purely military or, as historian D.I. Bagalei argued, a predatory state. But the Tatars were not the only ones attacking. The weakly protected southern outskirts of the Russian state were constantly attacked by Ottoman Turks, Polish-Lithuanian lords and “thieves’ Cossacks.”
Residents of the outskirts of the Moscow state could not peacefully use their lands. For example, it was prescribed to go to haymaking with weapons, one half had to mow, and the other to protect the first from enemies.
This is also history.
As a result of such devastation by the Lithuanians and the proximity to the Crimean Tatars, who constantly made devastating raids on the long-suffering southeastern Russian lands, the Moscow state, which was gaining strength, annexed them to its borders at the beginning of the 16th century.
The settlement and development of the Belgorod-Kursk region could not be carried out peacefully, since this territory was the arena of competition between three major forces: the Moscow and Lithuanian-Russian states and the Crimean Tatars. The population remained here not of their own free will, but largely by force of coercion. Due to the above conditions, the settlement of the Belgorod region was essentially a government and military matter. New cities were built according to royal decrees by military men at important strategic points after a detailed survey of the area from a military point of view.
In the fifties of the 16th century, Ivan the Terrible defeated the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates and organized guard service in almost all areas of the “wild field”. Tsars Fyodor Ivanovich and Boris Godunov build on the successes of their predecessor and organize a broad attack on the “wild field”. In 1586, a line of fortified cities extended far into the steppe. On the Sosna River (a tributary of the Don) in the place where the Muravsky, Izyumsky and Kalmiussky roads converged, the city of Livny was built, and at the mouth of the Voronezh River - the city of Voronezh; and on Semi the city of Kuresk on the old Kursk settlement; then in 1593 Belgorod was revived, Oskol and Valuiki were established.
In the summer of 1596, the sovereign’s people went to the southern border of Russia, “in the Field,” to search suitable places for the construction of new border cities. Having examined a vast territory - from present-day Chuguev to Kursk, the “commission” found several suitable “urban places along the Donets and other rivers.” One of them - Belogorye (or Belogorye, it was called differently in documents) - obviously the “commission” really liked it and was especially noted: “the place is strong, the mountain is great, and the forests are great, and the land is good, it’s possible to be in that place to the city." At the same time as Belgorod, the cities of Oskol (Stary Oskol) and Kursk were established. The area where Belgorod was going to be built was well known in Moscow. Even before the founding of the city, the “Embassy Road” passed here, along which tsarist diplomats traveled to the Crimean Khanate. Here, near the mouth of the Vesenitsa, there was a temporary pier and a small temporary shipyard, where, if necessary, small ships were built for navigation along rivers and even across the Sea of Azov. In the autumn of the same 1596, Belgorod was built. The fortress was located on a high (more than 70 meters) chalk cliff, overlooking the Seversky Donets River. On both sides it was protected by impregnable cliffs and the Donets River and the Yachnev Kolodez stream, and on the side of the “field” the fortress was surrounded in a semi-ring by two powerful lines of the “Big and Small Fortress” - an earthen rampart, wooden walls and towers. The construction of Belgorod and other cities “in the Field” (Kursk, Oskol, later Valuiki and Tsarev-Borisov) had not only important military, but also political significance. The fact is that the territory of the present Central Black Earth Region was an appetizing piece for the Polish gentry, suffering from a lack of land. Some radical politicians of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (the united Polish-Lithuanian state) even proposed to “colonize” Russia in the same way as the British colonized the lands of the Indians in America - to build castles and fortresses and teach the “natives” to be wise (after all, Poland then considered itself the most cultural and enlightened of all Slavic countries). Belgorod, moved to the south and placed approximately 18 kilometers from the Murvskaya sakma, made it possible to more successfully organize a guard service that reported the appearance of Tatar detachments, and to increase its “long-range action.”
Belgorod region during Kievan Rus
In the 8th century, after the destructive campaigns of the Arabs in the North Caucasus, Alans appeared in the Oskol basin, and from that time on, the territory of the modern Belgorod region became part of the Khazar Kaganate. These lands were the northwestern border of the specified state. A system of fortresses was created on the border, built under the direction of Byzantine engineers from local limestone. The population was engaged in settled cattle breeding, hunting, fishing and foreign trade. Ferrous metallurgy was highly developed in Pooskolye. Iron was obtained from bog ore using the cheese blowing method.
In 965, the lands in the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets were annexed to the Pereyaslav Principality of Kievan Rus. The Golden Horde invasion of the 13th century, which devastated a significant part of the Russian land, was especially devastating for the lands to which the name “wild field” was assigned for a long time.
The entry of the Seversk region into the centralized Moscow state contributed to the revitalization of the “wild field” and the settlement of the southern outskirts by runaway peasants and slaves.
Historians are still arguing about how the first cities were built and how the Belgorod region was populated. There are many different opinions about the exact date of the founding of Belgorod, as well as Oskol (now Stary Oskol), Valuyek.
Belgorod region in the XII-XVII centuries.
From the 12th century this territory was part of the Chernigov principality. The Mongol-Tatar invasion led to the desolation of the region. In the 15th century The Chernigov-Seversk land, including the lands along the Donets and Oskol, was conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the Golden Horde. In 1500, Vasily Ivanovich Shemyachich, who owned these lands, transferred his inheritance to the service of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III Vasilievich. The annexation of these possessions to the Russian state was secured by the Russian-Lithuanian treaty of 1503. Since that time, the Donetsk-Oskol forest-steppe (the territory of the modern Belgorod region) played important role in the defense of the country from the attacks of the Crimean Tatars, because the main steppe Tatar roads (Kalmiusskaya, Izyumskaya and Muravskaya sakmas) converged here.
Since 1571, an all-Russian guard service began to operate in the Donetsk-Oskol forest-steppe to combat Crimean invasions. At the same time, the first attempt was made here to mark the border of the Russian kingdom with the Crimean Khanate, which laid the foundation for the Russian border service and border troops. At the end of the 16th century. The first three fortresses were built here: Belgorod, Oskol (Old) and Valuiki.
The decision to build Belgorod was made by the Boyar Duma in 1593, at which time a settlement probably arose on the site of the future city. However, the Belgorod fortress was built by decree of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich in the fall of 1596. The construction was supervised by governors M.V. Nozdrevaty-Zvenigorodsky and A.R. Volkonsky. Initially, the fortress was located on White Mountain, located on the right bank of the river. Seversky Donets, at the confluence of the Yachnev Kolodez stream. Detinets (the central part of the fortress) had chopped wooden walls mounted on a rampart, in front of which a ditch was dug. In plan, the detinets was a rectangle, measuring 220x240 m - fortified with an earthen rampart and 8 towers. It was located on the edge of a cliff above the river. The roundabout city surrounded Detinets in a semicircle on the opposite side and had an outer wooden wall about 1 km long with 10-11 towers. The total area of the city was about 33 hectares.
During the Time of Troubles, the Belgorod garrison went over to the side of False Dmitry I, and after his death they supported False Dmitry II. In 1612, the fortress was captured and burned by a detachment of Poltava Cherkasy (Cossacks) under the command of Prince S. Lyko, who came from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1613, the fortress was rebuilt by the remaining residents under the leadership of governor N.P. Likhareva, but on the opposite, left bank of the river. Seversky Donets. The area of the fortress was now 9 hectares. Detinets, measuring 150x130 m with 8 towers, was structurally a standing fort with military superstructures - oblamas. Adjoining it from the north was a large fort with 15 towers, the perimeter of its walls was 1120 m. The configuration and size of the fortress were determined by the topography of the floodplain of the river, which flowed on one side, from the north by the Bely Kolodez stream, and on the other side the fortress was surrounded by swampy lowlands. In 1650, the Belgorod fortress was moved to the right bank of the river. Seversky Donets to Karpovsky Val of the Belgorod Line, where the city center is currently located.
The construction of individual fortresses did not protect the outskirts of the state from invasions. During the Russian-Polish Smolensk War of 1632-1634. The territory of modern Belgorod region was seriously damaged. As a result, the Belgorod Line arose, stretching for more than 800 km (across the territory of the modern Belgorod region - 425 km, 10 fortresses: Khotmyzhsk, Karpov, Bolkhovets, Belgorod, Nezhegolsk, Korocha, Yablonov, Tsarev-Alekseev, Verkhososensk, Userd). The construction of fortifications took place from 1635 to 1658. All armed forces serving on the Chert were subordinate to the Belgorod governor and united into the Belgorod regiment (in 1658 - more than 19 thousand people). During the all-Russian campaign, it was a “regiment of the left hand,” i.e. occupied third place in the hierarchy of military units Russia XVII V. On the territory adjacent to the Belgorod line, a military administrative district was created - the Belgorod discharge, as a result of which all civil and military power in this territory was concentrated in the hands of the Belgorod governor. Initially, 17 cities were included in this category, and in 1677 - 61. In 1667, the Belgorod diocese was opened here.
Belgorod region in the XVIII-XIX centuries.
In 1708-1727 The territory of the modern Belgorod region was part of the Kyiv and Azov provinces. In 1727, by decree of the Senate (the reign of Catherine I), the Belgorod province was formed. It occupied the lands not only of modern Belgorod, but also the territories of modern Kursk, Oryol, partially Bryansk and Kharkov regions. The city of Belgorod became the provincial center. The province included more than 35 cities. The population was 717 thousand people. Over the 52 years of its existence, the Belgorod province had more than 10 governors. But the first Belgorod governor was a representative of an old family - Prince Yuri Yuryevich Trubetskoy, the future Privy Councilor and Senator.
In 1730, under Governor Yu.Yu. Trubetskoy approved the first provincial coat of arms of the city of Belgorod, which was recreated several years ago and is now the coat of arms of the Belgorod region (the modern coat of arms of the Belgorod region was approved by a resolution of the regional Duma on February 15, 1996 and entered into the State Heraldic Register Russian Federation under No. 100).
During the next local government reform, on May 23, 1779, the Belgorod province was abolished. Belgorod and the surrounding territories became part of the Kursk governorate, which was soon renamed the province. Belgorod at this time became a district center, losing leadership to Kursk.
According to the new administrative division in 1779, the territory of the region became part of two provinces of the Russian Empire - Kursk and Voronezh. For a long time (before the abolition of provinces and districts), most of the present Belgorod region were districts of the Kursk province (Belgorod, Grayvoronsky, Korochansky, Novooskolsky, Starooskolsky, Ivnyansky districts occupied a significant part of Oboyansky district). The southeastern part (Alekseevsky, Valuysky, Veidelevsky, Volokonovsky, Krasnogvardeysky, Krasnensky) until 1917 were part of the districts of the Voronezh province.
In this territory in the 19th century. The processing industry and production of building materials for local needs developed. Only chalk lime factories exported their products outside the region. Korochansky district has become the all-Russian center for the production and processing of garden and berry products.
Belgorod region during the years of the Great Patriotic War
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Belgorod region, like the whole country, went under martial law. A fighter battalion and a people's militia were created, the 299th Infantry Division was formed, which Belgorod residents sent to the front in August 1941. Its warriors, having received baptism of fire on the Desna, defended Tula, fought at Stalingrad, defeated the enemy in the Belgorod region, and liberated Ukraine.
In October 1941, fascist troops approached the city. At its western approaches units of the 1st Guards rifle division and the 1st Separate Tank Brigade held back the enemy onslaught for two days. On October 24, after heavy fighting, our troops left Belgorod. For Belgorod residents, painful days and months of fascist occupation dragged on. Here, as elsewhere on temporarily occupied Soviet soil, the Nazis established a regime of bloody terror, violence, robbery and mass extermination of people. After the glorious victories won in the Battle of the Volga and the offensive battles of the first half of 1943, the troops of the Bryansk, Central and Voronezh fronts penetrated deeply into the enemy’s position west of Kursk. The front line here formed an arc, with Belgorod on its southern ledge and Ponyri on the northern.
On July 12, near Prokhorovka, the largest tank battle in the history of war began, in which one thousand two hundred tanks operated simultaneously. The enemy was stopped, suffered huge losses, and then, after several stubborn battles, was thrown back to Belgorod. On August 5, 1943, troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts captured Belgorod by storm. In honor of the liberation of Belgorod and Orel, the first fireworks salute in the history of the war was given in Moscow. Since then, Belgorod has been named after the “city of the first fireworks”. On Belgorod soil, a great tank battle took place on the Prokhorovsky field, which is considered the third sacred field of Russia after Kulikovsky and Borodino.
Belgorod region in the post-war years
The restoration of the national economy began immediately after the liberation of the Belgorod region from the Nazi invaders. In the first post-war years, as a result of the heroic work of Belgorod residents, such large enterprises as the KMAruda plant, a boiler-making and cement plant, the Belgorod Central Electric Power Plant, the Volokonovsky sugar plant, several creameries and other enterprises grew up. By 1950, the region's industry had reached the pre-war level, and in terms of production of the main types of products in physical terms it exceeded the pre-war level. The sugar industry, severely damaged during the war, was completely restored and expanded. Agriculture gradually got back on its feet. The number of livestock and poultry reached pre-war levels by 1951, and in many areas there was an increase in crop yields.
By the time it gained its independence, the region already had a certain economic and cultural potential. Of particular importance to him were the work begun on the research and development of the wealth of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA), which later served as the basis for the construction of mining enterprises in the Belgorod region.
The Belgorod region was formed by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on January 6, 1954
At the time of its formation, it included 23 districts of the Kursk region and 8 districts of the Voronezh region, as well as 7 cities (Belgorod, Stary Oskol, Novy Oskol, Valuyki, Shebekino, Grayvoron and Korocha), including two cities of regional subordination - Belgorod and Stary Oskol. Subsequently, changes repeatedly occurred in the administrative-territorial structure of the region: new cities and districts, workers' settlements were formed, consolidation and disaggregation of districts took place.
The basis of industrial production was food industry enterprises (55%). They were engaged in baking, producing flour, vegetable and animal oil, and canned food of all kinds. Every 5 tons of Russian sugar was produced in the Belgorod region.
The Belgorod region grew and developed. Industry began to develop intensively, especially mining. Since the formation of the region, one after another, the largest enterprises were introduced, radically changing the sectoral structure of industrial production: the share of ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, metalworking, medical, flour-grinding and feed milling industries began to noticeably increase.
Since 1965, measures have been taken on a large scale in the region to concentrate and specialize farms, which were based on the creation of large specialized farms for raising all major types of livestock and poultry. Processing industries have developed.
In the early 70s, the construction of its own construction industry base began. Separate enterprises for the production of structures and panels for large-panel housing construction have come into operation.
From the moment of its formation, the region had a diversified agriculture, which gradually grew into large mechanized production with a modern fleet of agricultural machinery and high farming standards. All this helped to achieve high and sustainable yields of the main agricultural crops.
For the courage and fortitude shown by Belgorod residents in defending their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War and for the successes achieved in the restoration and development of the national economy, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 4, 1967, the Belgorod region was awarded the Order of Lenin, and on April 9, 1980, the Order of the Patriotic War 1 degree was awarded to the city of Belgorod for the courage and fortitude shown by the working people of the city during the Great Patriotic War and for the successes achieved in economic and cultural construction.
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The Belgorod region was formed by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on January 6, 1954 with the transfer to its composition of 23 districts from the Kursk region: Belgorod, Belenikhinsky, Bobrovo-Dvorsky, Bolshe-Troitsky, Borisovsky, Valuysky, Veliko-Mikhailovsky, Volokonovsky, Grayvoronsky, Ivnyansky . The total area of the Belgorod region was 27.1 thousand square meters. km with a population (according to the 1959 census) of 1 million 227 thousand people. The rural population was 87.8%. Belgorod was not chosen by chance as the center of the Belgorod region. It stood out from other regional centers at a railway junction; one of the busiest Moscow-Simferopol highways passed through it.
Supreme body Soviet power in the region became the regional Council of Workers' Deputies. The composition of its executive body - the executive committee of the regional council - was determined on February 5, 1954 in accordance with Article 92 of the Constitution of the RSFSR. At the same time, heads of departments and heads of departments were approved. Their composition was finally determined at the first session of the regional Council held on May 19-20, 1954.
G.P. was elected chairman of the regional executive committee. Kovalevsky. Since 1931, he worked in the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee, chairman of the Altai, then from 1950 of the Kursk regional executive committees. In 1954 he was sent to Belgorod.
On March 21, 1954, at the first plenum of the regional committee of the CPSU, its leadership was approved: M.K. was elected first secretary of the Belgorod regional committee of the CPSU. Krahmalev.
From the very beginning of his work, Mikhail Konstantinovich Krakhmalev started the accelerated development of all industries economic activity and culture, which has become advantageous to distinguish the Belgorod region from many other regions.
The Belgorod region had favorable economic, geographical, soil and climatic conditions, rich mineral reserves, which made it possible to successfully develop the mining, light and food industries, mechanical engineering, construction materials industry, and diversified agriculture. The mining industry had especially great prospects for development, since the region had unique iron ore reserves of KMA, chalk, marl, clay, sand, and fertile lands.
In 1954, the main stage in the development of energy in the Belgorod region began. On December 31, 1954, the first stage of the Gubkinskaya CHPP with a capacity of 12 MW was put into operation. Upon completion of construction, in 1959, its total capacity reached 61 MW, which provided electricity and heat supply to enterprises in the mining region. The year 1961 went down in the history of Belgorod energy as the year of the creation of the Belgorodenergo energy department. In July 1969, the creation of the Unified Energy System of the European Part was completed by including in parallel operation the power systems of the South and Center of the country via Belgorodenergo networks with a voltage of 110-330 kV Soviet Union.
In 1958, natural gas appeared in the Belgorod region. After the Shebelinka-Bryansk gas pipeline passed through Belgorod in 1959, work began on gasification of industrial enterprises in the Belgorod region.
In 1955, on the basis of the Oboyansk geological exploration expedition, the Belgorod iron ore expedition was formed, which was engaged in geological exploration, expansion and improvement of the mineral resource base of the Belgorod region. The location of the Belgorod iron ore expedition was the village. Yakovlevo. The chief geologist of the expedition was S.I. Chaikin, who came to work on the expedition as an experienced iron ore specialist with the title of laureate of the USSR State Prize for 1951. For the discovery and exploration of the Yakovlevskoye deposit in 1953, S.I. Chaikin was awarded the Lenin Prize and the Order of Lenin.
The research of the geologist of the Belgorod iron ore expedition, I.A., was important for the development of the mining and metallurgical complex of the Belgorod region. Rusinovich. Lebedinskoye, Korobkovskoye, Stoilenskoye, Mikhailovskoye, Gostishchevskoye, Bolshetroitskoye iron ore deposits were discovered and explored. In 1952, a pilot mine named after I.M. came into operation at the Korobkovskoye deposit. Gubkin and the sintering plant, later united into the KMAruda plant.
In 1956, builders in the city of Gubkin began construction of a unique mining enterprise - the Lebedinsky mine. For the first time in the Soviet Union, an iron ore quarry was built open method.
The construction of the Lebedinsky mine was declared a shock Komsomol construction project. On December 26, 1959, at 10 a.m., the first explosion occurred in Lebedi. He announced the construction of a quarry for open-pit mining of ore. A few days later, the miners sent the first train of Lebedinsky ore to the Lipetsk Metallurgical Plant.
The largest enterprise in the machine-building industry was the Energomash plant (until 1976 - the Belgorod Boiler-Making Plant). The plant's products were sent to the country's most important power plants under construction, to the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Along with the Energomash plant, the machine-building complex of the Belgorod region operated: Stary Oskol Mechanical Plant, Belgorod, Shebekinsky, Tavrovsky Automobile Repair Plants, Shebekinsky Machine-Building Plant.
The formation of the Belgorod region in 1954 served as a powerful impetus for the development of construction in the region. 4 factories for reinforced concrete products and structures, chalk and lime production facilities were put into operation, and Europe's largest cement plant was built in Stary Oskol.
The development of construction production in the Belgorod region creates favorable prospects for a sustainable leading position of the Belgorod region in Russian construction sites.
The natural and climatic conditions of the region made it possible to successfully develop the production of grain, sugar beets, sunflowers, coriander, and to grow a variety of fodder crops, vegetables, and fruits. The culture of agriculture grew and seed production improved.
By the time the region was formed, there were 618 collective farms, 81 machine and tractor stations, and 28 state farms of various economic directions on its territory.
In January 1954, the Department of Public Education was formed. During this period of time, there were 1,614 schools in the region, 1,022 of which were primary, and only 102 were secondary, the rest were seven- and eight-year schools. Already in the first year of the region’s existence, the Belgorod Regional Institute for Teacher Improvement opened its doors for teachers. In addition to the teachers' institute, educational activities in the region included construction and industrial technical schools, three agricultural technical schools, three pedagogical schools, three medical schools and nine vocational schools. In 1954, the Stary Oskol Teachers' Institute was transformed into a pedagogical institute, and in 1957 it was transferred to Belgorod. The new building provided all conditions for future teachers to study.
On May 20, 1954, the regional department of culture was created. It was at this time that the construction of a two-hall cinema began in Belgorod. In August 1954, the Belgorod universal science Library for 750 thousand volumes, the regional office “Kinoprokat” and a number of regional cultural institutions. In the fall of 1954, the play by D.N. Medvedev " Strong-willed"The regional drama theater named after. began its creative life. M.S. Shchepkina. Since 1961, a puppet studio began operating at the Belgorod Regional Drama Theater, and in 1962 the drama theater moved to a newly built new building. In 1965, the Belgorod State Puppet Theater was organized on the basis of the puppet studio.
With the opening of the Belgorod Cultural and Educational School in 1960, intensive work began to improve the quality of cultural personnel.
Since the formation of the Belgorod region, the healthcare system has undergone dramatic changes, both quantitatively and qualitatively. In 1954, medical care was provided by 73 treatment and preventive institutions, which had 3,430 beds. In addition, there were 262 first aid stations and 47 pharmacies in the region. Healthcare facilities were located almost everywhere in adapted buildings and premises, often without minimal public infrastructure.
In 1954, 536 doctors and 3,200 paramedical workers worked in medical institutions in the region. Over the years, the number of doctors has grown more than 10 times, paramedical workers - 5 times.
On December 25, 1968, the first stage of the Yuzhno-Lebedinsky mine with a capacity of 1 million tons of ore per year was put into operation. On December 25, 1969, the second stage of the Yuzhno-Lebedinsky mine was put into operation with an additional capacity of 1 million tons of ore per year.
In 1974, construction began on the Yakovlevsky mine with an underground method for developing rich iron ores, with an iron content in the ore of more than 60%.
Particular attention was paid to the livestock industry. Since the mid-60s. XX century In the Belgorod region, a course was taken towards the concentration and specialization of collective farm production. On the basis of a number of collective farms, specialized complexes began to be created for fattening pigs, cattle, and producing milk, poultry, and wool on a scientific and industrial basis. As a result of specialization, the cost of livestock and poultry products was reduced by more than half. Labor productivity has increased.
In March 1965, a resolution was adopted by the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee “On urgent measures for the further development of agriculture of the USSR.” The region received firm plans for the sale of agricultural products for a five-year period.
The origins of the specialization were the honored people of the Belgorod region: the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU N.F. Vasiliev, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, chairman of the collective farm. Frunze, Belgorod district V.Ya. Gorin, Hero of Socialist Labor, chairman of the collective farm. Ilyich Krasnogvardeisky district Ya.T. Kirilikhin, Hero of Socialist Labor, chairman of the collective farm named after. XXI Congress of the CPSU of the Korochansky district A.D. Mikhailov, Hero of Socialist Labor, head of the farm of the Druzhba collective farm, Yakovlevsky district Z.I. Samarchenko, Hero of Socialist Labor, manager of the department of the Lugovoe state farm, Veidelevsky district I.I. Grigoriev et al.
By the beginning of the 70s. XX century 104 large mechanized complexes were created for the production of meat, milk, wool and poultry products. Each collective farm, regardless of its specialization, grew sugar beets and some other industrial crops for sale to the state.
The Belgorod region is one of the leading regions of Russia, which has a harsh and glorious history that has carried military and labor glory through the centuries. This is evidenced by the high government awards of the region.
On August 4, 1967, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Belgorod Region was awarded the Order of Lenin for the courage and fortitude shown by the workers of the Belgorod region in defending the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War and for the successes achieved in the restoration and development of the national economy.
On August 3, 1973, at 624 km of the Moscow-Simferopol highway, on the day of the 30th anniversary of the Victory of the Battle of Kursk, the Memorial “In Honor of the Heroes of the Battle of Kursk” was opened.
In 1973, a new exhibition of the Belgorod Regional Museum of Local Lore, executed at a high scientific and artistic level, received its first visitors. From this time on, a museum network in the region began to form.
On April 9, 1980, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for the courage and fortitude shown by workers during the Great Patriotic War, and for the successes achieved in economic and cultural construction, the city of Belgorod was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree.
Since 1985, the Lebedinsky Mining and Processing Plant began industrial production of high-quality concentrate with an iron content of 70% or more. On October 11, 1987, construction of the 21st section of the Lebedinsky mining and processing plant was completed. The section's capacity is 1 million 15 thousand tons of iron ore concentrate per year.
By the mid-80s. XX century Over 100 large specialized complexes operated in the region, producing 70% of meat and about 100% of eggs. Over the years of specialization, meat production increased by 2.2 times, eggs - by 2.7 times. The level of mechanization on cattle farms has reached 70%, on pig and poultry complexes – 90%.
Since 1989, fundamental changes have been taking place in the sphere of economic relations in agriculture - agro-industrial enterprises are being transferred to the principles of diversified self-financing, self-financing, and rental relations. However, for a number of reasons, since the mid-90s. XX century The agricultural production sector is gradually declining. However, in the Belgorod region, measures are being taken to stabilize the agricultural sector of the economy. A special role in this was played by the decree of the head of the regional administration dated December 14, 1999 No. 710 “On measures for the economic recovery of insolvent agricultural enterprises in the region.” This made it possible to attract investment, increase controllability and technological discipline in crop and livestock production, and change intra-farm economic relations based on the development of rental relations.
In 1985-1991 In the region, through the cooperation of state funds and industrial enterprises, 115 schools and extensions to existing ones were put into operation in cities and districts, which made it possible to transfer about 57 thousand students to new school buildings.
Annual shows and competitions are a good incentive for the development of amateur performances. In the 1970-1980s. 130 rural Houses of Culture and clubs and a number of regional Houses of Culture were put into operation.
By the end of the 1980s, in the cities of regional subordination and district centers, a unique cultural core had been formed, including district and city houses of culture, central libraries, children's music schools, cinemas, cultural and recreation parks, and folk amateur groups.
A feature of the development of the cultural sector in the 1990-2000s. was the creation of a museum network. Municipal museums began to operate in almost every district.
In the 1990s - 2000s. a new building of the regional oncology clinic, city children's clinic No. 4, a surgical building of the regional hospital, a regional anti-tuberculosis dispensary were put into operation, the city infectious diseases hospital received a new building..
On March 23, 1997, the first ton of high-quality iron ore from the Yakovlevsky deposit, with an iron content of 68.36%, was produced for the first time. In 2002, full-scale construction and installation work began. In January 2005, the first ton of iron ore was already mined at the Yakovlevsky mine.
In 2001, the first hot briquetted iron plant in Europe was put into operation at the Lebedinsky Mining and Processing Plant, with a capacity of 1 million tons of metallized briquettes per year, with subsequent expansion to 4 million tons.
Currently, the Stoilensky mining and processing plant produces 14% of Russia's commercial ore. In 2012, the expansion of the quarry boundary along the upper horizons enabled the enterprise to reach a new design capacity, increasing the production of unoxidized ferruginous quartzites to 42 million tons and high-grade iron ore to 1.9 million tons per year. The iron content in the ore is 66.4%.
April 27, 2007 President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin signed the Decree “On awarding the city of Belgorod the honorary title of the Russian Federation “City of Military Glory.”
May 5, 2011 President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev signed the Decree “On awarding the city of Stary Oskol the honorary title of the Russian Federation “City of Military Glory”.
The area of the Belgorod region is 27.1 thousand square meters. km, the length from north to south is about 190 km, from west to east – about 270 km. In the south and west it borders with the Lugansk, Kharkov and Sumy regions of Ukraine, in the north and north-west - with Kursk, in the east - with the Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation. The total length of the borders is about 1,150 km, of which 540 km are with Ukraine.
The region includes 19 municipal districts, 3 urban districts, 25 urban and 260 rural settlements. The population as of January 1, 2013 was 1,536,073 people. The administrative center is the city of Belgorod, located 695 kilometers south of Moscow.
993 - the first mention of the formation of Belgorod during the reign of the baptizer of Rus', Prince Vladimir.
1593 - foundation of the first fortress on the steep right bank of the Seversky Donets by Decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich.
1635 – 1653 - construction of a single powerful defensive line - the Belgorod abatis line.
1658 - formation of the Belgorod regiment - a large permanent military formation that included all armed forces on the Belgorod line and subordinate to the Belgorod governor.
1727 - 1779 - Belgorod - provincial city of the Belgorod province, founded by Decree of Catherine I with the territories of modern Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol, partially Bryansk and Tula regions of Russia, as well as Kharkov and Sumy regions of Ukraine.
1779 – formation of the Belgorod district as part of the Kursk province.
1930 – Belgorod is the regional center of the Central Black Earth Region.
1934 – Belgorod – the regional center of the Kursk region.
October 24, 1941 – February 9, 1943August 5, 1943 – liberation of the city from the Nazi invaders. The first fireworks were fired in Moscow in honor of the liberation of Belgorod and Orel. Belgorod began to be called the city of the First Salute.
January 6, 1954 – formation of the Belgorod region with the administrative center in Belgorod.
Foundation of the city. Belgorod Fortress
Belgorod was founded twice: in 993 by Prince Vladimir as a city of Kievan Rus and in 1593 by decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich as a fortress of the Moscow State.
The founding of the Belgorod fortress in 1596 is recorded in the “Rank Book of 1475-1598.” It played the role of a southern outpost of the Russian state near the main Tatar roads.
The Belgorod fortress was located on a rocky chalk mountain near the steep right bank of the Seversky Donets. The central part of the fortress was the Kremlin in the shape of a quadrangle 230x238 m. The walls of the Kremlin were two parallel log houses, spaced 1.5 m from each other, the space between which was filled with clay. Around the Kremlin there were two belts of defensive structures, where military warehouses and craft workshops were located. A secret underground passage cut into the chalk led to the river.
The location of the fortress changed three times. In 1650, the final location of the fortress with settlements was determined on the right bank of the Donets River, where the central part of the city is now located.
Soon the construction of defensive structures began, which later became known as the Belgorod Line. The central military and administrative point of the Belgorod region was the fortified city of Belgorod.
The construction of the Belgorod Line deprived the Tatars of the opportunity to carry out predatory raids into the interior of the country, and also contributed to the settlement of the region and the development of its economy.
Belgorod in the era of Peter I. Belgorod regiment
In 1658, the Belgorod regiment was formed - a large permanent military formation, which included all the armed forces on the Belgorod border and was subordinate to the Belgorod governor.
The prince, boyar Grigory Grigorievich Romodanovsky (? -1682) was appointed chief governor of the Belgorod regiment. The voivode was the full-fledged owner and chief commander of the guard and village service. IN war time he organized the defense of the city from the enemy and became the head of the army. The Belgorod regiment became famous in many battles with the Tatars, in the war with Poland, in the Azov campaigns of Peter I (under the command of Savva Aigustov). Repeatedly the regiment received words of gratitude from Tsars Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter I, and its soldiers received personal awards in gold, land, and cash awards.
The future first Russian emperor Peter I visited Belgorod during the Russian-Swedish war. The young Swedish king Charles XII intended with his army to head along the ancient Muravsky Way through Belgorod to Voronezh, and then, having destroyed the Russian fleet there, move on to Moscow. Peter, sensing this danger, arrived in Belgorod and ordered to set up a barrier of Russian troops along the Muravsky Way so that the enemy could not get to Moscow.
The formation of the Belgorod regiment entailed the formation of a large military-administrative district - the Belgorod discharge, which existed until the beginning of the 18th century.
The Assumption-Nicholas Cathedral became a monument to the stay of Peter I in our city - today it is the oldest building in Belgorod.
The famous historian A.M. Drenyakin writes: “In our memory, the city of Belgorod has more than once had the good fortune to receive within its walls the emperors Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, traveling to the South, as well as empresses Elizaveta Alekseevna, Alexandra Feodorovna and Maria Alexandrovna and greet them Majesty's bread and salt. As for the passage of Empress Catherine II and Emperor Alexander I through Belgorod, in honor of their passage in the city, four “exit” pillars in the form of obelisks with golden eagles at the top were placed at the ends of Staro-Moskovskaya Street. (Kulegaev I. “Guide to Belgorod.” - Kharkov, 1911, pp. 63-64).
According to the decree of Peter I of December 18, 1708, Russia was divided into 8 provinces. The Belgorod rank and regiment were abolished, units of the Belgorod regiment became regiments of the regular army, and there was no longer a need to maintain military force. Belgorod became the center of the district, which in 1708 was assigned to the Kyiv province.
Belgorod province
On March 1, 1727, by decree of Empress Catherine I, the Belgorod province was formed. It occupied the territory of modern Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol and partly Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation, as well as the Kharkov region of Ukraine. The first governor of the Belgorod province was a representative of an ancient family, Prince Yuri Yuryevich Trubetskoy (1668-1739). He served as governor for 3 years and left a good memory of himself as a skillful and energetic ruler. It was under Yu. Yu. Trubetskoy in 1730 that the coat of arms of the city of Belgorod was approved. On a blue rectangular shield, pointed at the bottom, there are depicted “a lion lying, yellow, and above him a black single-headed eagle, below him the earth is green.”
In 1779, the Belgorod province was abolished. The city of Belgorod became a district town and with its surroundings became part of the Kursk province.
In 1785, the Belgorod fortress was liquidated, as the city had lost its former military significance.
In 1787, Empress Catherine II made a long trip to Crimea in order to visit the newly annexed territories and see how people lived in the Russian state. On the way there and back she stopped twice in Belgorod. The writer of the second half of the 18th century, A.V. Khrapovitsky, who accompanied the queen on this journey, also left a mention of Catherine II’s stop in Belgorod in his “Memoirs”. In his diary he noted that “on July 12, 1787 we were in Belgorod.”
In 1820, Emperor Alexander I passed through Belgorod. His stay in our city is described in the essay by A. A. Tankov, “Emperor Alexander I in the Kursk Province.” “On July 29, the sovereign was in Belgorod and, when entering and leaving the city, stopped at the churches: Nikolaevskaya, Cemetery (now St. Nicholas Cathedral), Preobrazhenskaya (now the Cathedral), Vvedenskaya and Assumption, where he kissed the cross and received blessing.
In honor of the passage of Catherine II and Alexander I in Belgorod, four “exit” pillars in the form of obelisks with golden eagles at the top were erected at the ends of Staro-Moskovskaya Street. (Kulegaev I. “Guide to Belgorod.” - Kharkov, 1911, pp. 63-64).
Belgorod at the beginning of the 20th century
In 1904, Nicholas II came to Belgorod for the first time. This was a difficult period in our history, when Russia waged a war with Japan in the Far East. In May 1904, new reinforcements of Belgorod residents were sent to the front. The crowned monarch personally arrived in our city in order to bless with his highest visit the soldiers of the five batteries of the Belgorod artillery brigade who were going to war for their feats for the “faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland.” At the city training ground, the sovereign rode around the troops on horseback, let them pass in a ceremonial march and honored them with the royal word. Then, turning to the summoned commanders, officers and lower ranks, he wished success in the fight against the enemy and a safe return.
The second visit of Tsar Nicholas to Belgorod took place on December 17, 1911. Anticipating the arrival of the distinguished guest, city authorities back in 1910 renamed the city street Korochanskaya, along which the Tsar passed seven years earlier, into the street named after Emperor Nicholas II. On the eve of the monarch's arrival, royal portraits and banners with loyal greetings were hung in the city. Having left Livadia for St. Petersburg, Tsar Nicholas and his entire august family stopped in Belgorod “to venerate the holy relics of the newly-minted saint of God, Saint Joasaph.” The Tsar arrived in Belgorod with his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, heir Alexy and the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. The street named after Emperor Nicholas II, which Belgorod residents more often called simply Imperial, from the station to Cathedral Square was filled with jubilant people.
Belgorod in the 20s–40s. XX century
Soviet power in the city was established on October 26 (November 8), 1917. On April 10, 1918, Belgorod was occupied by German troops. After the conclusion of the Brest Peace Treaty, the demarcation line passed north of the city, Belgorod was included in the Ukrainian state of Hetman P. P. Skoropadsky.
On December 20, 1918, after the overthrow of Skoropadsky, it was occupied by the Red Army and became part of the RSFSR. From December 24, 1918 to January 7, 1919, the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government of Ukraine under the leadership of G. L. Pyatakov was headquartered in Belgorod. The city was the temporary capital of Ukraine.
From June 23 to December 7, 1919, the city was occupied by the Volunteer Army and was part of the white South of Russia.
Since December 1922, as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
On May 14, 1928, in connection with the introduction of a new administrative division in the country, the Belgorod district and Kursk province were liquidated. Belgorod becomes the center of the Belgorod district of the Central Black Earth Region. In 1930, after the liquidation of the district system, Belgorod became a regional center. On June 13, 1934, Belgorod was included in the newly formed Kursk region.
On March 2, 1935, Belgorod was separated into an independent administrative and economic unit with direct subordination to the Kursk Regional Executive Committee.
On January 6, 1954, the Belgorod region was created. Belgorod became the administrative center of the Belgorod region.
The Great Patriotic War
Belgorod wrote a heroic page in the history of the Great Patriotic War.
The city was occupied twice by the Nazi invaders: October 24, 1941 and March 18, 1943. The first liberation was carried out during the Kharkov offensive operation February 9, 1943, the second liberation of Belgorod occurred during the Battle of Kursk on August 5, 1943. During the second liberation, the city was almost completely destroyed. In honor of the liberation of Belgorod and Orel, Moscow saluted the Soviet troops for the first time with 12 artillery salvoes from 120 guns.
If before the start of the war 34 thousand people lived in Belgorod, then on August 5, 1943, only 150 people met the Soviet liberators.
A full-blooded life was being established in the city. On August 10, the fifth day after liberation, the station received the first train, the city post office began operating, on August 11 the first issue of the Belgorodskaya Pravda newspaper was published, the radio soon started playing, a water pumping station was launched, the municipal food processing plant began operating, on August 21 the water supply was partially restored, and after three days – bakery.
Belgorod gave the country Heroes of the Soviet Union who showed special heroism in the struggle for the liberation of the Motherland.
Construction of a cement plant in Belgorod began in 1946. The first industrial products were released in 1949. In 1951, the first batch of industrial water-gas-tube boilers with a productivity of one ton of steam per hour was produced at the Belgorod Boiler Plant, the construction of which began in 1939, but was interrupted during the war.
Modern history
On September 11, 1991, a significant event took place in Belgorod - the second discovery of the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod. The relics were delivered from the Museum of Religion and Atheism of the city of Leningrad to the St. Joasaph Cathedral in Belgorod. His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II took part in the celebrations.
On April 27, 2007, the city of Belgorod, the first in Russia, was awarded the honorary title “City of Military Glory of the Russian Federation.” On July 11, 2013, the Founding Congress of the Union of Russian Cities of Military Glory took place in Belgorod.