Grodno Gubernia
History and Administrative Division
The territory of the Government of Grodno was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania / of Poland-Lithuania until 1793/1795. It was an administrative unit (government) of the Russian Empire until the Russian Revolution, following which it formed part of Poland; from 1939 to 1941 and since 1944 the larger part of it is part of Belarus (until 1991 itself being part of the USSR).
Following the Third Polish Partition in 1795, Slonim Gubernia was founded, consisting of 8 uyezds: Brest, Volkovysk, Grodno, Kobrin, Lida, Novogrudok, Pruzhany, and Slonim uezd.
In 1797, Slonim and Vilna Gubernia were merged to form the Lithuanian Gubernia, centered on Vilna. In 1801, Lithuanian Gubernia was divided, Slonim Gubernia reestablished; in 1802 Slonim Gubernia was renamed Grodno Gubernia.
In 1807 the separate Bialystok region (uyezds Bialystok, Byelsk, Sokolka) was established; in 1843 Bialystok region was dissolved, Bialystok, Byelsk and Sokolka uyezds annexed into Grodno Gubernia, while the latter ceded Novogrudok Uyezd to Minsk Gubernia, Lida Uyezd to Vilna Gubernia.
Grodno Gubernia bordered on Congress Poland in the west, on Vilna Gubernia in the north, on Minsk Gubernia in the east, on Volhynia Gubernia in the south. From 1843 to 1917, Grodno Gubernia was composed of 9 uyezds (districts).
Resources for the Grodno Gubernia
- Shtetls of Grodno Gubernia
- Documentary Sources for the Study of the Grodno Gubernia, by Ellen Sadove Renck. APORT Russian Search Engine - Besides being a Russian search engine, this site will translate any web site from English-to-Russian, or from Russian-to-English. All Belarus Database - Search all of the Belarus databases from this one site. There are also links for searching the Belarus SIG newsgroup archives and all of the web pages of JewishGen
- History of Grodno, by Ellen Sadove Renck
- Jewish Communities of the Grodno Province, reproduced from “RAGAS Report”, with the permission of Valadislav Y. Soshnikov
- Jewish agricultural colonies in Western Russia, prior to 1904, by Lou Goldman
- 1887 – Jewish owners of linen-processing factories in Belarus
Resources for Grodno Districts
- Brest uezd information
- Brest Region map
- Brest Region map, list of towns and villages
- Lachowiczers in the Ellis Island Database
- Article from The Jewish Encyclopedia
- Genealogical records for Grodno Povet, 1921 - 1940 (part 1: for the whole territory and for the town of Grodno, 1922 - 1939)
- Kobrin uezd information
- Pruzhany Research Project Web Site
- Pruzhany uezd information
- Slonim uezd information
- Sokolka uezd information
- Volkovysk uezd information
- Additional Volkovysk uezd information
Jewish Farmers
- Jewish Farmer in Belarus in 1920s, by Leonid Smilovitsky
- Archival Sources For The Genealogy Of Jewish Colonists In Southern Russia In The 19th Century, by Dimitry Z. Feldman
- Lists of Jewish Farmers in the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno
- The Mezhirech agricultural colony, founded in 1846 by Jews from Mogilev guberniya
- 1911 List of Jewish Horticulturists in the Mogilev Guberniya
Farm Colonies
A highly significant event in the social and economic life in the Russian empire in the 19th century was the Jewish farm colonization program, which affected regions in the south, southwest, and west. It led to the creation, within a population of millions, of a very small (about 3%) social stratum of Jewish farmers who settled in agricultural colonies on crown or private land. Their existence became an integral part of the inner life of these regions, a part of the social, economic and political history of pre-revolutionary Russia, and of the present states of Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine.
This first wave of Jewish agricultural settlements included Avramowo, Ivaniki, Izraelska, Galilejska, Dovgalishok, Dubrowo, Lejbishok, Leipun, Sinajska, Pawlowa, Kurenetz and Kolonja Izaaka (possibly called Kolonja Odelsk at its inception).
