Geography

The Chausy region is located in the east of the Mogilev oblast in the interfluve of the Pronya, Basya and Resta Rivers. The landscape is hilly. The total area of the region is 1,471 km2, of them 53,006 hectares are arable land, 27,500 hectares – meadows, 44,780 hectares – forests, 3,790 – wetlands, 1,780 – lakes and rivers.

The annual temperature averages 5°C. Winters are usually mild, summers are warm and rainy.

Main woods are pine and spruce, birch, asp and alder.
 
Wildlife species are wolf, fox, elk, roe, wild boar and hare.

The Chausy region borders on the Dribin region in the north, Slavgorod and Bykhov regions in the west, Mstislavl and Cherikov regions of the Mogilev oblast in the east.
There are 167 towns and villages in the region. As of early 2007, the population of the region was 21,300, 10,400 living in Chausy, 10,900 – rural areas.

History

The history of the Chausy region goes back to the mid Mesolithic Age. Some 10-12 thousand years ago people used to settle on the banks of rivers. All the instruments such as arrow heads, knifes, scrapers, cutters, etc., found during archeological excavations were used for hunting, butchering and processing of animal skins.

The Slavic tribe Radimichi finished the process of settlement in the late 1st century AD. Many scientists attribute the name of the tribe to the name of the village Radomlya. Presumably from the 12th till the 17th centuries, there was an ancient castle in between two villages of Radomlya and Alexandrovka.

From the 9th century, the lands of the Radimichis were part of the Kievan Rus, Smolensk and Mstislavl principalities, from the 14th till the 17th centuries – to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Rzecz Pospolita.

Chausy were first mentioned in chronicles in 1581 as the village of Chausovichi belonging to the Great Duchy of Lithuania. On the order of King of the Rzecz Pospolita Sigismund III, the village Chausovichi was given a status of the town of Chausy in 1604 and the Magdeburg right. The town had its own court and an emblem, as a privilege, a image of St. Martin on a horse.

In 1664, during the war for independence from the Rzecz Pospolita, a regiment under the command of colonel Nechay was formed in Chausy. During the Great Northern War, Chausy sustained great damage, particularly in 1708, when the Swedes were seeking to get into Malorossia and as the army of Peter the Great was following the Swedish troops of General Lewenhaupt, who were seeking to join the army of Karl XII.

After the first partition of the Rzecz Pospolita in 1722, the region was annexed to the Russian Empire. From 1777, Chausy was the centre of the uyezd (the Russian administrative division).

In 1781, Chausy got a new emblem: intersecting saber and sword in the red shield, inside a laureate wreath. The theme of the emblem is connected with the victory of the Russians over Swedes by the village of Lesnaya. St. George Church was built in honour of this victory. The church was destroyed later during the Great Patriotic War.
In 1812, during Napoleon’s army offensive, the town of Chausy was burnt down.
In the early 20th century there were three stone houses and 718 wooden houses in Chausy. The population of the town was roughly 6,000. At that time, there were three education establishments with six teachers and 288 students. The literacy rate was 16% in the uyezd and 41% in the town of Chausy.

Founded on July 17, 1924 as administrative unit, the Chausy region was a part of the Mogilev okrug, since 1938 –  the Mogilev oblast.

153 collective farms were set up during the collectivization.
Before the World War II there were three cinema houses, 21 culture houses, 14 middle schools, eight basic schools and 147 primary schools, three hospitals, 13 health localities and eight feldsher-midwife stations. All collective farms (kolkhozes) had day-nurseries.

The Chausy region suffered greatly under the Nazi occupation.

By the early October, 1943, the territory on the left bank of the Pronya River was liberated by the 50th army of the Western Front. Stationary fights took place from October 1943 till July 1944.

An offensive operation Bagration started near the villages of Budino, Prilyopovka and Krasnaya Buda on June 23, 1944.

On June 25, the town of Chausy was liberated.