Starodub
Starodub (Template:Lang-ru/ua, lit. old oak) is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), 169 km southwest of Bryansk. Population: 18,643 (2002 Census); 16,000 (1975).
History
Starodub is known since the 11th century and was a part of Severia. It was burnt to the ground by the Mongols in the 13th century. It became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century, and later—Poland. In 1503–1618, Starodub was a part of the Muscovy and then Poland until 1648. During the Khmelnytskyi Uprising it became a center of Starodub Cossack Regiment and remained a part of autonomous Cossack Hetmanate until 1781 when it became a district town. In 1796, Starodub became a town in the Chernigov guberniya. In 1917–1918, the town was occupied by the Germans. The Soviet authority was reinstated in November of 1918. Starodub was a part of the Homel province (1919–1926), Bryansk province (1926–1929), Western Oblast (1929–1938) and Oryol Oblast (1938–1945). The town was once again occupied by the Germans between August of 1941 and September 22, 1943. Starodub finally became a part of the Bryansk Oblast in 1945.
Starodub in Severia should not be confused with a former town in the Vladimir Oblast, which was a capital of the tiny 13th-century principality and from whose Rurikid sovereigns the princes Romodanovsky, Pozharsky, Gagarin, and Khilkov have claimed descent.