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== History == {{refimprove section|date=May 2025}} === Early history === [[File:Lidzki zamak. Лідзкі замак (V. Griaznov, 1874).jpg|thumb|left|19th-century view of the [[Lida Castle]]]] There are passing mentions of Lida in chronicles from 1180. Until the early 14th century, the settlement at Lida was a wooden [[fortress]] in [[Lithuania proper]]. In 1323, the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]] [[Gediminas]] built a brick fortress there. The generally considered founding year of Lida is 1380. The fortress withstood [[Crusades|Crusader]] attacks from [[Prussia]] in 1392 and 1394 but was burned to the ground in 1710. Following the death of [[Gediminas]], when Lithuania was divided into principalities, Lida became the capital of one of them, the seat of [[Algirdas]]. Lida was in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. After the [[Union of Krewo]] (1385), when the [[Polish–Lithuanian Union]] was established, and the subsequent [[Christianization of Lithuania]], the Catholic [[parish]] was established in the former [[Lithuanian mythology|Lithuanian pagan]] lands, and a church, whose ruins still exist, was built by King [[Władysław II Jagiełło]], who visited Lida two times, in 1415 and 1422.<ref name=PA>{{cite web |url=http://pawet.net/library/history/bel_history/_books/lida/02/Historia_miejscowo%C5%9Bci.html |title=Historia miejscowości |website=Pawet.net |access-date=5 October 2019 |language=pl |archive-date=5 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005183632/http://pawet.net/library/history/bel_history/_books/lida/02/Historia_miejscowo%25C5%259Bci.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 15th century, the town became a centre of production by craftsmen and trade. Lida was connected with [[Vilnius]], [[Navahrudak]] and [[Minsk]]. The town had a market square and four streets: Wileńska, Zamkowa, Kamieńska and Krivaya.<ref>[https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/l/1071-lida/104-teksty-kultury/17372-topografia-lidy Topografia Lidy] {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref> In 1506, a [[Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Sejm]] was held in Lida, convened by King [[Aleksander Jagiellon]] and the Polish-Lithuanian army gathered here<ref name=PA/> before the [[Battle of Kletsk]], in which it defeated the invading [[Tatars]]. [[File:Lida. Ліда (1792, 1910).jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.6|18th-century city seal of Lida]] In 1588, Lida became the seat of [[Lida District]] in [[Vilnius Voivodeship]]. Polish King [[Sigismund III Vasa]] granted Lida [[Magdeburg rights|Magdeburg town rights]] in 1590,<ref name=CM>{{cite web |url=https://www.ciekawe-miejsca.net/przewodnik/europa/lida_bialoruskie_miasto_z_bogata_przeszloscia |title=Lida - białoruskie miasto z bogatą przeszłością |website=Ciekawe Miejsca - Internetowy Przewodnik Turystyczny |access-date=5 October 2019 |language=pl |archive-date=5 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005183647/https://www.ciekawe-miejsca.net/przewodnik/europa/lida_bialoruskie_miasto_z_bogata_przeszloscia |url-status=live }}</ref> which were later confirmed in [[Warsaw]] by Kings [[Władysław IV Vasa]] in 1640 and [[Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki]] in 1670<ref name=PA/> and by the [[Polish Sejm]] in 1776. They let Lida hold two annual fairs of little import to the local economy. It was a [[royal city in Poland|royal city]].<ref>Вялікі гістарычны атлас Беларусі Т.2, Minsk 2013, p. 88</ref> The population was between 2000 and 5000 people. The second half of the 17th century was a difficult time for Lida. During the [[Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)|Russo-Polish War]] the city was destroyed by the Cossacks in 1655 and the Russians in 1659.<ref name=PA/><ref name=CM/> As a result of the war in 1656 [[famine]] occurred and in 1657 an epidemic.<ref name=PA/> To revive Lida, King [[Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki]] exempted the city from taxes with a privilege of 1676.<ref name=PA/> In 1679 it suffered a fire.<ref name=PA/> In 1702, Lida was plundered by the Swedes.<ref name=PA/> In 1759, a [[high school]] was founded in Lida.<ref name=PA/> By 1786, only 514 inhabitants were left in Lida, in 1792, 1243 people lived here. After the [[Third Partition of Poland]] in 1795, it was annexed by the [[Russian Empire]] as a powiat centre of the [[Slonim Governorate]] (1795). === Imperial Russia === [[File:Coat of Arms of Lida, Belarus, 1845.png|thumb|left|upright=0.6|COA of Lida, 1845]] Lida was then part of the [[Vilna Governorate#Name and territorial changes|Lithuania Governorate]] in 1797 and then [[Grodno Governorate]] in 1801. The town was mostly destroyed during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1812. In 1817, the population was 1366 people. In 1831, during the [[November Uprising]], a battle was fought nearby between the Polish insurgents commanded by [[Dezydery Chłapowski]] and the Russians.<ref name=PA/> After the uprising, as part of anti-Polish repressions the Piarist church was taken away from Catholics by the Russian administration and transformed into an Orthodox church.<ref name=CM/> It was restored to Catholics after Poland regained independence.<ref name=CM/> In 1842, Lida became the centre of [[Vilna Governorate]]. In 1863 and 1873, two beer factories were built in Lida. In 1884, the [[railway]] from Vilnius to Lunenets was finished. In 1907, the railway from Molodechno to Mosty was opened. In 1897, the town had 8626 people. After a two-year school opened, so did a [[parish school]] with a department for girls and a [[Jewish]] school. In 1899, a hospital opened which consisted of 25 beds. In 1901, a cast-iron plant began to operate. In 1903, a sawmill started operating. At the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century, two brick plants were built. In 1904, there were 1000 houses, of which 275 were brick, 14 small enterprises, four hospitals with beds for 115 patients and six elementary schools for 700 pupils. In 1904, the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party|Russian Social Democratic Party]] was formed near [[Minsk]]. During the revolutions of 1905 to 1907, workers' uprisings took place, complete with political slogans. In 1914, there were almost 40 factories. === Interwar Poland === [[File:Lida. Ліда (1920-29).jpg|thumb|left|Bird's eye view of Lida in the 1920s]] During [[World War I]] Lida was occupied by [[German Army (German Empire)|German troops]]. In 1919, the [[Red Army]] established [[Bolshevik]] power. Polish troops, under General [[Józef Adam Lasocki]], reached the outskirts of Lida in early March 1919. On April 15, they resumed their advance, and on April 17 they [[Battle of Lida (1919)|captured Lida]], a screening operation to the [[Vilna offensive|taking of Vilnius]]. On 17 July 1920, the Red Army returned, but it was forced to retreat in August after their [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|defeat at Warsaw]]. [[File:Lida, Vilenskaja-Rynak. Ліда, Віленская-Рынак (1930).jpg|thumb|Wileńska Street in pre-war Poland]] On 30 September 1920, Polish and Russian troops fought in and around Lida during the [[Battle of the Niemen River]], as the [[Soviet 21st Rifle Division]] tried to assault Polish positions but was repulsed by the [[1st Lithuanian-Belarusian Division]]. The Poles took about 10,000 prisoners from the [[Soviet 3rd Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hetmanusa.org/niemnem2.htm |title=Battle Of Warsaw |publisher=Hetmanusa.org |access-date=2013-03-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425083023/http://www.hetmanusa.org/niemnem2.htm |archive-date=2012-04-25}}</ref><!--please note that the source uses the term 'battle at Lida'--> By the [[Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of 1920]], Lida was ceded by the Soviets to [[Lithuania]], but the treaty was not recognized by [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]]. In accordance with 1921 [[Riga Peace Treaty]], the town was awarded to Poland and was a [[powiat]] centre in the [[Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–1939)|Nowogródek Voivodeship]]. According to the 1921 Polish census, the population was 65.8% [[Polish people|Polish]], 32.4% [[Jews|Jewish]] and 0.98% [[Belarusians|Belarusian]].<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Tom VII. Część I|year=1923|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|page=10}}</ref> In 1927 were 24 factories in Lida, whose production grew rapidly in 1928. A new rubber goods factory started, employing almost 800 people. Lida was also an important garrison of the [[Polish Army]], with one infantry division and the 5th Corps of the [[Polish Air Force]] stationed there. In the 1930s, Lida was extensively expanded, dozens of new streets were built.<ref name=PA/> === World War II === [[File:Lida, Čyhunačnaja. Ліда, Чыгуначная (06.1941).jpg|thumb|Lida during the [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupation of Poland]]]] In 1939, after the [[Soviet invasion of Poland]], Lida became part of the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]]. In January 1940, Lida became the centre of [[Lida Raion]], in [[Baranavichy Region]]. From June 1941 to July 1944, it was [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied]] by German troops, who killed almost 25,149 people. On September 18, 1943, the [[Jewish Community of Lida]] was rounded up and taken to [[Majdanek]], where they were murdered. Only about 200 Lida [[Jews]] survived the [[Holocaust]]. From mid-1944 Lida was occupied by the Soviets again. After the war, in 1945, in accordance to the [[Potsdam Agreement]] it was taken from Poland and annexed by the [[Soviet Union]]. Administratively, Lida became part of [[Grodno Region]]. ===Recent history=== From the [[Cold War]] to 1993, Lida was home to the [[1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division]] of the [[Soviet Air Force]]. In the 2010s, [[Ivan Kulesh]] murdered a number of women in the city. He was later executed.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://spring96.org/en/news/85494 | title=Death convict Ivan Kulesh executed | date=28 November 2016 | access-date=15 September 2023 | archive-date=10 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010115628/https://spring96.org/en/news/85494 | url-status=live }}</ref>
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