Nevel (town)

Nevel was first mentioned in Ivan the Terrible's will among towns that had been founded during his reign.^[2] In 1562, during the Livonian War, it was the site of the Battle of Nevel, in which Poles defeated the Russians. In 1580, it was captured by Polish–Lithuanian forces aided by Hungarian infantry.^[12] In 1581, Polish-Russian peace talks were held in the town, to no avail, and the following year it eventually passed to Russia.^[13] In 1619, it was recaptured by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In 1623, it was granted Magdeburg rights by the Polish–Lithuanian King Władysław IV Vasa. While part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth it was located in the Polotsk Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1634, Władysław IV granted Newel to the Radziwiłł family.^[13] At the time, there were eight churches, either Catholic or Orthodox, in the town.^[13] In 1655, the town was captured by the Russians, and the castle was destroyed, however, it was restored to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1678.^[13]

Nevel became part of Russia during the First Partition of Poland in 1772,^[13][14] when it was included into newly established Pskov Governorate, chartered,^[2] and made the seat of Nevesky Uyezd of Pskov Governorate.^{[citation needed]} In 1777, it was transferred to Polotsk Viceroyalty.^{[citation needed]} In 1796, the viceroyalty was abolished and Nevel was transferred to the Belarusian Governorate;^{[citation needed]} it formed a part of Vitebsk Governorate from 1802.^[2] In 1897, the ethnic make-up, by mother tongue, was 62.4% Jewish, 25.6% Belarusian, 10.8% Russian, and 0.8% Polish.^[15] Two annual fairs were held in the town in the late 19th century.^[12]

In early 1919 it was part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia. After 1919, Vitebsk Governorate was a part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.^[16] On March 24, 1924, Vitebsk Governorate was abolished, and Nevel was transferred to Pskov Governorate.^[2]

On August 1, 1927, the uyezds and governorates were abolished and Nevelsky District, with the administrative center in Nevel, was established as a part of Velikiye Luki Okrug of Leningrad Oblast.^[17] It included parts of former Nevelsky Uyezd.^[18] On June 3, 1929, Nevelsky District was transferred to Western Oblast.^[18] On July 23, 1930, the okrugs were also abolished and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast.^[17] On January 29, 1935, Western Oblast was abolished and the district was transferred to Kalinin Oblast,^{[citation needed]} and on February 5 of the same year, Nevelsky District became a part of Velikiye Luki Okrug of Kalinin Oblast,^[17] one of the okrugs abutting the state boundaries of the Soviet Union. On May 4, 1938, the district was subordinated directly to the oblast.^[17] During World War II, Nevel was under German occupation from 16 July 1941 until 6 October 1943.^[19] On August 22, 1944, the district was transferred to newly established Velikiye Luki Oblast.^[17] On October 2, 1957, Velikiye Luki Oblast was abolished and Nevelsky District was transferred to Pskov Oblast.^[17]

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Nevel serves as the administrative center of Nevelsky District,^[5] to which it is directly subordinated.^[1] As a municipal division, the town of Nevel is incorporated within Nevelsky Municipal District as Nevel Urban Settlement.^[6]

Nevel has enterprises of food, textile, shoemaking, and timber industries.^[20]

Nevel is connected at the crossing of two railway lines. One connects Velikiye Luki with Polotsk (Nevel-1 railway station), whereas another one connects St. Petersburg via Dno and Novosokolniki with Vitebsk (Nevel-2 railway station). South of Nevel, both railways cross into Belarus.

There M20 Highway connecting St. Petersburg and Kyiv passes next to Nevel. Other main roads connect Nevel with Velikiye Luki, with Smolensk via Usvyaty and Velizh, with Polotsk, and with Verkhnyadzvinsk via Rossony. There are also local roads.

Nevel contains three objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance.^[21] The monuments are the Trinity Church (built in the 1850s), the building of the uyezd school, and the military cemetery from World War II.

Nevel is home to the Nevel Museum of History, featuring the history of the town.^[22]

• Mikhail Bakhtin (1895–1975) — Russian philosopher, literary critic and semiotician
• Maria Yudina (1899–1970) — Soviet pianist
• Reb Zalman Moishe (1872–1952) — Orthodox Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi in pre-war Europe
• Yevgeny Dyakonov (1935–2006) — Russian mathematician
• Filipp Goloshchyokin (1876–1941) — Soviet politician and revolutionary
• Manshuk Mametova (1922–1943) — Soviet Kazakh machine gunner, first Soviet Asian woman to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union medal
• Aaron Rubashkin (1927/28–2020) — Jewish-American businessman
• Grigori Voitinsky (1893–1953) — Soviet politician
• Morris S. Novik (1903–1996) — American socialist politician and radio manager
• Dov Schwartzman (1921–2011) — Haredi Jewish rabbi and dean of Bais Hatalmud (Jerusalem)
• Valentin Voloshinov (1895–1936) — Russian philosopher and linguist
• Konstantin Zaslonov (1910–1942) — Soviet partisan kommander, Hero of the Soviet Union

• Псковское областное Собрание депутатов. Закон №833-оз от 5 февраля 2009 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Псковской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Псковская правда", №20, 10 февраля 2009 г. (Pskov Oblast Council of Deputies. Law #833-oz of February 5, 2009 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast. Effective as of the official publication date.).
• Псковское областное Собрание депутатов. Закон №420-оз от 28 февраля 2005 г. «Об установлении границ и статусе вновь образуемых муниципальных образований на территории Псковской области», в ред. Закона №1542-ОЗ от 5 июня 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Псковской области "Об установлении границ и статусе вновь образуемых муниципальных образований на территории Псковской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Псковская правда", №41–43, №44–46, №49–51, 4 марта 2005 г., 5 марта 2005 г., 11 марта 2005 г. (Pskov Oblast Council of Deputies. Law #420-oz of February 28, 2005 On Establishing the Borders and the Status of the Newly Formed Municipal Formations on the Territory of Pskov Oblast, as amended by the Law #1542-OZ of June 5, 2015 On Amending the Law of Pskov Oblast "On Establishing the Borders and the Status of the Newly Formed Municipal Formations on the Territory of Pskov Oblast". Effective as of the official publication date.).
• Архивный отдел Псковского облисполкома. Государственный архив Псковской области. "Административно-территориальное деление Псковской области (1917–1988 гг.). Справочник". (Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast (1917–1988). Reference.) Книга I. Лениздат, 1988

• The murder of the Jews of Nevel during World War II, at Yad Vashem website.