Dzyarzhynsk or Dzerzhinsk (Belarusian: Дзяржы́нск, Russian: Дзержинск), in the Stoubtsy district of Belarus, is a city with an ancient history.

The city was once the capital of the short-lived Dzierzynszczyzna Polish Autonomous District.

The highest point of Belarus, Dzyarzhynskaya Hara, is several kilometers from Dzyarzhynsk.

City name

It was known as Kojdanowo townlet of Wilno guberniya of the Russian Empire. In May, 1932 it was granted the status of city and renamed Koidanov. In June of that year it was renamed again as Dzerzhinsk.

Felix Dzerzhinsky was born in Dziarzhynava estate not far from the city, and that was one of the reasons the Communist authorities renamed the city, calling it Dzyarzhynsk.

Nowadays in Belarus, the name Kojdanava (Belarusian: Койданава) is becoming popular again, but the official name remains unchanged, as Dzerzhinsky, the founder of Cheka, is still considered a national hero in Lukashenka's Belarus.

Notable persons

The town is the birth place of Adam Hlobus (1958), a writer, poet, and businessman working in book publishing.

See also

• Dzerzhinsk (disambiguation)

External links

• Dzerzhynsk (in Russian)
• Photos on Radzima.org