The history of the city is quite common for Belarus, this territory has repeatedly passed from one large state to another, leaving fragments of its peoples. In the century before last, it was a Jewish town, currently the dominant nation is Belarusians. In recent decades, the population of Slutsk has been growing noticeably.
General information
The city is located in the central part of the country, on the banks of the Sluch River, on the Central Berezinsky Plain. At a distance of 105 km to the north is the capital of Belarus, Minsk.
Is the administrative center of the district of the same name. Slutsk is the most important transport hub of the country, there is a railway in the directions of Baranovichi, Soligorsk, Osipovichi and a highway to Minsk, Brest and Bobruisk.
23 industrial enterprises operate in Slutsk, the key ones are food and processing companies, which account for more than 91% of production. The city-forming enterprises are: sugar refinery, cheese-making, bakery and meat plants. WithDuring the Soviet era, factories for handling equipment and for the production of enamelware continue to operate.
Population density
In 2018, 61,818 people lived in the city, most of whom were Orthodox, Catholics, and Protestants. The area of the city is 30.5 sq. km. The official name of the residents: townspeople - Slutsk residents, men - Slutsk residents, women - Slutsk residents.
The population density of Slutsk is 2026 people/sq. km. The city is the second settlement in the south of the Minsk region according to this indicator. The indicator has practically not changed in recent decades, due to a slight fluctuation in the number of the population of Slutsk. The most densely populated is Soligorsk, where per 1 sq. km lives 7108 people. In other cities of the region: Old Roads - 1838 people / sq. km, Lyubani - 1569 people / sq. km. For comparison, in Smolensk the density is 1984 people/sq. km.
Foundation
Traces of the first settlements on Slutsk land date back to about the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The first documented written mention of the city dates back to 1116 in the Tale of Bygone Years, when Prince Gleb invaded the possessions of Vladimir Monomakh and burned Dregovichi and Slutsk. This date is now considered the year of the founding of Slutsk. Some researchers believe that the city appeared much earlier, citing later references to the transfer of the territory to the diocese of Turov in 1005. How many people lived in Slutsk in those daysunknown.
In subsequent centuries, the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Commonwe alth, until in 1793 it became part of the Russian Empire. In 1897, 14,349 people lived here, of which more than 71% were Jewish. In 1915, a railway was built to the city, which gave impetus to the development of industry. In 1916, according to the French professor Jules Legr, Slutsk is a small ancient town, amazingly dirty, with 15,000 inhabitants, mostly Jews.
Between the wars
During the Civil War, the city was repeatedly captured by different warring parties: whites, reds, Germans, Poles. The flight of the latter was accompanied by mass robberies, violence and cattle rustling. The Polish military deliberately destroyed everything that they could not take out. As a result of the arson, the buildings of the station, gymnasium, synagogue, church and two bridges across the Sluch River were destroyed.
In between the wars, the city slowly recovered, schools and businesses opened. According to the latest pre-war data in 1939, the population of Slutsk was 22,000 people. During the Great Patriotic War, during the three years of occupation by German troops, the city was almost completely destroyed, almost all the townspeople were destroyed. In total, approximately 30,000 people were killed in the city and region.
Modern period
After the war, the city slowly recovered, residential and administrative buildings were rebuilt. Sawmill, foundry, repair,butter and cheese factories. The population in Slutsk reached the pre-war level only by the end of the 50s. In 1959, 22,740 people lived here. The increase was mainly due to the influx of surrounding rural residents.
In subsequent years, the industry began to develop, new enterprises were built, including sugar and canning factories, "Emalware". The number of citizens in this period (1959-1970) grew rapidly - by 4.16% / year. Labor resources for construction and work at factories arrived from various regions of the RSFSR. In the last decades of Soviet power, the city developed dynamically, industrial production expanded. Growth slowed down somewhat, amounting to 2.45% per year. In 1989, there were 57,560 Slutsk residents. In recent years, the population of Slutsk has been slowly growing, mainly due to natural increase. In 2018, there were 61,818 city residents.
Ethnic composition in the early period
During the entry of the city into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwe alth, the city was inhabited mainly by Poles and Belarusians, Catholics or Uniates. According to the first Russian census in 1897, the population of Slutsk was 14,349 people. Of these, 10,238 were Jews, 2,417 were Belarusians, 1,104 were Russians, 31 were Germans, 12 were Little Russians (Ukrainians), 5 were Lithuanians, and 4 were Latvians. The city was part of the permanent Jewish settlement, regions where Jews were allowed to live during the Russian Empire.
The first resettlement of Jews from the MiddleEast to the territory of Belarus belongs to the 8th century. Later, in the 11th century, they began to move from Western Europe, due to religious persecution. The phenomenon took on a massive character in the 16th century, when not only the rich, but also the poor began to move. Before the Great Patriotic War, Jews made up the bulk of the population of Slutsk, they were completely destroyed in the Slutsk ghetto.
Ethnic composition in the newest era
In the post-war period, the population of the city of Slutsk was almost completely renewed. The rural, mostly Belarusian population was involved in the restoration of the city and industrial enterprises. Specialists of other nationalities began to arrive from other regions of the country, mostly Russians from the RSFSR.
It should be noted that Russian and Russian settlements on Belarusian territory began to appear after the war in the 17th century with the Commonwe alth, later in the 17-18th century the Old Believers who fled from religious persecution began to move. In the 18-19th century, Russian landowners, officials, workers and peasants settled. During the Soviet period, the proportion of Russians among the population of Slutsk also constantly increased, and now it is the second largest national group.
According to the latest data, out of a total population of 61,818 in 2018, 89.9% are Belarusians, 6.4% Russians, 1.4% Ukrainians and 0.3% Poles. Ukrainians have long lived on the territory of Belarus, especially in the border areas with Ukraine. Poles can also be attributed to the indigenous population, although some researchers believe that most of them are"polished" Belarusians. During the power of the Commonwe alth, they adopted Catholicism and switched to Polish.
