Mogilev

About Mogilev

Mogilev, or Mahilyow, is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper River, about 76 kilometres (47 miles) from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km (65 miles) from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2025, it has a population of 352,896. In 2011, its population was 360,918, up from an estimated 106,000 in 1956. It serves as the administrative centre of Mogilev Region, and is the third-largest city in Belarus.

The name Mogilev may be derived from Russian mogila and lev; according to folk legend, the city was named after the grave of a young peasant, which was known as the "Tomb of the Lion", and it was around this burial mound that a fortress was built. Its founding has also been linked to Galician prince Leo I.

The city was first mentioned in historical records in 1267. From the 14th century, it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and since the Union of Lublin (1569), it has been part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where it became known as Mohylew. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city flourished as one of the main nodes of the east–west and north–south trading routes.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.