Smarhon

Smarhon’ Belarusian:Смаргонь
Flag Coat of arms
Smarhon’
Coordinates: 54°29′1″N 26°24′0″E
Country	Belarus
Voblast	Hrodna Voblast
Founded	October 2, 1503
Elevation	150 m (490 ft)
Population  (2009)
• Total	36,283
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	231000, 231041-231045
Area code	+375 1592
License plate	4
Website	Official website

Smarhon’ or Smorgon (Belarusian: Смарго́нь, [smarˈɣonʲ]; Russian: Сморгонь; Lithuanian: Smurgainys; Polish: Smorgonie; Yiddish: סמאָרגאָן) is a city in the Grodno Region of Belarus. It was the site of Smarhon’ air base, now mostly abandoned. Smarhon’ is located 107 km from the capital, Minsk.

In the early 17th century it was established in Grand Duchy of Lithuania but in 1793 passed on to Russia as part of the Russian Pale of Settlement. Until the mid 19th century, Smarhon’ was a private property of the Radziwiłł family with most of its population being Jewish. Shortly after World War I until World War II Smarhon’ returned to Second Polish Republic which claimed rights to this territory as a successor to Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and as victorious side of the Polish–Soviet War.

Smorgon is known as the place where the so-called Bear Academy was founded.

Twin towns – sister cities

Smarhon’ is twinned with:

• Visaginas, Lithuania
• Alytus, Lithuania
• Krasnoznamensk, Russia

Famous natives and citizens of Smarhon’

• Peter Blume (1906–1992) US painter, in magic realism style
• Isaac Itkind (1871-1969) - distinguished Russian and Soviet sculptor
• Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) rabbi, Jewish theologist, Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Palestine, learned in Smarhon’ Yeshiva
• Moyshe Kulbak (1896–1937) Belarusian Yiddish poet, writer, executed by the NKVD
• Moshe Kussevitzki (1899–1966) Polish-US Jewish cantor
• Ida Lazarovich Gilman or Ida Mett (1901–1973) Russian anarchist militant and author, exiled in France
• Shalom Levin (1916-1995) Secretary Gen. and President of Israel Teachers Union, Knesset (Parliament) Member, educator and author.
• Karol Dominik Przezdziecki (1782–1832) Polish count, fighter for the liberation of Poland in the revolt of 1830–1831
• David Raziel (1910–1941) fighter for the emancipation of Jews in Palestine, commander of the Irgun Tzvai Leumi nationalist resistance organization, was killed in Iraq in an anti-Nazi mission
• Esther Raziel Naor (1911–2002) Israeli politician, was militant in the Irgun Jewish nationalist resistance during the British mandate in Palestine
• William Schwartz (1896–1977) US painter
• Abraham Sutzkever (1913–2010) a Yiddish and Polish poet and Second World War partisan

External links

• Smorgon memory book
• Photos on Radzima.org
• Smarhon, Belarus at JewishGen