Villages of Smokowa & Rakszyce
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The Villages
The villages of Smorkowo and Rakszyce are in the area historically known as "White Russia". They were under Russian control at the turn of the century, but after 1920 and the defeat of the Bolsheviks by Polish forces under Marshal Pilsudski, both became part of independent Poland.They remained part of Poland until the Russian invasion of 1939 when both fell into Russian hands. They remained under Russian control until the communist state of Belarus was formed. Both villages are roughly north of Minsk and east of Vileika. On general maps this is the area between Minsk and Vilno / Vilnius.

Both villages inhabitants were primarily farmers. They remained farmers up until the point when the Russians collectivized all farming and prohibited all private land ownership . Many Polish people moved (or were forced out by the Russians as a attempt to "Russify" the area) to Poland shortly after WWII. It does not appear that either village was damaged during any of the wars, although I am unable to verify this or if any fighting was close by.

NOTE: It also appears that during or shortly after WWII the Russians forced the name Krupinski to become Krupski so it was more Russian sounding.

Rakszyce and Smorkowo have one cementary, apparently the surroundings are beatifull with lots of woods. I have no photos of this area at all and I would appreciate any if anyone is in the area.

Updates:
General history of the villages updated 05/2006

Maps of the area
1915 German Military Map: | area around Wilejka | closeup of villages | map title |
1896 German Map: | closeup of villages | map title |
Note: If you interested in areas near these but not shown please contact me and I may be able to provide you with further scans from these maps

Map Circa 1920's
- Thanks to Melanie M. VIEW MAP

Smorkowo
Smorkowo is a very small farming village in the area known as "White Russia". Through history this land was under the control of various powers ranging from Poland, Russia and the Archduchy of Lithuania. When Jadwiga Krupinska left for the last time in 1912 it was under Russian control. After the Polish victory in the Polish Soviet war of 1919-1920 it became part of independent Poland and remained a part of Poland until 1939 when the Russians took over the eastern half of Poland in a pact with Nazi Germany.

Currently it is in the country of Belarus, and has a different name. In 1964 Smorkowo was renamed to Pieramozac (Pobieditel in russian) - in English it's mean victory-man. It would appear that the Russian government changed the name of the village so it wasn't so "Polish" sounding. Additionally around 1946 many of the Polish residents were "encouraged" to leave and move to the other side of communist Poland that had been taken from the Germans.

In 1950 in Smorkowo there lived about 150 people and there were 32 farms. Today in Smorkowo there are only 32 people. All of them are old. The young people moved to the cities like Minsk, Molodeczno or Wilejka (Wilejka is 30 km from Smorkowo). There are no farms in Smorkowo now. The Russian government took away all farms and created sth which is called in Polish kolhoz. It means that all cultivated land belongs to the government.

Timeline, Hisorical Background and References:

In 1756 ownership of the village was Michal Raphal Slizen (his main manor was in Kostyki).
In 1800 Smorkowo belonged to Rafal Slizen (1 house, 3 dwellers) and to Aleksandra Garajn (8 houses, 22 dwellers).
In 1829 village belonged to Slizen.
In 1923 Smorkowo in Alkowicka gmina, 36 houses, 160 dwellers.
In 1938 - 38 houses, 194 dwellers in village and 1 house and 4 dwellers in zascienek.

In 2003 - 20 houses, 40 dwellers.

Smorkowo, ws, pow. wilejski, w 2 okr. pol., gmina Krajsk, okr. wiejski Starynki, o 11 w. od gminy a 44 w. od Wilejki, przy b. dr. poczt, z mka Sosienki do granicy pow. borysowskiego, ma 10 dm., 118 mk. (w
1864 r. 48 dusz rewiz.); nalezala do dobr Juncewicze Borowskich.
(Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego, 1889)

** Smorkowo is a wies', i.e. a hamlet (peasant village), in the district of Wilejka [Vileika], with two precincts [okre~g] half in the township of Krajsk and the other half in the precinct of Wiejski Staryn, 11 wersts [1066.78 meters] from the town, 44 wersts from Wilejka
... belonging to the nobility estate of Juncewicz-Borowski.

* Smorkowo belonged to the nobleman's family Borkowski and it was a part of Juncewicze property in 1889 (View modern location at mapquest):
Smorkowo should be very close to Rakszyce and Juncewicze, but it is not found on any online maps.

Smorkowo was listed in a offical index of Polish towns printed in 1930's....it listed the local parish as Olkowicze - View at Mapquest
Olkowicze was listed in the "Dictionary of Polish Kingdom and other slavic lands" from 1886.

There was a wooden church built in 1722 at that time (1886). I don't know if still exists now.
UPDATE: Elzbeta and her grandaughter sent me this photo of the church there: View Photo of Church

The orginal title of the above mentioned book is: "Sl~ownik Kro~lestwa Polskiego i innych ziem sl~owian~skich"

View area: FEEFS Belarus/Russia Map (circa 1882) area is north of Minsk, Vilna-Minsk line near Vileika
- - - I am still trying to learn more about this area and it's history.
- - - If you have any information please help me out!

Rakszyce (Rakshitsy)
All I really know about this village is that is is about 1 kilometer away from Smorkowo. It's inhabitants were also primarily farmers until the Russians collectized all farming. About half of its population moved to Poland in 1947. Current population estimated to be around 40 people.

In 1800 village Rakszycze belonged to Aleksandra Garajn (6 houses, 21 dwellers) and to Ignacy Podgajski (5 houses, 26 dwellers). In 1938 village in Dolginow gmina, 48 houses, 279 dwellers.

In 2003 - 26 houses, 42 dwellers.

Jan Krupinski lived in Smorkowo but after his sons were married he moved to Rakszyce (because Jan's wife came from Rakszyce and she had a farm there). Aleksander has also moved to Rakszyce. They built two houses.

View Map which shows both villages »
Both villages are underlined. Not sure of the date of this map. Estimated to be in the early 1920's.
Latitude: 54.5333, Longitude: 27.3833.

This location is roughly 44 miles N of Minsk, and east of Vileika.
Rakszyce can now be found on mapquest by searching for it in Belarus.
Jerry C. found this for me - he has been a great help!

View area: FEEFS Belarus/Russia Map (circa 1882) area is north of Minsk, Vilna-Minsk line near Vileika
- - - I am still trying to learn more about this area and it's history.
- - - If you have any information please help me out!