Slonim

Slonim, a town of Russia, in the government of Grodno, 155 m. by rail S.E. of the city of Grodno and 20 m. from the railway from Moscow to Warsaw, on the high craggy banks of the Shchara. Pop. (1883), 21,110; (1897) 15,8 9 3, including many Jews. It derives its importance from the river, which is navigable and joins the Oginsky canal, connecting the Niemen with the Dnieper. Corn, tar, and especially timber are exported. Slonim is mentioned in 1040, when Yaroslav, prince of Kiev, defeated the Lithuanians in its neighbourhood. In 1241 the Mongols pillaged it and burned its wooden fort. Owing to its position between Galician Russia and Lithuania it often changed hands, until it was conquered by the Lithuanians in the 14th century. From 1631 to 1685 it was the seat of the Lithuanian diet and became a flourishing city. In the 18th century, under the hetman Oginsky, a canal was dug to connect the Shchara with the Dnieper. Oginsky embellished the city and founded there a printing-office. Russia annexed the town in 1795.