Medyn

(in antiquity Mezetsk, or Miadyn’), a city, center of Medyn’ Raion, Kaluga Oblast, RSFSR. Situated on the Medynka River (the Oka Basin), on a highway 14 km from the Miatlevo railroad station on the Kaluga-Viaz’ma line and 62 km northwest of Kaluga.

Medyn’ has a furniture-manufacturing combine, a dairy, a flax mill, and enterprises producing building materials and clothing. The exact time of the founding of the city is unknown. Medyn’ had its own princes, and it also belonged to the principality of Smolensk, from which in 1386 it joined the Moscow principality. In 1389, Dmitrii Donskoi gave Medyn’ to his son Andrei as part of the Mozhaisk appanage. In 1454, Medyn’ and the Mozhaisk appanage were joined to Moscow. In 1472, Medyn’ became the property of Grand Prince Vasilii III, who in 1508 conferred it upon Prince Vasilii Glinskii. Under Ivan the Terrible, Medyn’ was included in the lands of the oprichniki. In the 17th century it was destroyed. In 1770, Medyn’ became a district city of the Kaluga vicegerency. During the Patriotic War of 1812 the cossack detachment of A. V. Ilovaiskii defeated the advance guard of a French corps under J. Poniatowski at Medyn’. This battle, which took place on October 13, the day after the battle at Maloiaroslavets, influenced Napoleon to finally decide to retreat from Moscow along the old Smolensk highway, which had been laid waste by French troops. From Oct. 12, 1941, through Jan. 14, 1942, Medyn’ was occupied by fascist German invaders.