Dubroŭna

Дуброўна Dubroŭna
Seal
Дуброўна Dubroŭna
Coordinates: 54°34′N 30°41′E / 54.567°N 30.683°E / 54.567; 30.683Coordinates: 54°34′N 30°41′E / 54.567°N 30.683°E / 54.567; 30.683
Country	Belarus
Subdivision	Dubroŭna
Elevation	170 m (558 ft)
Population
– Total	9,100
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Area code(s)	+375 2137

Dubroŭna (Belarusian Дуброўна) or Dubrovno (Russian: Дубро́вно) is a small town on the Dnieper River. The toponym originates from a Proto-Slavic term for an oak forest, which may explain the inclusion of oak leaves and acorns in the town's coat of arms. Dubroŭna is the administrative centre of the Dubroŭna raion of the Vitebsk Voblast in northern Belarus.

In the 19th century Dubroŭna was a centre for weaving.^[1] The town had a significant Jewish community that in 1898 formed more than half of its population.^[1]

During World War II Dubrovno was heavily affected. It was occupied by German forces July 17-20, 1941, and the town's Jews were killed.^[2] It was the scene of considerable partisan activity. From October 1943 to June 1944 it was at or near the front line, and was not finally reoccupied by Soviet forces until June 26, 1944.

Dubroŭna hosts an annual folk song and dance festival, "Dnepr voices in Dubrovno".^[3]

Famous people born in Dubroŭna

• Harry Batshaw (1902 - 1984), jurist
• Israel Dov Frumkin (1850 - 1914), journalist
• Charles Jaffé (c.1879 - 1941), chess master
• Brothers Yakov Polyakov, Samuel Polyakov (1837 - 1888) and Lazar Polyakov (1843 - 1914), businessmen
• Kazimierz Siemienowicz (c.1600 - c.1651), military engineer and rocket pioneer
• Anna Tumarkin (1875 - 1951), professor of philosophy
• Menachem Ussishkin (1863 - 1941), Zionist
• Zvi Zeitlin (19?? - ), violinist

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Rosenthal, Herman; Janovsky, S.. "Dubrovna". JewishEncyclopaedia.com. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=D&artid=510. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
2. ^ Catherine Merridale, Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945 (Macmillan, 2007: ISBN 0312426526), p. 38.
3. ^ "Culture". Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee. http://www.vitebsk-region.gov.by/en/region/Culture. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 

External links

• Dubroŭna Raion Executive Committee
• Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopaedia Online
• Jewish Encyclopaedia