Maladzyechna Voblast

Maladzyechna Voblast Маладзечненская вобласць Молодечненская область
Voblast of Byelorussian SSR
← 1944–1960 →   →   →
Map of the Byelorussian SSR with Maladzyechna Voblast.
Capital		Maladzyechna 54°19′N 26°51′E / 54.317°N 26.850°E / 54.317; 26.850Coordinates: 54°19′N 26°51′E / 54.317°N 26.850°E / 54.317; 26.850
History
•	Established	September 20, 1944
•	Disestablished	September 20, 1960
Area
•	1959	24,300 km2(9,382 sq mi)
Population
•	1959	848,000
	Density	34.9 /km2  (90.4 /sq mi)
Political subdivisions		Raions: 24

Maladzyechna Voblast or Molodechno Oblast (Belarusian: Маладзечненская вобласць, Russian: Молодечненская область) was a Voblast of the Byelorussian SSR. Initially the Voblast was formed on December 4, 1939 following the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR from the Second Polish Republic as the Vileyka Voblast. However after the liberation of Byelorussia by the Red Army in July 1944, most of the pre-war civil administration was not possible for a number of reasons, one of which was that the city of Vileyka was heavily damaged during the war, and the transportation links between it and the rest of the Voblast were too.

However the nearby city of Maladzyechna (only 20km away from Vileyka) escaped heavy destruction, and as a result on 20 September 1944, the Maladzyechna Voblast of Byelorussia was established. Initially it contained all 14 raions. These raions were Astravets, Ashmyany, Volozhin, Ilya, Iwye, Krivichi, Kurenets (Its center was relocated in Vileyka and renamed as Vileyka in 1946), Molodechno, Miadzieł, Pastavy, Radashkovichy, Smorgon, Svir and Yuratishki. However on January 8 1954, in course of administrative-territorial reform of the BSSR, the neighbouring Polatsk and Baranavichy Voblasts (along with others) were disestablished.

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