This article explores historical connection between South-Central Belarus and northern Ukraine. The area roughly delimited in Belarus by towns Pinsk on the West, Mozyr to the East and Starobin to the north corresponds to historical region of forests and swamps known as Polesie. Local residents used to be referred to as Poleshchuk (also written as Poleshuk), the word which also became common last name. The Ukrainian portion of this area is consists of the northern part of Rovno and Novograd-Volynski regions.
From Medieval times until 19th century
During the Middle Ages this territory belonged to Russian Turov-Pinsk principality (9-13 centuries), named after its two major towns. This area suferred Mongol attacks in the 13th century, upon which the local center was moved to Pinsk. Later this region was included in the Polish-Lithuanian state.
The first Jews came to Belarus at the end of the 14th century. Later one of the first and certainly one of the most important communities was established in Pinsk. As the population grew, some families were settling in the nearby towns and villages. Thus, according to Pinsk Yizkor Book (1), in the early 17th century Jewish communities were established in Homsk, Yanov, Turov, Kozhan-Gorodok, Vysotsk, Dubrovitsa (Dombrowica) and Lubeshov, which were part of Pinsk district (the last 3 on Ukrainian side of the border) but also in northern Volynia in Olevsk, Ovruch, Barazh and Ushomir.
Cossack attacks of the 17th century have devastated the Pinsk community. Many people were killed, though some fled, and refugees who returned often found their property stolen. Impoverished community could no longer exercise the same authority over many other child sub-communities and finally in the 18th century its role was abolished. Decades after 1640s saw another expansion in Jewish settlements east of Pinsk.
After this area became part of the Russian empire, it was further administratively subdivided. The entirety of south-central Belarus was partitioned between Pinsk and Mozyr districts. Pinsk and David-Gorodok, two major towns in the region remained places of choice not only for migration but to give birth, marry, and sometimes be buried. In the same way, the population from the vicinity of these towns migrated south. Thus the Litvak Yiddish was long spoken in northern part of Rovno district.
The data below shows people from which towns were mostly represented throughout the census and vital records.
| Place | 1880s | 1890s | 1900s* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinsk | 55 | 42 | 72 |
| Turov | 41 | 67 | 141 |
| Stolin | 38 | 69 | 93 |
| Kozhan-Gorodok | 29 | 29 | 49 |
| Dombrovits | 12 | 23 | 23 |
| Vysotsk | 21 | 16 | 16 |
| Lakhva | 10 | 26 | 67 |
| Lenin | 6 | 4 | n/a |
| Petrikov | 7 | 4 | 20 |
| Pogost-Zagorodskiy | n/a | 6 | n/a |
| Slutsk | n/a | n/a | 16 |
| Starobin | n/a | n/a | 33 |
| Bereznitsa, Lutsk dist. | n/a | n/a | 14 |
* Only partial data is available.
Early 19th century Pinsk
Accurate data from 1811 Pinsk census cannot be extracted since no places of origin were recorded, however the fact that there were no less then 120 families listed as newcomers in the December 1811 census indicates that at least some of these must have come from the south, from across of modern Ukrainian border.
Moving onto the 1816 census (table below), from the top three towns whose residents appear in 1816 Pinsk census, at least one, Pogost-Zarechnyi is located south of the modern Ukrainian border. Further down the list also appear Nobel and an unknown place in Ovruch district. It is interesting to note that residents from Pogost-Zarechnyi also appear in top position as newcomers in small town Karolin in the same Pinsk district in the same year. Karolin is located on the Belarussian side of the modern border.
| Place | Year | Town | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinsk | 1816 | Gorodnoy | 23 |
| Pinsk | 1816 | Pogost-Zarechnyi | 10 |
| Pinsk | 1816 | Pogost | 8 |
| Karolin | 1816 | Pogost-Zarechnyi | 9 |
While some information is available from the Mozyr 1816 census, the numbers are too small to give an overall picture. However, newcomers are mentioned from as far as Rechitsa (13), Skrigalov (2), Petrikov (2), Bobruysk (3), Rogachev in Belarus but also from Radomysl, Chernigov, Zhitomir in Ukraine. There was a clear two-way migration on both sides of the border.
Pinsk in the interwar period 1920-1939
Now moving one hundred years forward to 1920. After the Russian revolution, Poland regained independence and, after the short war, it retained the western half of modern Belarus and a corresponding part of Ukraine. While administrative borders did change again, they were insignificant for the purposes of this article. The area immediately south from Pinsk and David-Gorodok was still part of the same region. Furthermore, the new state was hostile towards the Soviet Union. Thus cross-border marriages were probably not encouraged, however both Pinsk and Rovno districts were both part of the same Polish state. As evidenced from Pinsk vital records, Lubeshov, Pogost-Zarechnyi, Nobil, Serniki appear as top towns listed.
| Place | 1920s* | 1930s |
|---|---|---|
| Pogost-Zagorodski | 9 | 17 |
| Drogichin | 8 | 10 |
| Serniki, Pinsk dist. | 8 | 17 |
| Yanov, near Drogichin | 8 | 8 |
| Stolin | 7 | 6 |
| Lubeshov | 7 | 11 |
| Pogost-Zarechny | 6 | 12 |
| Lagishin | 6 | 22 |
| Kozhan-Gorodok | 5 | 4 |
| Motel, Drogichin dist. | 5 | 8 |
| Nobil | 5 | n/a |
| David-Gorodok | 4 | 21 |
| Ivaniki, Slavek area | n/a | 5 |
| Khomsk | n/a | 11 |
| Lakhva | 4 | 9 |
| Ivaniki | n/a | 10 |
| Ivaniki, Zabtsichi, Pinsk | n/a | 19 |
| Lemeshevichi, Pinsk | n/a | 15 |
| Serniki, Vysotsk, Pinsk | 17 | |
| Telekhany | n/a | 10 |
Additionally the following towns, while not overly represented, do appear in Pinsk records from the 1920s and 1930s, as more evidence to the continued connection of Jews in the region.
These towns include: Dubrovitsa (Dambrowicy), Kamen-Kashirski, Kolki, Lutsk district, Pereznitsy, Volodimirets, Vysotsk, Sarny, Antonovka, Nobel, Rafalowski, Rokitna, Stepangrad in Sarno district and also Chartoryisk, Lutsk district and Pnevno in Kamenets-Koshyrski district.
Bibliography:
- For the history of Pinsk Jewish community see Pinsk Yizkor book
- The information about the extent of Litvish (Litvak Yiddish) dialect and its significance can be found on this map