Vitebsk

Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where the Vitba River (from which it derives its name) flows into the larger Western Dvina, which is spanned in the city by the Kirov Bridge. The name of the river is said to be derived from vit (lit. 'swamp' or 'wet place'). Archaeological research indicates that Baltic tribes had settlements at the mouth of Vitba. In the 9th century, Slavic settlements of the tribal union of the Krivichs replaced them. According to the Chronicle of Michael Brigandine (1760), Princess Olga of Kiev founded Vitebsk (also recorded as Dbesk, Vidbesk, Videbsk, Vitepesk, or Vicibesk) in 974. Other versions give 947 or 914. Academician Boris Rybakov and historian Leonid Alekseyev have come to the conclusion, based on the chronicles, that Princess Olga of Kiev could have established Vitebsk in 947. …

Vitebsk has warm summer humid continental climate, Köppen: Dfb, Trewartha: Dcbo. Summers are generally warm, while winters are relatively cold but still warmer than in Moscow due to a stronger influence of maritime air from the Baltic Sea. Approximately 724 mm (28.5 in) of precipitation falls here per annum.

The city has one of the oldest buildings in the country: the Annunciation Church. The building dates back to the period of Kievan Rus. The city at the time was pagan and did not belong to the Ukrainian or Russian Orthodox Church or the Kievan Rus state. It was constructed in the 1140s as a pagan place of worship. In the 14th and 17th centuries, the building was built as a Roman Catholic Church, restored in 1883 and destroyed by the Soviet administration in 1961. The church was in ruins until 1992, when it was restored to its presumed original appearance. Churches from the Polish-Lithuanian period were likewise destroyed, although the Resurrection Church (1772–77) has been rebuilt. The Orthodox cathedral, dedicated to the Intercession of the Theotokos, was erected in 1760. …

Zhores Alferov (1930–2019), physicist, 2000 Nobel Prize Winner for Physics S. Ansky (1863–1920), playwright (The Dybbuk) Anatol Bahatyroǔ (Anatoly Bogatyrev) (1913–2003), Belarusian composer Vladimir Bourmeister (1904–1971), ballet choreographer Marc Chagall (1887–1985), artist Sam Dolgoff (1902–1990), anarcho-syndicalist housepainter Tanya Dziahileva (born 1991), model Mark Fradkin (1914–1990), composer Leon Gaspard (1882–1964), artist Joseph Günzburg (1812–1878), Russian financier and philanthropist Isser Harel (1912–2003), Israeli intelligence chief Lazar Khidekel (1904–1986), artist, architect Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin (1750–1807), poet and collector of Belarusian folklore Tomasz Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki (1859-1920), architect Leon Kobrin (1873–1946), playwright Marcelo Koc (1918–2006), Argentinian composer Anna Kogan (1902–1974), Soviet artist Sergei Kornilenko (born 1983), footballe …