Vileyka

Vileyka [vι'leιkʌ] (Vileika, Vilejka, _be. Вялейка, Вiлейка, _ru. Вилейка, _lt. Vileika) – the Vileyka district center of the Minsk Voblast of the Republic of Belarus. It is located on the river Viliya, 100 km to northwest from Minsk. First documental record: 1599.

The 43rd Russian Navy's long-haul communications center is located near Vileyka (coord|54|27|50|N|26|46|40|E|type:landmark_region:BY). It provides VLF communiction between Russian Navy's headquarters and atomic submarines in Atlantic, Indian and part of Pacific ocean.

Time zone: II (GMT +2 hours). Population of Vileyka region: 59,700 people (Vileyka - 30,000). International phone code: +375 1771 xxxxx. Postal index: 222410. [http://vileikainfo.at.tut.by Вилейка-Info] (in Russian).

History

The town was first mentioned in 1599 as a borough center of the Vileyka Starostwo of the Oszmiana county (powiat). In 1795 it became a county center. In 1920 returned to Poland, becoming the center of the Wilejka county in Wilno Voivodeship, in 1939 was occupied by the invading Red Army and was made the center of the Vileyka Voblast of BSSR. Occupied again by the Soviets is 1944, in 1949 — the center of the Vileyka District (Rayon). Several hundred people, mostly Polish political prisoners, sick and wounded, were executed prior to the departure of the occupying Soviet guards on June 24, 1941. From June 26, 1941 to July 3, 1944 the town was occupied by German Nazis, who massacred 6,972 Jewish people and ruined the town to the ground.

The modern town is located on the right shore of the river Viliya, in northwest part of the Minsk region, 100 kilometers away from Minsk. The town’s population numbers 30,000 people. There is a railway station of the Molodechno-Polatsk line in the town. The roads to Maladzechna, Smarhon, Myadzel, Dokshytsy, Pleshchanitsy run through the town. The town’s industry is represented by the Zenit plant, wood processing enterprises (including furniture factory), motor repair plant, building materials plants, light and food enterprises. Vileyka also houses the Museum of Regional Studies.

The territory of the Vileyka district is 2400 km². Forests account for 41% of the territory. The main part of the district is situated in the borders of Narach-Vileyka lowland. In the year 1974, near the town of Vileyka there was built Belarus's largest artificial reservoir — Vileyka Lake with a total area of 63.3 km² and volume of 238 million cubic meters.

Points of interests

* Vileyka VLF transmitter

ister Cities

*flagicon|Russia Mozhaysk, Russia
*flagicon|Ukraine Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
*flagicon|USA Willmar, Minnesota, USA

External links

* [http://englishrussia.com/?p=1207#more-1207 Pictures of nearby Russian Navy long-haul communications center]