Zlynka is a city (since 1925) in Russia, the administrative center of
the Zlynkovsky district of the Bryansk region and the Zlynkovsky urban
settlement.
Population - 5270 people. (2021). Zlynka is the
smallest city in the Bryansk region.
The Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary or simply
the Intercession Church is a temple of the Klintsovo diocese of the
Russian Orthodox Church in the town of Zlynka, Bryansk region. An
architectural monument of regional importance. The Old Believers
Intercession Chapel was built by the bespopovites of the Fedoseevsky
accord, who arrived in Zlinka from Lithuania in 1758-1759. In the early
1850s, the prayer room was closed and, after perestroika, turned into a
co-religionist church, consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the
Most Holy Theotokos. In 1886, the Holy Synod decided to transform the
co-Orthodox church of the village of Zlinka into an Orthodox one and
form a parish with it from the Orthodox inhabitants of the village of
Zlinka, the village of Petrovka and the village of Pavlovka. In
1903-1904, a modern wooden church on a brick basement was built on the
site of the former temple. The rector of the church was the priest
Anatoly Shkredovsky. In 1919, the Soviet authorities sentenced him to
three years in prison. In 1937, he was arrested and shot, and the temple
was closed, used as a grain warehouse. It was reopened during the German
occupation in 1943 and was never closed again.
The temple is
wooden. The walls are completely chopped down and upholstered with wood.
The octagon on the quad is crowned with a head on an octagonal neck. A
small four-sided altar is placed on the pentagonal altar, completed with
a cupola. A tiered bell tower rises above the refectory, covered with a
gable roof: a through octagon is placed on a blind quadrangle and is
completed with a dome with a dome. Entrance porches are located on the
west, north and south sides. On the north side there is another porch
attached to the altar.
Temple complex of the Churches of the
Ascension and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (second half of the 19th
century).
Several mansions from the turn of the 19th-20th
centuries, richly decorated with wooden carvings (nowadays the mansions
house the district administration, forestry department, music school,
and district agriculture department).
Zlynka is a small town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, serving as the
administrative center of Zlynkovsky District. Situated on the Zlynka
River approximately 225 kilometers southwest of Bryansk and near the
border with Belarus, it has an elevation of about 150 meters and a
current population of around 5,270 as of the 2021 census. The town's
history reflects broader regional shifts in Eastern Europe, involving
religious migrations, imperial changes, wartime atrocities, and
environmental disasters.
Founding and Early History
Zlynka was
established in 1702 as a settlement primarily inhabited by Old
Believers, a dissenting sect of Russian Orthodoxy that fled persecution
following the 17th-century church reforms under Patriarch Nikon. At its
inception, it fell under the administrative jurisdiction of the Starodub
Regiment within the Cossack Hetmanate, a semi-autonomous entity in what
is now Ukraine and parts of Russia. The region's earlier history ties
into a succession of powers: it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
in medieval times, later incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow,
then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and eventually fully integrated
into the Russian Empire by the 18th century. This borderland position
made Zlynka a crossroads of cultural and political influences, with Old
Believer traditions shaping its early community life, including
architecture and religious practices.
In the 18th and 19th centuries,
Zlynka remained a modest rural settlement within the Chernigov
Governorate of the Russian Empire. It developed as an agricultural and
trading outpost, benefiting from its river location for local commerce.
By the late 19th century, a notable Jewish community had emerged,
contributing to the town's economic and cultural fabric through trade,
craftsmanship, and small-scale industry. Population figures from the era
are sparse, but the town was typical of many in the Pale of Settlement,
where Jews were permitted to reside under imperial Russian policies.
20th Century: Revolution, Town Status, and World War II
Following
the 1917 Russian Revolution and the subsequent civil war, Zlynka was
incorporated into the Soviet Union. It gained official town status in
1925, marking a shift toward urbanization and administrative importance
within the newly formed Bryansk Oblast (established in 1944). The
interwar period saw collectivization efforts, with agriculture
mechanized and local industries like timber processing emerging. By the
late 1930s, the population included around 432 Jews, who formed a
significant minority.
World War II brought devastation to Zlynka. The
town was occupied by German forces in late August 1941 as part of
Operation Barbarossa. Approximately half of the Jewish population
managed to evacuate before the arrival of the Wehrmacht. However,
atrocities began almost immediately: in September 1941, 27 Jewish men
were executed on the town's outskirts by a mobile killing squad
(Einsatzgruppe). By October, the remaining Jews were confined to a
ghetto established at the local Machine Tractor Station (MTS), where
they endured forced labor, starvation, and disease. The ghetto's
liquidation occurred in mid-February 1942, when between 190 and 200 Jews
were shot by local policemen collaborating with the occupiers, using
pistols at close range. Additionally, the Germans operated a forced
labor battalion for Jews in the town, further decimating the community.
The broader occupation involved exploitation of local resources and
population, with Zlynka liberated by the Red Army in September 1943 as
part of the Bryansk offensive. Post-liberation, the town was rebuilt
amid the Soviet Union's wartime recovery efforts.
Post-War Era
and Chernobyl Disaster
After the war, Zlynka's population stabilized,
reaching 5,586 by the 1989 Soviet census. The town focused on
agriculture, light industry, and railway connections, given its
proximity to major lines. However, a major turning point came with the
Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986. Located in a contaminated
zone, Zlynka suffered significant radioactive fallout, particularly from
cesium-137 and other radionuclides. The contamination level in parts of
Bryansk Oblast exceeded 5 curies per square kilometer, affecting about
16% of the oblast's population by 1999. Full resettlement of Zlynka was
seriously considered by Soviet authorities, but ultimately not
implemented; instead, decontamination measures, health monitoring, and
economic aid were provided. This event severely hampered development,
leading to outmigration, health issues, and a lingering environmental
legacy that persists today.
Modern Day and Cultural Heritage
In the post-Soviet era, Zlynka's population has slightly declined,
dropping to 5,507 in 2010 and 5,270 in 2021, reflecting broader rural
depopulation trends in Russia. Administratively, it remains the center
of Zlynkovsky District, incorporating nearby rural localities, and
functions as an urban settlement within the municipal framework. The
town's economy relies on agriculture, small manufacturing, and services,
with ongoing efforts to address Chernobyl's aftermath through federal
programs.
Culturally, Zlynka preserves elements of its Old Believer
roots, including traditional wooden architecture and religious sites.
Notable is a pseudo-Gothic Orthodox church built in 1780, commemorating
the Russian naval victory over the Ottoman Empire in 1770, which serves
as a key historical monument. The area also features traditional Russian
wooden houses, adding to its heritage appeal. Memorials to WWII victims,
including the Jewish ghetto and execution sites, highlight the town's
tragic past, with organizations like Yahad-In Unum documenting Holocaust
atrocities in the region. Today, Zlynka embodies the resilience of
Russia's borderlands, blending historical depth with contemporary
challenges.
Zlynka is a small town in southwestern Bryansk Oblast, Russia, serving as the administrative center of Zlynkovsky District. It is situated approximately 225 kilometers southwest of the oblast capital, Bryansk, and lies near the international border with Belarus to the west. The town's geographic coordinates are approximately 52.4274°N latitude and 31.7371°E longitude. The surrounding region forms part of the western edge of the East European Plain, positioned on the watershed between the Desna River basin (part of the larger Dnieper River system) and adjacent drainage areas. Bryansk Oblast itself borders several Russian regions (Smolensk to the north, Kaluga to the northeast, Oryol to the east, and Kursk to the southeast) as well as Ukraine to the south (Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts) and Belarus to the west (Gomel and Mogilev oblasts), placing Zlynka in a strategically peripheral area with cross-border influences. The district covers an area of 741 square kilometers, making it one of the smaller administrative units in the oblast.
The terrain around Zlynka is characteristic of the East European Plain, featuring gently rolling lowlands with minimal elevation changes. The town itself sits at an elevation of about 150-154 meters above sea level. This flat to undulating landscape is typical of the broader Bryansk Oblast, which occupies the middle reaches of the Desna River basin and includes wooded watersheds. The area transitions between forest-steppe zones in the south and more forested regions northward, with no significant mountains, hills, or rugged features. Soils in Zlynkovsky District and southwestern Bryansk Oblast are predominantly podzolic and sod-podzolic types, common in mixed forest zones, but they have been heavily impacted by radioactive contamination (discussed below). Agricultural lands dominate much of the district, interspersed with patches of woodland, reflecting a mix of cultivated fields and natural vegetation.
Zlynka is located directly on the Zlynka River, a small waterway that gives the town its name. This river is part of the broader Desna River basin, which ultimately feeds into the Dnieper River system flowing southward toward Ukraine. Limited details are available on the Zlynka River's specific length or flow, but it appears to be a minor tributary, possibly connecting to larger rivers like the Iput or Sudost in the region. The Desna River, a major feature of Bryansk Oblast, lies to the east and influences the overall hydrology, with the oblast straddling the divide between the Desna (Dnieper basin) and Volga basins. Water bodies in the area include small streams, ponds, and wetlands, supporting local ecosystems but also contributing to soil moisture in the flat terrain.
Zlynka experiences a humid continental climate, similar to the rest of Bryansk Oblast, with cold, snowy winters and warm, moderately humid summers. Average annual temperatures hover around 7°C, with January lows dipping to -8°C to -10°C and July highs reaching 18°C to 20°C. Precipitation is moderate, totaling about 710 mm per year, distributed fairly evenly but with peaks in summer months. Winters are long and overcast, often with significant snowfall and windy conditions, while summers are partly cloudy and comfortable. The proximity to Belarus and Ukraine exposes the area to Atlantic air masses, moderating extremes compared to more inland Russian regions, but frost-free periods are limited to about 130-150 days annually. Recent weather patterns show variability, with occasional heavy rains or cold snaps influencing local agriculture.
Vegetation in Zlynkovsky District reflects the forest-steppe biome of southwestern Bryansk Oblast, where approximately 25% of the oblast is forested. Dominant tree species include conifers (such as pine and spruce), mixed deciduous-coniferous stands, and broadleaf trees like oak, birch, and aspen. Grasslands and meadows cover agricultural areas, with undergrowth of shrubs and herbs in wooded zones. Natural resources in the oblast include peat deposits, sand, clay, chalk, marl, and phosphorite, which are extracted for construction and industry. In Zlynka's vicinity, these resources support local economies, though contamination has limited their use in some areas.
A defining feature of Zlynka's geography is its environmental legacy from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Zlynkovsky District lies in the most contaminated zone of Bryansk Oblast, with high levels of cesium-137 (137Cs) in soils, exceeding 5 Ci/km² in many areas as of the late 1990s. This contamination affects agricultural lands, forests, and water sources, leading to ongoing remediation efforts using geoinformation systems and soil management techniques. Forest soils have suffered significant damage, impacting biodiversity and timber quality. Despite this, the region maintains a mix of natural habitats, though human activities like farming and forestry are regulated to minimize radiation exposure. Population in contaminated zones was around 226,000 in 1999, highlighting the long-term human-geographic implications.
Leskhoz (in the process of bankruptcy). There is a plant for the production of plasterboard sheets, and the West Metrology company (production of flow meters, dispensers, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic drives).
There are two schools No. 1 and No. 2 and PU 31 in the city.