Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2024, it has 358,395 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest city. It is served by Vitebsk Vostochny Airport and Vitebsk Air Base.
Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, Berestia, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the administrative center of Brest Region and Brest District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2024, it has a population of 344,470.
Daugavpils is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region of Latgale, and those to the south lie in Selonia. It is the second-largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some 230 kilometres northwest and is the ninth most populous city in the Baltic states.
Pskov is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: 193,082 (2021 Census); 203,279 (2010 Census); 202,780 (2002 Census); 203,789 (1989 Soviet census).
The Reichskommissariat Ostland was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initially referred to an equivalent Reichskommissariat Baltenland. The political organization for this territory – after an initial period of military administration before its establishment – involved a German civilian administration, nominally under the authority of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories led by Nazi ideologist Alfred Rosenberg, but actually controlled by the Nazi official Hinrich Lohse, its appointed Reichskommissar.
Brest Fortress, formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress, is a 19th-century fortress in Brest, Belarus. In 1965, the title Hero Fortress was given to the fortress to commemorate the defence of the frontier stronghold during the first week of Operation Barbarossa, when Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. The title "Hero Fortress" corresponds to the title "Hero City" that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union awarded to twelve Soviet cities.
The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District and the Warsaw Military District, it was headed by the Russian General Eugen Alexander Ernst Rausch von Traubenberg.
The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the Latvian War of Independence. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economic, and military backing of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik government in the Russian SFSR. The head of government was Pēteris Stučka with Jūlijs Daniševskis as his deputy.
The defense of Brest Fortress was the first battle of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union launched on 22 June 1941. The German Army attacked without warning, expecting to take Brest on the first day, using only infantry and artillery, but it took them a week, and only after two bombardments by the Luftwaffe. Many defenders were killed or captured.
Pyotr Mikhaylovich Gavrilov was a Soviet officer known as the hero of the Defense of Brest Fortress.
Fortress of War is a 2010 Russian-Belarusian war film recounting the June 1941 defense of Brest Fortress against invading Wehrmacht forces in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Events are narrated from the perspective of 15-year-old Sasha Akimov, centering on three resistance zones holding out against the protracted German siege. The defending forces are led by regiment commander Major Pyotr Gavrilov, with Regimental Commissar Yefim Fomin, and the head of the 9th Frontier Outpost, Lieutenant Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov.
The 28th Army was a field army of the Red Army and the Soviet Ground Forces, formed three times in 1941–42 and active during the postwar period for many years in the Belorussian Military District.
Ivan Semyonovich Bezugly was a Soviet Red Army officer who served as commander of the Red Army's 5th Airborne Corps in 1941, the first airborne corps of the Red Army to fight in World War II after the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Suffering heavy casualties just south of Daugavpils in combat against the advancing Panzer units of Army Group North in the summer of 1941, the unit made its way to the Moscow Military District on 15 August.
Vitebsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most of the area belongs to Belarus, the northwestern part to Latvia and the northeastern part to Pskov and Smolensk Oblasts of Russia.Together with the Vilna, Kovno, Grodno, Minsk, and Mogilev Governorates, it formed the Northwestern Krai. The provincial city was Vitebsk, the largest city was Dvinsk.
The 42nd Rifle Division was a unit of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. The division, first formed in 1940, was nearly destroyed in the opening days of the Operation Barbarossa defending the Brest Fortress. Disbanded in late December 1941 and immediately reformed in the Volga Military District. The division then served on the front until disbanded at the end of the war.
The 61st Rifle Corps was a Red Army infantry corps during World War II, formed twice. The 61st Rifle Corps was formed firmed in Tula during September 1939. After Operation Barbarossa, it was transferred to the front in Belarus and fought in the Battle of Smolensk. After suffering heavy losses at Smolensk, it was disbanded in early August 1941. Reformed in spring 1943, the corps fought in Operation Kutuzov, the Lublin–Brest Offensive and the Berlin Offensive. The corps was disbanded after the end of the war in summer 1945.
The 166th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, formed twice. The division's first formation was formed in 1939 and wiped out in the Vyazma Pocket in October 1941. In January 1942, the division reformed. It fought in the Battle of Demyansk, the Battle of Kursk, Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation, Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive, Polotsk Offensive, Šiauliai Offensive, Riga Offensive and the Battle of Memel. It was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Ivan Nikolaevich Zubachyov was a Soviet officer known for the defense of the Citadel of Brest Fortress.
Jānis Fabriciuss was a Latvian Soviet commander and commissar of the Red Army.
Filipp Afanasyevich Yershakov was a Red Army lieutenant general who held field army command during World War II. Yershakov led the 22nd Army during the Battle of Smolensk and was captured while commanding the 20th Army in the Vyazma pocket. He died in German captivity.
