Snovsk is a town on the banks of the Snov River, the center of the Snovsk hromada in Koriukivka District within the Chernihiv Polissia. It is young—having grown in the second half of the 19th century around the railway—and still lives by the railway: a border checkpoint with Belarus operates here.
The town by the station
The settlement was founded in the 1860s under the name Korzhivka as a workers' village during the construction of the Libau-Romny Railway. In 1897, 2,200 people lived here, and in 1926, 6,850; almost equally divided between Ukrainians and Jews. Snovsk received town status in 1924. In the 1920s, it was not only a district center but also the center of Snovsk Okrug, which included eleven districts. The leading role in the town was played by the locomotive depot and the railway station, where a third of the adult population worked.
In 1935, the Soviet authorities renamed Snovsk in honor of a Red commander who was a native of the town, and only in 2016, during decommunization, was the historical name returned to the town. During the Second World War, the occupiers carried out mass killings in the town; almost 10,000 people from the district went to the front, half of whom died.
Coat of arms and flag
The coat of arms of Snovsk mirrors the coat of arms of the former Snovsk District. On a green shield are a yellow key and hammer, symbols of the railway that gave life to the town; the green color recalls Polissia, and the vertical blue stripe recalls the Snov River. The flag consists of two equal horizontal stripes, green and blue, with a yellow key and hammer in the upper corner near the hoist; it was approved in 2004.
The year 2022 and the present
In March 2022, Snovsk was occupied; on March 25, the Russian military took the mayor hostage for refusing to cooperate. At the end of March, the town was liberated. A native of Snovsk is Colonel Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, who commanded the defense of Chernihiv in February and March 2022.
What to see
The history of Snovsk is best told by the railway itself: a steam locomotive monument stands near the station, and an L-series steam locomotive has been preserved in the locomotive depot. In the center of the town are a church and the central square.
Tip: Mind your safety
Snovsk lies close to the borders with Russia and Belarus and is subject to shelling. Before your trip, make sure to check the security situation in the hromada and the regional military administration.
How to get there
Snovsk is a railway station on the line through the north of Chernihiv region. Nearby are Horodnia and Koryukivka.
