220 years have passed since the formation of the Vitebsk Governorate
The administrative-territorial division, which became the starting point for the formation of the Vitebsk Governorate, was established in the early 19th century by the decree of Alexander I. "By the highest approved report" by the decree of the Senate of February 27, 1802, the Vitebsk and Mogilev Governorates were established as a result of the division of the Belarusian Governorate. The first Vitebsk Governor was Pyotr Matveevich Tarbeev, who was still in charge of the Belarusian Governorate.
The Vitebsk Governorate was formed by the territory of the former Polotsk Governorate, namely: Velizhsky, Vitebsky, Gorodoksky, Drissensky, Dvinsky, Lepelsky, Lyutsin, Nevelsky, Polotsk, Rezhitsky, Sebezhsky, Surazhsky districts. If you carefully study and compare the map of the Vitebsk Governorate with the map of the modern territory of the region, you will see only part of the familiar names: the former Lepelsky, Vitebsky, Surazhsky, Gorodoksky, Polotsk, Drissensky districts, the remaining 6 districts became part of Latvia and Russia.
The area of the modern Vitebsk region is almost the same as 220 years ago, slightly more than 40 thousand sq. km (the area of the governorate is 44 thousand sq. km), however, the residents of Vitebsk are currently more accustomed to the historically formed territories already mentioned, which were part of the Minsk, Mogilev and Vilna Governorates at that time: Braslavsky, Gluboksky, Dokshitsky, Dubrovensky, Lioznensky, Miorsky, Orshansky, Postavsky, Senno, Tolochinsky and other districts.
The funds of the National Historical Archives of Belarus contain a large number of documents on the political, socio-economic and cultural history of the Vitebsk Governorate from 1802 to 1917.
Among them is information on the industrial development of the governorate - cases of issuing permits for the construction and repair of factories and plants, in particular, the "Dvina" flax spinning mill in 1899, information on the number of factories and plants in the governorate.
To the centenary of its existence in 1902, in the Vitebsk Governorate
the number of industrial enterprises was 1317, employing 7184 people. Among the largest were: 7 oil mills, 3 rectification plants (Vitebsk, Nevelsky, Sebezhsky), a flax spinning mill, 4 match factories, 3 tobacco factories, 2 glass factories, the Dvina needle factory, the Vitebsk spectacle factory, a cardboard and paper factory in Lepelsky.
In addition to those mentioned, in the early 20th century, the province had 2 cheese factories, 17 soap factories, 2 candle factories, 4 carriage factories, the Dvina bentwood furniture factory, 7 rope factories, 39 distilleries, 2 copper and 2 cast iron foundries, 140 brick factories, 164 pottery factories, 8 tile factories, the Vitebsk oil refinery, and a number of other plants.
In 1902, the main source of income in the handicraft sector (1/2 of the total amount) in the Vitebsk province was the processing of wood and plant products, the production of wheels, sleds, carts, gigs, wooden utensils and hoops, weaving baskets and purses, straw mats, boat building, shingle production, spindle making, wooden troughs, pottery, tar distillation, lime burning, and sheepskin and felt boot production – this was a list of essential household items produced at that time.
Documents from the National Historical Archive of Belarus tell about the main waterway of the province – the Western Dvina River and the railway lines. These include documents on the establishment of steamboat service on the Western Dvina in 1857 and the exploration of the river basin, the construction of a bridge over the Western Dvina in Vitebsk, statements on bridges and crossings throughout the province, documents on clearing rapids on the Western Dvina, and strengthening its banks. There is information on the water level in the Western Dvina and on the departure of ships and rafts from the Vitebsk pier.
Vitebsk for 1899, 1914, drawings and plans for construction and reconstruction of Vitebsk (1849, 1881, 1883, 1887), gas (1882) and electric lighting (1911) in cities, development of towns and villages of Vitebsk Governorate.
Documents related to the petition of the Vitebsk City Council for the construction of the St. Petersburg-Odessa railway line through the city, the Velikiye Luki – Vitebsk railway, a horse-drawn railway (1895), tram and omni-bus services, the expansion of tram lines, and the opening of automobile passenger service. In 1892, a contract was signed for the construction of a water supply system in Vitebsk. Among the interesting materials are lists of streets.The documents trace more than a century of the history of medicine in the region. This includes information about medical practitioners and pharmacists, hospitals, cases of doctor appointments, the condition of city hospitals, the opening of pharmacies, their supply with medicines, medical instruments and literature, appointments and allocations for the maintenance of paramedics and smallpox vaccinators; statements on the income and expenditure of funds for medical needs. Data is available on the construction of hospitals, the establishment of sanitary and bacteriological institutions in the province, measures to combat epidemics, as well as instructions from the governor on sending peasants for training in midwifery, and many other documents.
Vitebsk region is famous for many people born on this remarkable land. The archive preserves the documentary memory of the noble origin of the Belarusian cultural figure Bronislav Ignatievich Epimakh-Shypillo, the genealogies of the historian and local lore specialist Andrei Parfenovich Sapunov, and the world-renowned artist Marc Chagall. A special place is occupied by the "Case regarding the petition of the academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts Ilya Efimovich Repin for the issuance of a certificate for the purchase of land" (this refers to the estate Maloye Koytovo (Sofievka) in Vitebsk Uyezd), which contains the artist's personal petition and his autograph.
Prepared based on materials from the website of the National Historical Archive of Belarus. Illustration from the website planetabelarus.by